Posts Tagged "Education"
So YOU want to be a TEACHER!
I decided at some point that I wanted to be a teacher. I’m not really sure why I decided to be a teacher BUT that is what I wanted to do. My Dad sadly didn’t agree. I came home from school in Year 9 after my first Business Studies class and told my parents that I really enjoyed this class. Debits = Credits just made perfect sense and why didn’t someone tell me this earlier in life. From that moment on my Dad told the world I was going to be an Accountant. I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do BUT DAD SAID… During my middle school years I helped out in a friend of the family’s classroom each school holidays as the school I attended finished a week or two earlier than theirs. I loved it even if all I was doing was cleaning out art cupboards and placing art work on the walls. To appease my father during Year 10 I went and did a week’s work in an Accounting firm. I absolutely hated it. I so didn’t want to be the accountant behind the desk staring at (and this is going to show my age!) page after page of ledgers. My final years of high school I followed the business course – Accounting, Economics, Legal Studies, Secretarial Studies, Maths B and English. As school was finishing I fought long and hard with my dad over which university degree I would do. We managed to compromise I could put into number 1 the duel degree of B.Ed and B.Bus as long as the rest were a B.Bus. Thankfully I was accepted into my number 1 choice….
There has been a lot of posts lately about being a teacher and going into the profession or not going into the profession… A few of these raised some questions for me. Did I go into the profession blind? Do I enjoy it? Am I still passionate? If I was to do it all over again would I? What would I have done if I didn’t become a teacher?
I had 3 very interesting and different Prac experiences while I was learning to be a teacher. The first was in a primary school (Year 7) where I learnt the basics. It was a Catholic school and while I am a Christian I am not a Catholic. It showed me that I didn’t want to work for the Catholic Education system. I enjoyed my first prac and knew that I wanted to be a high school teacher by the end of it. The second was in a very rough state school. This as private school girl this was an eye opener for me. My first lesson in the classroom was a year 7, 8, 9 level 1 Typing class. Right in the middle of the Triple the Deputy Headmaster came in and ordered half a dozen students to go and undertake a random drug test. I struggled through this prac as I learnt the unwritten rules. After this prac experience I put my degree on hold to have my family. The last prac was at a Private Independent School and I had a very good mentor who was keen to make sure that I went into the teaching profession with my eyes wide open. It was halfway through this prac that I had a bit of a meltdown. As I drove the 1 1/2 hour trip home with my husband I turned to him and said “If this is what teaching is I’m not sure its what I want to do…” The long hours were getting to me… At the end of the meltdown I had decided that it would be different when I started teaching and had my own classroom and my own students…
And it was… So did I go into the profession blind? I don’t think I did. It was different and I wasn’t prepared for all the paperwork and constant parent interactions but I knew what I was getting myself into.
As for the enjoyment of teaching. I can’t think of anything else that I would enjoy more. In fact I enjoy it so much sometimes that I forget my own family!!! I have a day here and there that get to me because I’m stressed and frustrated. And occasionally it gets me down. But the good days always outweigh the bad. The days where my students triumph and get excited about economic concepts are far greater. I believe I am still passionate about teaching I still get that spark when I start talking about statistics, the economy or that new technological find.
At the end of the day I still would have become a teacher. I became a teacher so that I could continue to learn and to share the passion I have about my areas of interest. I became a teacher so that I could inspire students to go into areas they were passionate about.
And if didn’t become a teacher I would have gone into a profession which required me to learn something new and investigate all the time.
What about you?
Related articles
- Why I never recommend Teaching as a Profession (The Tempered Radical)
- Teaching as a Profession (Successful Teaching)
- My teaching job is a Nightmare! (educationclearinghouse.wordpress.com)
Expectations…. Maybe I’m Dreaming….
