This blog has a new home!

I got fed up of looking at other people's super professional looking blogs so I decided to get an edublog!

Update your bookmarks!

Book Free Libraries!

I kid you not!

This article in the Times Higher paper highlights a worrying trend in our schools, a movement towards digital information as the only information available in schools. Google replaces librarians and their dewey decimal system and website replace books and newspapers as the source of all knowledge. 

I know I'm not the only person who loves books, many people do, and like most people my love of books and reading comes from plenty of exposure to books and libraries when I was young. By getting rid of libraries we risk marginalising books as sources of information and pleasure for a whole generation of children!

If we take a moment to think of schools purely as places where we prepare young people for the worlds of work and higher education (which I don't, but just for arguments sake) there is still a case to be made for libraries. Using a library teaches you to sift through a mass of information to find what's relevant. You have to do this on the internet too. When writing essays for university I frequently had my allowance of ten books out at any one time, and often had to do triage or photocopying to get the information I needed. I also copied or took notes from multiple print journals which were unavailable online, despite the fact that literally thousands of journals are. If I'd only used online sources I doubt I would have passed. By getting rid of libraries and information skills we risk narrowing the skill set of state pupils and putting up another barrier between them and the elite universities.

I always took great pride in announcing during tours of campus that our library housed 'over a million' books. This was something to be proud of, and often visitors were more interested in this than the computer suite right next door. My university is a very young one, but great, top 5 or six in the country every year, because it prides itself on links with business and constantly keeps itself up to date, yet it values the library, staffs it with subject specialist librarians and has just spent money redeveloping it and modernising it. Yes, there are more computers in the library than I would like, but the books are still there. 

State Schools - The Truth!

I recently read this article on the Independent. Chris Parry, a former rear admiral and the new chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), spoke out on his view of state education and was accused of snobbishness by the NUT and of being 'misguided' (i.e. wrong) by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

His views was as follows:

1. State schools are 'struggling with unteachable children, ignorant parents and staff who don't want to be there'

2. 'Comprehensive school pupils cannot be expected to get into top universities if they are bullied by classmates from "disadvantaged backgrounds".'

3. 'There are too many leaders but not enough leadership, there are a lot of managers but not enough management. There aren't enough teachers and aren't enough teachers in the subjects we need. It's lacking human, material [and] financial resources."

This seems to be a fairly accurate view of the situation, albeit very generalised. Of course schools are struggling, when inclusion forces them to take children who should be separated from other kids for their own protection, when parents insist that their little darling has done nothing wrong and 'Miss X' is just picking on him, and when they have teachers exhausted from working all the hours God sends for no respect. The comment about leaders has been fully covered on Old Andrews blog Scenes From the Battleground here and here, and he has much more experience in these matters than me. The TES forums to tend to support this view though. 

The one point I do have experience on, however, is the second point. In many ways mine, and many of my classmates', success is despite the state education system, not because of it. As much as the powers that be would like to deny it, even when I was at secondary school (about 10 years ago now) it was not a good idea to do well (except at sport). 

Here are my tips for surviving state education:

Never voluntarily answer a question in class, certainly don't ask any. 

Make sure you have at least one 'popular' friend (I had one from primary school) who will make sure you're generally left alone.

Help a Chav with their work if they're sat next to you, that'll gain you some respite.

Grow a very thick skin.

Take up a sport, that'll gain you credibility and make sure you're not the last one picked during PE.

NEVER take the school bus, and don't walk to or from school alone. 

Ensure you have a lot of people around you at break or lunch, better still immerse yourself in extracurricular activities, they are a haven from the chav invested waters of the school yard. 

Keep up with the fashion, rolled up skirts, tiny ties or thickly knotted ties, scrunchies, perms, straightened hair, friendship bracelets etc. Any of these can prevent serious teasing.

Break the odd rule, living a little bit dangerously now and again can get you a bit of respect.

Do not behave in a confrontational manner towards anyone bigger, or meaner, than you.

There are many other things to bear in mind, if you have anything to add please press the comments link!

Teacher Bashing!

In my opinion there is way too much of this in todays society. In the opinion of many people teachers get too much money and too many days off. Why should teachers strike for a pay increase? They already earn loads. Arguments about teachers working long days and using holidays to reclaim some of this time fall on deaf ears. We work unpaid overtime too, and don't get nearly that much holiday. Teachers should work just as hard as we do! Does anyone else see that fault in this argument? This society places too much emphasis on work! We should be working 80 hour weeks for 40 hours pay - otherwise we're not working hard enough. This is the underlying issue. In my opinion we should all go on strike - or at least everyone should work the hours they are paid for, nothing more. This would improve life immensely.

Do people really want their kids taught by teachers who are overworked and burned out? Do they really want schools to give their children hardly any holiday - just so teachers have to work a more 'fair' number of days? Perhaps teachers should spend their holidays doing pointless INSET training, planning lessons and marking books.... oh! That's what many of them already do.

