During my work experience, my working hours were from 8.00 till 5.00. I took the car to work and the journey would usually take half and hour. I would work until 3.15, when the children went home, however I did not leave until 5.00 as I had to help clear up and help with after school activities. On my first day I was informed of the tasks I would be doing that day and introduced to all the children. Most mornings I would clean the children’s cup and then fill them with water. I would then have to set up the first activity, which was always spelling. Other jobs I had to do included; photo copying, paired reading, taking groups of children for group learning and cleaning. I worked with one teacher and one teaching assistant, both of which would assist me with tasks I found difficult and were both very helpful. I felt I did have a positive effect on my colleagues as I would often be able to carry out tasks without too much assistance and therefore my less work for others. However in some activities I had to be assisted due to health and safety reasons, which could have made more work for the staff, than if I was not there. I offered to help out after school and would always be willing to try any task the teacher set me, even if I didn’t know what to do. I therefore feel that I made a positive contribution and reduced the work load for my colleagues.
During my work experience I had to carry out many different tasks, many of which I had never done before. I was able to cope with most of these new activities, however I did encounter some problems during my first week. For example whilst I was doing paired reading with an individual child, another child, with behaviour difficulties, kept disturbing me and trying to get my attention. I was unsure on what strategy I should use to prevent the children from preventing me from doing the paired reading so I went and spoke to the class teacher. She then told me that the best thing to do, would be to ignore the disruptive child, and they would soon return to their work. I used this strategy several times during my work experience and I then was able to continue with the work, undisturbed. Another problem I encountered was when one child told me that another child had hit them, when in the playground. I then went and spoke to the other child, however they said that it was actually the other child who had hit them. Both children denied hitting one another, so I asked both children if they were hurt in any way, but they both said no. I then spoke to both children, telling them that hitting was wrong, and if there were any more problems then I would have to take them to their class teacher. I then got the two children to make up and play a game together nicely. Afterwards I spoke to the class teacher about the incident and she said the way that I handled the situation was perfect, but next time I should take them both to her as some children do have behaviour issues. I felt that I learned from both incidents and am now able to cope with many more problematic situations that before my work experience. I often helped the teacher to carry out activities outside the classroom, which without my help, would have been a lot harder. I felt that my contribution in many of the activities made it easier for my colleagues and subsequently affected the outcome of the activity, as they all went very well. Over the time of my work experience I learned many new skills that I may not have learned, if I hadn’t done the work experience.
I really enjoyed my two weeks of work experience. It was a very hard, but rewarding job. Some tasks I did find a little bit boring, however overall the experience was fun and I learnt lots of new skills. For example I am now able to use many of the new Microsoft programmes for modern computers, which are used in many offices and other computer based jobs across the UK. I am also able to teach small groups of children, keeping the attention of every child and enabling them to learn. As I enjoyed my work experience so much I have decided that I would like to become a teacher when I am older, therefore all the skills that I have gained during my work experience will be used again in the future and could make a significant impact on the way I work etc.
