What it's like to be a teacher

Several months into her role as a primary school teacher, we catch up with Sarah Wright, who completed her teacher training with LJMU, to find out what her first year has been like.

Sarah Wright, a Year 1 primary school teacher, can still vividly recall her first day in front of her new class.

“I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement, but mostly excitement! The nerves soon passed once I welcomed in my new class and we had a great first week getting to know each other and settled into the new routine together.”

The months have passed but the excitement is still fresh for Sarah. Teaching Year 1 has been an amazing experience for her.

“I love teaching Year 1 as they are very enthusiastic about learning, they absorb information and they make teaching very fun! You are introducing so many new topics and it’s a very important year as the teaching and learning in Year 1 lays the foundation for their future learning.”

The prospect of interacting with children and being part of their development were just some of the reasons Sarah was drawn to a teaching career.

“I wanted to get into teaching because I enjoy the challenge and the rewards it offers. I enjoy spending time with children and I love how every day is completely different.”

"When you see a child progress, develop confidence in their ability and are proud of their achievements – this is the most rewarding aspect of teaching.”

Sarah has a knack for turning almost anything into a lesson – even those unfortunate but inevitable slip-ups.

“I have made mistakes in front of my class and I think it’s important that you share them, so that they know it’s okay to make mistakes – we all do! I use it as a teaching point. For example, if I have written the wrong word I will talk about how writing is a process and that we can edit our work to improve it and check that it makes sense. If I write the wrong number for maths we talk about how it is important to always double check your work as it is easy to make a small error.”

Take note of this useful advice, future teachers. Looking back on her time as a teacher trainee, there are plenty of other tips Sarah would pass on to up-and-coming teachers. She advises others to: “stay organised, look after yourself – don’t sacrifice too much sleep to get work done and keep your social life going – and be a team player, talk to other teachers about ideas, share resources and communicate any concerns.”

Sarah is glad she took part in the teacher training programme at LJMU as it developed her practical skills and gave her opportunities to work with experienced teachers through her placement. If you’ve been considering teaching as a career, why not find out how LJMU can help you on your way?

We first met with Sarah when she was a taking part in the teacher training programme at LJMU. Watch her and some of the other teacher trainees talking about their experiences.