The October half term comes as a welcome relief to many teachers. The initial enthusiasm for the new school year is a distant memory and the work load returns with a vengeance.
Half terms serve many purposes. For me I tend to use them as a catch up week - a week where I can catch up on chores, catch up on banking, catch up on to do lists, catch up with friends etc.
The week does often speed by but I always look forward to the second half of the autumn term because it is a lovely time to be in a primary school. The mood is generally nice and the children are excited and as December nears the Christmas madness begins to take over them.
Use your first half term wisely if you are reading this as a GTP. Have you done your skills tests? Have you at least booked them?? Have you identified where the gaps are in your folder? Get these things in check as very soon you will start to notice your time disappear and before you know it you'll be off on your second school placement and then back into full time teaching.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Sunday, 9 October 2011
The Pressure of the NQT year
So you've done it. The gruelling year of managing planning, collating evidence to meet Q standards and dealing with numerous critical observations is over and you are a qualified teacher.
The bad news I'm afraid is that the hard work is just beginning. It's time to go it alone for the first time, your first job. No longer can you hide under the protective cloak of 'trainee' - you are now the teacher. The only teacher. Just you and a TA (hopefully) against the masses.
What I found most difficult is the 'being thrown in at the deep end' sensation. I was used to a schedule that had been prepared by someone else. Now it is me making the schedule. By passing the training year you are obviously capable of working as a teacher (how some people slipped through that year I will never know!) but it's the bits they don't train you for that come as a surprise. Are you prepared to fight tooth and nail for your hall slot? Are you aware of the expectations of doing a parent's evening on your own? I hope so because that is the reality.
Having a good mentor in your NQT year is important. I was lucky and was working alongside somebody who had been teaching for 5 years and so had a pretty good grasp on the role and expectations. Use the mentor wisely. They will be able to offer advice on school related issues as well as suggestions on how to effectively maintain a work life balance.
Ensure you are given all the time you are supposed to have. PPA and NQT time is a requirement and the school will be breaking LEA codes if you are not given this time out of the classroom.
A stressful home life will affect your classroom performance and so keeping a healthy balance of work and home life is vital. Allocate pockets of time and at least 1 day off at the weekend to recharge your batteries and spend time with friends and family. I know it is hard but also try to avoid talking about school - the people around you will be sick of this conversation and you will not be totally switching off of you are talking about work.
At this time of year I can imagine many NQT's will be feeling seriously under pressure. The new term is speeding by and there is still loads to be done. Relax, prioritise and ease yourself towards half term. Only another 2 and a half to go!
The bad news I'm afraid is that the hard work is just beginning. It's time to go it alone for the first time, your first job. No longer can you hide under the protective cloak of 'trainee' - you are now the teacher. The only teacher. Just you and a TA (hopefully) against the masses.
What I found most difficult is the 'being thrown in at the deep end' sensation. I was used to a schedule that had been prepared by someone else. Now it is me making the schedule. By passing the training year you are obviously capable of working as a teacher (how some people slipped through that year I will never know!) but it's the bits they don't train you for that come as a surprise. Are you prepared to fight tooth and nail for your hall slot? Are you aware of the expectations of doing a parent's evening on your own? I hope so because that is the reality.
Having a good mentor in your NQT year is important. I was lucky and was working alongside somebody who had been teaching for 5 years and so had a pretty good grasp on the role and expectations. Use the mentor wisely. They will be able to offer advice on school related issues as well as suggestions on how to effectively maintain a work life balance.
Ensure you are given all the time you are supposed to have. PPA and NQT time is a requirement and the school will be breaking LEA codes if you are not given this time out of the classroom.
A stressful home life will affect your classroom performance and so keeping a healthy balance of work and home life is vital. Allocate pockets of time and at least 1 day off at the weekend to recharge your batteries and spend time with friends and family. I know it is hard but also try to avoid talking about school - the people around you will be sick of this conversation and you will not be totally switching off of you are talking about work.
