Reflection

Sanne Vos Ta3a

Ever since I was little, I have loved to explain things to other people. And until this day I still
love doing it. At first, I wanted to become an astronaut because I was and still am obsessed
with astronomy. But when I got older, it became clear that this dream was nearly impossible
to fulfill. At that moment I decided that I wanted to become a teacher.
I have done two interviews related to this assignment, one with a secondary teacher and one
with an education assistant from a university. I contacted both of them via a phone call and
they agreed to do the interview with me. During the interviews I have learned a lot more
information about what its like working as a teacher.
In general, I have heard a lot of good things about how people love being a teacher. They love
their students and make it sound like a really fun job. Sadly, over the last couple of years I
have also heard a lot about how hard you have to work while being a teacher. So, during this
assignment I wanted to find out the good and bad sides of being a teacher to see if it is
something I see myself doing in the future. Initially. I thought that being a teacher would be
really fun although I did realize that teaching wasn’t only passing on new information to
your students. It turned out that I was right about this. Both of the teachers that I
interviewed told me that they love teaching the students in their class, however they also
told me about all the things that they have to do besides standing in front of the class. For
example, they have to check test, have meetings with other colleagues, they have to help
students outside of there lessons and they have to prepare their lessons. It turns out that
both H. Beckers and W. Adriaens, don’t like doing all the paperwork. But they also told me
that they think that its worth it, if this means that they can share knowledge with the
students in their class.
As you might have noticed, I chose to interview two experienced teachers for this
assignment instead of one. This has everything to do with the fact that I’m not 100% sure on
what level I want to teach yet. I am quite sure that I want to teach chemistry in the future.
Also, I am sure that even tough I love younger kids, I don’t want to teach on a primary school.
I would like to focus on one subject instead and teach it on a higher level. This is the main
reason why I chose to interview two people. I thought that since they both teach on a
different level, it would be nice to compare both levels and see which one makes me feel like
I will enjoy it the most.
Looking back at the interviews, I have definitely learned more about the meaning of being a
teacher. Teaching turns out to be a difficult job. And even though I think I had a pretty clear
view about what I would be like to become a teacher. I have definitely learned new things
about the reality of being a teacher. Both teachers told me that they love their job, even after
doing it for a really long time. They never get bored of it tough, there are some minus points
to being a teacher. It was stated that a certain type of skills where required in the work field.
You have to be organized, you have to try and motivate students, you must have had the
correct education, you have to be good at explaining and you have to teach the students way
more than only the theory about the specific subject. I turns out that teaching is a
challenging job, but I do think that it was mostly what I expected.
Looking at the differences between teaching on a university and teaching on a secondary
school, I have concluded that it is somewhat the same. There are some small differences in
for example, the type of things that you teach the students and the way of how you help the
students. After the interview I am still not sure on what level I want to teach since it feels
kind of similar.
I did really enjoy doing this assignment since I am very interested in working this job.
Overall, I think that the communication with both the teachers went well. I believe that as
long as I am passionate about the job and genuinely enjoy it, I will be able to do it.

Questions in regard to working as a physics teacher at

a secondary school
An interview with Henk Beckers, former physics teacher.
1. What study was required to get this job?

You have to do a teacher training course to be qualified.

2. What study did you follow?

Among other subjects I teached physics.

3. What are you supposed to do while working?

You are supposed to teach of course and the work related to this, but it also means you
still have to study to keep up with your school subject, you have meetings with your
team, prepare lessons, and help your pupils (not just with educational problems).

4. For how long have you worked at your secondary school?

For over forty years.

5. What do you like most about the job?

Teaching is by far the most interesting part. Educating kids is important.

6. What do you like least about the job?

The lots of paperwork that have become mandatory but are not always helpful, together
with some meetings that have very little effect.

7. Do you like your students?

Yes, otherwise you’d better not do this work.

8. Do you like your colleagues?

Yes, most of them. But you don’t have to like someone to cooperate with a person.

9. Do you have to do the same thing everyday or does it change a lot?

Teaching is always different. No lesson is the same, interaction is different etc. There are
also different groups and ages to teach.

10. How many hours do you have to work?

Next to teaching a lot of hours are spent on other things: preparations, check tests,
writing reports, prepare meetings and so on. So hours are different every week…

11. Why did you start working for this company?

 I did an internship there during my training and they asked me for the job.

12. Why did you choose this job?

It is what I wanted to do and I had experienced how this school was.

13. Do you have to be available after work hours?

No, but there still is work to do after hours.

14. Do you get tired after working this job for a day?

Some days can be exhaustive.

15. Is the job the same as you expected when you first applied?

Yes, but in all these years lots of changes happen. But that’s the same for other schools.

16. Do you enjoy the work?

Yes, I still do.

