It's Friday.
So tired.
Can't speak, type, move.
Going to drink tea. Maybe wine. Maybe gin.
x
Friday, 13 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
1 week down - thoughts on the profession.
Six lessons done, and a day without lessons tomorrow! I feel so relieved by the idea that I will not be 'performing' again until Monday. It felt a bit like betrayal, this relief. Why am I putting so much effort into learning these skills if I counting down to the days when I am free to not use them?* Having discussed this matter with other teachers, it's not at all uncommon. It is shocking what a love-hate profession teaching is.
Today I had two classes, each made up of about 25 12/13 year olds, each looking at exactly the same topic. The first lesson involved a lot of voice raising, sighing, fighting against a sea of noise as students chattered and were silly and showed little interest in listening to me or each other. I sat them away from their friends and all they did was turn their chairs around and talk with their backs to me. When they finally left (I kept 8 in over break) I tidied up the chaotic mess that was left behind which included crumpled, torn worksheets and numerous paper aeroplanes.
I wasn't too despondent (I've seen this class with several different experienced teachers in several different subjects, and they caused havoc in over half the lessons) but I was very tired, and desperately seeking solutions so that it didn't happen again.
Then, in the last lesson of the day I taught the second class. They have a reputation as a noisy lot and I thought that by 14:50 they would be ready to riot, but in fact they were almost angelic. Interested, curious, engaging in the subject, getting the most out of the tasks I set them. It was great!
So teaching is full of ups and downs. Classes never do quite what you expect, which is why the job in interesting; it demands that you be dynamic, flexible. But it also means that you can't just drift off for a moment of relaxation mid-lesson. So, however interesting I'm finding it, however much I'm enjoying seeing the kids' reactions and listening to what they have to say, I'm counting down the hours til my next lie in, and the days til the Christmas holidays, and the weeks until I have a 6 week summer stretching out ahead of me. No wonder teachers have such long holidays. They'd never get through otherwise!
*Allow me to point out that although tomorrow will be free of teaching, it will not be workless. It takes me at least 3 hours to plan each lesson at the moment, and another hour or so to prepare resources. I have 6 lessons to prepare for next week, and several uni assignments that I need to start, so it is not a day off!
Today I had two classes, each made up of about 25 12/13 year olds, each looking at exactly the same topic. The first lesson involved a lot of voice raising, sighing, fighting against a sea of noise as students chattered and were silly and showed little interest in listening to me or each other. I sat them away from their friends and all they did was turn their chairs around and talk with their backs to me. When they finally left (I kept 8 in over break) I tidied up the chaotic mess that was left behind which included crumpled, torn worksheets and numerous paper aeroplanes.
I wasn't too despondent (I've seen this class with several different experienced teachers in several different subjects, and they caused havoc in over half the lessons) but I was very tired, and desperately seeking solutions so that it didn't happen again.
Then, in the last lesson of the day I taught the second class. They have a reputation as a noisy lot and I thought that by 14:50 they would be ready to riot, but in fact they were almost angelic. Interested, curious, engaging in the subject, getting the most out of the tasks I set them. It was great!
So teaching is full of ups and downs. Classes never do quite what you expect, which is why the job in interesting; it demands that you be dynamic, flexible. But it also means that you can't just drift off for a moment of relaxation mid-lesson. So, however interesting I'm finding it, however much I'm enjoying seeing the kids' reactions and listening to what they have to say, I'm counting down the hours til my next lie in, and the days til the Christmas holidays, and the weeks until I have a 6 week summer stretching out ahead of me. No wonder teachers have such long holidays. They'd never get through otherwise!
*Allow me to point out that although tomorrow will be free of teaching, it will not be workless. It takes me at least 3 hours to plan each lesson at the moment, and another hour or so to prepare resources. I have 6 lessons to prepare for next week, and several uni assignments that I need to start, so it is not a day off!
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
What should teachers do?
Today I was back in University for the first time in over two weeks. The day progressed in the standard manner: 9-5 seminars on varying topics, including a lot of sharing news and experiences (us students haven't seen each other since our first fledgling attempts at teaching so there was a lot to say).
However, at the end of the day we were asked to do something unusual. We were instructed to go to a lecture, led by the theorist Etienne Wenger, who spoke about his career and research in something called "Community of Practice", a term which, according to wikipedia, "describe[s] a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. It is in the process of sharing information and experiences in that group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally".
He spoke about how a student's interests and sense of identity affect their desire and ability to learn; how, as teachers, if we can present ourselves as inspirational, even aspirational figures, we will have the opportunity to share our knowledge with our pupils, because they will want to gain access to our universe of experience. Am I making sense?
