TeachMrN - blog

#TeachingHero

19/9/2018

Our brand new #TeachingHero is @jesslucyleigh! Check out her inspiring advice below, and get in touch if you want to be featured yourself!

What motivates you to work hard?
There is nothing more motivating than building relationships with young people and knowing you are making a difference to their lives. Some of our students do not have stable relationships in their personal lives, so being a constant safety net for our young people helps me get out of bed in the morning (even when I’ve had 2 hours sleep!)

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
Twitter is a huge support for me. Networking with likeminded people has really helped me. I have a small group of friends at work and we all meet at the end of the day and have a good vent. We also have a group chat which we use on a daily basis! I think the worst part of the profession is the rollercoaster of emotions every single day is. I can go to work in an amazing mood and leave in tears (and vice versa). The way I get through it is knowing that for some students, school is the safest place for them and I am partly responsible for that. That’s what makes me happy and content with my job.

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
To manage my workload, I ensure I have set time to do work. I block out my calendar and hide in classroom away from the hustle and bustle. I try to stay at work instead of bringing work home. Even if that means staying until 6pm. That means I don’t have to bring work home too often. When I do bring work home, I ensure that I do it early in the morning rather than late at night. There is nothing worse than work wizzing through your head at 11pm!! We finish work early on a Friday and our line managers always ensure we go home to enjoy our weekend. It is always something to look forward to during the week.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
There are times that I feel like giving up but then I think about certain teachers that I’ll always remember, even now as an adult. I strive to be one of those that my students remember in years to come. It’s easier to be negative than it is to be positive sometimes. I always try to go to work with a smile even if I am crying inside. A student once told me that I always looked moody. I made it my mission to make sure I looked more positive and made a positive learning environment. There have been occasions when students/staff or even parents have made me cry. I have a little cry and then draw a line. Sometimes you can’t help but feel overwhelmed and you have to let yourself get upset once in a while. We’re all human after all.

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
Amazing, exhausting, fulfilling, rewarding and emotional. But the best job EVER.

My Top 5 - Training

15/9/2018

Today, I want to share with you my top five tips for succeeding during your teacher training course:

1. Discuss
There will be so many seemingly endless debates and open questions; you'll be challenged to support your opinion with some form of evidence, and many questions will have no definitive answer. But take the chance to discuss everything. When you leave the course, it's these discussions that subconsciously inform all of your decisions.

2. Read
Although you may find some of them boring, the readings you are given are there for a reason. They work in a similar way to the discussions above; they inform your decisions and give you the fuel for seminars. It sounds silly, but it's genuinely important that you have some idea of what you're talking about. Granted, right now it's a room of likely unresponsive hangovers, but later it'll be an interview panel.

3. Contribute
Now, if you're in a room full of people following 1 and 2, you need to take part. Too shy? Start small (like number one). Feeling ill-informed, or like you might embarrass yourself? Should have followed number two! If necessary, play a character and be devil's advocate. Everyone will secretly enjoy it and you might even learn something. Outside of the lecture hall, join social groups and perhaps even volunteer yourself for whatever student council there is.

4. Prioritise
Although there are many jokes about the laziness of students these days, you must understand that you're within a certain percentage of the population because you are deemed to have the capability to achieve something they're offering you. Do everything within your power to reduce the prevalence of such stereotypes. Choose the right time to knuckle down, and tell people you've done so. We know that an embarrassing club story is usually more entertaining, but don't put yourself down by pretending that's all you do. Celebrate the library too!

5. Laugh
Even if you go on to further study, you're only going to do this for the first time once! Make the most of it, both professionally and personally. Make close friends from all walks of life and create memories that you'll laugh about forever. Enjoy yourself and tell people all about it. It'll be difficult at times, because I firmly believe, if you're doing it right, your university days will actually be the busiest time of your life. For now at least...

#TeachingHero

12/9/2018

Our newest, inspirational #TeachingHero is @mrbeeteach! Check out his interview below, and get in touch if you feel like taking part yourself!

What motivates you to work hard?
I have a strong sense of social justice and want to the best from the children in my care. To do this, I need to be the best I can be, always. One of the best things I have done recently is to start a master’s degree in Education. It is allowing me to become a critical thinker while allowing me to understand my own pedagogical approaches. This keeps me motivated.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
I seek professional support from a variety of different people. Many of my friends are teachers and this, I think, has allowed for a strong network of honesty, openness and empathy. Personal support is given from immediate family.

