School’s out for summer!

So, there goes the end of the 2008/09 academic year. And what a year it’s been. Since September 2008 I’ve graduated, started and finished my PGCE and started my first ever full-time job. And I’m loving it! I’ll be the first to admit it’s been really tough, especially my time at School 2, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

The last week of term at Penguin High included many trips, including one to London Zoo and one to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I have experienced yet again the joys of taking pupils on public transport, walking for more than five minutes and deciding which Happy Meal to get. However, I am still sceptical about the educational value of school trips. But the teachers I was with told me these trips were purely “rewards trips” so I wasn’t too fussed about what they learnt!

I am still worried about settling in to the Science department at Penguin High, though. Starting there early (i.e. before September) has meant that I have met the person I am ultimately there to replace. And what a character he is. On the plus side, there’ll now be a female in the Physics department (something which is rare in most London schools) but I can see why some members of the department have not warmed to me. The guy I’m replacing had been at Penguin High for seven years and was the life and soul of the department. He was also the best friend of the person who’s going to be my mentor from September. This is going to be tough…

My first week in full-time employment!

So I’ve completed a week at Penguin High, I can’t believe I’m actually employed! I know this is only the start but I’m really looking forward to it. Laura has been really helpful and has worked with another teacher to devise an observation/team-teaching timetable for me until the end of term. I’m really grateful as it means I’ll get the chance to see what the pupils are like and how teachers actually teach at Penguin High.

What I’ve learnt this week is that it’s going to be so different being an NQT than a trainee. As a trainee, I had to make sure each lesson was exactly how the class teacher thought it should be taught – now I get to be myself more. The teachers I have observed have such good relationships with the pupils and I’m hoping that in time, I’ll be the same. I’ve also realised that not all lessons have to be whizz-bang – there’s just not enough time to plan 20 hours of lessons a week like that.

I’m teaching AS Physics next year which I’m really excited about. I know it’ll take up a lot of my time planning the lessons and practising the practicals, but it’ll be worth it. What I’m finding daunting is the intellect of the other two Physics teachers, who not only have more experience than me but are both physicists as well. And here’s little me, an NQT with a Master’s degree in Chemistry!

I taught one lesson last week with Laura acting as the support teacher. It went OK – not brilliantly, but at least I differentiated and assessed the pupils’ learning! And I confiscated a pupil’s mp3 player as well, much to the delight of the rest of the department! This week I’m teaching a little more – bring it on!

End of Term 2

Now that it’s the end of term, I feel it’s an opportune moment to include an update on how my teacher training is going thus far (plus I actually have enough time to blog!). Two terms down, one to go – and aren’t I glad. School 2 is completely different to School 1 to the point when I was questioning whether or not I actually want to be a teacher. I’m not going to say anything too judgemental because I’m more professional than that and I don’t want any comments to come back and bite me in the bum five years from now! Let’s just say that this PGCE has made me realise which type of school(s) I’d rather work in – and I’ve surprised myself. School 1 is what many people would call a “challenging” school – indeed, when I told people which school I did my first teaching practice at, they’d say things like, “Well if you can survive there, you can work anywhere!” and “Rather you than me!” There are behaviour issues and attainment is generally low (BBC Education says 51% A*-C but I don’t believe that!) School 2 is a lot more academic, with a lot more focus on exam results. I thought, having come from a very academic background, I’d prefer a school where the children are brighter. But no, how wrong I was! The catchment area of a school really does have a great influence on what it’s like. Pupils at School 2 have a very different attitude to the pupils in School 1. In School 1 I felt like I could make a real difference to children’s lives and that the pupils really wanted to learn. I’d love to work in School 1, but unfortunately there are no job vacancies this year and there’s not enough money to create a post. Even for a physics teacher.

When I saw an advert for a physics teacher vacancy at another school in the LEA, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t feel optimistic when I applied though – somehow School 2 has knocked out any confidence I had in myself. I remember posting the application form – this was the first serious job I’d ever applied for. As in, a job that wasn’t a summer job. Lo and behold, a couple of days later, I got a phone call saying I had been shortlisted. I was so excited! I really wanted tot work in that school because I know the area and I know the pupils would be similar to those at School 1. When I went there, I fell in love with the place. The staff were warm, supportive and friendly and settled any nerves I had. (Having said that, my panel interview did not go very well…) I had to teach a lesson about Light to Year 8. And it went pretty well considering I’d never met the pupils before! (Note to self: remember how difficult it is to plan for pupils you don’t know!!) But as I said, the panel interview didn’t go very well. I was asked the general questions of “What would you do with a Year 9 pupil who was continually disruptive in your lessons?” and “How do you know if pupils have achieved learning outcomes?” I said all the correct buzzwords in the interview – Assessment for Learning, formative assessment, How Science Works – but somehow my nerves got the better of me.