I'm not stupid, I know that holidays are a perk of the job and they are one of the reasons teaching appeals to me, but I see it like school or university holidays, yes there are no classes, but that doesn't mean that there isn't still some homework to be done. 

 

Recent news stories

I thought I'd make a little montage of education related stories I've read recently and my reactions to them. 

Hollyoaks to feature the new diplomas!

Part of me thinks this is a good marketing strategy... the rest of me despairs that this is necessary. I can only think of two reasons the kids don't want to do these diplomas, one, they haven't given it any consideration and gone for the simpler option, or two, they have considered it and decided to go with the one that will give them the better chance of getting into a good uni. Hollyoaks can only help with the former, not the latter reason. 

Long school holidays 'should end'

I actually don't know how I feel about this. Shorter terms with small breaks might really help with concentration, and to prevent teacher burn out. They might also mean more parents taking their kids out of school in the summer, as the summer vacation period will become even smaller and more expensive. 

Every school has at least one bad teacher

In my opinion stories like this one are severely damaging to the general morale of the teaching profession. Of course there are bad teachers, and of course they should be found and either helped to become good teachers or else 'moved on' as Jim Knight put it. All stories like this do is give the media and the public fodder to claim that all of society's ills (including anti-social behaviour, poor numeracy and literacy in our young people and the economic downturn) are entirely the fault of teachers in general, and bad teachers in particular. 

This independent reader missed the point entirely, when she complained about her daughter receiving numerous after school detentions. By concentrating on the inconvenience of the detention's timing, this parent ignored the fact that the child is clearly disrupting the learning of the other children in her school. 

And finally, if anyone can demonstrate how this new assessment for GCSE oral examinations can be fairly administered then I'd be most grateful to hear it.

Working class thicker than middle class?

Recently there has been a great deal of fuss made over the fact that the elite universities are not admitting a fair number of kids from 'bog standard comprehensives' and even going so far as to blame the teachers for this phenomenon, but I was astounded when I read this! This 'academic' has the temerity to claim that working class people have a lower IQ, and therefore shouldn't expect to gain a place in 'elite' universities! That this is a meritocracy, nothing more. 

I, for one, take offense at this! 

Definitions of 'class' are complicated, and depend on which direction you are coming from. Is class defined by culture, by income, by outlook? My grandparents were definitely working class, and this is how my parents were both brought up. Two of my uncles on my dad's side are postmen, but the other is currently a university lecturer. My father got decent A levels and worked his way up through the ranks of a well known department store to a senior management position and later did a degree in computer programming. My mother works for a well known supermarket, where she started as an assistant, and now she's management. This is my background, this is how I was brought up. Am I working class, or middle class? 

We always had enough money, even if it was tight sometimes, and I never had free school meals, so, financially at least, we were just about middle class. 

I always had books and computers in the house, my parents encouraged me to read anything and everything, bought me musical instruments and music when I wanted to play and sent me on exchange visits to hone my language skills. Culturally, then, I am middle class.  

My parents were very definitely working class, at least in upbringing, but they were also clever, and they worked hard to ensure that my brothers and I all got a good start in life. They passed on to us the traditionally working class values of a good work ethic, an understanding of the value of money and the need to be thrifty, and most importantly a knowledge of the importance of the family network. When I was old enough, I voted labour (back when that meant something), I am accepted and loved by my predominantly working class family and I flinch when I hear something like this. In many ways I still identify with the working classes. 

I excelled at school, and found everything easy. I got fantastic GCSE and A level grades, due as much to good schooling and parental support as to my own abilities. I got these at a bog standard comprehensive in a former industrial town in the North East (incidentally, Dr Charlton is a professor at Newcastle university). I won a place at Oxbridge, and went too. 

If my dad had everything I had, he would have got into Oxbridge too. I firmly believe that. Whether he would have wanted to go is another matter entirely. The elite universities have a culture that is a mystery to the working class. They have lunch, then dinner, whereas we have dinner and tea. They have matriculations in latin, gowns in formal hall, beautiful old buildings with lawns you're not allowed to walk on and sherry with the fellows once a term. Pimms and croquet, a hearty rowing culture and special names for their exams. They are full to busting with people entirely comfortable with this way of life, not wonder the working classes are reluctant to apply there, especially when they come from a family where no one ever lives more than a thirty minute drive from the others. That's just the culture. Almost all the other students went to public schools or grammar schools, are widely read and super clever. You have to be very bright indeed, and very confident, to hold your own in such company. I am speaking from experience, not stereotypes when I describe this way of life. I had a great time during my one year there before I failed and moved on, but I never truly felt I belonged. This is the problem. Bright young people from working class communities don't necessarily want this life. 