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
I ensure I leave work twice a week by 4pm, I actively plan days which require minimal marking (which usually means lots of opportunity for valuable verbal feedback in lesson times), I gym three times a week, I always have a book, unrelated to education or my studies, to read.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
You learn a lot about yourself when teaching. I often find writing therapeutic and allows for the essence or for a summary of my thoughts. I normally follow this with critical action of how to improve. Perhaps, it is a mind-set or way of being.

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
Creative, imagination, passion, learning, hope.

Book Review - MEPLC

8/9/2018

18 months ago I had the most wonderful FaceTime call with @mrspteach, one of the co-authors of the brilliant Making Every Primary Lesson Count. For those unfamiliar with the series, there is already a book aimed at secondary school, and this one was written by Jo and Mel for the primary phase.

Jo and I went to university together, although in such a large group of trainees we rarely crossed paths. Yet, I was delighted to hear from her! I love a good teacher chat, and I was honoured to have my thoughts included.

This easily understood teaching guide promotes 6 simple foundations on which to build your classroom to make the best progress possible with your class. It avoids jargon yet is still packed with the research that makes the suggestions relevant for today's teaching climate. It's realistic and practical.

The 6 principles are Challenge, Explanation, Modelling, Practice, Feedback and Questioning, and each chapter gives a range of strategies for how to promote each principle. Relatable scenarios and real-life examples perfectly illustrate each suggestion, which makes this book ideal for every stage of a class teacher's career.

Often, university booklists are filled with stuffy texts written by dinosaurs who use larger words than necessary just to feel important. This book is written by teachers, for teachers. I'd highly recommend it (and not just because I'm in it!).

#TeachingHero

5/9/2018

Our latest #TeachingHero is @Anthillel! Check out his interview below and get in touch if you want to spread a little positivity yourself!

What motivates you to work hard?
I’d say the motivation to work hard is to make a difference to the kids I teach and make their learning come to life. A success story of mine was seeing a gamble in terms of a topic pay off. I’d decided to do a cross curricula project about Gandhi as a game changer and the children really engaged with it, learned lots about him and India and the children were passionate about issues of equality and freedom.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
For personal advice, my family have been fantastic listeners and have been on hand to give advice when I have faced difficult situations. My TA has always been a gem for bouncing ideas off and also being a shoulder to cry on when things get rough.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
I’d say the advice is to remember that you are making a difference, that for these kids, you’re bringing learning to life. Also remember that some schools are more supportive and when you find a supportive school, it makes all the difference.

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
We make a difference everyday.

The 2018 Office

1/9/2018

The fourth year of teachmrn.com is upon us, so it's time to show you my classroom! Due to some back end programming, last year's post never reached you, but you can catch the previous years here and here.

In preparing today's post, I ended up scrolling and scrolling through my phone to find my classrooms of the past too! I'll keep a little slideshow to the right, but you'll notice I've always been pretty plain.

Often, in a bid to all share, sometimes we can be bombarded with Pinterest-perfect rooms with that whispy-black font, fairy lights and a clear budget higher than reasonable. When I look back over my career so far, I was definitely working in the same way; spending money I shouldn't have done on things I didn't need. In fact, in the times when I've moved classrooms, or rearranged my cupboards, I continually find purchases from my NQT year, many moons ago - mostly craft resources that I'm still yet to open because I haven't YET found the right task.

Over the years, I've seen my classroom designs keep a similar theme, with learnt adjustments along the way. It's clear to me that there are things I keep consistent, and things I try differently each year, all while seemingly more minimal each time. I assume it's experience that eventually teaches you what you can do without, and what has the most impact in real terms, rather than the first time walking in. Some of the things I have learnt include:

