Tutoring

Wow what a week. Stamping foot down as recommended to show sense of authority at the beginning doesn't seem to make me feel that it is working. It probably is but makes me feel rather stroppy.

Being a form tutor is another huge issue. I have to deal with parents calls and emails about the complete range of issues.

I would say jumping to conclusions is wrong but actually being misinformed about things that did happen doesn't give you the confidence that you can then trust what people say to you.

Lesson planning is crazy. Expectations of what people can do and what they actually do are two very far apart things. Time of day/ week also has a massive impact into how people act and behave. Maybe I need to calm down myself and see what happens to the students although that makes me think that actually they need some wackiness in the classroom. I'll assess this at the end of the week.

Differentiation is another massive problem with only having a couple of sets the second set has a massive range of ability from nearly top to very bottom.

The government have announced today their intention of radical reform to the education system at 16. Gone is coursework and a single exam at the end of the course to assess people's ability. This is very academic and not particularly helpful to the less academic. Watch out here comes another two tier system.

I would love to find a group of academics who would setup an exam board for the practical people on the world and write some practical exams for those who want to work without the need to fail exams constantly.

Next week is busy and I have got to deliver some stuff to the team. Let ee see how this goes.

First week

Well that was the first week. Inset was information overload, but having spoken to other longer standing staff they felt the same as us newbies!

I have six of my seven classes and there are some real characters. Some good and some bad.

The first real revelation is that the kids don't realise that your lesson isn't planned. This scares me a little as I could get away with mediocrity I don't want to be mediocre.

More detailed plans and getting into he swing of lesson planning will start this weekend now I know what I am doing.

Always be grateful of the support staff and praise more than blame.

Start of the lesson is really important especially using it at the end.

Next week is a full week so expect a more tired mr c next week!

One word for the week eclectic.