Category: Work

All good things and all that. Today was the last day of my initial Induction Period and it was a shame to be leaving, in all honesty. Once more it was quite busy and once more I picked up a few more hints, a dollop more information and a huge amount of potential job satisfaction.

I’m starting to get more of a feel for the politics involved with teaching, both internal to the school I’m in and around the subject in general. Budgets, departmental cutbacks and policy changes are all whinged about to a huge degree by everyone. However, the one thing all these whingers have in common is that they are only complaining if the end result is likely to affect the standard of education offered to the kids.

Okay, this won’t be the case in every school. I’m sure there are some bad eggs out there who are only miffed that they won’t be getting a pay rise this year. As I have probably said before on here, the school I’m placed at doesn’t seem to have anyone with that attitude in place and for that I’m glad.

I was working with one young pupil today, and have actually spent a bit of time with him in random lessons over the fortnight. I’ll call him Ben for the sake of narrative. Ben’s somewhat behind on his reading and writing. I’m not sure if he’s got a learning disability or if he just needs to play catchup for other reasons. What I do know is he’s generally attentive, very bright and one of the most helpful children of his age I’ve ever seen. Polite and pleasant.

The problem is that his lack of reading and writing skills slow him down a lot, and frustrate him. In Computing, he’s having to plod through a computer-based learning package which is accompanied by a text book and a pile of worksheets. For any child, this is a little tedious and impersonal. For him it’s like climbing a mountain using strands of cotton instead of rope.

He goes through the exercises on screen quickly enough, but comes a cropper when the instructions tell him to read a chapter of the book. It’s simply too time-consuming. Likewise when he has to fill in a worksheet, he can really only manage to write it out slowly. I spent most of today’s class sat with him as a “scribe”, doing some of his writing for him. He gave the correct answers most of the time so he’s definitely taking things in but his patience is limited.

I was speaking to his class teacher afterwards and she was grateful for the help. When she doesn’t have someone to assist with Ben she has to spend a lot of her own time with him and as a result, the other children don’t get the time and attention that they need.

With a better budget, Ben would have a semi-permanent assistant to take the load off the teacher and to assist him in boosting his own language skills. Instead, due to staff cuts he doesn’t – and as a result both he and his peers are suffering. However, not one of the teachers I spoke to has an issue with him. Nobody complains about dealing with the “slow kid” or how he’s making things difficult.

Instead, they grumble about the fact that they can’t help him. Because that’s what all the staff want to do – give him the education he deserves. Sadly in this economic climate, unless some kind souls donate their time freely, that’s just not going to happen.

As I said, though, the end of the two week placement and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I only wish I could thank the school and staff by name on here. They deserve the praise!

Back to college on Monday for a week, then October Week “off”, followed by two more weeks’ study then back to school for a whole six weeks in the lead up to Xmas. I’ve just worked out how much paperwork I have to do and my pen-holding hand is complaining in advance.

Another couple of days under my belt and I’m still not ready to kill anyone else, let alone myself. I am becoming more and more aware of the workload and issues to be dealt with – as well as the ongoing lack of employment opportunities for qualified teachers – but they’re all problems to worry about further down the road.

Tuesday breezed by with a couple of lectures with some staff members and a visit to a second “associate” Primary school. I’ve been warned against calling them “Feeder Schools” as apparently it upsets the staff there. Not something I want to do! Not because they’re scary but because they’re lovely and I’d not want to insult them!

One event of note in the secondary school before I left after lunch was a shout of “Sir! Help!” in the corridor. A boy, I’d guess about 15 years old, was being pinned against a wall by a girl who was not overly pleased with him for some reason. It was obviously a light-hearted matter, so I just looked and said “No, you look like you’re managing fine by yourself.”

Then she kneed him in the spuds.

“Ooh… you’ll have to get used to that. It happens a lot in later life.”

He grimaced, nodded and wandered off cupping himself. Poor sod. He’ll learn.

The Primary we visited covers a different catchment are from the one we went to on Thursday, and is run in a completely different way. It’s surprising to see that two schools so close geographically (there can’t be more than 1 1/2 miles between them) can operate in such different manners and have such varying facilities. This one seems more like the one I used to go to with the addition of a (sadly understaffed, but utterly wonderful) nursery.

Once more I left wondering if I shouldn’t have been more tenacious about getting on to the Primary PGDE! We were left to wander between forms and the children were all pretty well behaved and pleasant to spend time with. I must have had about twenty or more telling me how much they liked my tie! Covered in Warner Brothers cartoons, for those who are interested.

