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SEMESTER 2 (S2): Meta-Reflection (600 words)

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Semester two of first year went even quicker than I could have imagined. I had great intentions of being on top of everything, if not ahead of where I needed to be. However, my first reflection more or less set the tone for the rest of my semester to come. I have had to learn that things don’t always go to plan, life happens and there’s just not much you can do about it sometimes. I do however think that I have learned a lot from this year and will utilise my experience of this year going forward into second year.   I was extremely nervous starting semester two with the thought of school placement and the Gaeltacht ahead of me. I was nervous that I wouldn’t enjoy placement and that my class would be difficult to handle. As for the Gaeltacht, I desperately want to improve my Irish but it is a source of severe anxiety for me as a mature student and one of the reasons I didn’t apply for teaching back when I was in school. For these reasons, I wanted to get ahead of my work so that ...
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S2: Reflection 10 - (Reflective Tutorial)

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Teaching & Learning in the Primary School  This reflection is an extension of my last. This time, however, the focus is on the role the teacher when forming relationships with parents. This is an important relationship but sometimes challenging. I have seen from working with my cooperating teacher on SP and from friends who are teachers how reliant parents can become on you as a figure in their child’s life and often divulge very private and sensitive information with you. The gravity of this role really resonated with me and the responsibility of knowing how best to appropriately deal with situations and seek external advice when needed.
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Reflection 9 - (Reflective Tutorial)

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Teaching & Learning in the Primary School In our reflective tutorial today we discussed the role of the teacher in the classroom. What struck me was the diversity of the role and the closeness in nature of the relationship between that of the student and teacher. Roles such as educator, authoritative figure etc. were   some of the more obvious roles mentioned, however, it surprised how quickly the more ‘personal’ teacher roles were highlighted; and more significantly the weight that these roles carried or were regarded by us e.g. reliable, trustworthy, a friend, and sometimes in the case of junior classes a ‘mother’ role is adapted by the teacher.
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S2: Reflection 8 - (Coursework)

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In Special Inclusive Education (SIE) we are learning about SEN. On the topic of Social, Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) I was struck by the internalisation and externalisation of behaviours. I always thought it was just a stereotype that males were more prone to   reacting externally than females internally however it is proven. Children that internalise frequently go unnoticed in the classroom and depression more often manifests as irritability as opposed to stereotypical gloom and sadness. Symptoms of internalisation is an area that I have a particular interest in and as a future teacher it is vital to have this information. Balfe, T. (2019): Special Education Department, St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra, D9 - Internalising BESD
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S2: Reflection 7 - (School Placement)

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I taught my first lesson on placement, I chose Gaeilge because it is the subject I am most anxious to teach. I wanted to get as much practice as possible before visits from placement tutors begin. It went better than I intended, however, the hours that went into my planning were ridiculous. I was upset and frustrated with myself for how long I spent because I have so much other work to do. I find it quite hard to do something when I don’t know if I am doing it correctly. It is trial and error so all I hope I get more efficient with time.
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S2: Reflection 6 - (Reflective Tutorial)

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Perspectives on the Lives of Children & Teachers  In our tutorial today we watched a video about a school called Summerhill in the UK founded by A.S. Neill in the 1920’s. He set up the school on the basis that children have complete freedom. He wrote “All crimes, all hatreds, all wars can be reduced to unhappiness”. The school still stands today, it provides a wide range of subjects however there is no compulsion for the pupils to attend. This really resonated with me as I have been learning about the importance and development of self-regulation in my Assessment module. Self-Regulation builds confidence, discipline and tolerance. It is a huge step to give total freedom to children but it did make me wonder, how effective is ‘partial’ freedom? Does it undermine children - ‘we trust you, but only a little bit’. Is this building them up or holding them back?
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S2: Reflection 5 - (Reflective Tutorial)

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Life in Classrooms for Children & Teachers  In regard to my reflection tutorial today, I watched a video from Kingston Park Primary in Newcastle. They really highlight the significance of the language that we use as adults in schools and the importance of differentiating without drawing attention to it i.e. not identifying or separating students according to needs or referring to special needs classes, as all children are special. I think this is really important because when I was in school, if I had have been told I needed to go to the resource room, I would have thought there was something ‘wrong’ with me and that I wasn’t as clever as everyone else. Video: Differentiation in the prmary school https://loop.dcu.ie/mod/resource/view.php?id=863432&redirect=1
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