So essentially, if I understood correctly, I should try to make my subject relevant to students, make it something which they can connect to their sense of identity, their image of themselves. They can enjoy reading, because I enjoy reading and am so passionate about it that they think 'Hey, I want to be a part of that'.
The idea was a little controversial. Some students felt that this theory is nothing new - of course we will try to be passionate, inspirational, relevant. Others thought it was not their job to help students "find their identity". We have enough to do: juggling targets, a curriculum, trying to get all 31 students in your Year 9 class to remember to bring their books and to sit down when asked.
The lecture got me thinking about what I am trying to do by becoming a teacher. Am I just going over to the dark side? Making children jump through hoops, forcing irrelevant literature and grammar into one ear, only for it to fall out the other side as they leave the room? Does it matter if they remember the names of the characters in Much Ado About Nothing, as long as they leave my lesson feeling confident and as if I am interested in what they've got to say, whether it be about Shakespeare or the episode of Family Guy they watched last night? Does my main responsibility lie with the subject I love, or the interests of students I'm teaching, or is it somewhere in between?
I'd be really interested to know what you think. What do you remember about teachers who inspired you? Who made a difference to you at school? What is education, anyway?
2000 words, on my desk by Monday morning. Please.
However, at the end of the day we were asked to do something unusual. We were instructed to go to a lecture, led by the theorist Etienne Wenger, who spoke about his career and research in something called "Community of Practice", a term which, according to wikipedia, "describe[s] a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. It is in the process of sharing information and experiences in that group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally".
He spoke about how a student's interests and sense of identity affect their desire and ability to learn; how, as teachers, if we can present ourselves as inspirational, even aspirational figures, we will have the opportunity to share our knowledge with our pupils, because they will want to gain access to our universe of experience. Am I making sense?
So essentially, if I understood correctly, I should try to make my subject relevant to students, make it something which they can connect to their sense of identity, their image of themselves. They can enjoy reading, because I enjoy reading and am so passionate about it that they think 'Hey, I want to be a part of that'.
The idea was a little controversial. Some students felt that this theory is nothing new - of course we will try to be passionate, inspirational, relevant. Others thought it was not their job to help students "find their identity". We have enough to do: juggling targets, a curriculum, trying to get all 31 students in your Year 9 class to remember to bring their books and to sit down when asked.
The lecture got me thinking about what I am trying to do by becoming a teacher. Am I just going over to the dark side? Making children jump through hoops, forcing irrelevant literature and grammar into one ear, only for it to fall out the other side as they leave the room? Does it matter if they remember the names of the characters in Much Ado About Nothing, as long as they leave my lesson feeling confident and as if I am interested in what they've got to say, whether it be about Shakespeare or the episode of Family Guy they watched last night? Does my main responsibility lie with the subject I love, or the interests of students I'm teaching, or is it somewhere in between?
I'd be really interested to know what you think. What do you remember about teachers who inspired you? Who made a difference to you at school? What is education, anyway?
2000 words, on my desk by Monday morning. Please.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Remember me... ahem
Hello all,
It's been a long time!
I think I'm discovering that PGCE timetables are not so compatible with blogging... but I am going to persevere.
Thanks to nagging readers (esp. Susanna and Noemi) for encouraging me to get back online. Following advice, I'm going to try to get into a routine of writing little and often. Hence this excerpt from recent events:
Taught my first four lessons in secondary school this week. Pupils all left with limbs attached, so not too bad. Have enjoyed it actually, but following one frustrating lesson today I feel I have a lot to learn about behaviour management before it will be as successful as I would like.
Also celebrated my birthday. Chris treated me to a fabulous dinner; he cooked while I planned lessons. Was delicious! I was also treated to surprise cake at work. I was very touched. And thanks to you for all the messages and cards! :D
I'm off now. A bientot. xx
It's been a long time!
I think I'm discovering that PGCE timetables are not so compatible with blogging... but I am going to persevere.
Thanks to nagging readers (esp. Susanna and Noemi) for encouraging me to get back online. Following advice, I'm going to try to get into a routine of writing little and often. Hence this excerpt from recent events:
Taught my first four lessons in secondary school this week. Pupils all left with limbs attached, so not too bad. Have enjoyed it actually, but following one frustrating lesson today I feel I have a lot to learn about behaviour management before it will be as successful as I would like.
Also celebrated my birthday. Chris treated me to a fabulous dinner; he cooked while I planned lessons. Was delicious! I was also treated to surprise cake at work. I was very touched. And thanks to you for all the messages and cards! :D
I'm off now. A bientot. xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