That's just the culture. What about the money? In this era of top up fees and general high cost of living, it's no wonder that students from lower income families would prefer to stay at home and save some of the costs of living and studying elsewhere. There was a student in my Oxbridge college who had everything paid for him, always bought people drinks at the bar, because he always had the money and had a charge card for the main book shop in town. I had to scrip and save my meagre student loan, plus what my parents could afford to give and an overdraft allowance to be able to afford books and day to day expenses. 

Academically? Oxbridge conjures up images of almost casual intelligence. Philosophical chats over Pimms, poetry readings in dark cafés and one on one tutorials with the most intelligent people in the country. This is perhaps a little daunting for someone from a Comp, who has perhaps been beaten up for playing in the band, attending a chess club or getting 10 out of 10 on a test, or whose parents believe they should get their noses out of those books and go and earn some money. 

If the middle classes do have a higher IQ it's because they have had all the opportunities in the world to develop their intelligence. Because they have been socialised into a culture where intelligence is rewarded, not scorned. This academic believes this is meritocratic. The middle classes are smarter and therefore deserve it more. Rubbish! The middle classes have an almost unassailable advantage over the working classes. 

The elite universities are often so far removed from the day to day reality of many working class communities that it's no wonder they're not applying for them. They're an impenetrable world meant for other people, for the upper classes, people with money and brains, not for them. This is the problem. These universities can admit students if they don't apply. 

I don't mean to say that students from comprehensive schools shouldn't apply to elite universities, quite the opposite. The ancients in particular (Oxford, Cambridge, Durham) along with the London Universities and the major city red brick institutions provide an excellent launch into a world of work where the source of a degree is becoming increasingly more important. We need to know what barriers exist, so that we can abolish them. I hope that as a teacher I will play a small part in this, but attitudes like Dr Charlton's can only harm the situation.  

Hooray!

Good news - I received a letter accepting me onto the French booster course in August. This is good news because it means I can meet the conditions of my offer. It is bad news because it means three weeks of intensive french and adding two textbooks to my already large collection of french grammar books. 

Also, my other half has an aptitude test next week. It's the first stage of an interview process for a good and reasonably well paid job. We'll need the extra income while I'm training, and wile I'm looking for work after the end of the course. Fingers crossed! 

There we go, I promised I'd be sunnier!

Getting there

Another situation update - I'm now officially checked and cleared. I am not a criminal!

By this I mean I got my enhanced disclosure CRB check back. 

However - I still need proof of good behaviour in Germany, to pass the French course (and I don't know if I'm even on it yet) and to sort out a student loan. 

Just to make matters more annoying, I received a letter calling me for jury service, in early July, exactly when I'm not really available to be away from work as it's my last month. I'm going to try and get excused, on the basis that I'm not really free in July and getting it postponed would be impossible due to the course. Oh, and it was sent to my parents house, I haven't lived in that part of the country for several years and I shouldn't even be registered at that address, so I'm not really available for jury service there anyway! Grr!

I seem to be ranting a lot, I do apologise. I'll try and be sunnier in future, promise!

More hoops

My university have contacted me, to 'suggest' that I get evidence of good behaviour in Germany as I lived there for 8 months and the CRB check won't cover it. This can take the form of a letter from my employer or a certificate of good behaviour from the authorities. To get this, I need to complete a form with basic identifying details on it, I then need to get this stamped by an embassy, consulate (£15), notary public (unknown charge) or public authority (whatever that really means) as proof that I am who I say I am and then send this, plus 13 euro to Germany to get this document! It's going to cost me about £30 quid once postage and any bank charges are taken into account, just to prove I was well behaved, add this to the original CRB charge and I think I have a right to be a little bit peeved. I know it's necessary to check I'm not a child-molester, but really..... this seems a little over the top to me. 

OK, rant over!

Revolutionary

This could revolutionise teachers' lives, this. 

Non-stick chewing gum! Think of the time saved by not picking gross, hardened chewing gum from underneath desks!

Spring is here!

After a nice walk that combines exercise with French learning I'm feeling really well! Spring is here and the warm weather is so wonderful - I just wish I could be sat in a beer garden (or any garden) right now, rather than being stuck in my office!

My new website

In order to take further my mission to track what I'm up to I've started a website to track websites and other resources as I find them. I've put a few up already, and I'll be updating it whenever I come across something that might be useful.

Visit my new site!

Update

Just to keep my loyal readers up to date with the story so far.

I have applied online for a student loan, I just need my OH to provide his financial details. 

I have contacted my bank to find out how to keep hold of my student account for another year (i.e., my interest free overdraft facility).

I have sent off my application for a French subject knowledge booster course and started an evening class for two hours once a week, as well as getting hold of every teach yourself course going.

I have completed and returned my CRB check paperwork and medical fitness questionnaire

I have accepted my place both directly to my institution and to the gttr.

I have also started a website dedicated to collecting useful web sites and resources for teaching languages in particular but also teaching in general. When that goes live I'll post a link to it here.

Now I just need to make sure I have gotten some of life's important things out of the way - doctors, dentist and opticians spring to mind. I also need to make sure my OH has a job and that we both have somewhere to live.

