Teaching

[Amplesamples]

As you continue to teach, you'll start developing your own style and will use PPA time to best suit that style. I'm in my second year of teaching music (currently doing The Nuum Scheme Of Work with Year 7), and when you start on a full timetable you have to be really super-tight with how much time you spend planning, marking etc. Never let your planner out of your sight.

Someone once said to me that when you are in the class that you are yourself, only more so - that seems about right, just decide which bits of yourself you want to be. In the long run it will cost a lot less emotional energy.

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Absolutely right. And when you have a bad day, you have to leave it at the door, even if kids are really playing up..... not always easy!

Great to see someone with some real enthusiasm though - stay positive (with yourself as well as the kids, it's very easy to start thinking you're awful the minute something goes wrong - I had two great weeks when I started training and then one absolute stinker of a lesson and really punished myself for it) and don't worry about praising too much at this stage (unless they're either really lazy/nasty) as you're still building a relationship with them. Best of luck!!!

 

[ripley]

for the ambitious, this anthropology teacher (who wins lots of awards as an anthropologist and a teacher) has a funny but daunting description of the pitfalls of powerpoint and the value of using more interactive screen stuff in his teaching

http://savageminds.org/2006/04/11/technology-in-the-classroom-powerpoint-alternatives/

 

[don_quixote]

"The government’s changes to the primary curriculum will lead to children learning less not more. The move away from traditional subject areas will lead to a further erosion of standards," said Mr Gove.

what makes tories chat so much fucking shit?

 

[mixed_biscuits]

what makes tories chat so much fucking shit?

Why is that such a heinous thing to say?

 

[don_quixote]

oh fuck, you know it's bad when you're reading 'breakdown britain' at 3 the morning (talking of which, the graphs in that report are terrible)

that actually wasn't the worst thing he said, the worst thing he said was "schools in the top-performing countries in the world and the top independent schools in this country teach children hard subject knowledge not soft topics." and it wasn't nearly as bad as what the lib dems said which was something like "teaching ict is all well and good so long as it isn't at the expense of numeracy and literacy".

it's just all politician bullshit (i shouldn't have picked on the tories in particular, but, you know, habits die hard) where they skirt around the real problem because middle-class voters are fond of it.

(i'm find it hard to form more reasoned arguments as i can't sleep, i'll come back to it later)

 

[don_quixote]

oh it's come to me; the thing i object to most in that statement is the implication that a less proscriptive curriculum is a 'bad thing' and that teachers can't be trusted to teach properly unless they're told precisely what to teach.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

oh it's come to me; the thing i object to most in that statement is the implication that a less proscriptive curriculum is a 'bad thing' and that teachers can't be trusted to teach properly unless they're told precisely what to teach.

As things stand, schools are at liberty to organise their subject teaching under over-arching themes. Teachers are also encouraged to make 'cross-curricular' links in their teaching.

There has to be some sort of prescriptive curriculum, partly to ensure that children moving from school to school can 'pick up where they left off.' This is especially important for Maths, for instance - there should be a core of subject knowledge that is agreed by all schools.

As for the 'how' of teaching, teachers have been allowed more leeway of late - the three part lesson is no longer dictated to us, for example.

I don't see why saying that literacy and numeracy are of primary importance is so shameful - it is absolutely essential that children can read, write and do basic maths before entering secondary school. In any case, a fair amount of ICT is dressed-up English or Maths work (presentations, spreadsheets, databases etc).

As for private schools focusing on the 'traditional' or 'hard' subjects more than state schools - this is true. Private schools are also allowed to teach these subjects in any way that they see fit, be that discretely or thematically.

Asserting that subject boundaries be collapsed and brought under larger themes is all well and good, but this is merely replacing one kind of prescription for another.

 

[don_quixote]

I don't see why saying that literacy and numeracy are of primary importance is so shameful - it is absolutely essential that children can read, write and do basic maths before entering secondary school. In any case, a fair amount of ICT is dressed-up English or Maths work (presentations, spreadsheets, databases etc).

it's not shameful, it's just a nothing thing to say dressed up as criticism. why not knock out the whole of the curriculum for the primary important of numeracy and literacy? why pick on ict?

i hate leaving half finished posts, but i really want some tea i wish you could save them in some way and come back to them.

 

[...]

Well this month I'm going to two very different schools to observe lessons: Pimlico Academy and Alleyn's in Dulwich. One, a very tough inner city comp, the other a very posh girl's school.

How can I get a rough idea of the UK national curriculum set texts for A-Level and GCSE literature? I guess I should just refamiliarise myself with the entire English canon. I mean, that wouldn't be a bad thing to do anyway. Although shit like Ted Hughes might be a bit of a chore.

 

[jenks]

Well this month I'm going to two very different schools to observe lessons: Pimlico Academy and Alleyn's in Dulwich. One, a very tough inner city comp, the other a very posh girl's school.

