Teacher Education in Europe

It was a beautiful day in Hamburg, the sun was shining and everybody seemed to have a smile on their face. I had only been here for a couple of months but it was already starting to feel like home to me. The education course that I was on at the University of Hamburg was fantastic and I was really enjoying living by myself for the first time ever. Well, not by myself exactly, I did have three flatmates living with me, but I was away from my parents at last. I do miss my parents and love them very much, but I think there is nothing more important for a young person than reaching out on their own in this world.

Hamburg was a little scary at first, such a big city and so many people everywhere. My apartment was not ready yet either and I had to spend the first few nights at a Hamburg hotel while I waited. This turned out to be OK though as I spent a lot of time just walking around and discovering the city for myself. I have always had a strong interest in architecture and there are a lot of fantastic buildings here in Hamburg. I even thought about studying architecture at one stage, but in the end the desire to be a teacher was greater. I have had a couple of teachers in my past who had literally changed my life, and I thought that maybe someday I could do the same for someone else. I especially like the Gothic style buildings like St. Nikolai’s Church, but even some of the smaller churches were amazing to look at as too.

Once I did finally get in to my new apartment it was great, it was set up like a hotel and we all had separate bedrooms and bathrooms to ourselves. I hadn’t met my new flatmates before as this was a university building that was set up and filled up by the student union. We all seem to get on quite well so far, although I don’t think I’ve got a new best friend or anything. The university itself is amazing and the course work has been great so far. The campus is near the centre of the city, in the Rotherbaum quarter, so its easy to walk around and do a little Hamburg sightseeing in between lectures. I guess I’m still in tourist mode a little bit, but when you’ve spent your whole life in a small rural corner of Germany, a big city is an exciting change.

I know that I’ve got a few years ahead of me, but I really can’t wait to be a teacher. I want to teach Drama mainly, but can also see myself teaching some Humanities subjects as well. I want to teach young secondary school kids, about 13 or 14 years old. That was the age I was when a couple of teachers really took me under their wings and got me excited about learning and my future. I’ve been a bit lonely here at times, but I’m really going to try and meet some new friends while I am here. After all, it is going to be my home for the next 3 or 4 years so I should make my life here as full as I can. It is great to finally start learning to teach, I feel like I have been wanting to do this for so long. I am glad that I chose the University of Hamburg to start my new life and I believe that my future truly starts here.