My Journey to becoming a Specialist Teacher and Assessor of Dyslexia




A walk down memory lane...

Today, was the first time in 20 years that I have visited Canterbury Christchurch University. It really was a little trip down memory lane, as I walked from the train station to meet my tutors. So many memories came flooding back, nights out, crashing on friends floors and learning my trade. However, this was also a period of great sadness for me as my mum, the most caring, loving and kind person anyone could ever meet, sadly passed away at the end of my first year. When I look back, I'm not sure how I continued with my studies as I was completely heart broken as were my dad and sister. Times were hard, tears were shed, time seemed to stop for a while and sadness engulfed us all. I will always be eternally grateful to my dad, sister and my Anchorians Family, they are without doubt the reason why I finished my studies. 

So here I am 20 years on, returning to uni to start my journey on becoming a Specialist Teacher and Assessor for Dyslexia. The facilities look amazing, the halls of residence look inviting (cinema room and gym - yes please) and the coffee is cheap! I'm excited what the next 18 months will bring.

 

Time to share my journey

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 by Sarah Webb | Uncategorized

💥My Dyslexia Specialist Teacher Journey💥


I've sat here a few times wondering if I should share my journey to becoming a Dyslexia Specialist as I know that there will be some highs and lows (and if I completely honest there has already been a few)! So many questions have been whizzing and still are around my brain. Here are just a few...Will people actually want to know what I'm doing? If I find things hard will people think I'm not good at my job? What if I don't finish the course, will people see me as a failure? What if I don't pass the course? My goodness, talk about huge amounts of self doubt! 
But I've decided that's it...I'm committing to sharing some of my journey, both the highs and lows because it's important that the children I work with learn that it's ok to find things challenging, it's ok to ask for help and it's ok to learn from your mistakes. 
My first little insight for you all is that I have had tears.....yes that's right tears! After my first face to face session, in September, I felt completely overwhelmed! My tutor started talking about our first assignment, course tasks, reading lists, recording our teaching, gaining consent from schools and parents - everything, all at once! I got in the car at the end of the day and cried, self doubt had crept back in - was I good enough? Then I spoke to my dad and my husband, for a good amount of time, and they both reassured me that I can do this! 


P.S I've gone back and written up my first 2 blogs, after committing to sharing my journey.