17. Are you happy that you chose this type of job?

Yes, otherwise I would have changed and chosen another position or job.

18. Have you gotten an unexpected type of work?

No.

19. Did your job function change over the years?

The core of the job remains, additional responsibilities were added, like leading the
physics group at school.

Questions in regard to working as a education/research

assistant at Fontys
An interview with Wencke Adriaens, education/research assistant at Fontys, University of
Applied Sciences.
1. What study was required to get this job?

Een afgeronde relevante HBO opleiding (met affiniteit voor het onderwijs).

2. What study did you follow?

HBO - Applied Science.

3. What are you supposed to do while working?

Ik geef hoofdzakelijk praktijkles biologie aan eerste jaars studenten van de opleiding
Applied Science. Hierbij leer ik studenten hoe ze veilig in een laboratorium moeten
werken, hoe ze proeven moeten voorbereiden, uitvoeren en resultaten moeten
verwerken en interpreteren.
Daarnaast begeleid ik eerstejaars projecten op het gebied van life science. Hierbij
werken de studenten aan een opdracht voor een bedrijf, ik leer de studenten hoe ze
moeten vergaderen, samenwerken, zelf proeven moeten bedenken en uitvoeren om de
vraag of opdracht van een bedrijf te kunnen beantwoorden. Ook leren ze hierbij hoe ze
een wetenschappelijk verslag moeten schrijven.
Daarnaast ben ik ook studieloopbaanbegeleider. Dit houdt in dat ik studenten
tijdens de studie help bij het “leren leren”, planning maken, zelfreflectie, het maken van
studiekeuzes, beroepsoriëntatie, etc. De studieloopbaanbegeleider is het eerste
aanspreekpunt voor studenten bij problemen met hun studie. De
studieloopbaanbegeleider kan er dan voor zorgen dat de student de juiste hulp krijgt of
kan studenten doorverwijzen.

4. For how long have you worked Fontys?

6 jaar.

5. What do you like most about the job?

Ik vind het leuk om eerstejaars studenten enthousiast te maken voor het vak, ze dingen
te leren en om ze stap voor stap zelfstandigheid en verantwoordelijkheid voor hun
studie bij te brengen.

6. What do you like least about the job?

Om les te geven aan ongemotiveerde studenten.

7. Do you like your students?

Over het algemeen wel. Er zijn altijd uitzonderingen, maar dan vind ik het weer een
uitdaging om te kijken waar een bepaalde (negatieve) houding of gedrag vandaan komt
en ook om deze studenten weer op de rit te krijgen.
8. Do you like your colleagues?

Over het algemeen wel. Uiteraard geldt ook hierbij dat je met de een een betere klik hebt
dan met een ander.

9. Do you have to do the same thing everyday or does it change a lot?

Nee, hoewel ik iedere dag praktijkles geef is de inhoud van de les na 2 dagen weer
anders.

10. How many hours do you have to work?

Mijn contract is voor 24 uur per week.

11. Why did you start working for this company?

Bij mijn vorige baan (onderzoeker bij de technische universiteit in Eindhoven) kwam ik
erachter dat ik lesgeven erg leuk vond. En na 10 jaar was het wel tijd voor wat nieuws.
Op zoek naar een andere baan kwam ik een vacature bij Fontys tegen wat toen mijn
huidige baan is geworden.

12. Why did you choose this job?

Zie ook vraag 11. Mijn huidige baan sluit mooi aan bij de ervaring die ik eerder als
onderzoeker heb opgedaan. Die ervaring kan ik nu aan de studenten doorgeven.

13. Do you have to be available after work hours?

Als docent niet, maar als laboratoriumbeheerder kan het zijn dat ik gebeld word als er
problemen zijn in het laboratorium.

14. Do you get tired after working this job for a day?

Er zitten altijd wel eens lange drukke dagen tussen, maar over het algemeen ga ik nog
met voldoende energie naar huis.

15. Is the job the same as you expected when you first applied?

Wat betreft de praktijklessen wel, alle andere taken waren nieuw voor mij, daar had ik
geen verwachting bij.

16. Do you enjoy the work?

Ja, meestal wel. Er zijn natuurlijk altijd dingen die gedaan moeten worden die minder
leuk zijn.

17. Are you happy that you chose this type of job?

Ja.

18. Have you gotten an unexpected type of work?

 Mijn sollicitatie was voor de baan als praktijkdocent biologie. Alle andere zaken is er in
de loop der jaren bijgekomen.

19. Did your job function change over the years?

Er zijn wel wat taken en verantwoordelijkheden bijgekomen, maar er is niet drastisch

iets veranderd. Die mogelijkheden zijn er overigens wel, maar dat hoeft van mij niet zo
nodig omdat ik nog steeds leuk vind wat ik doe.