[Mianta]

Wow not knowing sucks but that is the reality of it unfortunately. Have you got any relatives who can help you out over that time or can your partner take time off? When I had placement, either my parents would help me out or my dh would take time off, it was the only solution for us.

[3_for_me]

For my teaching placement last year Iended up flying my two yougest children interstate to my parents who cared for them for nearly four weeks because there was no childcare available in this area at all! This year I have two in school so I only need to get care for the youngest(thankfully no after hours with teaching and my kids catch a school bus so that buys me an extra half hour for travel timenso I can get them after school) but I have 13 weeks of placements spread over the year so she started fulltime childcare last week just to allow me to have her in care when needed.

[Home body]

Unpaid placements have turned me off many a course. You'd think asking for a bit of structure to the slave labour wouldn't be that difficult... When it comes to universities though, they are still very much stuck in the past and haven't seem to have adjusted to the idea of students needing to work for income or look after children...

Yep placements have also turned me off many courses too. I don't understand why placements have to be done in blocks all the time. I was looking at doing RN once and I would have had to do 14 weeks placements (in two blocks from memory) in the final year. DH would have had to take long service leave. I would've had to quit my job. Ridiculous. Why can't they do it one day/week for the whole course or something similar? Not necessarily just for nursing but for others courses too. Social work is another one with huge placements...although some uni's allow these to be done part time (if the work place agrees of course!). I wasn't prepared for that much stress in my life so I chose a different course altogether!

[jm3]

Yep placements have also turned me off many courses too. I don't understand why placements have to be done in blocks all the time. I was looking at doing RN once and I would have had to do 14 weeks placements (in two blocks from memory) in the final year. DH would have had to take long service leave. I would've had to quit my job. Ridiculous. Why can't they do it one day/week for the whole course or something similar? Not necessarily just for nursing but for others courses too. Social work is another one with huge placements...although some uni's allow these to be done part time (if the work place agrees of course!). I wasn't prepared for that much stress in my life so I chose a different course altogether!

I can understand your point of view but I think as much of a pain that it is, block placements are essential. I have two kids and work part time and am about to embark on my 10 week block placement for teaching. I imagine it's for similar reasons as nursing that block placements happen. It's about continuity of care and exposure to the (sometimes harsh) realities of nursing/teaching/whatever on a permanent basis.
I have struggled with care for 9 weeks of placements so far but the end is near

[nlman]

Unpaid placements have turned me off many a course. You'd think asking for a bit of structure to the slave labour wouldn't be that difficult

I think that's a little unfair. I have supervised many student teachers over the years and I can assure you it's not slave labour. It's actually more work for me than actually teaching the classes myself.

[jm3]

I think that's a little unfair. I have supervised many student teachers over the years and I can assure you it's not slave labour. It's actually more work for me than actually teaching the classes myself.

It's interesting that you say that. I've often wondered what teachers think about the whole thing. I personally have found that my mentor teachers have just 'sat back' during lessons while I've planned and run the whole thing including assessment. They've used the time to tidy the classroom or sort through resources but not actually done anything specific to support me during the lesson. I guess it depends on the quality of the student teacher too.

[nlman]

It's interesting that you say that. I've often wondered what teachers think about the whole thing. I personally have found that my mentor teachers have just 'sat back' during lessons while I've planned and run the whole thing including assessment. They've used the time to tidy the classroom or sort through resources but not actually done anything specific to support me during the lesson. I guess it depends on the quality of the student teacher too.

Absolutely! If they are great, it's wonderful. If they are bad, it's horrendous.

In the worst case, I had to fail a prac student once and it was terible. I had to fail him, his prac teacher had to come out and fail him and then the head of school had to come out and fail him. He had to be given time between all these steps to fix his shortcomings. The whole process took about 3 weeks. By the end my classes were virtually rioting and they were very difficult to get back.

[Saecularis Angel...]

On the block placement vs. 1 day a week thing - I have to do both as part of my course, and neither is ideal.

With the one (or more usually two) days a week your work is fragmented, you have limited contact with the workplace and it takes a lot longer to build significant relationships. It's difficult to achieve much, as you feel that just as you've got the hang of something, or are starting to make real headway, you're finishing up. I found it interesting that when students were asked to give feedback on their experiences recently many of us said we would actually like more substantial placements.

But I have to do the more "block" one next year, and like you I'm dreading the sheer logistical challenge (not to mention the workload!)

[Mianta]

Yep placements have also turned me off many courses too. I don't understand why placements have to be done in blocks all the time. I was looking at doing RN once and I would have had to do 14 weeks placements (in two blocks from memory) in the final year. DH would have had to take long service leave. I would've had to quit my job. Ridiculous. Why can't they do it one day/week for the whole course or something similar? Not necessarily just for nursing but for others courses too. Social work is another one with huge placements...although some uni's allow these to be done part time (if the work place agrees of course!). I wasn't prepared for that much stress in my life so I chose a different course altogether!

I was able to do that when I was a student nurse, however, don't forget that if there is several unis needing placements, it may be hard having loads of students at the hospitals all the time. All the students need experience but if the hospitals are overrun by them, it will be difficult for students to get decent pracs and for staff to train them properly.

[3_for_me]

Nlman that sounds like a terribly disorganised way of doing things. In my course the teacher simply sends a student at risk(of failing) form to the prac office and if it still hasnt been rectified after. The student has been guided further then the supervising teacher simply gives them a pass or fail mark. No fluffing around with specific grades, etcin my course. As far as they are concerned you are either up to the challenge or you arent, no in betweens.