I usually have a base colour, because I believe you can change the colour scheme by what you add over the top (plus it means you only back the boards once and the focus is on the work).
There is usually some kind of colour coding. This year, I have borders that match the colour of the respective exercise book.
I have tried lots of different ways of organising the books. After keeping them on a shelf in my first ever room, falling all over the place, I quickly sought different storage options. This year, I'm going for my favourite; magazine files split into their teams. I've always found this makes distribution more efficient. It also means that different tables can work on different things more easily, and it breaks marking workload down if they're in easily countable segments - you can fetch a quick slice of books at break time without losing track of where you got to.
I have ALWAYS, regardless of age group, had a carpet area. I don't understand how teachers cope without one. Yes, I understand they grow, but I believe you need different kinds of spaces without moving furniture constantly. Sometimes you need them close, sometimes you need them far away. Sometimes you need to pause them, and that carpet area increases the likelihood of them paying attention instead of being too distant. Equally, sometimes you need them there in front of you; that emotional connection and eye contact is paramount. Inputs, specific groups for misconceptions, reading together, etc.
I've always got a mixture of working walls and display walls. While a lot of this is often policy driven, I do think you need clear space for the prompts, models and interactivity, alongside area for the finished products, the celebration and so on.
I've never really started with lots on the walls already. I believe that whatever the room looks like on Day One, is forgotten by Day Two; it's the changes that they notice. For this reason, I've always started very plain, and built the room up as we go, especially for the working walls. This way, there is a point of specific reference for everything we do. I understand the counterargument that 'I don't like blank walls', but I just don't understand how you expect people to pinpoint something easily if it's already amongst a chaotic puzzle of, so far unlearnt, information - even the 'reminders' need re-teaching.

The finished product (although is a classroom EVER really complete?) is below. But one question remains, how long will the desk stay tidy?

#TeachingHero

27/6/2018

The newest #TeachingHero is @StickCole1971 - another lovely human bean spreading positivity amongst our profession! To get involved with your own interview, get in touch!

What motivates you to work hard?
Honestly the motivation still comes from the kids, especially the ones who need us the most. The ones you know don't, for whatever reasons, have the support at home. I have felt this even more since I became a parent. As a leader I can hopefully have a far reaching impact. I do have a strong sense of pride in what I do and like to think that each day I leave school I can put hand on heart and say I have done my best for my kids and my colleagues and hence the school as a whole.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
I currently job-share in a year 3 class. I am fortunate to have the most amazing job-share partner. She supports me as a professional but also as a mum. I also have particular friends/colleagues whose professional judgments I trust. For example after 4 years as a maths intervention teacher I have found the teaching of writing last term and area I needed support with. Our english lead is luckily also a very good friend. I knew she would be honest and supportive so I asked her to support me. The worst thing? The opposite of this. When people are supposed to be supportive but actually too entrenched in their own views/opinions that they don't really support. TBH I know this is something I need to work on and be more assertive!

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
Workload - this is a really tough one. Funnily enough I don't find the volume of work the stressful thing, it is the amount of work that I sometimes have to do and still not feel prepared eg replanning sessions/resources I know were used last year but no-one can find!

As a class teacher you don't really always have the power to influence this. There are certain things that have to be done, there are always things that we feel are 'paper' exercises and don't 'benefit the children'. That is where, as a member of SLT, you need to try to communicate to all staff why these tasks are needed, and of course if they are not STOP! Teamwork is essential. Let's not recreate the wheel. Let's share and have professional dialogue to cut down on planning etc. We need to share our expertise to help each other. I think we need to be more honest and say when we are feeling overwhelmed. You need head/DH and SLT who will be understanding and support rather than judge.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
I think we all feel like giving up at times, It is the sadly inevitable side effect of wanting to do a good job in such a difficult profession. I would say try to get to the nub of what the issue is. I find it is often a small thing that can build. It may need a small change or to accept that you need to make some changes eg extra responsibilities that take too much of your time or needing a challenge out of your classroom. Battling negativity. Hmmm, this is another hard one. It is so easy to get in to a negative place. My JS partner and I have written a list of all the things that have gone well v badly and were surprised that the first list was longer. We then wrote a list of things that weren't working and steps to make them better. Obvious but it helped. Try to avoid the negative people at school.

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
Crazy, rewarding, varied, worthwhile, challenging.

#TeachingHero

20/6/2018

This week's #TeachingHero is @wayrf! Check out their interview below, and get in touch if you fancy spreading a little motivation of your own!

What motivates you to work hard?
My family are a big help! My kids certainly keep me going when work is tough. I've also started keeping a box of positive feedback - learning walks, emails from pupils/parents, Christmas cards, other nice messages. Good to dip into now and again when I'm struggling to remember why I chose to do this impossible, infuriating, exhilirating job.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
I'm lucky to have such a good department around me, but there's also colleagues across other departments in the school who I do talk to and take advice from. Twitter has also been invaluable; I'm largely anonymous on here, so feel I can talk about more or less anything. There's always someone out there willing to offer advice or just sympathise. Worst bit of the profession? Two related things: staying organised, and keeping up with the marking (I'm an English teacher, so deserve anything I get). It's vital to get a system in place, and sticking with it, however hard it gets - maintain momentum, and all the rest follows.

