A new-found respect for primary school

Update is a little later than usual, since I've had an insanely busy week this week. A while ago, I applied with for a job with 'The Tutor Trust', a charity set up in Manchester that works with local schools to try and close the attainment gap within students from different backgrounds. This week I had all my formal training- learning how to be a tutor.

This first night was an introduction- some of us, me included, had had no experience working with children before, or indeed of having that responsibility of supporting their education. The first night then, was spent going through the basics, including safeguarding- which to be honest was a lot stricter than I ever could have imagined. It was a long night all in all, but they were all very engaging speakers- and the free wine didn't hurt!

The second day was, again, another long one- I have to say I don't think I've had a six hour day since my GCSEs, which was now 3 years ago- awful when you put it like that really! This day was a lot more specific- focussing on actually creating tutoring sessions. Once more, it was slightly unnerving, with an emphasis on learning objectives, learning outcomes, kinaesthetic learning - I had no idea primary teachers put such a huge amount of planning into their lessons- primary teachers, they do the easy stuff don't they? Well, that's exactly why I chose primary tuition as opposed to secondary- I won't lie! The following training session however, proved me completely wrong. Looking through the curriculum, there are words I have never seen before, let alone understand. As for the activities- I'm not sure I appreciated just how complex times tables could actually be- no wonder I found it hard then if I can't understand it now!

So, over the past few days, I've learned so much more than simply how to be patient with children and teaching them things I assumed I already knew. I have a new-found appreciation for the education system - both the teachers and especially the pupils. Currently part way through my undergrad degree, I've looked back on primary school without a second thought, dismissing it as easy- even wishing I was back there again. But actually it turns out it was nowhere near as easy as I thought, mind you if I haven't remembered it now- does that beg the question if it was really worth it?