Teacher Tag

Hello everyone

It's been a really inconsistent few weeks so I am finally settling down to schedule some posts whilst I still have time. That way, there is guaranteed to be something to read at least twice every week. I want to get back into blogging properly and perhaps earn a little bit of money from it (if I'm lucky). I'm not going to go on and write a really waffle-y introduction to this post like I usually do because that would be annoying and a waste of time. I am just going to get straight into it! 

  I've decided to do the teacher tag (despite the fact I won't be officially qualified for another two academic years) because as many of you know, it is the profession I want to go into and education is a field that I have had a lot of voluntary experience and placements within. I wanted to do a post that would allow me to share my experiences with you but in a way that has a bit more structure and is less random. Does that make sense? Well, it does to me. So here it is! 

1. How long have you been teaching? 

I began volunteering in schools when I was sixteen years old, so around five years ago. When I was eighteen, I began my first assessed teaching placement for my early years educator qualification at college. Since then and up to now, I have been teaching a variety of ages in different settings as a student teacher. 

2. What age groups have you taught and which age do you prefer to teach?

I have a variety of children from the ages of four to eleven years old. I have also worked closely with infants in nursery settings, so from birth to two years of age. When I first started my teacher training I honestly thought I wanted to teach year five and six pupils (so the back end of Key Stage Two). I have had good experiences with this age, but I honestly prefer the back end of Key Stage One. I've tried Reception and I did love it because the children are so funny and come out with some golden one-liners, but I like the back end of Key Stage One/Year Three (age six to seven years old) because they're becoming more independent but still need that little bit of encouragement and guidance from you as an adult. 

3. What is your current school mascot?

This is evidently an American tag challenge hahaha! I don't really think my current placement has a school mascot. But, on the school logo, there is a picture of an owl so I'm assuming if the school were to have a mascot it would be an owl.

4. How many students are in your class year? 

I need to guess this one because at my current placement I am primarily working with a class of integrated year one and two children. All the children within the class range from five to seven years old. I'm going to guess there are around fifteen for each year group, so my class has around thirty pupils. As I'm mainly working with the Child and Family Well-being Officer to learn more about pastoral care and social and emotional interventions, I've not done that many lessons or class observations but just worked directly with small groups of children. 

5. What is your ideal class size?

Last year at my previous placement I had a class of fifteen pupils for spelling, phonics and maths and it was honestly the ideal class size as these pupils needed additional help and guidance in these areas. The small number of pupils in my class meant that I could get around and give each student the attention and help they needed so they all could achieve the outcomes of each lesson. I also had a teaching assistant in these lessons too which was a huge bonus! However, this was at an independent preparatory school where class sizes were naturally smaller. I have worked in state schools in classes of thirty and I still enjoy the challenging of getting to each student and making sure they have the help they need. But a class of fifteen to twenty pupils would be a dream! 

6. What is your favourite drink at Starbucks?

Oooh, a bit of a rant coming. Basically, I'm not a HUGE boycott kind of person but recently I've stopped buying drinks from Starbucks and go to Costa instead. The reason behind this is that Starbucks trade with a huge chain in Hong Kong that sell unethical shark fin-based products. Sharks are one of my favourite animals so this isn't cool for me. But back to the question, definitely one of Costa's iced caramel latte's with no cream. 

7. What is your favourite online resource?

A cliche but I love Class Dojo. I don't know whether it can actually be described as an online resource but oh well. Class Dojo allows me to keep everything organised, communicate with parents/carers, send updates and news to parents/carers, track behaviour and academic progress, and it also provides videos and resources to support learning in the classroom. I also like to use it to reward my students with Dojo points, or as we call them 'praise points'. It's a great online resource and I would recommend it to any teacher who doesn't already use it!

7. Can you describe your perfect classroom? 

I always dream of having a perfect, clean and tidy classroom with my student's art and work on bright and colourful displays. I'd also have motivational precepts dotted around the classroom to motivate my students to be the best they can possibly be. I'd also make sure there was really colourful furniture, desks and chairs in the room. I don't do dull! It's got to be comfortable and welcoming. I think I would also choose a colour scheme of light blues and neutrals so it would be bright and cheerful but not an absolute mish-mosh of different colours. It still needs to be smart and presentable! I'd also love a huge interactive whiteboard. 

8. What is your favourite  part of teaching? 

My favourite part of teaching is developing positive relationships with students and their families and helping them achieve their academic and social goals so they can leave school as well-rounded and kind people. Sometimes it is like banging your head against a brick wall but once the penny drops and a student finally grasps a concept they've been struggling with, develops their resilience or even just comes out of their shell that little bit more, there is no more rewarding feeling in the world!

9. What is your least favourite part of teaching? 

 I'd say my least favourite part of teaching is the fact that the curriculum is controlled by members of parliament who have never set foot in a classroom in their lives. The Department for Education is constantly upping the expectations within the National Curriculum for children, yet half of the people developing the curriculum don't have the experience to create a curriculum with realistic outcomes that children from different demographics and upbringings have an equal opportunity to achieve and experience. 

10. What is some advice that you would give to an aspiring teacher? 

Definitely, do volunteering with lots of different schools, charities and organisations to set yourself apart from other aspiring teachers and applicants to teaching courses. Not only will it give you diverse experiences to other applicants, but it will also give you a taster of what working with children is like and help you decide whether it really is the path for you. I know plenty of people who've said they wanted to be primary school teachers, they went into a primary school setting for a week of work experience and absolutely hated it. Teaching is a vocation as well as a career. You've got to know that you want to do it rather than think you know what you want to do. You don't want to get stuck in a profession you hate! Also, volunteering for different types of settings such as nursery schools, charities for disabled young people, drama groups, sports groups, the state and independent sector will give you different experiences with different children and a wide array of knowledge you can apply in your future career and also use in your favour when applying for jobs and courses! It sounds like very basic advice but I'm so glad I went out and got the experience I have now. 

*****

Well, that's the end of that....

Thank you very much for getting to the end of this post. I understand this topic might not interest everyone but I wanted to add to my blog, write about something I'm passionatre about and stay true to myself, and just get myself back into the blogging game. I hope you enjoyed this post and will continue to enjoy my future posts. 

Ba-bye for now!

Liv xo