Age 19. I’ve just spent 15 minutes with my hands glued to the table during a technology class. Luckily I managed to get myself unstuck before anyone else noticed.
I want to become a teacher because I used to do swimming training with children and got the biggest kick out of seeing them make progress.
The most exciting thing that’s happened to me so far is being thanked by a Primary 5 girl after she’d gone out of her way to disrupt every one of my classes during my recent placement. I felt it was a real breakthrough right at the end.
But I’m really not looking forward to the assignment work: I’ve got to hand in straight after my next teaching practice.
I don’t understand the current “textbook” approach to bullying, which seems to focus more on the feelings of the child doing the bullying, rather than the child who has been bullied. It doesn’t seem fair.
I hope I’ll be the kind of teacher who will use lots of art and music to bring subjects to life. And when I have to be firm, I want the children to understand why, so that they won’t feel they’ve been unfairly treated.
The Scottish education system is one I really support. I’m looking forward to being a part of it!
Douglas Mathewson is in his second year of a BEd Primary (Hons) at the University of Aberdeen
