An Introduction
So here's the thing.
I am a teacher of almost 30 years experience who is committed to teaching young people. (Dare I use the word 'passionate' or has that become the new 'journey'?)
My first school is where I still am. I have had one year in another program out of the classroom, but other than that, all my career has been at the one place. I was even a student teacher there. I have considered moving but there are various things that keep me there.
Firstly, I love the community I work in. I live a couple of suburbs over, but not surrounded by students. A large proportion of the students I teach are from a background of poverty, long-term unemployment or under-employment, trauma or have various forms of learning disability. Definitely not all of our students but a larger number than would be in a regular school.
Secondly, there is a lot of satisfaction in being a "tribal elder" as my assistant-principal has referred to me as. I have an excellent memory for events and people. I know who sat with who in my classes, who played what part in the school play, who the first student I sent outside was...... but don't ask me where I put my car keys! I am involved in the school archives and am planning to write a book to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the school in 2019 (co-incidentally my 30th anniversary).
Thirdly, I have spent a lot of time making sure I am flexible in my subjects. Although I am qualified in two areas I have taught in many more and have tried to fit in where I need to to give the students the best opportunities to improve, to find their pathway and to realise that they are awesome, no matter what they have been told by others.
And Fourthly, and the most important reason, I enjoy seeing kids bloom. There have been very few students that I haven't worked hard to make them realise they are awesome young people. We don't have bad kids, just kids from bad circumstances. When you have a class that has ten or more kids from traumatic backgrounds it can be hard to see the learning happening. But sometimes them believing in themselves and being resilient is far more important than a score. To have a student who refused to attend primary school that now is the most helpful young man in the class (even though he never stops talking!) is an honour, and makes me proud to have been a small part of his development.
What do I want this blog to achieve? I want to be able to tell the stories of things I deal with on a daily basis. The kids, the classes, the projects, the fun and the tragedy and the teachers and support staff I watch and admire because they care. I'd like people to know that schools in lower socio-economic areas do amazing work with so little.
So for what it's worth, this grumpy little teacher would like to share a few things about what modern education can look like from the inside.
I will start another post with my first actual story, but let's see where this takes us, shall we?
GLT!
I am a teacher of almost 30 years experience who is committed to teaching young people. (Dare I use the word 'passionate' or has that become the new 'journey'?)
My first school is where I still am. I have had one year in another program out of the classroom, but other than that, all my career has been at the one place. I was even a student teacher there. I have considered moving but there are various things that keep me there.
Firstly, I love the community I work in. I live a couple of suburbs over, but not surrounded by students. A large proportion of the students I teach are from a background of poverty, long-term unemployment or under-employment, trauma or have various forms of learning disability. Definitely not all of our students but a larger number than would be in a regular school.
Secondly, there is a lot of satisfaction in being a "tribal elder" as my assistant-principal has referred to me as. I have an excellent memory for events and people. I know who sat with who in my classes, who played what part in the school play, who the first student I sent outside was...... but don't ask me where I put my car keys! I am involved in the school archives and am planning to write a book to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the school in 2019 (co-incidentally my 30th anniversary).
Thirdly, I have spent a lot of time making sure I am flexible in my subjects. Although I am qualified in two areas I have taught in many more and have tried to fit in where I need to to give the students the best opportunities to improve, to find their pathway and to realise that they are awesome, no matter what they have been told by others.
And Fourthly, and the most important reason, I enjoy seeing kids bloom. There have been very few students that I haven't worked hard to make them realise they are awesome young people. We don't have bad kids, just kids from bad circumstances. When you have a class that has ten or more kids from traumatic backgrounds it can be hard to see the learning happening. But sometimes them believing in themselves and being resilient is far more important than a score. To have a student who refused to attend primary school that now is the most helpful young man in the class (even though he never stops talking!) is an honour, and makes me proud to have been a small part of his development.
What do I want this blog to achieve? I want to be able to tell the stories of things I deal with on a daily basis. The kids, the classes, the projects, the fun and the tragedy and the teachers and support staff I watch and admire because they care. I'd like people to know that schools in lower socio-economic areas do amazing work with so little.
So for what it's worth, this grumpy little teacher would like to share a few things about what modern education can look like from the inside.
I will start another post with my first actual story, but let's see where this takes us, shall we?
GLT!
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