I first decided I wanted to be a teacher when I was in primary school. My primary one and two teacher, Mrs Henderson, made me feel so comfortable for being such a shy and quiet child. I would get upset and she would sit me on her lap and pull a tissue out of her sleeve for me. From then, I have always wanted to work with children and have the positive effect that Mrs Henderson had on me.
Through secondary school, I did work experience placement in a primary school in my area. I was put into a primary one class where i worked with groups of children at a time through different activities such as maths, literacy and arts and crafts. This made me want to continue working with children in a school setting.
After school, I went to college to study Early Education and Childcare. I really enjoyed this and my placement was a great experience as I was in a primary school instead of a nursery. I became very close to my mentor and she gave me a deep insight into all the work and planning she did in her job. I was given so many opportunities to learn and after seeing the work she put into the class made me sure that I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
Since I had completed my college course, I have worked in a nursery for the past year. In previous jobs I would always dread going to work in the morning, however I love going to work, seeing the children and working closely with the other staff. When I started I was in the preschool room, working with children aged three to five. I got so much enjoyment out of planning activities and linking them to the curriculum. I was then asked to move into the baby room, I liked being in this room however I preferred working with the children who were older and had stronger communication skills. This made me want to study Primary Education more.
Hello Hope,
It is interesting that you mentioned positive experiences from school, I can also recall my primary 2 teacher ‘several years’ later and in years to come you will be part of another child’s school journey!
There is a book in the library: Elfer, P., Goldschmied, E., & Selleck, D. (2012). Key persons in the early years : Building relationships for quality provision in early years settings and primary schools (2nd editon. ed.). Abingdon: Routledge which looks at the importance of relationships in schools; you might be interested in this to develop your understanding about why relationships are so important.