What would year 8s want to know?

[Tundra]

I have been given a school placement. Yay! It's in a highschool. Which I was not expecting. But it's cool.
We have to do a 'photo story' that the mentor teacher will show to the students before we arrive. It's a slideshow presentation plus voice over. I'd worked out mine in my head, aimed at primary school kids. Now I have to rethink, because I'd sound like an idiot if I used what i had intended. (I like to read. Here's my great new book case! This is my dog. His name is Oscar. He only has three legs etc).

What would year 8s and 9s want to know about a student teacher? That's still professional to tell them.

[darragh]

so are you just trying to tell them about your background or something, maybe i'm totally off the point but i would suggest telling them why you were motivated to be where you are today, and maybe give a little talk on the type of motivation in their lives.

[Tundra]

Yes, a background about myself. Involving pictures of myself and the things I care about.

[darragh]

Wow, that would be nerveracking in front of year 8 students. I'm sure you'll come up with something good though, you seem like a very creative person to me.

[Tundra]

I'm not actually there when this is shown, (it's all a slideshow/audio on disc) but I just don't want to be eaten alive when I show up a few weeks later!
Maybe I should be like "I am a bit of a costume addict. Here I am, dressed as a ninja. And another time, dressed as a pirate." :P

[darragh]

Yeah, sounds cool, but i don't know if they would respect that. that age can be very cruel. Are you going to be the only person submitting a disc, or are there more teachers, sort of competing for the class?

[Tundra]

I'm not sure. There's about 5 of us goign to the same school but I doubt that all the classes we're in will see all of our videos, and it's not like the PE student teachers videos will be shown in English class. *sigh*
I was so prepared to do it for the 9 year olds!

[darragh]

it's hard to know where the line ends at professional and crosses over onto personal.
maybe you should put some clips of some of your interests, with you doing them to the soundtrack of some hip new music video.

[Tundra]

Unfortunately it has to be me narrating apparently. :(

[AXJ]

Is year 8 there mostly 13-14 year olds?

[Tundra]

Yes

[KeinesV]

When I was a year 8, I really didn't give a shit about my teachers in any context outside of how they ran a classroom, with the possible exception of a particular engish teacher who unknowingly enjoyed the dubious honor of being the subject of numerous and vivid sexual fantasies. I consider myself as having been a typical example of a year 8, so I would suggest you make it brief and trivial.

[Tundra]

Yeah. I just don't want to fail that aspect of *my* course.

[Tundra]

There's so much conflict about this!! I *have* to do this, and the demo one had things about travel and her family and pets and husband and hobbies. However people I talk to online are like 'DONT TELL THEM ANYTHING PERSONALLL!!!'

Though it turns out I *might* be going to a primary school so at least then I can be all simplistic.

[Dwiesel McAllister]

Hey, why don't you tell them about your trip to Mildura?

[Tundra]

*dances* I'm going to a primary school. This makes it easier!
And yeah I could tell them about my trip to mildura...

[Theo]

my advice is now irrelevant, but i was going to say that the personal stuff was generally quite interesting when it came to teachers. Being reminded that they were actually human and didn't just live in the school was good, although finding out that you had something in common was a little scary

[caraez]

I second Theo, and add that you could talk about why you chose to be a teacher and what you hope to learn from students, past students that stand out, how you relate to students, etc. Makes them feel important.

[Tundra]

Past students that stand out is a little impossible as this is my first ever class experience as any sort of teacher. But thanks! Hopefully the whole staffroom didn't laugh at my video. :P