alexon

hi amberzak, sorry to hear you have dropped out. when i did my PGCE, i was given clear guidance in what was expected of me, and so got good grades. The 3 placements most of my colleagues had were good school, bad school, middle of road school. I know of one student more recently who - used her "charms" to get a placement in only two schools 9 in one local authority. as I now know a bit more about teaching - If i could turn back the clock - i would have requested specidfic schools for my placement I would also advise you to think about what school(s) you want to be in on placement. I suggest that rather than resigning from a course - even if you already have - try to backtracxk a bit and seek approval for your existing achievements to be kept - ie so you can slot into the course again in next year or a few years time ( without having to re-do some bits) and without having to re-apply. If you are going to be a teaching assistant, then it would seem to be a good springboard to get back into teaching - get your placements at that school(s) I got on fine with my undiagnosed aspergers in good, high achieving schools, where good discipline was expected, and a powerful enforcement policy. Also in a low achieving school - with horrendous behaviour in every class. - where the staff were consistent. also in a middle of the road school where there was consistent behaviour enforcement throughout the school. where i got into difficulties was in a middling school, which had no consistent behaviour policy and staff had conflicting views on how to deal with behaviour and what behaviour was acceptable. I would suggest trying to teach in a better school, as there a lot of problems you can encounter have already been overcome, and there is already an effective scheme of work - some poorer schools with no standard scheme of work are very wasteful as you are constantly re-inventing the wheel. best regards, and think positive. Alexon

hi, thanks for the responses. I found organising my workload fairly easy once i knew what the syllabus was - it was often very hard to find out what the syllabus was though !! i found the politics of the organisation difficult to deal with. thanks for your responses. It looks like the tribunal won't be over until september - which will be over 2 years from dismissal. i am in fairly good spirits, but things are dragging on a bit. thanks again for the encouragement

hi, keep your chin up. as a previously very successful secondary teacher, i can guarantee that people with Aspergers can be excellent teachers. In my experience there is a lot, too much wishy washy requirements as a student teacher. Please ask your "regent" if you have one on placement, or if not, the person at school who is responsible for you, exactly what is required for you to pass the placement, and what is it that you have to change. I might also consider asking for your placement to be changed school, so you get a fresh start somewhere else. you are going to be on holiday now for a few days, this gives you some time to focuse your mind and your ideas. If you want to message me, hopefully you will get something positive from it. best wishes, alexon

I am getting therapy from a psychologist just now. he has suggested that i have a range of terms that i can understand are not to be taken literally. eg i will only be a second, so that whenever i hear such a phrase i can ignore the literal bit, i translate it to "they will be some time". I am having difficulty expanding the range of phrases that i can overcome like that. Having recently started a new relationship ( I am 45 ) although other half was pleasant, they would just open their mouth and make noise - ie the words they used were ambigious to me, i was unable to understand what they meant. this resulted in me asking in lots of questions to check underastanding, because i did not want to get the meaning wrong. the relationship ended after a couple of months, one of the reasons she gave was that she felt that she was "treading on eggshells" and had to think too hard about what she was saying so that i did not ask her questions to check my understanding. The topic of loose english used by others, is a big problem for me. best wishes, alexon

hi, diagnosed 2 years ago with As. i am astonished by the amount of lying done by others. i lost my job through difficulties caused by being outspoken ( or not telling lies when asked a question) i read a good book about liars and the prevalence, but unfortunately can't find the title just now. I would suggest you get one from the library, it might help you look at lying a bit differently. I am currently listening to Dale Carnegie how to win friends and influence people, on youtube. It is something i would recommend reading /listening to for any Aspie. i mention it just now as it has several ideas ( from a US president if i recall correctly ) about how to get your opinion across without being too direct, also the best way to win an arguement is not to have one. best wishes, alexon

it will be prudent to publicise it only after the verdict has come out. thanks

hi, thanks for the continued messages of support. the tribunal sitting ended this week, there are written submissions in a few weeks, then a decision will come out, and if successful, there will be a remedies hearing a few weeks / months later - eg how much cash. at least some of the many points claimed seemed to have went in my favour. I will post if/when there are significant developments. thanks

This is very enlightening - I use different approaches too until understanding is gained. I never considered it to be an AS trait - however on reflection, perhaps it is - I will need to give it some thought. There are other aspects to my case history- which as the tribunal it is still ongoing, i can't really disclose any more just now. thanks for the useful insight alexon

thanks Pairal - i have seen other lectures before the TED ones are great, thanks Alexon

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. alexon

Hi, Posting on the teachers website is a good idea thanks. I have managed to overcome the specific difficulty of "no other teachers have aspergers" The 3 month wait is a bit irritating, but I have little option but to accept the delay. :-)

hi thanks, unfortunately union is not sympathetic, and are more of a hinderance than a help. I have a good lawyer, and they are helpful. thanks again, alexon

Hi - update - The Employment Tribunal is going well, but slowly - it ran out of time, the rest will be heard in another three months. Thanks, alexon

hi, thanks to all for your messages of support. I have managed to get a lot of useful information which answers my original post, and increases my confidence. I will keep the forum informed how the case goes . thanks again, Alexon

dear mannify i am sorry but i just reported your post to a moderator it was an accident - i pressed the cancel button but i think it was sent. i did this because i am not very well just now, and pressed the report button instead of the reply button. I have no wish to report you, as there was absolutely nothing wrong with your post. please accept my apologies. Sorry alexon