Placement Rundown...

As I've been out in Thailand for coming up to twelve weeks now, I thought it was about time that I finally filled you in on my placement at BIS and life at the school! It's been a crazy few months, jam packed with change and new experiences; new country, new job, new people, new ways of life...; but I'm learning lots and really enjoying getting to grips with an entirely new culture and workplace. The aim of carrying out this placement year was to gain some experience within a school setting, and to discover whether a teaching career is something that I would like to pursue post-uni. I decided to opt for a placement abroad as I really wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone, and just see where it took me really! So, that's my nice little introduction for you, I hope you enjoy the latest edition of my ramblings!

After reaching the end of quarantine and finding myself back out in the real world (in a rather dazed and disoriented state), I caught my flight from Bangkok to Phuket that same day, and soon found myself pulling up outside the school. Unfortunately, as I arrived in the dark, I saw very little of my surroundings while being shown to my new accommodation that evening, which definitely didn't help my slightly confused state... It's safe to say that my first night at the school was a total blur, and I was so exhausted from spending the day readjusting to being a normal human again (rather than being confined by the four walls of my hotel room), that I practically passed out as soon as I stepped through the door!

Luckily, I woke up the next morning with the sun shining and a fresh sense of ambition as I headed into my first day of work. Due to the struggle of getting out to Thailand and the two week quarantine period, I had missed my ten-day induction period that was supposed to take place before the start of term, and I had arrived half way through the second week, so it really was a case of being thrown in at the deep end! Thankfully, everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming, and so made my start at the school as easy as it possibly could be. Obviously there was a lot of new information to take in, but I was able to spend the first few days simply getting to grips with the school and observing my lessons, so I didn't feel at all out of my depth.

Before I get started properly, I should probably talk about the school itself for a bit! BIS is a co-educational, day and boarding school for children aged 2-18 (you bet I stole that from the website). Being an international School, there are students and staff of over sixty different nationalities, so totally different to your average school back at home. However, BIS is a British school, and follows the English curriculum - so it's basically the equivalent of a private school in the UK, just with a few added extras. It's actually very similar to Clayesmore, the school that I went to, but rather than completing A Levels, they follow the International Baccalaureate (IB). So when I'm assisting with year twelve and thirteen lessons, I'm teaching IB rather than A Level. IB is the same as A Levels in lots of ways, however, in my opinion it is far more intense. They have to study a range of different subjects (from maths to modern languages) and complete extras such as Theory of Knowledge and volunteering. It took me a while to wrap my head around the complexity of IB, particularly in psychology, where the content is sometimes at the same level as the units I study at uni!

The campus here is absolutely beautiful and pretty impressive with its 44 acres of pristinely kept grounds (I'm actually not being paid to write this). The main building is one of the major architectural feature in Phuket, and sits in front of an unreal jungle backdrop - so it's a pretty cool place to work! BIS is home to various sports academies, and sport is at the forefront of the school, so there is also just about every sports facility you can imagine. From two swimming pools and a golf course, to football pitches, basketball courts and a tennis academy - there's even a trapeze for the circus academy! I actually live on campus, in a boarding house that is home to a fair few of the international staff (luckily our house is separate to the students' boarding houses). So, although it's been a bit strange living at school (I feel like I'm back at boarding school again), and I'll admit that it can feel slightly claustrophobic living where you work, I could certainly think of much worse places to live! Now, onto what I actually get up to all day...

I should quickly mention that I am the first 'academic' intern that the school has ever had, with all interns in previous years belonging to the PE department, and occasionally music and drama. So, as well as my job being new to me, it was also all quite new to the school as well! This has actually turned out to be great for me; it has meant that I have had a huge amount of flexibility as to where I work within the school, and what my job entails. This has been a real blessing for me, considering that I wasn't 100% sure of what I would like to specialise in, having never worked in a school before. When I first started at the school, I had been placed as an intern in the art, English and psychology departments. However, after spending the first couple of weeks on that timetable, I soon realised that, since I haven't done art since A Level and do not have an interest in pursuing it as a teaching career, my time could probably be spent better elsewhere. I have always been hugely interested in gaining some experience in primary teaching, so asked whether I could switch my hours from art to working in the primary school as a teaching assistant. This was quickly given the green light, and I have spent all of my time since then working in the English and psychology departments (with the IB students - year 12 & 13), as well as in the primary school. I am also currently helping out with two hours a week of 'Theory of Knowledge' (TOK) with the year 13s, which involves reflecting on the nature of knowledge, and how we know what we claim to know.