At this time of year I can imagine many NQT's will be feeling seriously under pressure. The new term is speeding by and there is still loads to be done. Relax, prioritise and ease yourself towards half term. Only another 2 and a half to go!
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Stereotypes
As a male working in the Foundation Stage of a primary school I often find myself tarnished with stereotypes. All are simply wrong.
I will use this blog to address some of these theories.
1. You work with young children - you must be gay?
WRONG. I am 100% straight, in a happy heterosexual relationship with my girlfriend.
2.You work with young children - you must be a pervert?
WRONG! I am 100% not a pervert, i simply enjoy working with the younger children because I love seeing the dramatic rate of progress they make and I feel it is important to have male role models lower down the school, especially with the high number of single parent (usually mothers) in my local area.
3. You work with young children - you must not be able to cope with older children?
I also spend time running after school clubs and trained in KS2 so clearly have the skills and ability to manage the behaviour of older children.
4. You are a man - you must be available for lifting / general DIY tasks?
WRONG! Yes I am the only male working in the school but that does not mean I automatically want to do handy man tasks. The worst case of this stereotype is when it is assumed I will happily lift huge constructions at the drop of a hat! I do have other jobs to do you know!!
Parents and colleagues share some of these views. I just wanted to set the record straight.
Rant over.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Training Days
Teachers get sent on various courses during their career. Long ones, short ones, week long lectures, year long clusters. A whole range of opportunities to get out of the classroom and sit watching the clock, waiting for the free lunch or the next coffee break in some converted office block or dingy old training centre.
As you may have guessed from that opening, I think training is a massive waste of time and money. Don't get me wrong teachers obviously have to be trained to do their job, it is training courses or training days that I dislike.
Schools spend massive chunks on CPD (continual professional development) each year. Sending teachers out of their class for long periods of time to go to training days seems pointless to me. In my experience the best training I have received since qualifying has been in-school training where a professional has been brought in and has worked with the staff as a whole. First Aid training and Child Protection training are often done this way and I think it is effective. In my brief career I have also been sent off to a range of courses to 'develop my understanding' or 'continue to grow as a professional' blah blah blah.
In my experience what these events tend to consist of is walking into a room full of strangers, most only at the course as it gets them out their classroom for the day, spending an hour doing excruciating 'ice breaker' activities which nobody gives a shit about. Oooh Heather from Devon likes ice cream. Brilliant, that is going to help me in my next observed lesson. Diana from Rotherham has been to see Billy Elliot the musical. Amazing, cant wait to feedback that at the next staff meeting.
After this tedious activity we sit down in our random groups to write on a massive piece of sugar paper (Diana is writing - she foolishly sat nearest the pens) with large Berol marker pens. These sheets are then displayed on the wall and we break for coffee while the course leader reads our answers and steals all the complimentary fruit tea bags (the menopausal hot flushes are eased by a nice caffeine free beverage apparently).
After this we stare blankly at an uninspiring PowerPoint presentation barely visible on the shoddy over head projector for what feels like 6 days. The person next to you whispers "if I was at school now... and you drift off into a boredom induced coma. Next up is a Q & A session where nobody has any questions and we squirm our way through the silence until somebody makes the move everyone has been waiting for - the dart towards the dining room.
What ensues next is a wacky races style sprint to the buffet. There isn't enough food to go round but that doesn't stop Heather creating a realistic looking reproduction of the leaning tower of Piza out of voluvants and mini quiches. By the time you get to the front all that is left is a plate of wet lettuce that was the garnish on the sandwich platter and some crisps, which, if you believe the research into bar snacks, are probably now seasoned with piss after the world and his wife have stuck their fingers in the bowl.
After lunch its time to return to the training room. You return to your seat and flick through some mass produced crap that has been copy and pasted from the Internet. Another coffee break and then it is time to fill in a course evaluation. You tick 'good' and 'very good' in fear of being spotted as the one who actually answers honestly.