If anyone thinks I've forgotten something please let me know!

A work colleague recently referred to this as a major life reorganisation.  I can't think of a better way of putting it!

Universities like Physics A level - who knew?

Today's online Independent has posted this story. Apparently, the country's top ranked universities have a problem accepting the academic merit of such courses as drama, media studies and performance and tourism, preferring such old fashioned subjects as Physics, History and Languages ....... I can't believe this is even news!!!!! Surely this is so ridiculously obvious that anyone with two brain cells to rub together would have grasped this already.

I think that what worries me the most is the fact that our young people are being encouraged by the government and their schools to take these 'soft subjects' and told that they are considered as being just the same as the more traditional A Levels. While I have my own ideas about the validity of these subjects, I'm not going to go into that now. The fact is that universities want certain skills and they need to be sure that their applicants have learned them. The academics themselves don't have any experience of drama, media studies or performing arts, so they don't know what skills these pass on. What they do know is that Physics and Further Maths A Levels means that their applicants for science will have the appropriate level of maths for their course, that applicants for Law who have French A level have no problem with strange and difficult vocabulary and that Arts applicants with an A level in English literature have had plenty of practice writing academic essays.

By telling students that the top universities will consider drama on the same level as English Lit schools are potentially damaging their chances of getting into Russell Group universities. It's all well and good saying that these alternative options are just as useful, just as valid, but until universities come around to this way of thinking, the bright pupils should continue to consider 'traditional' academic A levels as their route to the top. 

And since Languages are widely considered one of the hardest subjects to get good marks in, teachers should definitely encourage their pupils to study them!

Good Luck Willowfae

One of this blog's regular readers has her PGCE interview today. Good luck Willowfae!

The Facts of Life

I recently came across an interesting post in a parents forum, which I think raises questions about the nature of our education system. These words were attributed to Bill Gates, when he was speaking to a group of High School pupils, although I believe this is now known to be untrue. They are, nonetheless, interesting:

1. Life is not fair - get used to it!
2. The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. 
3. You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone - until you earn both.
4. If you think your teacher is tough - wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.
5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.
6. If you mess up it's not your parents' fault - so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
7.  Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforests from the parasites of your parents' generation try delousing the closet in your own room.
8. Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have done away with failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. 
9. Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers and Christmas breaks off, and few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
10. Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. 
11. Be nice to nerds - chances are you'll end up working for one!

While I would never advocate treating school like in the same way as the world of work, I would definitely argue for more of a transition from school to work.

The anecdotal evidence is that schools are often so desperate to maintain good standing on league tables that they hold their pupils hands every step of the way, force feeding them information and allowing them to resit exams. In the real world if you don't work, you get sacked, and this is the harsh truth. 

As a society I feel that we place too much emphasis on our rights, and not enough on our responsibilities. Kids often feel that they have a right to do whatever they want, and if they're punished or if they fail, then the teachers have somehow denied them their right to success. Teachers have a responsibility to teach and to do everything in their power to help the children under their care to succeed, but in return the pupils have an equal responsibility to turn up, to behave and to do the work set to the best of their ability. Those that do that should succeed, and those that don't should learn that there are consequences. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they should be abandoned and unsupported. They should be given every opportunity to learn from failure and to grow, but neither should they be taught that if they are lazy or badly behaved they will be handed success, because this is not a useful life lesson, and merely produces adults who believe that the world owes them a living. 

What do you think? 

Hoops

As in jumping through them - there are so many!!!!!

Since I got home yesterday I've filled in a CRB check form, as I have to be vetted and paid £36 for the privilege, completed a health questionnaire and a formal acceptance form. I've also begun my application form for funding. I've done it online, and it needs checking, but it's basically complete. 

All there is to do now is to get contact with a provider of a French booster course... it would be easier if they actually responded to my emails. 

Next hurdles....

Right, now that the elation of being successful is over with it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of moving to a new part of the country, acquiring funding and meeting the conditions of my offer.

It's too early to make arrangements to move at the moment, though my Other Half has applied for a graduate job so do cross your fingers for him too won't you? I've started looking at rental properties, and I'm heartened to find that we'll be able to afford a much nicer place than we have at the moment on the same money.

As for meeting the conditions of my offer... That would be French. I've started a Language Centre course, which will help and I've asked about a subject knowledge booster course in the summer. Hopefully I'll get some information about that soon. Otherwise my parents are bringing my old books from A Level when they come to visit in a week or so, perhaps I'll find something useful in there. 

The big issue is the Student Loan Company. I have plenty of experience of applying for loans, and a similar amount of experience of getting well and truly fed up with them! I must admit I've been putting off beginning the application process, it's a highly annoying and long winded process and I'm not looking forward to it. I suppose I'd better get on with it soon though. As an independent student and a MFL student I should be better off than most students, getting the full loan, help with fees and a £9000 bursary. As it's tax free I won't be much worse off than I am at the moment. Got to jump through some hoops to get it though. I'll keep you updated. 

