University of Huddersfield: Teacher Training Information

Yesterday I went along to an information session about post graduate teaching courses at the University of Huddersfield where I spoke to one of the tutors that taught on the Lifelong Learning qualification.

As I was unsure about what sort of age group I would potentially like to teach in the future, the Lifelong Learning sector is less restrictive in that sense. It focuses on learners that are 16+, which would give me more flexibility in terms of when and where I could work, as opposed to being restricted to 9-5 hours in a secondary school for example. 

The Course

The course itself is a Certificate in Education (CertEd) pre-service which takes place over 1 year full time, or two years part time for those already in a teaching role (which wouldn't apply to me). 

I explained to the tutor, Gwyneth that I was interested in leading art workshops for all ages which could include taking part in community projects, visiting schools and other institutions. She agreed that this would be a suitable qualification for me if I was interested in a teaching role, as it is a very practical and hands on based course. This being that placements are introduced very early on in the course, and are run intensively throughout with continuous assessment.

Thoughts

I came away from the session with my head spinning all over the place. Obviously this is something that I am really interested in, but I don't know when the best time to commit to a course like this would be. I don't want to be one of those teachers that come fresh out of uni with no life experience, and are just regurgitating their lives in education, back into education. But on the other hand, it depends what I am doing with my illustrative practice which is of course the priority. 

Luckily Gwyneth said that they take applications until a few weeks before the start date of the course, which would be next September which is good because I have plenty of time to decide whether it is something I would like to pursue straight after I graduate. As well, it is always something that I could come back to after a productive and enriching period of time working in the industry itself. 

So doing a teaching qualification is definitely something to consider in the future, but for now my creative practice is something that I am going to place a higher emphasis on rather than fretting about what time in my life I will be ready to preach about art.