[Nichola Boughey]

Quote

As always I still have some advice to ask though - I'm having difficulties devising activities to stretch Year 9 -any suggestions or starting points anyone could offer?

Tom can you offer some information about the topics that you will be teaching? This might help with more stretching ideas.

[Tom H]

Ooops! Knew I'd forgotten something! I'm teaching Year 9 Britain between 1750-1900 and been told I can do anything from that era - I'm just finishing off transport and then I want to do Crime and Punishment including a week on Jack the Ripper (w/c 27/11) as they do that at GCSE so I want to offer them a 'taster'

[Tom H]

Soon be Christmas guys! I'm in the last week of my placement now. Last couple of weeks have had their ups and downs - my lessons on crime and punishment/Jack the Ripper with Year 9 went really really well, even some who weren't engaging with the lessons very well seemed to be very engaged during these. Year 8 is another situation though... ever get the feeling when the whole class just implodes on you? That was last Tuesday - luckily I managed to pull it back and everyone got something done but the first half an hour was an absolute nightmare!

Only thing I have to worry about now is my uni assignments... hmmmm, think I'd better get started

[sarahn]

yes know what you mean about the class 'imploding'.
Had a class this morning - 2 students (as usual), one was 'ill' and the other ok, but the one who was ill dragged the whole lesson down. felt completely deflated as I'd spend time making up revision games for them to play for their january module - aaaarg!
oh well.
Sarah

[Tom H]

Wow it's been a long time since I've visited this thread! So much has happened... honest! I'm now at my second placement and enjoying it tremendously - whether this is something that comes about in the second term, or maybe it's just me, but I feel a lot more comfortable in my lesson planning and pitching things at appropriate levels for the students I'm teaching. Touch wood there hasn't been any major disasters either - everything just seems to be going OK!

Where's all the other PGCE peeps? How are things going for you guys?

[Claire22]

Hmmmm....PGCE...Hows it going??

I have just left the course unfortunately this Tuesday. However the relief is unbelieveable!!! I was more upset to leave the peeps on my course and school than anything else. Quite a big decision but I am positive I won't regret it! Having worked as an LSA for two years to gaining experience of working in a school I was 100% certain this was for me, but I guess you don't know until you are actually doing the job. I'm currently looking to go back into a pastoral role in a secondary school so fingers crossed as the bursary won't last much longer!!!

Good Luck for the rest of the course : )

[Tom H]

Awww sorry to hear that Claire. Good Luck for the future!

Meanwhile here it's swings and roundabouts - you remember how I said I hadn't had any major disasters - boy did that come back to bite me. Nothing major has happened, just a few lessons where the class has been a bit out of control and unruly, and I don't think I've handled it as well as I could have done. So much so the back of my mind has spent this weekend analysing last lesson on Friday offering my cringing moments when I think 'oh for god's sake I should just have taken a step back, abandoned task and moved onto something else!'.

I know why I went into the classroom in a bad mood, my three detainees had spent their lunchtime mucking around and arguing with me about why they were actually there; and then when my class arrived they just wouldn't settle for me - pulling funny faces at their peers in the corridor, having their own conversations. Suppose that's what you normally get on a Friday afternoon - I dunno I suppose it wasn't that bad really, I have them again today and I'm going to go into it really positively, and get them to do some 'fun' stuff in pairs as we round off the topic before half term. I just hope it all goes OK... :s

As for everything else - I've posted my first job application! Now that's scary....

[Tom H]

It's been far too long since I've posted in this thread... and so much water under the bridge!

I've finished my second school experience now and I have just finished (literally) the assignments that are due in at the end of the week, much to my delight! My second school experience was so good, I felt more like the classes were my classes, and I was so pleased with the positive relationships I had with many of the students - even if a lesson didn't go as it was intended, we worked through it all together - almost like a sense of classroom teamwork!

Now all I need to do is find a job! I've got some applications in at the moment, and I've got my fingers crossed! I can't believe how fast the time is flying by!! Hows everyone else getting on?

[Joel Thorpe]

I like the monologue Tom!!

To be fair all of the issues that you have talked about in the posts are issues that we all have been through and also will go through each time that we change schools. As for the kids that argue, DON'T!!
A discussion is fine but if they badger you (an attempt at bullying, or the like, usually) just refuse to discuss the issue or even be a total git and increase the detention.

I always remember what a dinosaur once said to me when I complained as a student about discipline, "To these students you are the face of authority Joel, sometimes you have to act like it!" It rankled (and still does to one with anti authority leanings).

Just remember that you have to judge where the line is with these students, familiar, but not over familiar is the key, show em you are a real person, but don't let em forget you have teeth!

[Tom H]

Aaah having teeth - something I thought I'd gained, but now I'm starting to think I need dentures! I'm back at my original placement school now, and I have one particular class that are simply a nightmare! It's just trying to find ways of dealing with them; I'm only 4 lessons in with them, so I know things will improve, but I just know I'm not giving those who want it the attention and time they deserve so they can get on with their work instead my time is spent dealing with those who misbehave... I feel so incompetant sometimes for that fact as well

I just keep trying the strategies and trying to keep positive!

[Carl Fazackerley]

Hi Tom ; I'm nearly through my NQT year and I feel much the same with a couple of my Year 8 classes. What I have started to do is to make one positive phone call home for every negative one I have to make and it seems to having a good effect as they are talking about Mr Fazackerley's calls! It can be time consuming but I am finding the benefits are really worth it.

Another option, not very PC but again I have found quite effective. Send one student out to be parked with the HofD really early in the lesson, if possible ask another teacher get the pupil to call their parent/guardian to arrange a detention for the same night, then have them return to the class with the possibility of redeeming themselves; it has instant hit with the disruptive student and sends a clear message to the others. It all depends if it works within the your school's policies.

[Tom H]

Oooh I like those ideas! Although I don't think they'll work within this particular school's policies, I think they are definately one to bear in mind for the future . My nightmare class are getting better - we've been doing a 3 lesson investigation on whether or not Cromwell deserved the title 'Curse of Ireland'; it's been very skill based but they've been coming back to the same work every single lesson and this stability seems to be working well with them. I've also been filling in incident slips etc on problem students; some have recieved suspensions for their behaviour as well which has also had a good effect because they know how ever far they push the boundary in the lesson, it always filters back to their tutor, their head of year and so on.

The other scary thing now is the interview I have on Friday!! I'm excited and nervous... still got to work out what I'm going to teach; it's for a humanities job so it's on Environmental Issues!

[Tom H]

Woah! I feel so guilty because I haven't posted here for aaages! For those who may be wondering, I've finished my PGCE now... and I've got a job!! I'm teaching Humanities at my former placement school . This year has had so many ups and downs, and now the new year is set to bring even more challenges so I thought I'd pick people's brains about something.

I have got a massive display board just outside my new classroom, but I need to fill it with something - but I'm a bit stumped as to what to put there before I get children to do some work in September! Has anyone got any suggestions?

[Rachel H]

How about some of the wonderful History movie posters that people on this site have developed? Or a board of famous people who studied History? (Sacha Baron Cohen etc.)

http://www.schoolhis...?showtopic=7970

Rachel