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#TeachingHero

12/9/2018

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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.
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Book Review - MEPLC

8/9/2018

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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!).
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#TeachingHero

5/9/2018

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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.
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The 2018 Office

1/9/2018

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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?
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#TeachingHero

27/6/2018

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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! 
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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.

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#TeachingHero

20/6/2018

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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.

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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.

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Speed Spell

15/6/2018

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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!
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Read More
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#TeachingHero

13/6/2018

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@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.
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Lessons In Leadership

9/6/2018

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Leaders come in all shapes a sizes. 
In the first instance, we are all leaders of our own classrooms.
Many of us lead subjects or high profile projects.
Some of us lead phases or key stages.
A few of us lead teams or departments.
And the list goes on...

I'm really fortunate to have worked for a variety of different leaders, with a range of different styles and strengths. Each one has taught me an element of leadership, at every level of leadership. Regardless of whether it necessarily fits your job specification, I believe the toolkit for leadership remains relatively similar for everyone. So here are the Top 5 Lessons in Leadership, that I have learnt so far:

Be visible.
In order to build any kind of following, you need to be seen. The simple fact being that no-one can follow someone they don't know. Get out and about, speak to people, build relationships, use humour, get to know things (and low-key collect the information you need to help find your route towards the vision you have). In the long term, it's your following that carry out the vision, so put the work in and smooth out the road you're going to take. Be visible on the playground, greet people at the gate, be present in classrooms and assemblies.
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Be brave.
Leading anything takes courage because of the many varied situations it puts you in. You will be dealing with wider issues than before, with a likely wider impact too; that's the whole point of leadership (in my opinion), broadening your impact. You'll be a mediator, a presenter, a point of safety, a critical friend; all of which involve complex emotions. Leaders must take calculated risks, with as much considered as possible. Bravery and innovation are paramount to promoting positive change.
 
Be empathetic.
I find emotional intelligence is a dying language these days. In a world fuelled by self-centred excuses stemming from too much enjoyment of playing the victim, often we forget that relationships in life are interlinked and that there are other feelings involved. Part of being visible (above) is to gather the sensitive data to find the most empathetic way to move forward. Having said that, part of being brave is understanding that there will be barriers, but it's the relationship built over time that will help you overcome them. Have a human side that ultimately makes the deciding call, but also calls out the snowflakes when needs be.

Be realistic.
These lessons further interlink when you consider that absolute clarity - formed from how much you see and engage with - coupled with bravery and an understanding of likely human reactions, all combine to help create a route towards your vision. Knowing what you have, and knowing where you want to go are 2 completely different entities, but one very much relies on the other. Create a plan that gets you moving, but be realistic about the time scale and patience required. Your own communication skills are tested here. Don't forget to put yourself in other people's shoes, consider your own reaction to what you're asking for. Don't turn it into payback for what you may have gone through.  

Be resilient.
The journey towards, on onwards, to leadership can be tricky. You'll face undesirable reactions, misplaced fear and simple playground jealousy. Work hard to keep a level head and find strategies to deal with all eventualities. As part of a comprehensive wellbeing-centred approach, seek out supportive friends and colleagues that you trust. You need honest feedback to move forwards, comments from the ground on things you implement or want carried out. Make good judgements, understanding your definition of good may differ. Be prepared to be wrong, be prepared to be argued with. Count on all the lessons you learn to support you in making the best progress for your school.
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#TeachingHero

6/6/2018

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This week's #TeachingHero is a very enthusiastic @hannahHGO, who chose to complete her interview via a 2 page Word Document! So much love to spread! If you'd like to join in, let me know!