You head home, knowing that your classroom will be a mess because the cover teacher wont have bothered to tidy up properly, you will have to re teach everything you left for them and worst of all, your school has shelled out £500 for this experience, when apparently there isn't enough money for you to order new laminating pouches.
As you may have guessed from that opening, I think training is a massive waste of time and money. Don't get me wrong teachers obviously have to be trained to do their job, it is training courses or training days that I dislike.
Schools spend massive chunks on CPD (continual professional development) each year. Sending teachers out of their class for long periods of time to go to training days seems pointless to me. In my experience the best training I have received since qualifying has been in-school training where a professional has been brought in and has worked with the staff as a whole. First Aid training and Child Protection training are often done this way and I think it is effective. In my brief career I have also been sent off to a range of courses to 'develop my understanding' or 'continue to grow as a professional' blah blah blah.
In my experience what these events tend to consist of is walking into a room full of strangers, most only at the course as it gets them out their classroom for the day, spending an hour doing excruciating 'ice breaker' activities which nobody gives a shit about. Oooh Heather from Devon likes ice cream. Brilliant, that is going to help me in my next observed lesson. Diana from Rotherham has been to see Billy Elliot the musical. Amazing, cant wait to feedback that at the next staff meeting.
After this tedious activity we sit down in our random groups to write on a massive piece of sugar paper (Diana is writing - she foolishly sat nearest the pens) with large Berol marker pens. These sheets are then displayed on the wall and we break for coffee while the course leader reads our answers and steals all the complimentary fruit tea bags (the menopausal hot flushes are eased by a nice caffeine free beverage apparently).
After this we stare blankly at an uninspiring PowerPoint presentation barely visible on the shoddy over head projector for what feels like 6 days. The person next to you whispers "if I was at school now... and you drift off into a boredom induced coma. Next up is a Q & A session where nobody has any questions and we squirm our way through the silence until somebody makes the move everyone has been waiting for - the dart towards the dining room.
What ensues next is a wacky races style sprint to the buffet. There isn't enough food to go round but that doesn't stop Heather creating a realistic looking reproduction of the leaning tower of Piza out of voluvants and mini quiches. By the time you get to the front all that is left is a plate of wet lettuce that was the garnish on the sandwich platter and some crisps, which, if you believe the research into bar snacks, are probably now seasoned with piss after the world and his wife have stuck their fingers in the bowl.
After lunch its time to return to the training room. You return to your seat and flick through some mass produced crap that has been copy and pasted from the Internet. Another coffee break and then it is time to fill in a course evaluation. You tick 'good' and 'very good' in fear of being spotted as the one who actually answers honestly.
You head home, knowing that your classroom will be a mess because the cover teacher wont have bothered to tidy up properly, you will have to re teach everything you left for them and worst of all, your school has shelled out £500 for this experience, when apparently there isn't enough money for you to order new laminating pouches.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Staying popular in school
Top 3 tips for staying popular in the primary school:
1. Keep the caretaker happy. Offer to help her with a little job as you walk past or drop a cup of coffee into her office as you pass - whenever you need a bit of work / assistance they will be much more likely to help you out!
2. Be polite to office staff. They are in a powerful position in the school because they know information others do not, they observe the day to day running of the building so see a lot plus they are usually squirreling things away (Pritt Stick / laminating sheets / nice paper / biscuits) so if you are on their good side you will be in a strong position in the school.
3. Offer to assist the PTA with events - never underestimate the power of the parents. If they see you as a "good egg" they will be kinder at the end of the year with presents and will be more accomdating should any issues arise
1. Keep the caretaker happy. Offer to help her with a little job as you walk past or drop a cup of coffee into her office as you pass - whenever you need a bit of work / assistance they will be much more likely to help you out!
2. Be polite to office staff. They are in a powerful position in the school because they know information others do not, they observe the day to day running of the building so see a lot plus they are usually squirreling things away (Pritt Stick / laminating sheets / nice paper / biscuits) so if you are on their good side you will be in a strong position in the school.