I’m very proud of my Daughter. She has survived the first term of High School. And has done exceptionally well. Now I know I have a smart kid who loves to learn new things however I was concerned at how she would go when it came to the difference between primary school and high school. Surprisingly she jumped right in. After receiving her report card I couldn’t be happier but now I’m starting to wonder if the education system is failing her. Her best subject is Spanish in which she earned an A+. In talking with her Spanish teacher I inquired as to how we could extend her further as obviously this is something she is good at. The teacher’s response was to tell me I should ask for her to skip a grade as she felt that my daughter could be still achieving this result in Year 9. My daughter isn’t achieving the same results in her other subjects (similar but not the same), nor does she want to leave her friends and nor do I believe she is socially and emotionally equipt to skip a grade. This got me thinking about our education system. At the point where a student is receiving the highest possible result in the grading system whether this is a 5 point scale, a 7 point scale or a 50 point scale we are telling our students that there is no more to learn at this stage in your life. Why can’t students if they can achieve an “A+” in Year 7 subject not move on to the Year 8 subject? Why aren’t our high school classes based on levels rather than age? Once we leave school whether in the work place or in further study age is no longer a factor, ability is. While our classes have students in them that range from learning support to gifted we are failing our students. Now I need to make it clear I’m not necessarily an advocate for streamed classes as I do believe that mixed abilities in classes helps all students as there is plenty students can learn from each other with the different perspecitives students bring to the classroom.
But what are we doing to help our students who happen to excel in one area or struggle in another. I do think we need to rethink how our high school classes work. Whats stopping us from setting up a system of units where each subject has a selection of units at each level. Once you receive a passing grade in a unit you could select from the same list or from the next level of units. Take my hypothetical Economics Course below. You must start in Level 1 once you complete a single unit with a passing grade you can then move to Level 2. If for example the Globalisation and Trade unit needs the International Economics unit then it would be listed as a prerequisite.
I know this is potentially a complicated or messy system however its just a suggestion…
Please let me know some of your ideas of how to make our education system suit students of all ages and ability levels…
Related articles
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What Kind Of Grading System Should We Use? (Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo)
How Fast will the Future get Here???
I’ve had a number of interesting conversations lately about the past and the future. Usually stemming from something the people around me have read, seen or heard. As it was I recently read Maggie Hos-McGrane’s Blog Tech Transformation and the article about being Hyperconnected and Always On. Now I know that the post was more about the different generations and the different technology waves that have occurred however that is not what what I took from the post…
The post talked about the generations – silent, baby boomer, generation X, NetGeneration, iGeneration and Generation C and how they used to be 20 to 25 years each an now they are more like 10 years each. It went on to discuss the various waves…
The agricultural wave – it took 3,000 years for technology to be integrated into agriculture
The industrial wave - this took 300 years
The computer wave – this took 30 years
The informational wave - this took 3-5 years
The communication wave – this took 3-5 years
The biotechnology wave – we are about to enter this one
Looking at this I started to wonder if we are now down to 3 years a wave does that mean the next lot of waves are going to be more like 3 months….
I know that I feel like life is passing really quickly (whether that is my children or age I’m not sure) however if we are starting to create new things so fast what is it going to be like for our children and the children we teach.
I really feel for Generation AO – I’m not sure we as teachers from the Baby Boomers, Generation X, the NetGeneration are really going to be able to keep up with the iGeneration, Generation C and Generation AO. Perhaps its time to put educational policy in the hands of the students.
We have a lot to learn as educators…
Related articles
- Hyperconnected and Always On (maggiehosmcgrane.com)
- Letter to Baby Boomers (lifeaccordingtonat.wordpress.com)
- [STUDY] How Hyperconnectivity Affects Young People (readwriteweb.com)
- Hyperconnected Lives: Are They Good or Bad? (stealthmode.com)
- Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives (learningwithtechs.wordpress.com)
The Past or The Future…
My sister and I enjoy a long run every second weekend and afterwards we enjoy a good catchup over coffee and a walk. Today’s conversation was about how my children were going at school and we started talking about the assessment my daughter in Grade Seven is currently working on. The conversation then moved to our schooling and the things which we did at the same age. Now my sister and I are really NOT that old (we are in our early 30s). I know life after school has changed since the late 90s and the skills students need now and into the future have definetly changed. I mean when we were at school the internet was *new*. Both of us remember spending time in the State Library labouring over books to find the information we needed to complete the assignments that more often than not were hand written. And *THESE* days my daughter finds nearly all of her information on the NET. Now we both know that the skills involved in searching the internet compared with searching the library are completely different. And we realise that in the age of the Internet everyone is an expert in everything. Cause lets face it if you don’t know the answer you can look it up and become an expert yourself. Or find someone who can help.