And the results are in!

After checking GTTR track for the umpteenth time it finally changed - I'm in! I have a conditional offer to do a PGCE teaching German with French at the University of Leeds. I assume the condition is that I improve my French to something that resembles A level standard as discussed at the interview!

I'm very excited and can't seem to settle. I feel like a great big weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The people at work think I'm a loony, but I really don't care.

Still nothing

I'm starting to worry about my sanity. I spent all Saturday morning stressing about the post - there was none - and today I'm checking the online tracking system compulsively (approximately every 30 minutes, sometimes less). I know that there's still time, but I'm feeling kind of aimless, like I don't know what to do with myself. Once I have an offer there's loads to do, student loan, house hunting, not to mention learning my second language but until an offer materialises I simply have to wait.

It's very frustrating!

Why am I Waiting.....

I'm reminded of a song we used to sing at school, usually when the teacher was late or the bus was slow leaving for a school trip. Perhaps you'll remember it, went to the tune of 'Oh Come All ye Faithful'....

Anyway, as there's still nothing to report I thought I'd just share that with you. I know it's still only early and I can't expect a response yet, but it's hard sitting at work and thinking that the letter might come in the post while I'm out. 

Bald teacher loses disabled claim

I couldn't resist this one! Apparently he is disabled (bald) and suffered constructive dismissal because the kids called him 'baldy' to his face. Erm.......... 

Debrief

Well, I'm back from the scary interview... it could have been better, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse! The interview started with a comprehension exercise about boys/girls learning styles in a library of childrens' fiction (it was very hard not to get distracted). The actual interview itself was quite pleasant, the interviewers were friendly and relaxed, and they asked me questions about my experiences, hobbies, degree etc. The German section was quite good, we chatted about my year abroad, what I did and how I found it. The French section was almost suicidally bad! I stumbled over every word. This was followed by a discussion now how I could best improve my French and a comment was made that any offer would be dependent my improving my obviously awful french. This is something I would be willing to do... I hope I made that sufficiently clear. After my question about 6th form teaching was answered I was sent back to the library to write my mini-essays in French and German. They were probably a bit rushed, as I needed to leave for the train, but the French was infinitely better than my speaking, while still not being that good. Then I came home, complete with grouching and complaining about the British rail system and the horrible weather.

I've been told that it'll take 2-3 weeks to hear back, but a fellow MFL PGCE applicant (a virtual acquaintance from the tes forums) to the same uni heard of her acceptance within a week (3 working days) so I have hopes of hearing soon. 

Thank you for all the messages of support. I promise to post the result as soon as I have one. 

Well here I go

Right, I'm off! Wish me luck. For those who voted for the suit you can see that you won!

Changes to MFL GCSE oral exams

Continuing in my quest to get up to date I've done a little research into changes to the MFL GCSE exams. The BBC had this to say. This the Guardian's take on the subject and this is the main Times Education Supplement Forum thread on this topic.

The main gist is that they will be removing the dreaded oral exam - where you trot out your pre prepared and learned by heart presentation on a subject of your choice and then do a role play with your classroom teacher - and replacing it with ongoing teacher assessment. The general feeling is that these exams are too stressful. The main benefit of this is that this could be considered a more realistic assessment of speaking ability, the pupils would be speaking more 'off-the-cuff' rather than in rigorously practised sentences. It also removes the element of 'a bad day' or 'nervous blank' and will help to ensure that the really able and hard working students are appropriately rewarded. 

However, this also means that there will be very little in the way of accountability for the outcome of the exam - the oral exam is at least recorded so it can be considered by a third party. More opportunity for schools to fiddle the system to make sure that they get good exam results for the purposes of league tables. Also, by removing this 'stressful' exam they are doing the pupils a disservice. The oral exam is a rare chance to test your ability to perform at the correct time - this is a very useful skill out in the real world. 

Personally I think the oral exams could do with shaking up a bit - we do need to test pupils ability to think on the spot, rather than their ability to learn by heart, and despite the opportunities for cheating I do think that this is a better way to ensure that the students who deserve the As are the ones who receive them than the current system. I would still add an 'interview' or some other one on one method of assessment, for which the student could prepare, as a way of giving the student who doesn't like to speak out in front of the class a chance to shine, and as a way to inject a little of that 'real life stress' feeling into their language learning. It can be stressful to be in a foreign country trying to get a point across, and we need to make sure they're prepared for that. 

As the interview approaches...

Well, the train tickets are bought (though I'm still worried about relying on the railway system for something this important), all my documents have been dug out and photocopied (degree certificate, A Level and GCSE results, passport, bank statement and utility bills) and the paperwork has been completed. French has been learned to the level where it is still very bad, and has managed to push a significant amount of German out of my head - so just the right amount then, and, as this blog bears witness, I have spent some time thinking about my motivations for becoming a teacher, as well as current educational issues. I didn't manage to get any observation though - nice lady from the gym never contacted me - I think she might have taken my number wrong. Still, this is a small thing, so other than this I think I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be and there's nothing to worry about!

