The problem with that moment is it is so strong it often obscures all the groundwork that made it possible in the first place. School is ultimately what they are training for, so it is naturally when they feel the magical ‘Aha!’ moment. Of course they do, that is when they put their learning into practice, that is when they are in the situation they are aiming to work in. So when do the ‘Aha!’ moments of student teachers happen? In school. The moment when a series of learning events fall into place and success is finally achieved is a magical one, which propels many people to follow a career in teaching after they see it in a young person. Ask any teacher why they do it and they often start talking about the ‘Aha!’ moments, the moments when learners and they themselves finally get something they have been working on. In a conversation with my colleague Steve Caldock I came across a possible reason why. I believe that it is hugely important, and I will explore why in a later post, but I am very interested in why it is that many teachers see the practical training as so much more important than the wider education. It is not universal, but not at all unusual, to hear teachers saying they learnt far more in the classroom than in their time in University, that trainee teachers should spend more time in school, or even that academic study for teachers is a waste of time. As someone who is responsible for some of the University element of Initial Teacher Education, it troubles me immensely that so many teachers seem to have very little respect for the University element of the courses they studied.
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