I was so excited to get a phone call later from the Head of Science to say that they were very impressed with me and they’d like to offer me the post! I’m really looking forward to working there. Plus it gave me a confidence boost, something I really needed having been bashed about at School 2. School 1 thinks I’m a good teacher, my new school thinks I’m a good teacher – it’s just School 2. So now you’re reading the blog of Penglet, the new physics teacher due to start at Penguin High in July…

The end of a very important year

I suppose I’d been looking forward to 2008 for a very, very long time. I know it sounds weird, looking forward to a year, but I had been. And everything happened the way I hoped it would.

Back in 2003, I was a nervous sixth-form student filling out my UCAS form. Trying to decide which courses to apply for, which universities to apply to, whether I wanted to stay in London or to go somewhere further afield. I had a bit of a dilemma because I wanted to study both Chemistry and Physics at degree-level and I didn’t like the sound of Chemical Physics as it didn’t include enough Physics. (It was more the physics of chemistry, not Physics itself.) Not only did I love both Chemistry and Physics and was determined to not give up studying either, I thought it would help me with my future teaching career to be equally qualified in two branches of science – quite a bit of forward-planning for a 17-year-old! Four years on, when I was applying for my PGCE, I didn’t count on my love of both the subjects to stay the same – trying to decide which subject to train in was pretty difficult. In the end I chose Physics because I’d cope better with the maths than I would with organic chemistry!

Having been a very organised 17-year-old (a lot did change – you should see me now!), I knew which path I wanted to follow – an four-year MSci followed by a one-year PGCE. (I didn’t want to do a BEd on the off-chance that, by the end of my degree, I’d changed my mind about going into teaching.) When I was filling out my UCAS form, we had to put the start and end dates of the courses we were applying for. September 2004 seemed like a lifetime away when I was filling out the form in September 2003 – the end date, June 2008, seemed like an eternity. And the idea that I’d finish my PGCE in 2009 seemed a million years away.

So 2008’s been and gone now. I was always nervous about doing a masters as I was never really into independent work. Out of my group of friends at university, I was the one we all though was the most unlikely to finish the course. I’ll be honest with you, it was those friends that got me through it. 2008 made me realise that anything’s possible if you’ve got enough support. I still can’t quite believe I finished my degree! I collected my degree certificate a few weeks ago and it still doesn’t seem real.

But the thing I was looking forward to the most in 2008 was starting my teacher training. And it hasn’t let me down so far. Other than all the lesson planning, evaluations, marking according to National Curriculum levels, the assignments, the sleepless nights and dreams about lesson planning, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

With all best wishes for 2009. Let’s hope it’s a good one!

So this is Christmas…

First off, sorry for not blogging for what seems like a very long time!

The coming of the Christmas holidays has given me some time to think about my first term of teacher training. Yesterday, I saw loads of cousins at the traditional family get-together and, other than one of my cousin’s pregnancy, it was the hottest topic. As I listened to other people, young and old, go on about work and how they were dreading going back after the festive season, I realised one thing – I wouldn’t change this for the world. I absolutely love my teacher training, simple as. Yes, I know I have loads of work to do and I’m three weeks behind with my lesson evaluations. Yes, I know I have loads of assignments to do and yes, I know the kids can be a right pain in the arse, but I love it. Maybe it’s the fact I love my colleagues as well. (I know I’ve been lucky in that respect.) I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else and I’m dreading the fact I have to leave my first placement school in a few weeks.

As my time at my first placement school draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about what makes a good teacher. We were asked to write 1-2 sides of A4 on this before we started the PGCE course and I haven’t read my piece since I wrote it in September. So I’ll give you a brief summary of what I, after one term’s training, thinks makes a good teacher. There’s two versions – the one I’d dare to hand in and the one I wouldn’t.

A good teacher is someone who can survive a disruptive Year 10 class who don’t want to work. A good teacher is someone who soldiers on in spite of the class having no respect for them. A good teacher battles through the specification in time for the January exams just so they can say they’ve finished.

