I got it!

Been a bit quiet again lately, this time for a reason.

I'm trained as an engineer, so under Danish law I'm allowed to teach at technical high schools. However, within two years of employment I have to start the so-called PG, Pædagogiske Grunduddannelse, a basic teacher's license.

This is a "Get it or get out" exam. If you fail, you cannot continue to teach anywhere within the Danish school system. In other words I'd have to go looking for a new job. Not an easy proposition at my age and the current economic situation. I do have a "plan B", but I'm not quite physically ready for that one. More about that at some later time

My first year at it was a very bad experience for me, mostly because the supervisor appointed to me by the ministry for education and I absolutely didn't get along. I felt like I could do nothing right, no feed-back from her but criticism, just pressure...

Result: I crashed with stress and crashed badly!

It took me half a year to get over that (and over her).

So this spring I was appointed two new supervisors and work with them has been great. They still demanded a lot from me, but they did so in a way that made me feel good, appreciated, and so on.

This friday last I then had the final supervisory visit from them. They came to watch me teach two classes, applied technology and chemistry. We had a short discussion afterwards and then I was given a quite satisfactory statement that I had passed the practical part of my teacher's license.

So now I can add 'Licensed Teacher (High School, Technology & Chemistry)' to my business cards soon (if I had any of those).

Just need to pass a written test where I write an essay on a didactic problem, but that I think I'm good at.

Been celebrating a bit, but one of the most rewarding things for me was to be able to sit at my miniSpinner yesterday for an hour or two and just relax as I spun some fine singles.

 

Comments

[Judith]

Congratulations!

[Thos]

Hej Judith,

thank you for your comment. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more stuff now. Right now I'm just happy that I still got a job for next year.

[Emma]

That's good Thos. You can relax a bit now. Well done for doing well.

[Yvonne]

Congratulations and good luck with the written part!

I still shudder at the memories of being assessed when I was training to be a teacher but wasn't nervous at all when it came to the same in my Social Worker training. I enjoy practice assessing trainees and try to make it as enjoyable as possible but a good relationship between assessor and student is vital - I'd have enjoyed working with you!

[Maureen]

Congratulations! Always great to get something knocked off the 'worry' list :)

[Thos]

Hej emma, thank you for your comment. Glad it's done. Looking forward to reducing my fibre stash.

[Thos]

Hej yvonne, thank you for your comment. Never nice being assessed, but as said, it's done!

[Thos]

Hej Maureen, thank you for your comment. Yes, it's off the list and it's staying off.

[K. M. Jones]

Congratulations! That sounds pretty exciting. Official hoop-jumping is always so much more stressful than just regular work, and especially when it's a one-shot sort of thing. Good luck in future endeavors,etc!

[Thos]

Hej K.M., thank you for your comment.

This one was very official, even had get my statement read aloud to me. Which was actually rather awkward as I hate being the focus of attention in such situations. I love being front-and-centre with stuff I do well, like knitting or spinning. I demand it from my pupils when I teach. But here, it felt wrong.

Ah well, it's done now.

[K. M. Jones]

I'm curious to know what you mean when you say that it felt wrong. It's something you've earned!

As an aside, I am greatly distracted by your reading list. Have you tried the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson? I highly recommend it.