Wish someone would tell my stomach that.

Classroom Management

The question of how to handle and motivate disengaged and rowdy pupils is one that I've put a lot of time and energy into considering. I've read several books on classroom management, regularly trawl through the TES behaviour forum and spend time looking at teachers blogs for inspiration. You see, up until mow my teaching has been quite sheltered - nice children hand picked for university outreach days, the advanced English classes during my year abroad and other university students when choreographing or directing for university performances. I don't have a lot of experience with troublesome teenagers (though I'd better be careful not to mention this in the interview). 

I do have some thoughts, though, based on the few problem classes I had during my year abroad combined with my own school days. At school I found that the teachers who could best manage a class were the ones that didn't shout and didn't lose their temper, but they also didn't cave in to student demands or allow bad behaviour. 

In Germany there was one class, the class that wanted to know about my personal life when asking me questions. They were the ones who didn't want to speak to me in English and who claimed not to understand me. And there was a small group of boys at the back who didn't want to learn English. I can understand, this was a vocational college, not a grammar school, and they were they to learn accountancy, not English. This was compulsory though, so they had to put up with it.

The lesson I remember best was one where we read from a play about footballers, with the students taking turns to play the characters. They liked it, it was a good play, not too difficult and about  a very popular topic. What really surprised me was when one of the boys in the back repeatedly volunteered to play anyone he could. He always put his hand up rather than shouting out, because he knew that if he did he wouldn't get the part, which he did a pretty good job of. This one lesson idea has formed the basis of what I hope will be my idea of classroom management. Find something they enjoy doing and use it as a reward. For many of the disengaged pupils punishment can be worn as a badge of honour, what they need to learn is that it's better to be rewarded for things done well than punished for bad behaviour, even is this does result in kudos from their peer group. The point is that a punishment is not something they care about, whereas if they lose the chance to do something they like they may well do what's necessary to get it - even if that does mean sitting down, shutting up and getting on with their work.

French March Against School Plan

Like it or not, the French really know how stage a protest! Teachers and students seem to care enough to kick up a stink when their government tries to do something they don't like. Perhaps our teaching profession could learn a thing or two?

What Makes a Good Teacher

I googled 'what makes a good teacher' and got quite a few hits. Clearly this is something that has been thought about and considered by a lot of people around the world. Teachers are important because they help to shape the next generation of people, and good teachers can have a long term effect that goes well beyond just getting good/bad marks in their subject.

Here are a few examples I've gleaned from my surfing.

good teachers really want to be good teachers

good teachers listen

good teachers take risks

good teachers never have enough time

good teachers love their subject and are able to convey this

good teachers are firm but fair. 

good teachers are fun

good teachers try to understand their students

When I was at school my favourite teachers were the ones who loved their subject and made me love it too. They were the ones with a sense of humour but good classroom management skills. Most importantly, they were the ones that made me feel like I had really achieved something. 

Usually these were the same people. 

This survey asked the most appropriate group - my favourite was the young lad who said the best teachers are the ones that don't turn up!

Inspiring Others Towards Happiness Brings You Happiness

Let me explain - I drink a trendy herbal tea with yoga poses demonstrated on the box, and every little tab on the tea bag gives me a spiritual thought for the day. Today it told me that 'inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness' and it rang true for me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not usually an introspective, spiritual person at all, but I've been giving a lot of thought to the nature of teaching and the reasons for its appeal, and I can honestly say that this particular quote sums up my motivation nicely. 

It gives me great pleasure to make people happy. To give you an example, I love to cook, and more importantly, I love to feed people. I do a great line in crowd pleasing food, and I love it when people come to stay. I make sure everyone has enough to eat, that there's plenty to drink and that there's a good mix of people so no one gets bored. I also like to make sure there's dessert, and that it's chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate!

Now, while I'm not sure you can make a direct correlation between being a good hostess and being a teacher, there are clear links. As a hostess it's my job to cater for everyone's needs before mine, to make sure everyone's needs are catered for (i.e. no nuts for a friend who's allergic and plenty of veggie alternatives). Teachers have to ensure that all of their pupils are learning to the best of their abilities and that any special learning needs are noted and dealt with. 

Teaching pupils might not make them happy in the short term, after all, who really likes going to school, but it does help to ensure long term happiness. These young people learn a subject from you which helps them to get the qualifications and life skills they need to hopefully do whatever it is in life that makes them happy. 

You can't ask for more than that out of life.  

Further situation update

Right - well I'm not having loads of luck getting some observation, however, my new best friend (aka a very nice teacher person I met at the gym) has offered to see what she can do for me. She's offered to do this for me before we even knew each others' names. I'm definitely entering a profession full of kind people!

