These are becoming difficult to write, my lessons were really sort of normal. No real unexpected surprises I helped design an awesome BMW z3 window for a learner. I’ve never really drawn a car before, well and had it look like the car it was suppose to. I was talking about having to think on my feet design wise and I really managed it. The previous week I had shown the student some of the stock designs and I could tell she was less than impressed. But as I told her at the time the design cupboard is just a resource to steal inspiration from and methods. I really don’t like most of the stuff in there myself but looked at as a jumping off point it’s a valuable resource. This window if she builds it right will be impressive subtle classy and even look like her car. They don’t pay me enough.
I got to be interviewed by Ofsted today as they came to inspect the teacher training. This was as my first meeting with the actual dragons that are sent to destroy us all. As teachers I think we were all curious to see how it would be what they would ask and it was interesting to see how well our teacher’s view of what the likely direction of questioning matched with what was actually asked.It was an unusual experience and I shall try to explain why. As a student we would be expected to answer one way as a Teacher we would answer another and defending a colleague another. I feel we all bullishly defended the course. During the meeting my mind played back to the irrelevant comments my own students had raised about the cleanliness of the canteen. As a group of inspection savvy trainee teachers we all gave model answers and emphasised good practice. Should we have raised issues about the things we went happy with yes we should but we didn’t, why? I think because we have the feeling that this stuff would be acknowledged and looked at if raised with the course tutors. Sniping from higher up is just a demoralising activity. What should are my criticisms btw I think the assignments would benefit from the person who set them trying to write them. The level and word count don’t match up in my opinion. To cover all the required elements at the correct level is nigh on impossible without turning the assignment into a collection of sound bites. It’s a weird one I know but I think either raising the word count or reducing the number of things to be covered within it would fix it. Back to the inspection it was an intense hour with a lot of tough high level questions I remember leaving the room with my cheeks burning , I’m sure we all felt like this and somehow feel for one inspector to test 6 teachers so thoroughly gave me the sense he derived some pleasure from it. This bothered me as during the recent external inspection the inspector who visited me couldn’t have been nicer. I can understand where the inspection hostility arises from, if one more person tells me they are just teachers who couldn’t cut it teaching, I might begin to believe them.
The 2 lessons today were both totally opposites. The morning session for the first time was completely fully the evening session almost completely empty. The emptiness of the evening session can be explained by the fact there was a large crash on the motorway causing it to be shut .So most people either got stuck and came home or saw it on the news and thought I’ll give it a miss.I suppose it’s like my earlier snow day discussion. The morning session was hectic and I’m not sure I have a solution to this. I really seem to get the run around, learners all have individual problems they need assistance with but some days I think it’s the nature of the beast people need help when they need it. I reflected on a better system but short of a ticket machine where u take a number and wait your turn I doubt there is one. The evening lesson presents a challenge in itself with me and four learners in some ways it’s ideal as I can provide the kind of individual attention I would have liked to in the mornings session but then u run into the problem of not letting learners find their own way. The inspector suggest I should let learners fail whist I do understand this reasoning I like to, let’s say split the difference and suggest possible results to certain methods. Oh I get to meet ofsted as a learner next week that should be interesting, i just missed being ofstededthe last time they came around I think I was lucky they would have stuffed and mounted me as an example of how not to do it. Would this have been my fault well no I can only play the game if I have been shown that it needs to be played a certain way to succeed. I refuse to be nervous tomorrow during the meeting it doesn’t really have a bearing on me how it goes, I intend to be positive and complimentary about the course. I have found it useful as it has lifted the sense of “is this what I’m supposed to be doing?” Am I doing this right? I now feel that I don’t have to agree with the methods or philosophy but if I just do it as I have been instructed I will be considered competent.My students always learned, now I seem to be teaching them correctly and they still seem to learn so who am I to argue. We have had a range of teachers teaching us, each has presented the course a different way they were all competent open and honest. The first was very IT savvy this appealed to the nerd in me, the second was very knowledgeable and presented in a down to earth relaxed method. The third perhaps a mixture of the 2 uses elements of each but crucially for me is willing to look at an incomplete assignment and say either this is complete bollox or no this is along the correct lines just expand this or do that, which I personally find helpful as I have never been entirely sure from assignment to assignment if I completely misunderstood the question or not. This has for me reduced the pressure and help me gain confidence along the way, rather than let me feel I’m about to fail at the last hurdle. Moments in education make a lasting mark. In primary school an assignment was handed back with a red line swept through each page and the words “please see me” at the end this teacher fucked up my confidence for years with a single half arsed comment, I shall be better than her. My current teacher is.
Stardate 1 mach 2009-03-02 Inspection and more I was inspected this week yes again. It went ok but it was suggested again that I ask more questions. It’s difficult to ask questions for the sake of asking questions. I feel an idiot holding up a soldering iron and asking does anyone know what this is. But if it’s required to improve an inspection patronising and dumb questions I will ask. I understand that I’m required to check learning. It’s more important to be seen to be to be doing it than merely knowing that a learner knows the basics. I prefer to check on learning in a 1 to 1 situation when the learner attempts the new skill they are more likely to have questions. Watching a demonstration just shows the method the skill of the task comes with trial and error. I’m becoming more confident in inspection as I finally feel I have a handle on what’s required. The actual inspection the watching me teach part, I’m usually too busy to do anything especially for the inspection it’s the nature of the class. Was also commented that my lesson plans need to reflect the actual things I do, to listen to the instructions and advice I was given I think I need to make the plan more like a sales pitch which is good from one viewpoint and bad from another. Yes it reflects the lesson accurately tells the story of the session, but I can’t help but feel these are things that all teachers do as a matter of course and as a plan that I feel is predominantly for my use and benefit. For the driving test I throw my head around so the inspector sees me check the mirrors but in reality if I’m off sick the lesson is cancelled. So I will add all this stuff but I will state it’s purely for show. What else E registers are going to be a problem I can sense it. More later...