During my eight hours a week of assisting with year twelve English and Psychology lessons, I am currently working alongside the head of department in both faculties, and my role is to support the teacher with the deliverance of each lesson. This can involve me assisting the students with group discussion and individual or group work, or actually teaching the lesson/part of the lesson itself. Furthermore, due to the current situation with Covid, it has meant that quite a large quantity of students have not been able to return to the school from their home countries, so there are a portion of students in each class who are currently 'online learners'. In Psychology particularly, a part of my role is to work with the teacher to ensure that the online learners are also being able to engage fully in the lesson. At the moment, the online learners are participating in the lessons through Google Meet, so that they can watch and hear the whole lesson. They also take part in all of the in-class activities and discussion, and so it's important that their responses and comments are being monitored constantly. It's a really bizarre situation to be in, and I really do feel for the online learners and teachers alike, as it's really not an easy task. There has been one occasion in English (where there is just one online learner at the moment), where we spontaneously decided to go outside and read through Antigone (the play we are studying) in the amphitheatre; however, on returning to the classroom, we suddenly heard a voice coming through the speakers saying, "Miss, you forgot about me!". As it turns out, we had all totally forgotten about the student on the Google Meet call, and he'd just been sat there wondering where we'd all gone! Luckily he saw the funny side of it all and wasn't too offended... I have already learnt a huge amount from participating in the IB English and Psychology teaching; whether it has been through observing the teachers and gaining insight into their teaching methods and techniques, or through working directly with the students, and building my understanding of the ways through which they learn best. Being able to give presentations and take lessons independently has been totally invaluable experience too, as it is allowing me to put all of the knowledge and skills I have already acquired into practice, and work at developing my teaching style and confidence.

As well as working with the year twelves in English and psychology, I am also helping out with two hours of year thirteen Theory of Knowledge (TOK) every week. As I mentioned previously, this is one of the extra requirements that all students must complete in order to pass the IB. TOK is largely concerned with knowledge, and how we acquire it - so it's a fairly philosophical subject. This is great for me as there are a fair few philosophical units, including ones focused on epistemology (the theory of knowledge), involved in my studies back at uni. For the year thirteens, their job this year is to select one of six questions given by the IB and write an essay discussing their chosen question. I was surprised at the complexity of the set questions, some examples being; 'Avoiding bias seems a commendable goal, but this fails to recognise the positive role that bias can play in the pursuit of knowledge. Discuss this statement', and 'Labels are a necessity in the organisation of knowledge, but they also constrain our understanding. Discuss this statement'. Looking back to when I was seventeen and at the beginning of my final year of school, I think that questions such as those would have totally overwhelmed me, so I really do have a lot of respect for the students doing IB, as this is just an extra requirement - it isn't even one of their core subjects! My role is to help the students in any way I can, whether this is opening up discussion, finding resources that might help them gain a deeper understanding of their chosen topic, or challenging their viewpoints to help them dig deeper, as well as assisting them with the actual planning and writing of their essays. It's a really interesting subject, and I have learnt a huge amount from it already. So as well as helping me gain teaching and mentoring experience, it's actually helping me with my own studies too!

