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Too late for a PGCE application?

If you have any examples of resolving difficult situations I think they would be helpful to include, because at some point in your teaching career you will have to do that.
 
Cid said:
Just go through this list point by point :hmm:

But I kind of do actually suggest doing that. Break it down... Don't just think of it as talking yourself up. Actually think about what you have learned, or what opportunities for learning your job could have provided and that you could er... embellish. Maybe think of a colleague you've liked and use them as a surrogate. I mean imagine your were writing a reference for them, not yourself. It doesn't hugely matter what your boss actually thinks, unless they're likely to read it and say 'nope, can't say that'.

And, I mean, this is your boss. Does the person reviewing this application need to read 47 lines of text by someone with precisely zero ability to assess your ability to teach? Do they expect your boss to even be able to do that? I don't know exactly what you worked in, but isn't it something to do with dispatching couriers? The relevant parts of that are going to be ability to communicate, ability to coordinate, problem solving, adapting to particular situations. Anything client-facing, anything to do with training. Break it down into those sections and use a structured approach along the PEE (point, evidence, explanation) lines you use for essays. Structure it into paragraphs, each addressing a particular, relevant skillset.

I'd be wary of being overly wordy. Also I have no idea how these are assessed. But I'm just struggling to imagine someone looking at the personal statement of someone who speaks fluent Chinese, bits of other languages, has taught before and spent plenty of time overseas being rejected because their last boss didn't manage to fully articulate their admiration.

e2a: you could probably pad out with a few technical things too; timekeeping, ability to make deadlines, anything to do with safe working practices.
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It's that website that's been driving me to despair. There are whole sections that neither reference could be expected to comment on. My boss barely knew I had a degree let alone what it was in. I've thrown in quite a bit about trustworthiness and responsibility. Specific skill sets are going to be more for the personal statement.
 
I just wanted to chime in with some support, as I'm also considering applying for a PGCE. I'm thoroughly fed up of my job/career, and have always wondered whether I might like to go into teaching (my mum was a secondary English teacher, SENCo and eventually SEN manager for Bristol, and always said I'd be a great teacher, though advised me against it for the sake of my own mental health :D)

I have an MSc in Library and Information Management, and wondered whether anyone had any advice in whether that might be suitable for specialising in Computer Science at secondary level? Things have completely changed since I studied computing in the 90s, so I've no idea what it might entail. My undergraduate degree is in 'Humanities' with the OU, which is essentially English Lit, and I'm not so keen on teaching that...

My wife is Malaysian, so a PGCE could be useful if we decide to move out there in a few years time too.
 
Application form completed with massive thanks to the untaggable poster above. There's a 4,000 character limit on the personal statement but only about enough room in the box for 3,500 characters which meant it was an exercise in brevity more than anything else. I think I put my case across well. Referees have both responded, are happy with the drafts I've provided, and have promised to respond promptly to the UCAS email when they get it. My boss has said he will just cut and paste what I've given him which is perfect.

The only institution I've actually spoken to so far have stopped recruitment for secondary English :( but there are several more. I'll spend the rest of today going through prospectuses, then tomorrow on the phone before hopefully submitting the application tomorrow afternoon (or possibly another quick revision to PS if anything stands out from conversations with institutions). Quite pleased with my ability to get my shit together when I needed to.
 
If you don't get onto a course this year, going through this process will mean that you already have all your stuff together when it comes to applying for TA jobs. I know that wouldn't be the best for your financially but it would make you a better, and happpier, teacher in the long run.
 
scifisam said:
If you don't get onto a course this year, going through this process will mean that you already have all your stuff together when it comes to applying for TA jobs. I know that wouldn't be the best for your financially but it would make you a better, and happier, teacher in the long run.
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Yes. With no financial pressure 1 year TA + SKE first would be much better. I got very stressed at the end of last week when mrs maomao was treating it as a fait accompli and bouncing up to me daily with another benefit to being a teacher that she'd found (3 grand for an adult unemployed dependant, who knew?). I will be looking at applying for TA jobs while I wait for a response anyway. I can easily edit the application down into an education focused CV. DBS checks are taking longer than normal and I would need to get in now for a September start presumably. Eggs and baskets innit.
 
I actually started making phone calls yesterday and have been doing so solidly today and was completely demoralised. Four of the courses on my shortlist are closed for applications despite showing vacancies on the government teacher training site (I've written an email of complaint already, I like to moan) and the remaining three have been basically impossible to contact.

Finally, 2 minutes ago, the UEL course leader wrote back saying he'd be very happy to receive my application and that only a small proportion of applicants actually have a single honours English degree anyway. Also offered a couple of routes through the no certificate situation. It was my first choice anyway.

Which leaves me waiting for one reply from the John Cass school. I'd be happier if they changed their bloody name though. I'll have to dredge up another school from somewhere to make up the three. Travel's going to be a real problem if it's not East London/Essex borders though.
 
maomao said:
I actually started making phone calls yesterday and have been doing so solidly today and was completely demoralised. Four of the courses on my shortlist are closed for applications despite showing vacancies on the government teacher training site (I've written an email of complaint already, I like to moan) and the remaining three have been basically impossible to contact.

