1 Month.
4 weeks.
28 days.
Time is passing quicker with each passing day. One specific date is highlighted in my calendar as having great significance and it is coming closer.
12th of March 2018.
Today, specifically, marks a month until I will be working in a school in Stuttgart, Germany.
Before this, however, we still have assignments that need to be completed for our semester 2 modules. Amongst the usual productive chaos of university we’ve had to organise our own professional placement in second year as part of a module called Learning from Life.
I write this post to reflect upon the process of sourcing my placement and to outline how I have developed even before going on the placement in terms of bringing to fruition a real finalised version of a planned 8-week placement in Deutschland! This is to coincide with section 1 of the Learning from Life portfolio, as we must record the progression of our planning and development of the placement. The rest of the content for section 1 can be found under the learning from life tag: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/ajmeportfolio/category/lfl/.
From the offset I knew that I wanted to go to Germany when we were briefed about the possible prospects of students going abroad for their Learning from Life placements. This is due to a long-serving passion I have had for both the country and its language (along with the rich culture that intertwines the two and is further solidified by the diversity amongst the population) that stemmed from my work as a UK-German Youth Ambassador. Also, studying the language at Advanced Higher and as an elective at the university pushed me to new limits in terms of learning another language. However, I always knew that I could never truly comprehend the entire language and the culture of the country unless I was exposed to it within its natural environment.
Learning from Life’s core purpose within the course is for us, as future practitioners, to gain new insight and skills within an avenue out with the environment of a Scottish primary school. Doing so will broaden our experiences in life so that we can then utilise our new-found knowledge and skills when we return to a familiar classroom setting. I knew that I wanted to improve my German and wanted to go well beyond my limits in terms of my comfort zone.
Thus, Germany was chosen.
I first contacted previous contacts I had in Germany, however, they were unable to source the type of placement I was looking for. Luckily, the main lecturer and head of the placement module had contacts with an international school in Stuttgart and was able to organise the placement. See my proposal, cover letter and more for further details surrounding the planning behind my Learning from Life placement.
Emails… Skype Interview… Paperwork… Applications… Accommodations… Before I knew it, the process was heading towards completion in terms of the planning that was necessary to secure my place at the school. A lot of hard work has went into being able to work within ISS.
Time itself is a complex thing. It feels as though it was yesterday I was uttering the words, “I hope to go to Germany next year for my placement.”
Now it’s almost here…
I wil be using my ePortfolio as my Learning from Life as my folder, as it will be easily accessible to be able to type up reflections of my work when I arrive.