Today was another “novelty” day where I was to shadow a first year pupil across all her classes. I’d been “warned” about the girl I was shadowing being a bit of a loudmouth and I’d likely want to try and ditch her by the end of second period. This didn’t turn out to be the case and, despite not being the most model of pupils, she was very nice to me. Sometimes being given something “important” to do can bring out the best in a pupil.

We covered a variety of classes including Art, Music, English, German, Science and History. The way the school’s structured, not all of the pupils are in the same class for each subject – there’s some “streaming” based on ability and previous experience at Primary. For instance, some children did French at Primary, so they go into French in S1; others go into German classes.

What was most interesting was watching the class as a whole in each subject. You can tell by their behaviour which ones they enjoy most. One boy who was slouching around in German was bouncing (in a good way) in Art. Another who wouldn’t stop talking to his friends in History was completely focussed in Music.

I was tired by the end of the day, but I’d learned a lot. I also came to the conclusion that I’d be more than happy teaching English at S1/S2 level. The creativity shown by the children in that class was nothing short of fantastic. They were working on poems – haiku and “lantern poems” – in a bid to teach them about syllables. Whereas many adult-written poems seem to be over-thought, the sheer simplicity of the works this class came up with was eye-opening.

Don’t get me wrong, the other classes were good but I’m rubbish as Art and Music so there’s no way I’d be teaching them!

Two more days left and back to college where, I gather, the “real work” begins. Argh.

And so the first week draws to a close. I’ve dealt with some kids with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning difficulties. I’ve also dealt with their support staff who are awsome. As are the kids, frankly.

I’ve been handed a pile of paperwork for use when I’m actually teaching. This ranges from toilet passes, to attendance registers to official Punishment Exercise slips.

I’ve been shown how to take register.

I’ve been invited into other classes, and to join in some of the lunchtime clubs (one of which I will definitely be signing up for next week).

I’ve been to one of the feeder primary schools (more later) which has opened my eyes further.

I’m still not put off. If anything, I’ve been even more impressed than I have been over the last few days. I wish I could name the school simply as I’m overwhelmed with the attitude of the staff and the results they’re achieved over the last few years. If I had kids I’d be trying to ensure my house was within the catchment area.

Enough hyperbole. What have I actually been doing? Well, mainly gathering notes and sheets of information. I also now have a small pile of past papers with which to test myself to ensure I know what I’m supposed to be teaching. This is Very Important. The handful of meetings I’ve attended have been of that rare breed: useful. So much information has been thrown my way it’s hard to take it all in, but it’s all good stuff.

Pipping the experiences of the week, though, was this afternoon’s visit to one of the handful of primary schools that feed into the secondary I’m at. We were warmly welcomed by the head teacher who’d arranged for each of us to be ushered around by a P7 child. My guide was Ross, and believe me if there were more kids like him then the world would be a significantly better place. A little shy, but quick to talk once you hit on a subject he was interested in and very polite. He really took it as quite an honour to be showing one of the guests around. If I happen to see him around town with his parents I will be more than happy to say “hello” and tell them how good their son is.

Ross dropped me off at the Language Centre, a department reserved for struggling kids and used by several nearby schools – not just for pupils of the host school. Any children who are having communication problems are directed here and given special tuition to bring them up to a level where they can fit into their peer groups.

The three children in this class were just lovely, as was their teacher. We did a couple of simple exercises, the first of which involved sitting in a circle and each telling “news” stories – things that had happened to us in the last week. The others then got the chance to ask questions or make statements relating to the subject matter. The idea of this is to encourage them to focus and hold their attention and also to learn to take turns. In a small group such as this, keeping control is relatively easy but still the children were a credit to themselves. Sitting with them was like kicking back with friends. Very comfortable indeed.

While we were doing some word exercises on the blackboard, Ross appeared to take me to a Primary 2 class which was sat on the floor learning about parts of the eye when I arrived. I sat at the back and kept pointing towards the teacher whenever little stares focused on me.

After five minutes, someone came to the door and the teacher was called away. “Would you mind taking over for a couple of minutes?” she asked. I was handed a sheet with some Braille type on it and left to fend for myself.

Wow.

OK, so I didn’t keep the best of control but the children didn’t know me. Familiarity, in the Primary environment, seems to breed respect. Within reason, of course. The kids certainly didn’t try anything on, it was more that they wanted to ask so many questions and tell me all their little things. The important thing is that they were all still alive when “Miss” came back in and set them on to a more practical task.