Working in the primary school is a different ball game altogether, but I am absolutely loving it and have discovered that it is probably the area of teaching that I would look to go into (should I choose to pursue a career in teaching post-uni). I began my time in the primary school by working with all of the different year groups in Key Stage Two (year 3, 4, 5 & 6). The idea behind this was to give me a taste of what it is like teaching each different year groups, so that I could decide which age group I would like to work with on a more permanent basis. After spending two weeks on that timetable, I eventually settled on year three (seven year olds) as my preferred year group, and so I now spend nine hours a week working with three different year three classes. At the moment, my role in those classes is similar to that of a teaching assistant. I will either support the teacher in the lesson; checking work, helping children who need extra assistance, or overseeing activities. But I also take small groups/individuals out of lessons to work with them on a more individual basis. Those children tend to be the ones who are struggling with a particular topic, or need extra assistance all round. For example, each week the year three students spend two lessons on spelling, and during those lessons, I take the children who need extra help out of the classroom to carry out specialised individual activities so that they can develop their skills. As BIS is an international school, for a lot of the children English isn't their first language, so literacy is one of the areas where they need more assistance. I'm finding it so rewarding working with those children, as you can really see their progress, even if it's simply a half an hour guided reading session or a quick ten-minute spelling activity.

Anyone who knows me well, will also find it slightly hilarious to know that I also spend a lot of my time in the primary school assisting with maths lessons... Maths has never been a strong point of mine (I spent a considerable amount of my primary school (and GCSE) years crying in maths lessons because I couldn't do it...), so the fact that I am now teaching it has been a strange thing to get used to! Luckily, I can handle teaching year three maths, and am even (shock horror) rather enjoying it (!?). However, my biggest struggle is that when the children first come in in the morning, my job is to sit in the doorway and mark their maths homework. It's all just basic mental arithmetic; adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing...; but some of the children are onto more difficult addition and subtraction now (e.g. 273-197), and when you have to mark ten questions like that under the eagle eyes of a seven year old, anxiously watching you to see how many they've got right, the pressure does start to get to you (and may involve a fair bit of counting on my fingers under the table)... I've even had one of the boys ask me, 'Miss Rosie, why are you taking so long to mark my homework?'... Brilliant.

BIS is also super cool as they have a huge focus on student wellbeing, and from primary school upwards, they participate in wellbeing lessons every week. In the primary school, this includes everything from learning how to meditate and doing class meditations, to talking about emotions and feelings, to discussing prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Student wellbeing really is so crucial - especially at the moment - and I've always believed that it should be more widely addressed in schools, so I will definitely be taking BIS' approach to wellbeing away with me.

I think the reason that I'm enjoying primary teaching so much is that it's just so rewarding. You really are able to see the children's progress on a day-to-day basis, whether academically or non-academically, and it's a lovely feeling knowing that you've made a difference, however big or small. I also love the variance in my primary lessons, in that I get to teach and develop my skills in a real range of subjects, from maths and literacy, to science and wellbeing, but also in the sense that every child is totally different. It's so interesting getting to know such a variety of students, and uncovering their individual personalities and backgrounds. They're all completely adorable, and always greet me (whether its in the lunch hall, corridor, or when I come into the classroom) with a "Hi Miss Rosie!!!!" or "Yay, Miss Rosie's here!!", which is definitely a key difference between them and my IB students! Some of the comments they come out with are hilarious too, and I've had all sorts from; 'Miss Rosie, why aren't you married yet' or 'how many children do you have' (bearing in mind that I'm only 22), to 'Miss Rosie, what's 2745 x 3897' (they all seem to think that I know the answer to every question in the world, just because I'm a teacher). Although, I think my favourite has to be, 'Miss Rosie, you look so pretty every day...not that I see you every day...but I feel like you probably do' - adorable.

So, that's more or less me done for now. Apologies for such a lengthy and wordy post - I've done so much that it's pretty impossible to round it all up into a logical summary! Working at BIS has been such an incredible experience so far, and I really didn't expect to learn so much in such a short space of time - so it has really exceeded my expectations in that respect. Within the space of twelve weeks, I've already discovered that I really do have a passion for teaching, and that I would definitely choose to pursue a primary teaching career should I enter the profession. So, all in all it's been a pretty successful use of my placement year so far!