Finally, 2 minutes ago, the UEL course leader wrote back saying he'd be very happy to receive my application and that only a small proportion of applicants actually have a single honours English degree anyway. Also offered a couple of routes through the no certificate situation. It was my first choice anyway.

Which leaves me waiting for one reply from the John Cass school. I'd be happier if they changed their bloody name though. I'll have to dredge up another school from somewhere to make up the three. Travel's going to be a real problem if it's not East London/Essex borders though.
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Well sounds potentially hopeful on the UEL front at least. Just keep going, annoying shit always happens with stuff like this. Bloody minded persistence will get you there.
 
My second (academic) reference took 3 days to respond (and finally did at 9pm on Sunday) so had a bit of a squeaky bum weekend (I'm terrible at waiting) but all submitted now. Every admissions person I spoke to was fine about my qualifications and lost certificates but at the end my three choices were limited to the three places with places left that I could conceivably travel to. Goldsmiths would actually be a bit of a stretch but we'll see. It's not much further than my last place of work so would depend where their placements were. The Get Into Teaching people finally assigned me an adviser who managed to wake me up from my Friday afternoon nap so I'm sure I made a terrible impression there but he is supposed to be sending me some stuff about interviews. So I'm going to crack on with preparing for interviews and taking my daughter's English classes back over from her mum.
 
maomao said:
Application form completed with massive thanks to the untaggable poster above. There's a 4,000 character limit on the personal statement but only about enough room in the box for 3,500 characters which meant it was an exercise in brevity more than anything else.
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Yeah this fucked me up too. I wrote a fabulous 3,998 word statement then found out it had the right number of words but too many lines so I had to butcher it.

It worked though, so fuck it. If there's a course with space on it at this time of the year they'll probably snap you up as long as you're not obviously a weirdo.
 
Actually thinking about it, for me it wasn't the location of the Uni (Bangor) but the location of the placements that had the real.impact traveling wise. We were barely at Uni (couple of weeks at the beginning, then the odd spell where I just stayed in a BnB. Obviously in London it'll be different to North Wales, it's your placement schools you'll be traveling back and forth to regularly not the Uni.
 
chilango said:
Actually thinking about it, for me it wasn't the location of the Uni (Bangor) but the location of the placements that had the real.impact traveling wise. We were barely at Uni (couple of weeks at the beginning, then the odd spell where I just stayed in a BnB. Obviously in London it'll be different to North Wales, it's your placement schools you'll be traveling back and forth to regularly not the Uni.
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Yeah, the uni isn't really an issue. One of my friends on our PGCE at UEL had a placement in Southend! She eventually had to get money from the hardship fund for her train fares. One of my placements was so far that to get there for their start time I'd have had to get childcare from 5:30am, which doesn't exist, but I was able to negotiate missing the hour-long meeting they had every morning and only start at actual form time except Mondays. (Both of us got our second placements practically on our doorsteps to make up for it).

Each placement is only for a few months, so it's sort of bearable. It's definitely worth bearing in mind that you might need to travel some distance, though.
 
Well I've had one rejection from the place I just added to fill the gap and not a peep out of the other two. Meanwhile have applied for two TA jobs. One at my daughter's (primary) school which would be nice. I've stated my intention to train as a teacher in both applications.

It is a bloody pain in the arse repeatedly filling in bespoke application forms when you're 46 and have had a million different jobs. Normally I skip a few but I get the impression that schools really want every month of my lfe accounted for.
 
What schools love is someone with a huge skills set that can be used in a number of ways and ten times over. At my school a Ta can be found coaching the choir, editing the weekly news letter, supporting the IT technician, etc. Blood out of a stone and all that.
 
nagapie said:
What subject, topic, ability, how long? I can maybe help, year 7 are my main people.
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None specified though I should assume English. It's a plan to discuss they want rather than an example class. I've been going through KS3 English syllabus (and reading list, I'm rereading Eagle of the Ninth lol) so it shouldn't be tooo hard but may I PM you at some point to have a quick look at a plan or if I get stuck?
 
maomao said:
None specified though I should assume English. It's a plan to discuss they want rather than an example class. I've been going through KS3 English syllabus (and reading list, I'm rereading Eagle of the Ninth lol) so it shouldn't be tooo hard but may I PM you at some point to have a quick look at a plan or if I get stuck?
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Sure. Although I teach all Sen classes now, I started off as an English teacher and keep close contact with our English department.
 
Mation said:
Is this any use, maomao? All sorts of teaching related jobs coming up in Tower Hamlets.

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I saw your post on the other thread already. Thanks. I will leave contacting them till after my interview on 17th though cause I need to get myself together for that.
 
maomao said:
None specified though I should assume English. It's a plan to discuss they want rather than an example class. I've been going through KS3 English syllabus (and reading list, I'm rereading Eagle of the Ninth lol) so it shouldn't be tooo hard but may I PM you at some point to have a quick look at a plan or if I get stuck?
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I could give a second opinion too. :) I've been out of secondary English teaching since 2012 or so, but one thing I used to be good at was lesson plans. (And I went to UEL for my PGCE).
 
scifisam said:
I could give a second opinion too. :) I've been out of secondary English teaching since 2012 or so, but one thing I used to be good at was lesson plans. (And I went to UEL for my PGCE).
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Thanks. I may PM you for your advice during the week.
 
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