I've added a poll asking what you think would be appropriate to wear for my interview - opinions will be gratefully received but probably ignored ;) If you think I should wear something else I'd be grateful for a message to elaborate.

Book Review - Learn French in 3 Months

This is an excellent self-study course, which can get you to a level of french competence in no time at all. If I get my place on my PGCE it will be due in no small part to having completed this course. Easy to understand, small sections on grammar and recurring vocabulary, which you learn as you practice grammar points, means that by the end of the course you know quite a lot of vocab and enough grammar to get by. I squeezed this course into a couple of weeks out of necessity, but if you took a couple of months over it you could really get something out of it. I'd be very tempted to use the same method to learn another language. 

Situation update

Well, I've successfully crammed learn french in 3 months into 1 month - I'm feeling a little smug, I'm not sure if that's justified. I've now started an advanced learn at home course by the same people - my target is to finish that by next weekend. I've also gotten hold of Harry Potter en français, so that should help matters.

On the other hand, I'm not showing any similar success in arranging some observation time before the interview. I've had one refusal so far, and everyone else is ignoring my emails. The school that said no simply can't manage another student, as they have loads at the moment and they are in the middle of oral exams and preparation - all the language departments in all the schools across the country will be in this situation, I don't think I'll be able to manage it! Still, this wasn't essential for the purposes of the interview, just helpful, so I'll just have to try my luck without it.

Diplomas

Ok, I'm stumped. I have to admit that these new qualifications are confusing - I'm a product of GCSEs, A Levels and a Degree from a good university. I never tried to understand NVQs, GNVQs or BTECs, I never needed to, so the world of vocational qualifications is a little outside of my realm of experience. It seems that these Diplomas are intended to be more than just a vocational qualification though, and that's where it gets complicated.

In my quest to understand 'current educational issues' I read this, this, this and even this in order to better understand these Diploma things. I've come to this conclusion - the government intends them to be the be all and end all of educational qualifications at the earliest possible opportunity. The foundation diploma is 'worth' about 4/5 GCSEs and can be done at age 14, as can the higher diploma, which is 'worth' about 5/6. The Advanced diploma is the A Level alternative and is 'worth' three A Levels. There is also a progression diploma, which is worth just two A Levels. The government has also recently announced an extended diploma - and to be honest I'm not entirely sure I know what to make of that. Perhaps that would be worth 4 A levels? Or maybe a full set of GCSEs?

As far as content is concerned, these diplomas will contain a bit of everything and will attempt to combine traditional GCSEs and A Levels with more vocational courses. There are 5 diplomas currently available, in IT, Engineering, Creative and Media, Society, Health and Development and Construction and the Built Environment. They will combine classroom teaching in necessary subjects, as well as functional numeracy and literacy, with experience in employment. There are more to come, with the planned implementation of 'academic' diplomas in maths, science and languages - is it just me or does that sound like a direct replacement for A Levels?

This diploma system has ousted the governments former pledge to offer the International Baccalaureate as an alternative for all school children. Personally, I believe the IB is a tried, tested and proven system which gives a well rounded education and allows for good educational and career progression. I'm concerned that kids who take up these new diplomas will be cutting their options - a diploma in engineering, for example, probably won't include the hard maths that's a prerequisite for an engineering degree, nor will the IT diploma provide the necessary maths for a degree in Computer Science. I'm also concerned that students taking diplomas in the 'softer' subjects, such as Creative and Media' will be cutting their university choices in half - the best universities already don't look favourably on subjects such as media studies. 

If their goal is to get more young people into universities I'm not sure this is the way to do it. Universities whose degrees are worth having have high entrance requirements for a reason and they are slow to accept change. 

On the other hand we are short of social workers and carers, people who can sort out your computer when it goes on the blink (i.e. IT technicians rather than computer scientists) could be considered as highly useful and there is always a place for creative workers. The country doesn't need an endless supply of graduates, but nor do we need manual workers, we need plumbers, construction workers and staff to man the endless number of call centres. These jobs need numeracy, literacy and IT skills, so if the new diplomas can provide us with young people with the necessary skills then perhaps there's a place for them after all. 

 

Countdown widget!

I thought my blog needed some colour so I decided to put up a countdown to the date of my interview (April the 15th, put it in your diary and cross your fingers for me) to help me panic. 

I'm currently half way through my French in three months course and I have three days to get to the end of it. Then I can start on the advanced course!

Website Review

I've found a very useful learning french website. The idea is that you listen to the podcasts - they do the conversation twice, then explain the new vocab. It's very good. I'm currently listening to one about the Bejing Olympics!

Interview date

Yay! My interview date has come through - though the snail mail was clearly faster than the GTTR tracking system. 

I'm terrified though - I have to write in French (and German and English, though I'm not too scared about those) and I can still pretty much only say "je m'appelle Miss B Have, j'ai deux frères!" So I have two weeks to get my french up to date - find a school willing to let my do some observation - and get up to date with current educational issues. I'm worried about the french, but I can swot up on the relevant vocab, and I'm not sure I can get a school at this short notice, especially as it's Easter holidays at the moment. This is the biggest worry of all I think! 

