It's essay writing day

Well actually, that was yesterday, but I am still at it today. I wrote half a blog post yesterday, then realised I was procrastinating. But here I am, procrastinating again. Actually, I feel hopeful that the essay is coming together after a million revisions. I am 500 words over the limit and I haven't even written my conclusion yet, but it is easier to edit down than write new material.

I chose the subject myself (Talk in the English classroom) and I am finding it strangely fascinating. I guess I have never really thought about how important speaking is as a tool for learning. It is through speech that children first start to understand the world for themselves and we all speak before we can read and write. But once a child reaches school, it is reading and writing that are deemed the most important skills (well, in this country anyway). Speaking gets overlooked. But children need opportunities to talk about their learning and assimilate new knowledge by expressing it in their own words. They also need to develop oral competence for later life. If you can't string a sentence together with confidence, how will you negotiate adulthood, when you will be required to interpret speech in all sorts of different contexts all the time? It is interesting stuff.

Turkeys and Snow Days

We had Thanksgiving at my parent's house last weekend and my sister went a little 'Martha Stewart' on us and created these turkey name places. I think they look cute sitting on the table in the sun.

Its been a hectic couple of weeks but we are nearing the end of term and I can't wait for the Christmas holidays. I passed my first milestone at school on Friday - one of my students gave me a Christmas card which said 'Dear Miss - you are a wonderful teacher'. It made my day!


We have had a lot of snow and 'inclement' weather recently and last Thursday I enjoyed a guilt free snow day - guilt free because school was closed so I didn't even have to attempt to get into work. Admittedly I studied all day (I have an essay due in two weeks) but I did take a break in the afternoon and met my friend for a hot chocolate and a walk on the common. We came across a robin on our walk who really wanted to have his photo taken. He kept jumping into the cutest most Christmassy poses. I snapped him perched in this bush. Adorable.

Progress update

The pressure has been mounting in the last two weeks - after half term (which wasn't really a half term for us) I started teaching my full timetable which is 4 hours one week, 7 hours the next, with an extra 2 hours thrown in for fun. Going from observing lessons to planning for and teaching a whole timetable (obviously much reduced as I am a student teacher, but still a lot for someone who has never taught before) has been overwhelming and I have been struggling to stay on top of things. Hence the lack of blogging.

But apart from a few bad lessons, the actual teaching part has been great fun. I recognise how much I still have to learn but more than anything else I have done in my life, I feel like I have the potential to excel at this job. I find being with the kids so entertaining - they are funny, cheeky, constantly pushing boundaries, but when you can find something to engage them it is like you have struck gold. They brim with enthusiasm and imagination and it is contagious.

Standing in front of 32 kids, I feel more assured and authoritative than I think I would have done if I had become a teacher straight after university. I can't say I look back at my 10 years in business with much fondness, but that experience has given me the tools to cope with the demands of this year and the skills to become a successful teacher.

A milestone and an inspiration

**written last week - posted today!**

I have been caught up with school and family life these last few weeks and it has left me feeling very drained. But I am feeling more myself today - I have the day off and except for a 20 minute tutorial at midday and after working all day yesterday I have broken the back of my lesson plans for the week.

I passed my first milestone last Friday: I taught a full hour class. I was with year 7 (about 11 years old, fresh from primary school) and we were looking at using adjectives and adverbs to make sentences interesting. We played the 'washing line' game where I gave them an envelope full of words and they had 30 seconds to make an interesting sentence and then 'peg' it up on the washing line (a piece of string) that I also provided. Although it felt totally chaotic and I struggled to bring them back to me when I needed their attention, the kids were engaged and having fun. I hope there was some good learning going on (I'll be able to see from the homework task I set them!). It is one thing planning a fun lesson and seeing the students participating but it is difficult to tell if they are actually learning anything. That is an area I need to work on.

