Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Please say no....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9634138/Would-you-pass-the-new-trainee-teacher-test.html

I have to say, this teaching lark is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.  No, that's not quite true.  The actual teaching bit is the easy bit, it's all the other stuff that is difficult.

There is so much extra work involved - most of which the university makes up to be fair, this is the stuff I can ditch when I'm qualified, which will the year after next.  So the next two years will be awful, and after that it will be plain sailing.  Right?

Mmm.

I've just handed in my first assignment, which was three lesson plans (already taught) and a 2000 word rationale all about
a) differentiation (not the maths kinds, but the bit where we are supposed to be able to teach genius and...er...inbility just as effectively in the same lesson. Yeah right),
b) assessment for learning, or AFL as we teachers call it, which is where we make constant assessment of the class throughout the lesson to see how the little darlings (cough) are absorbing (cough, splutter) all the information presented,
c) progression - i.e. can I work on what I have done and make it better next time around,
d) reflections, the wordy reasoning all about the above point,
e) the use of brilliant resources and course material
f).....you get the picture....

There is so much to think about, so many techniques to learn and practise, so much planning, and I cannot emphasise how much planning there is to do - each lesson must have a plan submitted 2 days before I teach it, and in a few weeks time I will be teaching 12 hours a week, and the plans are currently taking me 1 - 2 hours each; so worst case scenario I have 36 hours of teaching and planning.  Plus I have to evaluate every lesson, write a reflection on it, say what I could have done ebetter and what I did well.... we're rapidly heading into the 48 hour territory here, plus I have to collect evidence for my teaching standards and upload it all onto the university system, another 5 hours a week (53 hours so far...), and I'm supposed to have a daughter who needs my time, and a dog (not for long, if he carries on the way he's going), and a family....  And some time to sleep might be a nice thing to have as well.  Plus I have more assignments for university to do, which involve a lot of reading and taking notes.

And I have these silly tests to pass (link above).  We get one go for free, a further 2 charged at £20 a time if we fail, and after that guess what?  Yep, exclusion for 2 years.  2 YEARS! I mean, really.  Talk about government vote winning tactics or what.  Actually, please don't talk about that, I've had enough.  That's a can of worms that will remain firmly shut for the moment.  Firmly.  Shut.

Half term could not come soon enough.

So basically I'm very, very busy.  It's been great having a couple of days at Uni a week to relax a bit, chew the fat, drink the odd beer and generally have a whinge about how hard life is at the moment with my friends.  You should have seen us all last week, big bags under our eyes, practically sleep walking our way through lectures.  It was quite comedic really, but strangely cathartic to see your peers suffering right along with you. 

I have taught 5 hours so far in my life, some good, some not so good, but mostly enjoyable despite the hours of preparation being wasted because these kids just don't want to be at school and refuse point blank to play the game.  Sometimes it's quite depressing.  I'm planning to go and work in a very selective, lovely, private school where the parents actually take some part in their childrens lives and where theachers don't avoid the pupils because that would mean dealing with their behaviour, which is spiraling rapidly out of control and verging in being dangerous.  In my first week I thought I was going to be hit, I've been nearly pushed down the stairs and also almost kicked over by two boys having a 'play' fight in the corridor.  I've learned why teachers avoid pupils.  I now do the same.

It's bonkers really.  We need police, not teachers. 

In my classes I have approximately 40% of pupils with special educational needs.  Surely this can't be right?  Is the school applying them with a label just to account for their poor progress?  The label would better be applied as 'lazy and can't be bothered to learn' in most of the cases.  I'm teaching 13 yeard old boys who can't even write a sentence.  There is no way they will be able to get decent GCSEs because they just will not learn, and say they don't care.

I know Hastings is a pretty deprived area in terms of social factors.  I know that those who can afford it send their kids away to find a decent education, and we are left with the rest.  But I also know that it's not a case of teachers failing students, it's more like a case of parents failing to bring their kids up properly and thus failing the education system.  There's only so much you can do in a couple of hours a week with a child, only so many times you can discipline a child before the sanctions don't work any more, and you can't afford to exclude them from the school because the school gets charged £8000 for each pupil excluded.  And we can't even afford textbooks.  It is ludicrous.  There are at least 8 children I can think of off the top of my head who need to be excluded because nobody can learn while they are in the room.  That's £64,000.  Yikes.  These kids are failing the school, not the teachers.  Take the boy (we'll call him J) who insists on walking around the classroom punching the other boys, taking their pens out of their hands, tearing up their work and generally being a nuisance.  J does not have a statement of special educational needs, probably because his parents can't manage to sort out the application process.  In fact I'd be willing to bet that they can't read or write either.  Would I be punished for sending him out of the room time and time again?  You bet I would, because 'Every Child Matters', and yet there are several other boys in the class who could raise up a grade or two if they were allowed to work.  What can you do? Don't they matter too?

So what am I going to do about it?

Well, apply for a job in a different school for a start.  One where there isn't a child (M) who hates women.  Vocally.  And frequently.

But for the minute, I'm stuck at William Parker, and in Hastings.  I'm pretty determined to learn all I can from this rather eye-opening experience.  And lobby for the return of National Service.  And then apply for a different school.

No, seriously, there is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from getting through on some level to some of these kids, and I find myself feeling really sorry for them having to go through life as a totally dysfunctional adult who cannot see past the end of his own nose.  I want to be the best that I can, and if that means struggling to find a way through to some of these boys then I'm prepared for now.  But I will need an easier time in the future, there's no doubt about it.

Did you know that 50% of new teachers leave the profession before the 5 year point?  I wonder why...

Right. Rant over.  I feel better now, thanks for listening.  I'm at William Parker until 25th January, then start a different placement in March.  I'll take anything where boys are not thumping each other all day long and I have a chance of not losing my voice. 

I'll keep you posted.