Unions, yay or nay

This is an interesting question for trainee teachers to consider - whether or not there is any point in joining a union, and whether the unions will make the changes that really matter. 

On the one hand the NUT has shown it is willing to make a stand on the issue of below the rate of inflation pay rises, but on the other they seem to be willing to make all teachers look like liberal lefty idiots by voting to 'reject army propaganda'. 

Will a day's strike actually make a difference? I don't think so. It doesn't seem strong enough to me. In my opinion all that will be achieved is that the general public will see teachers as whiny complainers trying to squeeze a little more money out of the taxpayers, rather than an essential service who are under-respected and insufficiently rewarded for what they do. 

The biggest problem

This is why teachers are having such a hard time at school. This young man has obviously never been taught tolerance, he clearly only knows intimidation and mindless violence and has absolutely no fear of the consequences. 

The quote that really terrified me was this "when Harris was initially interviewed about the assaults he was 'laughing and joking' with his mother." How are teachers supposed to teach these kids anything when their parents maintain this kind of attitude?

Book Review - Getting the Buggers into Languages

This book by Amanda Barton is one of a series of 'Getting the Buggers to...' books. 

Barton concentrates on the age old problem of engaging students, and particularly boys, with the idea of language learning. Her main premise is that boys and girls are generally different, and often need different styles of teaching as a result, i.e. boys might prefer more active and performative lessons while girls might not want to put themselves forward by speaking up during a class. Barton's book is separated into sections for reading, writing, listening and speaking, and provides detailed explanations of why there might be problems and suggestions on how to solve them.

The overall tone is lighthearted, and there is a sense that she is not taking herself seriously. This makes it much easier to read than other books with similar topics. It has quotes from students she interviewed while writing the book, which are cited complete with grammar mistakes, linguistic idiosyncrasies and often swear words. Many of them are insightful and show genuine interest in language learning, others are just hilarious!

I can definitely recommend this book, it's lighthearted and down to earth style make it easy to read, but the author's clear expertise and subject knowledge make it a very useful read too.

GTTR

Oh, by the way, still no progress!

Why I want to be a teacher

I think I might have a justifiable case for being considered completely and utterly bonkers! 

Teachers have to contend with soul sapping Ofsted inspections, violent, rude and disrespectful little thugs and their unemployed, aggressive parents, who all seem to know their 'rights' but not their responsibilities and a complete lack of gratitude from the outside world, who think that teachers complain too much and get too many holidays.

I've spent some time reading blogs from established teachers, all of whom describe life in a state school as a war, one which the teachers are steadily losing, as their mortal enemies, the pupils gain more and more power over them, helped by incompetent Senior Management Teams. Their blogs are riddled with stories of assault, incompetence and lies. Links to these blogs can be found on the sidebar to the right.  

Faced with this endless stream of negativity you would forgive me if I threw up my hands in desperation and withdrew my application, but I'm not going to. Not because I'm naïve or idealistic, not because I don't believe that all this stuff won't affect me, but because I know that somehow all this negativity is worth it. Frank Chalk, Old Andrew and Ranting Teacher are all teachers or former teachers, they care deeply about the profession, about their colleagues, the subjects they teach and their students. This tells me that there is essentially something positive and worthwhile about teaching and I'm looking forward to discovering this for myself. 

Arrival of the welcome letter

Today my letter arrived, along with a tracking number so I can follow the progress of my application. Cue compulsive checking about a million times a day to see if my status has changed.

I've applied for German with French, though my French is rustier than my old bike, so I've been swotting up with a teach yourself course. It's going really well, I've done a month's worth of lessons in about 3 days.  I predict it will get a lot harder once I'm no longer relearning though. 

No Turning Back Now!

Well, the button is pressed and the application paid for and in the (online) post. This is where the angst really begins.

Personality profile

A friend and fellow blogger recently blogged about her personality profile, and this inspired me to do the same. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my personality type (ENFJ) is perfectly suited to teaching, I was intrigued. 

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

For such a short test it was surprisingly accurate! If you want to try it out you can click on the link below.

http://www.personalitypage.com/ENFJ.html

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. 

Despite spending years insisting that I didn't want to be a teacher, and that linguists had many other alternative career options, I recently had an epiphany. I was sitting at my desk at work and suddenly realised that I needed more. I need a challenge, I need to make a difference, I need a job where every day is different .... You see where I'm going with this?

Anyway, the application is underway, the choices made and the reference requested. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way of tracking my progress from beginning to end, as well as a way of getting in touch with other people in a similar situation. 

I'll use this space to rant about the applications process, to fret about my interview and to review any useful books or teaching materials I come across along the way! I hope visitors to my blog will share their thoughts on teaching, classroom management, the applications process and anything else that comes to mind.