This led to our thoughts of what education is going to be like when our youngest children (who are currently 2) get there… Maybe exams will be a thing of the past… Or maybe more will be open book… Maybe students will make their own curriculum… Or maybe the government will still decide when and where student learn…
Skills change over time… I’m not sure where education is heading… All I hope is that students in the future learn the skills they need to be successful in life.
Education needs to make sure it keeps up…
Maybe We Need to Ban the Classroom…
I know that I’m a bit behind in my podcast listening HOWEVER this week I was listening to my current favourite podcast “Teacher 2.0″ the episode which caught my attention as I was running along was titled “Chalk Markets Plunge!” in it Rodd Lucier from The Clever Sheep Blog was explaining his view on the Ages of Education. He believes that there are 3 ages of education:
- The Slate and Chalk Age – mid 1800s to present
- The Paper and Pen Era – 1900s to present
- The Web and Keyboard Period – 2000s to present
And that if we really are to move forward in education then we need to ban chalk.
This had me thinking… maybe we need to ban the classroom in its current form… Why are we so concerned that learning happens in a box. Learning now happens anywhere and everywhere. If we are to move into the Web and Keyboard Period perhaps we need to recognised that learning happens in a classroom, at home, on the net, on paper and even with or without chalk. Learning is now about the experiences not the tools nor the place…
Related articles
- Let’s Ban Chalk! (TheCleverSheep.blogspot.com.au)
Proud as Punch (Both as a Mum and an Educator)
Image via Wikipedia
The last term has been a busy one. Not only as an educator but as a Mum as well. You see the last term has been dedicated to our Year 6 Exhibition. My beautiful children attend the school where I work and as my daughter is in Year 6 she has been part of the teaching and learning experiences which I have been offering the Year 6 students. Over the course of the term I offered several workshops on Poster Making (digital and manual), time management skills, use of digital peripherals (cameras, video cameras, sound recorders etc) and OneNote.
The journey the students (including my daughter) is an impressive one. Under the umbrella of a topic (Peace and Conflict Resolution) the student select a question or statement they wish to investigate. They then go on to present it using five components (Creative, Interactive, Written, Oral and Action). My daughter choose to investigate whether “Year 6 Students Behave Better than Politicians in Parliament”. When she initially came up with this topic I was a little bit concerned at how it would all come together and how my daughter was going to find her research. Well I really had nothing to worry about. You see she contacted by email as many politicians as she could think of in our local area, state and country. What amazed me was they responded and were willing to be interview by her either over the phone or in person. The final product she produced was amazing she filmed every interview and put them together as a documentary (oral/creative), prepared a speech on her findings (oral), created an essential agreement for the politicians (written/action), prepared a PowerPoint showing the information she had investigated on parliamentary privilege (written), provided a vote (interactive) along with a poster with sayings of both year 6 students and politicians showing good and bad behaviours (interactive/creative).
I was impressed by the many topics that our year 6 students chose. Some were really personal (leaving to go to another school) right through to topics which interested students (conflict in computer games).
It is events like this which showcase student learning which make me proud to be an educator and in this case proud as punch to be a Mum to an extremely intelligent daughter.
Related articles
- What does learning feel like? (whatedsaid.wordpress.com)
- Opportunities for creativity… (whatedsaid.wordpress.com)
Peanut Butter and Lettuce – Who Said They Don’t Mix?
I have just returned from Expanding Learning Horizons (ELH11) where I presented a paper on Problem Based Learning (PBL). I love teaching using PBL as it means I can take a step back and allow the students to take control of their learning.
Here is the description of the session…
At a time when we need to let go of the need to be the sage on the stage and give students control of their learning come and find out how to set up and assess students through Problem Based Learning. This presentation will focus on the who, what, when, where and how of PBLs – software, options, set up and how to find the resources you need.
And while your at it give Peanut Butter and Lettuce a go – it’s surprisingly good…
Presentation
Support Materials
Change is inevitable…
Term 1 finished last Friday. And boy what a huge term it was. I have looked back at the last 10 weeks and I really cannot believe how much we squeezed into the term.
