Apologies for the clickbaity title! My very first blog, published on April 1st 2020, was as good a beginning to a blog by a teacher as I could have come up with. September was a fluffy, upbeat, optimistic account of that first month in the classroom, reflecting how I felt about it at the timeContinue reading “Why I won’t be adding to my series revisiting my NQT year”
Tag Archives: NQT
NQT/ECT Advice #4
How to prepare for a supply teacher I studied at university for three years to become a teacher, (‘become a teacher’ on paper at least, I wouldn’t say I’m there yet!) and not once did this topic come up in taught sessions, lectures or even in conversation – we just never thought about it! ButContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #4”
Que Sera, Sera – Hang In There
When I started writing blogs, more than twelve months ago now, I never would have suspected it would lead me here. First, that people would read it, and like to read it, too! Second, that I would make wonderful friends as a result of (quietly) shouting my thoughts into the great abyss of the internet!Continue reading “Que Sera, Sera – Hang In There”
December
It’s such a long time since I’ve written one of these blog posts, revisiting my NQT year with an eye to finding something useful to share! When I flicked through my diaries to find what I wrote in December, I wasn’t sure how any of it could become something useful to an up-and-coming NQT. ThoughContinue reading “December”
Empowering the Quiet Ones
When ’empowerment’ emerged as a theme for the #DailyWritingChallenge, I thought long and hard about it. I feel as though I have been empowered by this blog, sharing pieces of myself with every entry I post and making connections with new people who have been affected by the things I have written. But this time,Continue reading “Empowering the Quiet Ones”
Are Treadmills Over-rated?
I’m in a weird in-between stage in my life, and I don’t know if I like it. Actually, I think my family would attest to me not liking it very much, considering how much I’ve moaned about it lately! All my life, my next step has been predetermined and secure. I have always known whatContinue reading “Are Treadmills Over-rated?”
Resolve
Or, keeping calm and carrying on I have been fairly resilient for a long time. Setback after setback has tried to stop me living my dream, but here I am, the end of my NQT year a hair’s breadth from my grasp. I had rather hoped that my crusade of forced resilience might come toContinue reading “Resolve”
NQT/ECT Advice #3
What do I do in my first week? This was requested on Twitter by @miss_jwoodcock – I hope there’s something helpful in among all this! I think this is the blog I would have most wanted to read myself, as an NQT-to-be. There was so much running through my head, and despite all my placementContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #3”
NQT/ECT Advice #2
On Rejection… I wrote this in the wake of what initially felt like the end of the world: being unsuccessful in interviewing for a further maternity cover at my school, that would have allowed me to stay for another year. I was crushed because I’ve loved working at that school, with wonderful children and fantasticContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #2”
NQT/ECT Advice #1
What can I do over the summer to get ready? This was requested by @Miss_Grimmer on Twitter, and it’s actually been quite nice to reflect on what I did last summer, what I didn’t do and what I maybe should have done! I hope there’s something useful in here for soon-to-be NQT’s thinking about theContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #1”
November
While this is an addition to my NQT series, it is equally an entry for the #DailyWritingChallenge, under the heading of ‘perseverance.’ November was a long, hard slog for me: not a month I will forget in a hurry for sure. I moved out of my parents’ house, for that first taste of independence andContinue reading “November”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Trust
There have been better days than today, and I am sure that better days are coming. Today, not even a run was enough to clear my head, so I guess that leaves me waiting it out. I have to trust that it will get better. How is it even possible to feel burnt out byContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Trust”
Who Am I?
Being a teacher is something I dreamed of, something I worked hard for, something I knew would be difficult but that I persevered for regardless.
I never expected my first year to be like this.
October
This is the second in my series of NQT Year blogs, looking back and reflecting on each month. Now, October, where I tried to keep afloat, sometimes with success and other times with less than that… “[My headteacher] told me today that I’m smiling again.” Tuesday, 1st October 2019 As the leaves began to change,Continue reading “October”
September
All good stories have a solid starting point, don’t they? My NQT story began in September 2019, and thanks to my meticulous journaling habit, I can piece together a fairly accurate account of my first month as a teacher. Maybe it will be useful to someone just embarking on their NQT journey (provided, of course,Continue reading “September”
One Quiet Teacher 