I believe teachers are given the opportunity to set the foundations of a prosperous future, not only for individual children but for our society as a whole. Although this is a huge responsibility, I also believe that through the education of children, we are able to deliver children the opportunity to find a future which they enjoy, and this is a responsibility which is very much worth working towards. Overcoming the hardships involved in working with young people in such a transitional and dynamic time of their lives will be a challenge, but I believe the reward of seeing children flourish is more than worth the effort and dedication required.

I have chosen this course in particular as it is a vital step in my path towards teaching, and one which can equip me not only with the skills required to teach, but with the skills required to engage pupils in subjects which they require to form the basis of their education [this will be extended once I work out if I am doing a subject joint with education/which subject]. I am extremely interested in the sociological aspect of this course, as it is fundamental, in my opinion, that we understand the social issues surrounding childhood, e.g. the creation of childhood as a concept or racism in education, if we are to more adequately raise children in a society based in equality.


I have a real passion for ensuring that children are given an opportunity to learn through real and meaningful first hand experiences that are relevant to their interests and their needs. On all of my teaching placements I have built strong relationships with my pupils by taking time to talk to them, discover what interests them and is important to them and I have then used that information to help them in their learning by making lessons relevant and purposeful. For example, I was on placement with a Year 5/6 class when the last Harry Potter book was released. The buzz of excitement in my class over this new instalment was electric and so I channelled the children's energy into a creative writing session. I came into school dressed as one of the characters from the books (Professor McGonagall), we looked at the film trailers from the films and we listened to the theme music as we recapped on Harry Potter's life so far. I then gave the children a choice of writing tasks with the promise that we would share our work once it was complete dressed in wizard regalia and to the accompaniment of music from the film. Every single child in that class was on task for the whole of the extended session and they produced some wonderful pieces of writing. This is a lesson I am very proud of and I believe that it shows my ability to connect with my pupils and to use their interests to enable them to enjoy and achieve in the classroom. Many of the children chose to complete a prediction task, on the following Monday almost every child in that class arrived with the new Harry Potter book in their hands. I had stayed up most of the weekend reading the book to be sure that if any of the children had managed to finish it I would be able to discuss it with them. This is a lesson that will stay with me for a long time. My aim through my teaching is to ensure that every child leaves my classroom with a buzz of excitement about their learning, which stays with them on their journey home and sticks in their memory. With this lesson that was achieved.