- SharePoint 2010
- Office 2010
- Digital Profile Cards
- New Departments
- New Timetable Structure
- Large Amount of New Staff
Not to mention all the new things that happen year in year out by being a teacher – new classes, new students, new timetables…
As part of our review of the term staff all commented that there was just too much change this term and this year and that had made the term more exhausting than “normal”.
Looking over it there was a lot of change however at the end of the term I think it was all necessary change. Change is hard at the best of times… And a lot of change means that people are more resistant to the change…
My biggest project this term has been digitising all the Profile Cards. We had some staff who used pen and paper to fill the cards out right through to staff who were using mail merge to link Excel and Word together to make results entry easy. The whole point of digitising the profile cards was to allow for longitudinal tracking and a permanent record in the school data base of how students are going at any point in time. My biggest challenge with the digital profile cards has been the staff who used pen and paper previously as pen and paper work for them. One staff member proclaimed that I can see where the students are at any point in time. I challenged back that what if another staff member needed to see the results. The response “They can walk over to my filing cabinnet and take a look!” It is this staff member who has had the biggest break through. After all the kicking and screaming that they didn’t need digital profile cards on the last day of the term came to me to ask if there was a time next term we could meet so that he could recreate his profile card to better suit the new system of recording student results.
We all hate change but at the end of the day it is inevitable… Lets face it life would be boring if it was always the same!
"What NO INTERNET?"
Last week I attended the BEA (Business Educators Australasia) Conference, the conference was really good. It’s always interesting to see conferences for various subject areas and the information you can gather. In a previous life I was a business teacher and it’s nice to network with teachers who have brilliant ideas in the teaching of business and any subject for that matter. In my new life I am at the conference as I’m one of their technology speakers. When I agreed to speak I asked if there would be internet access for delegates as this would form part of my presentation. I was assured there was. I asked if delegates would have their own computers and was shocked to hear that they would have access only through the computers offered during my session. But at least they would have a computer. I asked if I could use my own computer and would I have access to internet while at the conference. Yes we have wireless available for presenters. Awesome I would still have net access. However as I discovered when I arrived at the conference the access was only available during my presentation. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Maybe I’ve been spoilt at the conferences I’ve attended in the past but in 2010 is it really acceptable not to offer net access to all your delegates? Especially a business educators conference when we are offering strands in incorporating technology? I have to admit three days without internet access has been hard and I feel very disconnected from the world and my PLN.
Missed you all!!
@MrsAngell
Read MoreWhat Exactly is the Purpose of Education?
This week I have spent my time in primary school planning meetings. Each of these has started the same way with the teachers being given a copy of the draft National Australian Curriculum. Each of these meetings has then gone in a very different direction depending on the combination of teachers. One thing that did stand out is that the teaching staff got caught up with the content of the Australian Curriculum and how the content was different from what they currently taught.
Something which has stood out to me is the severe lack of skills being taught in the National Australian Curriculum. And the swift way in which teachers (myself included) seemed to throw the thought of teaching students skills out the window.
I was reading Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum tonight and it got me thinking about what exactly the purpose of school and education is? What do we take from school into the big bad world when we leave the gate at the end of year 12? What do we take from school into university? And then our degrees into our job? So as I always do when I start thinking I ask Twitterland!
What is your clearest memory of primary school? High school? University?
My clearest memory of primary school was as a whole class (year 3) being praised for being proactive and going into the classroom after first break everyday and reading while we waited for the teachers to return from their morning tea meeting. Then on the sixth day of doing this scoring a lunchtime rubbish clean up (the whole class did) for going into a classroom without a staff member.
For High School the memory is of me making a fool of myself dancing to Rip Rip Woodchip by John Williamson in Year 8 to explain the meaning of logging. (I doubt I got the meaning across but it was fun even if it was embarrassing!)
Meanwhile in University my memories are of me trying to get my readings complete with one or two children hanging off me.
None of this was about the content or even the skills I learnt at school.
So I asked my twitter friends. And their responses were the same. They were about fights, arguments, results, excursions, bullying, parties, punishments and handing the last piece of assessment in. Nothing about content or skills.
So WHY as teachers do we get so hung up on the content? Reality is none of us really remember it later in life.
We should be teaching skills. Lets throw the content out that window instead.
Who’s joining me?
Read MoreJoin the Group