I also observed my first proper literature lesson on Thursday - so far English literature has been thin on the ground. But there is one teacher in the English department who I immediately warmed to and I asked whether I could watch one of her lesson on Thursday - she was covering the first scene in Romeo and Juliet. Her passion for her subject was inspirational and I loved her approach to the lesson - she actually brought the text alive. First off, she asked the students to stand up and insult her in 'Elizabethan'. As their homework she had asked them to translate an insult into 'Elizabethan' - the students loved this and some of the insults were hilarious. Then she took the kids outside to act out that first scene ("do you bite your thumb at me sir?") because she wanted them to 'feel the wind in their hair'. She has taken me under her wing which I am grateful for - I knew as soon as I met her that she is the sort of English teacher that I aspire to be.

Bonfire night

It was Bonfire Night in Battersea Park on Saturday and after a delicious supper of sausages, onion gravy, bubble & squeak and peas we wandered down to join the fun. I do love Bonfire night, especially in Battersea Park. I did get the feeling that Wandsworth Council scrimped a little on the display, but as my sister rightly pointed out (she's a party planner, don't you know) fireworks cost £1,000 a minute and we are in a tough economic climate!

Rites of passage

I take to the stage tomorrow morning at 9:15 - they do say that teaching is like acting after all. I am doing a short starter activity with a year 7 class on verbs, nouns and adjectives. We will be playing lots of games so hopefully they will enjoy it (and learn something!).

Most English teachers hate teaching grammar as they were never taught it themselves at school. I learnt what I know of English grammar through learning other languages, which does seem wrong. As English speakers we should be proud of our language and an understanding of the way it is constructed and the amazing way it has developed and evolved over hundreds of years is a fascinating story that should be told more often. It is certainly something that I have become much more interested in since starting my PGCE - I am even reading The Teacher's Guide to Grammar at the moment, which is a surprisingly good read!

Four of my fellow PGCE students in my school have already taken their place at the front of the class so I feel it is my time to make that rite of passage. I will let you know how I get on.

School days

I have a million and one things to do for my course, but I thought I would just give you a quick update on school and how it has all gone so far. Apart from getting monumentally lost in Woking town centre in the pouring rain on day 1 and being late, things have gone very smoothly. The school is good, the kids are well-behaved, the teachers have all been extremely friendly and welcoming and my fellow PGCE students are a nice bunch. I haven't been let loose on any kids yet, that happens next Friday when I am teaching a ten minute starter activity to a top set Year 8 class. I'm at the stage where I am looking forward to standing up and taking control - I have done enough lesson observations.

I will write more, I promise, but I wanted to add one other comment before I go. I had a free afternoon today so I spent it reading some of the books that the kids are studying in English. I started with Skellig by David Almond. I was sick of hearing about it: since starting university I have heard it mentioned countless times. But now I know why. It is written for children, but it is incredibly profound, tender and moving. If you can find a copy, read it. It won't take you more than a few hours. It is a very special book.

Tread softly

My lecture on Monday was on 'Becoming a Teacher' and I loved it for a number of reasons, chief among them the cool software the professor used to give his presentation (check it out: http://prezi.com/).

The theme was how the different 'beginnings' of a career in teaching could end in very different endings. The key to success, and serenity, is having the ability to experiment, diversify and change your approach to your work. Interesting and I hope that I end up in the 'serene' camp.

But it was his thoughts on everything between the middle and the end of our careers that I will remember. He reminded us of the huge influence that teachers can have in a child's life and shared an anecdote about a boy who had grown up to be a fireman. He had always wanted to be a fireman, ever since he could remember. But one of his teachers had strongly counselled him against it, telling him he would be throwing his life away. Luckily he ignored his teacher and fulfilled his ambition. And when this teacher and his wife were involved in a serious car accident, he was at the scene and was able to give both of them life-saving treatment. The teacher looked more kindly on him after that.

The point was, every day children come to school and they lay their dreams at your feet. As a teacher you have to be careful where you tread. As Yeats said:

But I [...], have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

This is where I am going to be spending the next 8 months

One of last weekend's tasks was to create a space for my study. We are bursting at the seams in our flat, but with some clever moving around and a lot of decluttering, we managed to squeeze my new 'space-saver' desk from John Lewis into the spare room. Tim's role on Saturday morning was as chief desk-assembler, and the results are impressive, as you can see for yourself.