I helped a few of them with this and then their little arty project before they were all sat down to have a quick chat before the end of the day. The teacher asked them what they were doing over the weekend. One of the boys piped up “having a baby!”

It turns out his mother was due with his first sibling and had been taken to hospital that morning. By the time he got home, chances are he’d be a brother. How cool is that?

Just before 3:00, my guide appeared to ensure I made it to the front door in time for the bell. I thanked him and shook his hand and received a beaming smile in return. All of the PGDE students gathered in the hallway before setting off home and every single one of us had a silly grin on our faces.

Again, we had all been impressed with the organisation by the staff and the welcome we’d had from the children. It was only a quick visit but the impression I got of this school was overwhelmingly positive. The catchment covers a wide variety of social standings and next week we’ve got another visit to one in a more generally affluent area. It will be interesting to compare.

Considering the relative chaos of sorting out my Disclosure in a panic on Monday, this was a superb way to end the week. Very much from middly-low-ish to high. I am actually looking forward to school next week.

Never in my life did I think I would utter those words.

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.

First up, I’m going to be very careful not to mention anything to even remotely identify any staff, students or schools during any placements. A handful of friends and relatives know where I’m at at the moment (including one who turned out to be an ex-pupil there!) and that’s as far as it need go. Any posts about the course will be about how I’m getting on and my impressions. No specifics. Sorry if that bores you but I have other people’s anonymity to protect as well as a professional code of conduct to adhere to.

Professional. Me.

Oh dear, this will all end in tears.

Anyway, I’m glad to say the whole Disclosure thing was dealt with swiftly this morning. My copy had arrived in the post, but the uni hadn’t received theirs courtesy of lazy postal workers who fancied an unpaid holiday (my student card is still missing for similar reasons). As a result, I had to make a detour via the uni so they could check out the form, call the school and ensure it was OK for me to go in first thing – which it was.

I got there at 9:30, which wasn’t too bad all things considered, and only missed a meeting with the Head Teacher. We were given some useful bumph, a timetable of events scheduled for us then taken on a quick tour by one of the Deputes. After break, I was handed over to the teacher who is to oversee me for the next two weeks.

Unfortunately, and understandably, as she’d been told on Friday that I wouldn’t be in due to the Disclosure mess she had nothing planned for me. Instead I sat and observed through a few lessons, but that was by no means wasted time. We’ve been asked to spot things and gather “hints and tips” if you like by watching practised teachers.

As such, I started making bullet notes with small subtitles: Discipline, Equipment, Routine, Questions Asked and the like. I could do with getting a new watch so I can time the way the lessons are split up – my 1000 Kyat Rolex died a few weeks ago. How the pupils are handled does vary a lot depending on the individual and what/how they’re doing.

Overall, the kids weren’t that bad (with two exceptions) and behaviour was vastly different from age group to age group. My guiding teacher is very forthright and honest when talking about students, the school, materials, government guidelines and everything else. This is incredibly useful and something for which I’m grateful. She’s also pretty cool, though I guarantee the kids don’t see her that way!

The school itself is really good. They have plenty of original programs, support networks for students who require a huge variety of types of aid, a decent canteen, a great staff room, and a good reputation from those I’ve spoken to. The walls around the place have newspaper clippings detailing achievements by the staff, pupils and the school as a whole.

I really think I’ve landed on my feet with this as my first placement, especially after talking to another student who’s not had anywhere near as nice an experience on her first day. Sure, it’s not 100% perfect but where would the fun in that be?

My overseer has already mentioned me taking a class or two. Perhaps before the end of the week. I put on the calm “yes, let’s see” face while inside my stomach kind of clenched. I don’t think she noticed the sudden cold sweat either.

Actually, it’s more the fact that I don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to teach that’s my main issue. Specifically, I’ve not been able to find any syllabuses online. If they are there, they’re very well hidden. Thankfully I should be the owner of either a URL or a photocopy of them sometime tomorrow. Aces. I also think I might try to borrow some past papers for the various levels from the school library. If I can’t answer the papers I shouldn’t be teaching the subject!

As I’ve discussed with several others on the course, this is our last “easy” couple of weeks. Once we return to uni in a fortnight, things are going to ramp up a notch. The workload’s going to be daunting, to say the least. I’m going to make the most of this temporary freedom!