How can I get a rough idea of the UK national curriculum set texts for A-Level and GCSE literature? I guess I should just refamiliarise myself with the entire English canon. I mean, that wouldn't be a bad thing to do anyway. Although shit like Ted Hughes might be a bit of a chore.

It all depends on the exam board but here are a few links, click on the bit that says specifications

http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gceasa/englia.php - one of the most popular A level Lit courses

http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/eng_lit_b_new.php another popular one

gcse specs: http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gcse/eng_a.php

It will depnd upon the institution - at GCSE level they are expected to study a Shakespeare, 2 prose texts (one pre 20th Century), a modern drama and 2 poetry texts (one pre 20th and the other is usually an exam board prepared anthology - sometimes including Hughes!)

You also need to think about Key Stage 3 - years 7-9 (first form to third form, if you are as old as me). Whilst there is more freedom there you may well be expected to teach a range of poetry/prose/drama - some of which may well make your teeth itch. it often depends on how well the department is stocked.

This is avery useful place to check out:

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/secondary/keystage3/subjects/english/

Good luck - sounds like an interesting time ahead

 

[...]

Thanks again Jenks. Personally, I find this the most useful Dissensus forum ever.

I went to see Twelfth Night at Wyndhams Theatre last night with Derek Jacobi and stunning Indira Varma. Quite often I can't stand Shakespeare in performance, but this was phenomenal. You ought to organise a school trip to see it Jenks - it would be an absolute revelation for the kids. A very funny and elegant production.

 

[jenks]

Thanks again Jenks. Personally, I find this the most useful Dissensus forum ever.

I went to see Twelfth Night at Wyndhams Theatre last night with Derek Jacobi and stunning Indira Varma. Quite often I can't stand Shakespeare in performance, but this was phenomenal. You ought to organise a school trip to see it Jenks - it would be an absolute revelation for the kids. A very funny and elegant production.

Maybe I should but I would have to fill in a risk assessment the size of a phone book and then spend the whole performance worrying about making sure I got them all home safe and sound! I used to do loads of theatre trips but nowadays the sheer level of hassle puts me off! I do like 12th Night - I remember one production from way back with an absolutely stunning Maria.

Also Donald Sinden's Malvolio was supposed to be phenomenal - he enters, checks his watch, looks at th sundial and, then, goes over and changes the sundial - apparently he got a 4 minute oveation every night - all without saying a word.

Any extra help I can give regarding teaching, just let me know, it's nice to actually be of some assistance.

 

[minikomi]

i've only just stumbled out of the music forum and onto this post but will read through it a bit later - should be working drawing stuff at the moment - how much of this is relevant to kindergarten? im currently teaching here:

http://www.monocle.com/sections/design/Web-Articles/Fuji-Kindergarten/

 

[don_quixote]

i guess as a prospective maths teacher i definitely do not have to think about school trips ever. (naive; naive; naive; not entirely truthful)

craner - sounds great, especially the mix. the school im at next placement is a single-sex non-selective school, which makes me a bit nervy. i've never been in an all-boys school before. could be a shock.

 

[jenks]

I teach at all boys school (girls in the sixth form). I enjoy it most of the time - I could do without the aggressively macho attitude that comes with some of them but generally it's ok. I might feel differently if I were a woman though.

School trips - you'll be wanting to take a select group to Maths challenge event or such like I should imagine then the horror of the risk assessment will become all too apparent.

 

[don_quixote]

it's "nice". i don't know where you teach, but i envisage it will be less of a problem. shall we put it that way? i'm not amazingly happy with the placement, would much prefer something similar to where i'd be teaching next year (not that i know yet), but you learn something from every school i guess.

 

[jenks]

South East Essex - the closed thing we have to a comp in a grammar school area. Boys are hard work, especially when teaching a subject such as English, where boys regularly underperform. I like teaching boys who come from a similar background to myself - home counties council estate. I know they think they are all badmen but they are not in comparison to guys from Stratford etc!

It might be different with Maths. The difficulty in recruiting good maths teachers might mean the boys are just delighted to have soemone teach them who is actually training to do the job and not a geographer with spare hours on her timetable.

 

[don_quixote]

ok, i'm deep into main block placement now, really enjoying it again but...

any tips for being able to switch off last night? it seriously took me 2 hours to sleep last night tossing and turning thinking about bloody year 7 and ratios.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

ok, i'm deep into main block placement now, really enjoying it again but...

any tips for being able to switch off last night? it seriously took me 2 hours to sleep last night tossing and turning thinking about bloody year 7 and ratios.

a) Don't take work home - do it all at school after hours.

b) Leave ratios until the end of the year. If you're lucky you might have forgotten to teach them by then.

 

[jenks]

ok, i'm deep into main block placement now, really enjoying it again but...

any tips for being able to switch off last night? it seriously took me 2 hours to sleep last night tossing and turning thinking about bloody year 7 and ratios.

Agree with Mixed - leave work at work.

Get some exercise and get to bed earlier than you are used to.

The alternative is that pissed teacher who is always in the corner of the pub!