What motivates you to work hard? 
I could tell a tale of heroic altruism here: success stories about students who have beaten the odds, clichés about ‘doing it for the kids’. My main motivation, however, is much more selfish. So much so, it feels like a guilty secret…I love teaching.
Of course, there are a million things I don’t like about the profession:  the piles and piles of marking; the parents’ evenings in the last week of term; the students who don’t listen and who don’t  seem to care. Despite these, and many other grievances, there are times when I cannot believe the fact that someone pays me to talk about Romeo and Juliet. When I was fifteen, I went on a school trip to see Blood Brothers. I loved it. Now, I get to read and discuss Blood Brothers every single year. I’d talk endlessly to my friends about poetry and plays and novels if they’d let me (seriously – I’ve given my parents poetry lessons). Instead, someone pays me to talk about literature. At the end of long days and tiring terms, I remind myself how lucky I am to be able to do this.
I came to teaching later than some; I was 26 when I did my PGCE. Prior to this, I’d done some travelling and a number of unchallenging office jobs. Even though some of these were interesting, I was bored by 2pm every day. In teaching, every hour is different. 
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Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice? 
I was lucky enough to make a great friend at work. We were both NQTs and we started on the same day at the same school in adjacent classrooms. We used to have a daily debrief where essentially we would have a massive moan about everything – from photocopier woes to difficult students. Although it wasn’t, perhaps, a productive use of our time (we could have been marking), it was really important to be able to offload to someone who knew exactly who and what you were talking about. Once a problem was off my chest, I was less likely to think about it when I got home. A huge asset to my professional life this year has been @Team_English1 on Twitter. It was recommended by a friend and it has, honestly, changed my life. The generosity of teachers in this network has amazed me. The resources I have gained have saved me hours and hours of planning time and I am a better teacher for it.
In my opinion, the worst part of the profession is lack of time. There simply is not enough time to do the job during normal working hours. I don’t work long hours because I am put under pressure by management or Ofsted or because I am a perfectionist (believe me… I am the very definition of ‘winging it’). I work long hours simply to get the job done.
There are teachers who manage to avoid working at home (and I believe that some subjects are more labour intensive than others) but the hours we work are unsustainable. There are small adjustments that managers and school leaders can make to reduce workload but I believe the issue is primarily financial. Teaching and learning would improve exponentially if teachers’ contact time was reduced and we were able to spend more time planning and preparing feedback. Unfortunately, schools are so financially stretched that this is impossible. 

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your wellbeing? 
In my fourth year of teaching, I was completely burnt out. I was exhausted and it was affecting my health. I was working every weekend and also in the evenings. My solution was to search for other jobs because I just couldn’t sustain the hours. The problem was, I didn’t really want another job. As I’ve already preached – I love teaching.
So, I decided to go part time. This was not an easy decision. First of all, I was worried about money. I did some rudimentary maths and worked out that if I went to a 0.8 contract, in my fifth year of teaching I’d be earning roughly the same as I’d earned in my first year of teaching. If I’d managed on that salary then, I thought I could manage on that now. Another concern was, well, embarrassment. In fact, I was so embarrassed that when I put in my part-time request, I made up a lie – that I was going part time to support my partner’s business. Looking back, I should have been more honest. I would recommend anyone in a similar position to talk to your school’s management about how you’re feeling so that they can support you. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, then others will be too and management need to know this.
Despite my concerns, reducing my hours has changed my life.
The question everyone always asks, is ‘do you work on your day off’? Of course I do. In fact, that’s when I do all my school work. What do I get in return? My evenings and weekends back. I know there will be teachers shouting at the screen as they read this. I agree with you. The fact that I had to go part time in order to do my job is ridiculous. I’ve been told that part time teachers should do nothing on their day(s) off – that by working on these days, part-time workers are actually responsible for the pressures put on full time teachers. My response? If that's the case, then full time teachers should do nothing at evenings and weekends. It’s unfair to blame part-time teachers for unfair expectations placed on all teaching staff. We're all in this together.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up? 
I know that reducing hours isn’t for everyone. I agree that teachers and school leaders should come together collectively to address the problems of workload. In the meantime, if anyone would like to chat about going part time, feel free to DM me on Twitter (@HannahHGO). 

Sum up our profession in 5 words. 
I wouldn’t do anything else. 
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