Induction day done

In the second placment school for the first time today. Like a good little pupil I remembered to bring in a copy of the Portfolio tasks for the second term so that I could begin thinking about them....

First impressions: good. Despite the school's size, the atmosphere was calm and most classes were quiet and on task. The noisiest class was S3, which came as no surprise after the experiences of last term. By and large the pupils looked, well, just like any other bunch of high school pupils I've ever seen. I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to say about Portfolio Task 11, which asks me to compare and contrast the pupils at each of my two placement schools. They dress alike, they talk alike. Given that the building interiors are near as dammit identical, the classes look pretty much interchangeable. Maybe that's today's first lesson: pupils are pupils wherever you go.

I enjoyed the day and am looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into teaching again. What slightly took me aback was how much "observation" I seem to be expected to do.... I was kind of expecting (hoping, even) to be thrown in at the deep end. I felt as if I was much further outside the circle of trust teaching-wise than I thought I ought to be. Don't they know I've done some of this before? I wonder if this is a common feeling. It's not great for one's confidence and self-esteem, that's for sure.

On a more positive note, Im in a department where at least in the S1/2 programme, they already have included the Curriculum for Excellence draft outcomes (though they are not explicitly linked to individual elements of the course yet), the programmes of work are more widely defined than by text book chapters and exercises, active learning is practised (at least by some teachers) and I might even be able to get access to the computer network.

Time to dust this blog off again I suppose

Back to school Monday, if only for an induction day, then for six weeks straight the following week. So I'd better get back into the habit of reflection. I'm a bit nervous about getting back into the classroom - I finished up the last placement feeling pretty confident but that all seems like so long ago. I've certainly got a few more ideas about what I want to do this time round and will definitely make an attempt to be more assertive right from the start: making out that I own the classroom from Day 1 rather than acting like I'm just borrowing it for a while....

Off topic ...... but quite funny

I occasionally look at the paths people have taken to get to these pages. Today, I discover, I had a hit from Kansas City. More oddly, the hit came via Google. And I really don't expect to feature very high up Google's listing. Hell, I don't expect to feature at all.

But apparently, if you go to Google and type in "how to find a school i'm a minority at", you'll find this blog in 5th place. Because of this post. Weird huh?

That's it

Assignment 1 is all but done. Big thanks to J for all her help with proofreading.

Final read through tomorrow and tart it up for submission.... you know, checking I've got the right line spacing, making sure the references is compliant (what is actually being tested here? My teaching skills? Ability to muster a logical argument? Nooooooo... whether or not I can follow some arcane set of rules for referencing. Sorry. Just a little bugbear of mine).

On a lighter note... we have to submit a copy electronically so it can be checked for plagiarism. Please do. I'm more than happy with that. But does anyone ever check the electronic copy against the paper version? Or could I submit a random string of text to be run through the plagiarism-checker? It's very tempting....... Just my warped sense of humour I guess.

Oh and happy new year everybody!

You want to know what's worrying me most right now?

First placement is over. Had the Tutor Assessed Visit. Got the school report filed. Got most of the work done on the portfolio that I can. It's christmas. So what's to worry about?
I've got an assignment to write, that's what's worrying me. Here's why: the last time I wrote an actual essay (let alone a post-graduate assignment) was 1978. When I did English "O" level. Sure, since then I've done three "A" levels, picked up a degree and written hundreds upon thousands of words while working as a journalist and in business. But the "A" levels were in maths and physics and the degree was in engineering, none of which were big on essays, even in exams. None required extensive writing and references and stuff like that. So the highest academic level at which I have submitted an essay is "O" level. 30 years ago. There. Had to get that off my chest.
Only one way to find out if I can do it, I guess.

Back on November 10, I wrote that my S3 class was my most challenging. And they were challenging in various ways - too many of them for the room, one disruptive pupil who should have been in a lower ability class but had been seperated from his regular partners in crime, one bright lad who had decided to stop working (or even thinking at times), a couple of girls who missed more lessons through ill-health than they attended and they could all chat for Britain.
But overall, I came to enjoy teaching them most. They generally did cotton on eventually, they attempted theior homework (mostly), they did detention reasonably cheerfully when they hadn't done said homework bubt most of all they had some sense of fun. Yes, I had to quieten them down regularly. Frequently even. But it's hard to get cross and stay cross when the conversation goes like this (names changed to protect the guilty):
Me "Jason! Chantelle! What's all that noise? And what's so funny about frequency diagrams?"
Chantelle: "Nothing, sir (sic). Jason was just doing his Chewbacca impression."
In the end, I enjoyed being with them and I think they enjoyed being with me, which made the whole teaching/learning thing easier for all of us. After my last lesson I even got a high five from one of the boys I'd had to talk to a lot in the first few days.
So here's to classes with spirit. But maybe not tooooo much.
PS Here's the Chewie link on Wookieepedia. I couldn't resist that. Sorry.

Oh dear.... the follow up

Better lesson, better example. Most of them have got the concept of quartiles. I gave them one more short go at it this morning before letting thme loose on "Mr Schafer's Final Lesson of the Placement Stats Quiz", which was quite good fun. The final question was:
"My head is in the oven and my feet are in the freezer. My average body temperature is absolutely normal." What is wrong with this statement?
Got some interesting, imaginative and articulate responses to that one so I would have left the classroom feeling really good, except that I had to stay behind and supervise the three who hadn't done their homework and were going to do it in lunchtime.