3. Offer to assist the PTA with events - never underestimate the power of the parents. If they see you as a "good egg" they will be kinder at the end of the year with presents and will be more accomdating should any issues arise
Small World
The small world area of a reception classroom is a surprisingly popular part of the room. It gets equal attention from both boys and girls, plus it can be made exciting and interesting quickly and cheaply.
I tend to change the small world area every two weeks. Sometimes more regularly but that is the general rule I go by. The children love the simplicity of a farm set up or the dolls house. I try to be as creative as I can with my small world, adding grass, sand or leaves to add a realistic element.
My most popular small worlds are the farm, dinosaurs, the dolls house and the mini beasts.
I have gathered some excellent evidence in the small world area of my room. It can be a great spot to observe quieter children playing alongside others, creating characters for toys and really showing off an imaginative side I may have otherwise missed.
The small world area is also great for getting the children involved in developing the learning environment. I regularly get the children to suggest ideas for the small world and help them to create it.
I would be interested to know how other people use their small world areas - how often to you change it? What set ups have worked well? Do you link it to your topic or theme?
I tend to change the small world area every two weeks. Sometimes more regularly but that is the general rule I go by. The children love the simplicity of a farm set up or the dolls house. I try to be as creative as I can with my small world, adding grass, sand or leaves to add a realistic element.
My most popular small worlds are the farm, dinosaurs, the dolls house and the mini beasts.
I have gathered some excellent evidence in the small world area of my room. It can be a great spot to observe quieter children playing alongside others, creating characters for toys and really showing off an imaginative side I may have otherwise missed.
The small world area is also great for getting the children involved in developing the learning environment. I regularly get the children to suggest ideas for the small world and help them to create it.
I would be interested to know how other people use their small world areas - how often to you change it? What set ups have worked well? Do you link it to your topic or theme?
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Positive procrastination
Procrastination:
procrastinate: postpone doing what one should be doing
Procrastinating is a constant distraction from sitting down to do my planning. I like nothing more than finding excuses to avoid actually sitting down at my computer and doing the inevitable paper work required by the establishment.
Favourite activities include checking Facebook, writing a blog, checking my blog statistics, checking Facebook again (nothing is new), looking on eBay for stuff I can't afford and don't need, checking Facebook again, clicking through the holiday photographs of somebody I last spoke to in 1996 and then going to make a cup of coffee because once I have done that I will start my work.....
I think procrastinating is part of everyday life so trying to make it a positive activity is a new target of mine. I want to channel this energy into sensible activities. My main ideas centre around doing more tidying up and more exercise. I think if I can trick my body into thinking I am avoiding doing work I may be on to a winner.
If you suddenly see an steep increase / decrease in blogging take it as a bad sign as I have either given up totally on the new plan or, probably more likely, I will have started procrastinating my anti procrastination tasks!
procrastinate: postpone doing what one should be doing
Procrastinating is a constant distraction from sitting down to do my planning. I like nothing more than finding excuses to avoid actually sitting down at my computer and doing the inevitable paper work required by the establishment.
Favourite activities include checking Facebook, writing a blog, checking my blog statistics, checking Facebook again (nothing is new), looking on eBay for stuff I can't afford and don't need, checking Facebook again, clicking through the holiday photographs of somebody I last spoke to in 1996 and then going to make a cup of coffee because once I have done that I will start my work.....
I think procrastinating is part of everyday life so trying to make it a positive activity is a new target of mine. I want to channel this energy into sensible activities. My main ideas centre around doing more tidying up and more exercise. I think if I can trick my body into thinking I am avoiding doing work I may be on to a winner.
If you suddenly see an steep increase / decrease in blogging take it as a bad sign as I have either given up totally on the new plan or, probably more likely, I will have started procrastinating my anti procrastination tasks!
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