Why Schools Should Take On Trainees
Teaching is one of the most influential professions as teachers play an integral role in shaping young people’s lives. However, the job comes with significant responsibility and often a heavy workload which can result in teachers burn out. That’s where we can help.
We have many passionate young people coming through our School program who have hopes and dreams of one-day becoming teachers. They bring a range of fresh ideas, diverse skills and a passion for the teaching profession.
Now is the time to seize the opportunity and take on a trainee at your school, here are 5 reasons why.
- THEY BRING A DIVERSE SKILL SET
Trainees can bring their own set of diverse skills to your school and can help contribute to the curriculum in exciting ways.
In today’s changing world it might be time to consider introducing new and exciting projects to make the curriculum more interesting and relevant and this is where the skills and knowledge trainees already have can be incredibly valuable.
Some of our trainees have used their skills to assist the school in developing new projects in IT, Energy and Sustainability and even helped to develop 3D printers.
- OFFER A FRESH NEW PERSPECTIVE
Creativity is paramount in schools to keep learning engaging. Trainees collaborate with teachers and school leaders and can offer new and creative ideas and ways to help improve departments and even teaching methods and strategies. Trainees come on board with fresh new eyes and straight from high school, so their input is useful and could make teachers see things from a different perspective.
- REJUVENATE TEACHER
Teaching can be a complex and tiresome profession and it can be easy to fall into a routine just to get by. As aforementioned, burnout can see teachers losing total motivation for the profession. Having an eager and enthusiastic trainee could reignite that love for teaching and spark that motivation that may have fizzled.
Also, mentoring a trainee can not only give teachers energy and enthusiasm but it can be rewarding as teachers and staff learn from the trainee just as much as the trainee learns from them.
- ALLOWS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE LEARNING
Trainees are a massive support to the school because they take on administrative tasks and smaller projects which frees up time for teachers allowing them to focus on more one on one learning with the students.
Host supervisor at Lumen Christi Catholic College and Head of the Schools Sports department, Mark Thompson, said this about his PE trainee Zac, “Unfortunately, teaching is not just about the face-to-face practice there is a lot of preparation, organising and administrative work that goes on behind the scenes. Zac takes an integral role in ensuring these duties are met and provides insightful suggestions along the way. Having a trainee on board changes the dynamics, teaching pedagogies and delivery of content ensuring we are engaging our students in a 21st-century curriculum.”
- TRAINEES ARE ADAPTABLE
Trainees can adapt to any situation and this has been proven through the last few months during the COVID-19 pandemic as our current trainees adapted well to working remotely, even some undergoing a complete change of role.
Tasmanian trainee, Taylor Rand, who is completing her traineeship with Hellyer College, went from being a Gym assistant trainee to choreographing the school musical online, she said, “After my role was impacted by the COVID-19 situation, the school supported me by giving me a new role, working on the school musical. I feel I adapted really well to the change and had no issues whatsoever; I was grateful the school offered me this role and did my best to thrive in the new environment.”