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
I've put in place a few rules, which I do my best to stick to. Not always successfully; but even when I do fail, they're there in the back of my mind for next time. Here goes:
1. Earliest I'll get to work is 7.30am
2. Latest I'll stay at school is 5pm (unless it's a consultation evening or other diaried event)
3. I try to avoid working in the evening. If I do, I try not to do so two nights in a row; and I don't work past 9pm.
4. Weekends: I have at least 1 day off each weekend School are reasonably supportive, but like so many others they're struggling with reduced budgets - so staff well-being has been one of the first things to dissolve.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
This last term has been especially tough - one of my hardest since I retrained and started teaching 2 years ago. I think it was a combination of factors: an increased timetable; behaviour issues; lack of support from others in department/elsewhere in school (although see my answer to Q3 - so much of this is budget related, and completely out of the control of my colleagues). I think what has kept me going is being honest, and talking about issues quickly when they've come up, and seeking help when I need it. Never be afraid to do this - this is such a demanding job, and everyone has their peaks and troughs. It can feel lonely in the classroom sometimes, but teaching is a team sport. Lean on them when you need to, and be ready to listen when someone else needs to talk. Otherwise, keeping the basics in focus is also *so* important. Tiredness has a massive effect on my mood, especially towards the end of the week; so I take more early nights than I used to, and having a bath can work wonders for the quality of my sleep. Also important to eat well (and I'm blessed that my lovely wife is such a good cook!), and not overdo other things such as alcohol. They can be an effective short-term fix - but over time, they cause more problems than they solve.

Sum up the profession in 5 words.
Not easy, so the best I can do is: Be kind, know your subject.

Speed Spell

15/6/2018

These days, it would appear that success in spelling is simply about engaging with the words in as many ways as possible. Granted, you can learn the rule or the pattern, but there are so many anomalies in the English language that it often appears a hindrance, rather than an advantage, to know the 'rule'.

Here are some simple prompts to supplement the teaching of spelling:
Read - Arguably the best way to discover a plethora of new words, is to read!
Games - I think games get a bad rep as cop-outs, but well-thought out, somewhat supervised, games are a great way to spend a lesson! Grab the nearest Scrabble, Up-words (anyone have that when they were little?), Hangman, Countdown, anything else word based!
Puzzles - Again, I think it's the same as the games, there's an attitude about things such as word searches and crosswords. They're often seen as fillers, and therefore throw away tasks that shouldn't be completed seriously. But actually consider the processes you go through in completing them! They're pretty complex for a child learning about words, and absolutely the sorts of skills we should be encouraging!

Due to the amount of resources attached, this post continues below. Click 'Read More' to access free resources and read on!

#TeachingHero

13/6/2018

@primaryteachew is our latest #TeachingHero as we continue to spread positive thinking and celebrate hard work! If you'd like to get involved, let me know!

What motivates you to work hard?
I always feel most motivated to work hard because of the children - however cliche this may be! Seeing them do well, hearing them happy and positive at succeeding always makes me want to keep going. I recently had 2 girls write to Blue Peter and say they wanted me to be awarded with a badge, which I was given, because they thought I was a good teacher. This meant more to me than any formal feedback as it made me feel I had made a real difference to them.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice?
I am so lucky that I get to work with some colleagues who have become some of my closest friends. I always turn to them, and them to me, for personal and professional advice because they have an understanding of not just the profession, but the school too! The ‘worst’ part of the profession for me, is always the work/life balance and getting it right. Again, we are able to support each other with this, whether it’s helping to absolve guilt or to stay a little later and help get things done quicker. I really couldn’t do my job without feeling like part of a team.

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your well being?
To manage workload, I try and make sure I have 2 nights off a week, and at least one weekend day where I do no work at all. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but having a rule there definitely makes sure I am not constantly working. I also make sure I bake something once a week, to relax and de-stress.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up?
The advice I would give, is to look back at the difference you have made. Not always as a bigger picture, but all the small times when you have made an impact. Negativity is much easier to succumb to than positivity, so finding 3 things you’ve done well each week helps keep you focused on the good. Again, I also find being surround by colleagues, who are also friends, helps as you have a good support system in place.

Sum up our profession in 5 words.
Tiring, stressful....but completely rewarding.