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BED150 Assignment Part B Essay Alfena Westrup

Embarking on the first day of Professional Experience I experienced my initial feelings of
excitement, apprehension and happiness. Finally the day had arrived, the day for me to
experience the classroom at a whole new level, not as an Education Assistant but as a Pre-
Service Teacher. Walking into my new surroundings with new people and experiences and I
asked myself what is the journey of teaching and learning going to be like for me?
It became clear in the first morning of my practical experience that the classroom was full of
energetic students who loved the social aspects of school, busily playing and chatting with
their friends. The class room teacher was quick to assume control of his charges in a positive
but firm manner, giving clear expectations of tasks to be completed and behaviour that was
expected. As I continued to observe throughout the week it became increasingly apparent of
the diverse range of abilities and personalities of each of the students.
The role of the class teacher was that he was responsible for delivering successful learning
outcomes to a group of diverse students from diverse cultural and socioeconomic
backgrounds. It became obvious at an early point in my experience that the role this school
played in Australian society was very diverse. Educators and schools of today teach much
more than the core learning areas, they are responsible for the education of our children as
well as being responsible for their health and social well-being.
As I entered my second week of professional placement I embarked on a journey where
learning was as diverse as the cultures that walked within these grounds that were a secondary
senior campus. As in the first week I was both happy and excited but more daunted by the
secondary experience I was about to embark on. The week I encountered as a secondary Pre-
Service teacher was both challenging and different to primary teaching.
The campus was a senior campus that consisted of only Year 11, 12 and adult students. It
adopted an adult ethos which encouraged its students to take responsibility for their own
learning. The campus provided vast learning opportunities for students studying Year 11 and
12 courses, Certificate II courses, and an Education Support and Intensive English Centre for
migrants and refugees. The role of this school as a senior campus in Australian Society is to
offer students from diverse cultural, socioeconomic and learning backgrounds a quality
education that they can achieve of their own volition. The courses offered at this campus put
students in good stead for quality employment and social opportunities for the future.
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BED150 Assignment Part B Essay Alfena Westrup

Whilst I relished the experience at a secondary level, and am very glad that I experienced
education at this level, my passion will always remain with education support students at a
primary age level. I savour the thought if developing young minds at an early age in order to
prepare them for the world ahead of adolescence, employment, and the world that is their
future.