I couldn't be happier in my new spot. My desk folds away neatly when I have finished working and takes up even less room. And I have a lovely new office chair which is extremely comfortable and very supportive so even when my mind is feeling the strain, my posture won't be. Now you can picture where I am writing to you from and where I will be spending a lot of my evenings and weekends over the next eight months...

School experience

Tomorrow when I arrive at Clapham Junction I will be heading south instead of north, to my first school experience placement. I have to be there there at 8:30 which is going to be a shock - the 9:30 starts in Waterloo have really been working for me in the last few weeks.

I am feeling curiously excited about it all though. After half-term at the end of October, I will be teaching six hours a week and I have a lot of learning to do before then.

Miss Idealistically Optimistic

Today we looked at the type of English teacher we want to become. An interesting thought, and one that I have to admit I hadn't given much thought before I started my course. I mean, I have felt this thing within me for a long time, a nagging feeling that I should not be writing memos and creating spreadsheets but standing in front of a class of 30 unruly teenagers. But as for thinking about what kind of teacher, well that thought never really entered my head. Obviously I want to be a good teacher and I have some random and nascent ideas about how I might become one, but I couldn't articulate them, let alone set out my 'personal educational philosophy'. So today's exercise was just what I needed.

It was based on work one of my tutors did as part of her PhD research where she conducted interviews with hundreds of English teachers and boiled them down into broad 'types'. In groups, we each had to look at the description of a 'type' and translate what was quite a dense text into simplified language and report back to the rest of the class.

We had the 'Reluctant Conformist', the 'Traditionalist', the 'Politically active, free-thinker' and our type, which I will name the 'Individualist'. The Individualist promotes 'child-centered' learning, exploring issues from the pupil's point of view and valuing an individual's cultural and linguistic identity above all. Parts of this type resonated with me, but so did parts of the others. In some areas I am a traditionalist, believing in the value of exams, for instance. Something that seems to vex a lot of people on the course is the idea of 'setting' children (as opposed to having children of all abilities in one class). Like the Individualist, this does not excite me at all.

As I progress in my training I know my personal philosophy will develop, and it will probably be a patchwork quilt of a philosophy - a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Because I don't think I want to conform neatly to a type. Or maybe I will start out as one type, Miss Idealistically Optimistic perhaps, and turn into something quite different when the reality of the classroom hits me. I'll keep you posted.

Hope vs. Reality

Boy does my brain hurt. I don't think I have used it this much for at least a decade. I feel it might take a little time for those cogs to start moving again. Today was the first 'proper' day after all the introductions and our primary school observation last week. There are about twenty people studying for an English PGCE and we had a good discussion this morning which revealed we all have very different views about what makes a good English teacher and the role that English should play in the curriculum. This afternoon we covered the history of educational reform and the interplay between the state and education professionals. Historically there has been a lot of mistrust between them, but where teachers and government can work together (like they do in Finland and South Korea) then successful educational policies can be implemented that really make a difference. Finland and South Korea have the best educational systems in the world, by the way.

I am not sure we have hit on the right balance in Britain. Although I found my primary school observation really fascinating, it was also pretty depressing. The school was near where I live - about a seven minute cycle - but the world that those kids inhabit couldn't be more different to mine. Half of the kids in my class came from fractured, chaotic backgrounds and the lack of structure in their lives played out in the form of really disruptive behaviour in the classroom. These are the kids who need good teachers the most but they make themselves difficult to teach.

There was one little boy who caught my eye, not because he was disruptive but because he was in a world of his own. One of the teaching assistants told me that his mother fed him and kept him clean but was not concerned about his well-being in any other way. He loved school, probably because the teachers and teaching assistants cared for him more than his mother, but I thought he was like a little ghost floating about, completely disinterested in learning and almost certainly emotionally damaged. What sort of life is he going to grow up to have? The staff at the school were incredibly well-meaning but if there is no parental support, and there could be any number of reasons why parents can't/won't support their kids, then I am not sure how much difference education can make.

I have made this career change because I am idealistic - I want to share my own passion for literature and language with the children I teach so that they will (hopefully) go on to become articulate, questioning adults with a life-long love and appreciation of the written word. I am discovering that the reality may be very different.

Quote of the day

I started a four-day observation in a local primary school today. Quote from one of the students to the teacher (about me):

"Miss, the new teacher is really bad because she has an American accent."

