It’s a dreary day, the rain’s pouring outside, the students are damp and mud-stained from playing football on the cesspool of a field, the classroom is a murky shade of what used to be white with displays half peeled from the walls by year seven fiddlers. Never an ideal location for fun. Or a lesson […]
Tag: #preciouscargo
Our Attitude Is Everything.
We’ve all faced difficult students. It was only last Friday that I dealt with one of the most difficult behaviour challenges of my career, facing a non-compliant, defiant, aggressive student. And yet, I still think that it is fair to say that it is our attitude which determines how effective our teaching is. We could […]
Teacher Mental Health Is At An All Time Low: The Current Management Focus On It Is, At Best, Patronising And, At Worst, Actively Damaging. Discuss.
At lunch today, with a group of colleagues, we were discussing the impact of teaching on our mental health. Unanimously the verdict came in: devastating. Yet, I think that, without exception, we all love teaching. With so much pressure, regular observations, extreme workloads, is it possible for us to protect ourselves and our mental health […]
First Day Backitis…
It doesn’t matter how much one enjoys teaching, the first day back is a real grind. Many of us find that we’re there, wide awake, at 3am thinking about all of the jobs waiting for us at our desks or in our classrooms. Even once we’re at school, it isn’t always plain sailing. Take today, […]
The Quiet Before The Storm…
Whilst firmly settled in the luxury of a massive sofa, enjoying all that the holiday has to offer in terms of time, coffee and calm, I thought that now might be the best time to think about behaviour management. Not so much how to manage behaviour but the principles behind it. The what and […]
‘I Love To Laugh’
Although I spend my time striving to be the best possible teacher that I can be, I don’t always succeed. Perhaps this could get me down, and at times it has and does, but I think it’s best to avoid personal criticism. Education is always moving forwards and that’s the direction we’re best going in. […]
Naughty but Nice…
I don’t know about you but my favourite classes are often those with an overabundance of personality. The naughty but nice… Like Jelly Babies! The ones where, years later, you’ll bump into them in town with their small children in tow and they’ll jump to greet you before swiftly apologising for all the hassle they […]
Precious Cargo
Teaching does have its down days though, doesn’t it. Those days when you’ve planned the best lesson you can and 10×9 still manage to derail it. I’m no stranger to this. I still vividly remember J. rolling sideways along the desk growling in a deep, rich, gravelly roar (having just thrown his book across the room). Mercifully this […]