I’ll start again…

A good teacher has a passion for their subject and strives to convince just one pupil that the subject is so interesting that not only did they want to study it at GCSE, they wanted to study it at A-level and then pull it apart to the nitty gritty at university. A good teacher is more than a subject teacher, they are a life teacher. Some teachers forget that not only do they have more experience in the subject than their pupils, but they have more life experience too. Teachers demonstrate the qualities they dream their pupils will have when they become teenagers and young adults – I’m a firm believer that you have to practise what you preach. A good teacher is humble and will be open to learning things from their pupils. No-one knows everything – we can all learn from each other irrespective of age. Many people will say that you are a teacher 24-hours a day. Whilst I can easily believe that is true (yesterday I woke up thinking, “Right, it’s Thursday, what am I teaching Year 7 today?”), I don’t think it’s a good thing. Teachers are human beings and need to have interests outside of teaching – it’s what makes it “life” instead of just an existence. Other than the fact it makes your pupils realise you’re human, outside interests make people more rounded and more focused on what’s important. A good teacher isn’t afraid to admit they’re only human.

Happy Christmas everyone. Here’s to term 2…

Round 1 – fight!

First of all, sorry for not blogging for a while. As a trainee teacher, I’ve had to plan lessons! And I’m absolutely shattered by 3:00pm and just want to sleep when I get home. Instead, I watch telly for a couple of hours and then plan lessons before going to bed. Then I have a nice chat with my boyfriend before falling asleep. Speaking of the boyfriend, he’s an absolute gem. He’s so supportive and doesn’t mind the fact he only sees me at the weekends now, and even then I’m at my laptop planning lessons. David told me to dump him because he’s not a teacher and doesn’t get the long holidays, but I couldn’t do that. I may sound flippant here, but I didn’t realise how supportive partners have to be for trainee teachers. I mean, I’d heard roumours, but it can’t be easy for a couple to be passing ships so to speak.

Yesterday’s lesson to the biscuit. It was a mixed but lower-end ability year 9 group. This was my second lesson with them, the first being last week. Having taken their books in, I’d decided, with David, that those who hadn’t finished their classwork last week could stay in at break this week to complete it. I thought that was fair. I planned a brilliant lesson for year 9. A “card sort” starter reminding them about electromagnetic radiation, a little bit of theory about heating using infrared and microwave radiation, and the age-old practical about absorption of infrared radiation (“Does the black can or the siler can absorb more heat?”) I was a bit worried about the trouble-makers that had presented themselves last week and the practical was fairly safe, maybe except for the infrared lamp being misused. But other than that, I was pretty confident. And rightly so. The lesson went swimmingly, even if I say so myself. (Actually, David was observing and said it was faultless!) The practical went without a hitch, all the theory was understood.

So at the end of the lesson I told a select few they would be staying behind. They’re only year 9, I knew they’d give me grief about it so I stood by the door so that I could dismiss individuals. I was caught up in a discussion with one pupil when, out of the courner of my eye, I could see David on the other side of the classroom pulling two boys apart. I couldn’t believe that, at the end of a perfect lesson, a fight had broken out. And worse still, I hadn’t even noticed and another member of staff had to interene.

I couldn’t believe how much I screwed up. This time next year I’ll be on my own. Who’ll spot the fights then?

I’ve changed my mind, I take it back…

So there you go. I’ve started my teaching career. It was fun to begin with, seeing new faces (well, except one – one of my best friends surprised me by telling me she was on the course too!) and making a fresh start. Recently I’ve become rather apprehensive about a career in teaching and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the new curriculum, maybe it’s fears about class management, maybe it’s a feeling of jealousy when friends who were on my course at uni tell me their PwC starting salaries of £28.5k when I’ll be lucky to get that after five years.

However, reading through my future assignments is what’s unnerved me the most. We have to write an essay  including 2,000 words about a topic and 2,500 words about how that topic is taught in schools (primary and secondary). As it’s science, the topics are divided into biology, chemistry and physics – unfortunately for me, the topics within those headings are very narrow.

I decided back in September 2007 when I applied for my PGCE that I’d apply for physics instead of chemistry – after all, nearly of my degree was in physics, so I thought I’d be alright. I was kidding myself really: out of the thirteen Physics modules I took in my four-year degree, three were in mathematics and no less than five were in atomic, molecular and quantum physics – certainly not things on even an A-level syllabus. I’d be extremely confident with the topics in the chemistry PGCE, as the remainder of my degree was in chemistry. But even that was just physical chemistry. Damn me and my bright idea of doing a degree in two sciences to make me more employable – now I just know a little bit about two sciences rather that a lot about one.

So that’s my dilema – I hate physics really. I love the nitty-gritty mathematical stuff like atomic physics or solving the Schrödinger equation, just nothing that gets taught in schools. And I love physical chemistry – again, that’s just mathematical. So what am I doing training to be a science teacher?