Ha ha. It does have an uncanny knack of surfacing when I am under pressure...

Day 1

'A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence ends.' - Henry Adams

My first day coincided with the announcement that The Sunday Times has named King's College the best university in the UK. That was reassuring to hear. But I think I would have been impressed even without knowing that. Everything is slick and modern - they are taking full advantage of the wonders of modern technology. Now, the only time I will need to go to the library is if I want to actually look at a physical copy of a book - how old-fashioned!

As for my course itself, well the good news is that I am not the oldest person in my class, I am the third oldest person...And I have a new friend in the second oldest person who also happens to be a film buff. During one of our breaks yesterday, we went for a cup of tea in the British Film Institute (the Southbank is my new stomping ground) and whiled away a happy hour discussing our favourite films and box sets (I am currently addicted to Mad Men; he is too). Film chats are now considered 'work'!

So, although it was quite strange being back at university again, I am feeling upbeat.

I'm back...with a tan!

So that's it. My month off has almost come to an end. It's flown by, but I am surprised about how little I have thought about my old work. I thought it would be more of a wrench to leave, but in fact I feel relieved. This is a new chapter in my life and I am ready for it.

We had a fantastic ten days in France at my friend Diggy's house. And I have managed to turn from very white to slightly tan. We just love going to Diggy's house and every time we go we have an even better time than we did on the last time. Because we are so good at finding new and exciting things to do, Diggy has appointed me head of Guest Services, which I am very pleased about. It is my responsibility to make sure that the very small pool of regular visitors benefit from our experience. I have already had fun putting together 'informations' for the house. This time I had a lot more fun putting together an 'activities' folder full of bike rides, pretty villages to visit, with a lot more to come. This obviously required a trip to the stationary department in the local Carrefour - my favourite part!

Anyway, here are a few photos.

Day time

Night time

A pretty village

Rooftops in Gigondas

In other news, I matriculate at King's College tomorrow. On holiday, I started reading some of my coursebooks and felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. But that's understandable, right? I am going to be learning a whole new way of doing things and hopefully learning a lot about myself in the process. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Two weeks down, two weeks to go

Halfway through my month of leisure and I am really starting to get into my groove. Our family week in Cornwall was great and apart from very unfriendly locals, we had a super time. The highlight for me was a 'heart attack on a plate' cream tea (picture below) part way through a gorgeous river estuary/forest walk. Life in the great outdoors is splendid indeed.

Double rainbow

It must be good luck right?

Clouds

The first day...

...of the rest of my life? Perhaps. Today is my first 'official day of unemployment'. I don't like to think I am unemployed, just resting. Actually, that is what I plan to do in the next month before my teaching course starts. Today, I tried to lie-in and failed: apparently it takes more than one lie-in to correct a sleep deficit (which I am sure I am suffering from). So I am going to tackle my first assignment: 'My Experience of School'. Trying to marshal my thoughts in prose is more challenging than I thought. I think I am out of practice. Give me a memo with lots of bullet points any day!

New Year's Resolutions

I started my New Year's resolution before New Year, so perhaps it is cheating. But I wanted to update you on my progress. I promised myself that every day I would devote some time to doing a little yoga and a little meditation and on the 7 February I can proudly say that there have been only a few days where I have not been able to keep to my resolution.

It has been a good resolution. I have noticed a change in myself - I have lost weight, I feel more flexible, I haven't succumbed to the lurgy that everyone at work seems to have (being upside-down is great for moving the blood around your body) and I am generally more relaxed.

I feel that for the first time in my life, I have put myself at the top of my to-do list.

Desperate

The news in Haiti has been shocking and awful and I think sitting in a cosy house in London it is difficult to grasp the true horror and sadness of it all. But I do feel heartened by the response in the UK. The Disaster Emergency Committee which co-ordinates the UK's response to disasters such as this has been raising money on behalf of key charities and British people have donated £12m so far. It is at times like this that the geo-political wranglings that occupy countries around the world are put to one side as we remember our shared humanity and try to ease the suffering of a desperate people. I wish it could happen more often and not just during disasters - I think the world would be a very different place.