Showing posts with label school experience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school experience. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Opening up
I've been feeling quite grumpy since I got back to the UK. It is a combination of having to leave Tim for four weeks and the prospect of starting back at the not-so-dream-school. But I had a bit of a revelation today. I don't know if that is because I forgot my memory stick at school so couldn't do any planning and therefore had some time for reflection or because I have just done a very uplifting yoga session on Yogaglo. Either way, my realisation is this: I need to recognise that the school and these kids are teaching me about myself. I need to be humble enough to accept that teaching, even if it feels uncomfortable. I have been on the defensive so far, but I think it's time to open up a bit and embrace the experience. Hopefully, it will leave me a more compassionate person, and teacher.
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Nothing like a dream school
There's a programme on in the UK at the moment called Jamie's Dream School. Jamie Oliver has decided to help a group of 20 teenagers who left school without the minimum required 5 GCSEs between A and C. He has managed to persuade some really amazing people to come and teach them. It's on every Wednesday night and at the moment, I am finding it extremely uncomfortable viewing. A little too close to the bone.
My new school is testing me in ways that I don't think I have ever been tested. I know I will be a better teacher (and probably better person) for it, but at the moment it feels extremely hard. My mentor says that every teacher in a school like mine goes through this phase and in three weeks I'll be wondering what all the fuss is about. I hope so. When I watch Jamie's Dream School, it is like an action replay of what I have experienced in the classroom that day (although possibly worse) and to be honest, I'd rather not be reminded.
Undoubtedly, some of the kids I'm teaching have horrible backgrounds and have lives that I can hardly imagine. Some are in care, some come from homes afflicted by drug and alcohol abuse, some kids are fresh off the boat and hardly speak a word of English. So I do need to keep that in mind. But when a troubled minority is preventing the majority from learning, I find it very frustrating. For the first time, I sent a kid out of my class today. I had warned her that it was a possibility if she kept talking. She was angry with me because I think, despite her disruption, she actually enjoyed the lesson. Children like that don't make themselves easy to teach, but often they really want to learn.
My new school is testing me in ways that I don't think I have ever been tested. I know I will be a better teacher (and probably better person) for it, but at the moment it feels extremely hard. My mentor says that every teacher in a school like mine goes through this phase and in three weeks I'll be wondering what all the fuss is about. I hope so. When I watch Jamie's Dream School, it is like an action replay of what I have experienced in the classroom that day (although possibly worse) and to be honest, I'd rather not be reminded.
Undoubtedly, some of the kids I'm teaching have horrible backgrounds and have lives that I can hardly imagine. Some are in care, some come from homes afflicted by drug and alcohol abuse, some kids are fresh off the boat and hardly speak a word of English. So I do need to keep that in mind. But when a troubled minority is preventing the majority from learning, I find it very frustrating. For the first time, I sent a kid out of my class today. I had warned her that it was a possibility if she kept talking. She was angry with me because I think, despite her disruption, she actually enjoyed the lesson. Children like that don't make themselves easy to teach, but often they really want to learn.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Half a teacher
As of yesterday, I am half way through my PGCE and half a teacher. I passed the first big milestone on my course, handing in my School Subject Assignment at least 4 hours before the deadline. It feels good. And I am quietly proud of the final product. My topic (talk in the English classroom) was challenging to plan for and assess but the class and I had a lot of fun throughout the five lessons.
I also finished my first school placement last Friday. I was genuinely sad to leave my classes, my year 8 class (who have featured on this blog before) in particular. One of my year 8 students made me a card which she gave to me in our last lesson. All the objects on it represent something that we did as a class over the four months that I taught them. I was extremely touched at the thought and effort she had put into it. Every time I look at it, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. It's very rewarding being half a teacher.
I also finished my first school placement last Friday. I was genuinely sad to leave my classes, my year 8 class (who have featured on this blog before) in particular. One of my year 8 students made me a card which she gave to me in our last lesson. All the objects on it represent something that we did as a class over the four months that I taught them. I was extremely touched at the thought and effort she had put into it. Every time I look at it, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. It's very rewarding being half a teacher.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Delivering the goods
I have this one year 8 class (12 yrs old) and it seems they always deliver the goods when I need them to. When I was being observed by my university tutor, we had the best lesson we've ever had together and my mentor came away impressed by my progress. Yesterday, I had a Period 5 lesson with them, the first lesson of a series of lessons that I have to plan, teach and then evaluate in an 8,000 word essay on 'talk in the classroom'. Period 5 is the last lesson of the week when you always expect the kids to be a bit distracted. But this class is a top set and they are truly a joy to teach. They are engaged, motivated and enthusiastic in every lesson.
Yesterday, they worked hard, came up with excellent comments and despite my misgivings at the effectiveness of what I was asking them to do, demonstrated that they had met the learning objectives. When I asked the class if they had any comments on the lesson that I could add to my research, three kids put up their hands and said the following:
Pupil A - "I enjoyed the interactive part...like speaking and informing the other person...that helped a lot. The whole interactive part helped."
Pupil B - "I liked that it wasn’t just writing...we did reading and speaking activities."
Pupil C - "I liked that we worked in groups and could find out each other’s opinions and stuff."
These three quotes sum up the main thrust of my essay and bring joy to my heart. This class are total superstars!
I made them think up rules for working in groups at the beginning of the lessonSunday, 21 November 2010
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.
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.
Monday, 8 November 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
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.
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.
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