Teaching
- Thread starter Gavin
- Start date
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
Congrats to Craner and best of luck to Mr Tea...Dissensus is running the PGCE game right about now.
In reaction to Craner's rejection prediction and eventual success, I don't know anyone (except me sometimes, in cases where it is certain I won't get the job) who comes out of interviews with the words "OK, that went quite well."
In reaction to Craner's rejection prediction and eventual success, I don't know anyone (except me sometimes, in cases where it is certain I won't get the job) who comes out of interviews with the words "OK, that went quite well."
matt b
Indexing all opinion
Respect, Oliver
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Went quite well, I thought. Talked about empiricism, paradigms and Kuhn in an essay on 'How Science Works' in the secondary curriculum...managed not to used 'dialectic' or 'narrative' though, I'm pleased to say. 
Will add more tomorrow, I have to go and get drunk with Idle now.
Will add more tomorrow, I have to go and get drunk with Idle now.scottdisco
rip this joint please
good on ya mate!
mixed_biscuits
_________________________
So by the time I arrive at school I’ve already been up a few hours after a bad night’s sleep. There is usually ten minutes of peace in my classroom before the first pupils start drifting in… and then there’s no moment to draw a deep breath until seven hours later. The day is filled with tiresome parrot-type repetition as I snap the usual lines of “coats off, gum in the bin” and then try to avoid engaging in debate about school uniform; quick interactions with other flustered staff; giving out numerous notices and doing admin during fifteen minutes of registration; having thirty seconds to switch gear between an A level class and a Year Seven special needs group; deflecting arguments; running lunchtime meetings or detentions; doing duties; sorting broken computers and printers whilst retaining eyes in the back of my head; absorbing hormonal stresses of angsty teenagers; filling in paperwork about being sworn at or confiscating cigarettes; chasing photocopies and updating whiteboard resources; and overall, trying to teach and ensure that all pupils in the room are learning something in that lesson. There is rarely time to stop and pause for a moment.
Good luck, guys.
Good luck, guys.
matt b
Indexing all opinion
link?
This is somewhat of a copout, but to some extent, you do have a choice of what sort of institution you work in (although it may take time- it took me 4 years and A LOT of luck). But most schools/colleges are actually very good, invigorating places to work in.
I have no qualms saying that I love my job, it is far more satisfying than the work most of my friends are in and lacks much of the shit they have to deal with. I suppose we deal with a diiferent sort of shit, but becoming a teacher was one of the best things I ever actively chose to do.
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matt b
Indexing all opinion
Went quite well, I thought. Talked about empiricism, paradigms and Kuhn in an essay on 'How Science Works' in the secondary curriculum...managed not to used 'dialectic' or 'narrative' though, I'm pleased to say.
nice one.. I always find the old idea, lead them up the hill, rather than shout at them from atop it, useful.
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mixed_biscuits
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mixed_biscuits
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I've come to the realisation that good teachers don't write teaching blogs (or publish books about how shit teaching is).
I'm guessing because they're too busy getting on with it
only an insensitive tit could write a post like this
Why is that insensitive?
Presumably one is entitled to some spare time, which could be used for blogging, walking the dog, posting on dissensus... The wannabe martyrs are almost as bad as the despondent ranters.
What would be nice to find is a teacher blogging about their successes and failures in communicating their subject rather than getting the buggers to behave - would be good to see 'reflective teaching' in action and stimulate discussion about the most specific of teaching points.
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matt b
Indexing all opinion
because most people don't get 3 months off a year. Simple, surely?
matt b
Indexing all opinion
I'd rather focus on doing the job, and use dissensus, blogs etc as a diversion rather than some sort of reactionary vent, but that's just me.
there are good teacher blogs, but they tend to be content specific and therefore useful. Me? I add to our VLE.
on a slightly unrelated note, ive just got a job teaching over the summer at EF, the biggest language school in the world and "official language school of the beijing olympics". any1 got any experience with this? on first impressions it just seems like a mill, offering short contracts to people without even a proper TEFL qualification, giving activity "leaders" groups of 34 (!) foreign kids to look after. would be interested to know people's feelings about the enormous english-language school industry, supposedly the third-largest growing industry in the world (i was told that, dont ask for proof)
mixed_biscuits
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Do share!
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
So there I was yesterday evening at a college of one of the world's elite institutes of academe, with 800 years of philosophical enquiry, political influence, prestige and wealth behind it, training the leaders, thinkers and scientists of tomorrow. I'd been given a voucher for a free meal in this vaulted Great Hall that wouldn't have looked out of place in Hogwarts, and what was on the dinner menu?
Beefburger, chicken burger, fish burger or cheese'n'tomato pizza, with ice cream and tinned peaches for afters.
Genius.
Beefburger, chicken burger, fish burger or cheese'n'tomato pizza, with ice cream and tinned peaches for afters.
Genius.
4linehaiku
Repetitive
My mum teaches people how to teach TEFL, which is rather recursive, but I'm pretty sure it makes sense. Alas, she doesn't post on Dissensus. She's been doing it for ages though, so might have some illuminating insight into how it's changed over the years etc. Will ask her next time I'm on the phone.
I don't really see how you're allowed to teach EFL without a TEFL qualification though, does that not rather defeat the whole point in them?
On a more general note, I have the utmost respect for teachers, but really do think you must be completely mad. I suppose that's quite a common opinion.