Second day back at school

I feel like a big boy now. I didn’t even cry when my mother dropped me off at the gates.

Another day spent mainly observing, which I’m not complaining about. A couple of the classes were the same students as yesterday so I got to see how their lessons were followed up. A few of them were more used to seeing me around and I assisted a little more than just watched.

I also popped over to a second year class and – like when I was visiting a Primary school a few months back – found the pupils automatically more responsive to another adult in the class, immediately using me as a source of help when they were stuck.

I’d been informed that S1 and S2 pupils were, on the whole, better behaved. As they reach the S3 point they also hit the teenage age bracket and “turn”. This does seem to hold true (in general – everyone is an individual after all), though I’ve also noticed that by the time they reach S5 they’re often over this phase to some degree.

Remember, though, I’ve only seen a smattering of classes and pupils!

During one period, we had a brief talk regarding “Raising Achievement” – methods the school uses to ensure pupils do as well as possible. This takes into account things like battling truancy and ensuring that bums are on seats for exams. Some of the children haven’t got the best home lives, so parents sometimes can’t be relied on. The lengths staff have gone to to ensure they make it in are astounding in some cases.

One anecdote was set a couple of years ago. An invigilator called the support team to report a boy in an exam hall who seemed “on something”. He was taken to one side, and he was indeed slightly wobbly and red-eyed. He was also a Celtic supporter and this was the morning after they lost the UEFA Cup Final… “All” he was suffering from was the shock of defeat and a resultant loss of sleep!

By ensuring he was kept in isolation while they fed him tea and consoled him, they enabled him to re-enter the exam hall after the rest of the pupils had finished. This meant he could actually sit the paper.

The teacher going through all this was obviously incredibly enthusiastic about her job – and about the other staff at the school. One thing she said very much echoed my own thoughts, and statements to other people, when I was considering going into teaching. This is one of the few jobs where you can make a difference. And everyone at this school is hugely geared towards this.

If things continue to go like this, I don’t freak out when I actually have to take a class myself, and I pass the course – this is very much a school I think I’d be happy to be a part of.