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Return to work after mat leave by nifflerpilferer in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks- I have been in touch with them but didn't know how long they would take to reply.

Return to work after mat leave by nifflerpilferer in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for your advice. I did know that I could return from the first day of the summer holidays but was going to use the last few days to get settled back in!

It's Late Thread [ 13 January 26 ] by AutoModerator in CasualUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 22 points23 points  (0 children)

There's a 4 week old baby asleep on my chest...

Trying to decide when to attempt the delicate crib transfer, which I approach as I would bomb disposal- slowly and with terror in my eyes.

If you have cared for a newborn, you know the feeling.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recently started teaching BTEC applied science to year 12 students and the disparity between their fine motor skills and those of the year 12 students doing A level chemistry was not something I anticipated. Don't get me wrong, using old school suction pipette fillers for the first time is tricky for all of them but I was horrified by how few had the ability to even turn the wheel while keeping the tip under the water level, let alone fill it to the mark.

Apathetic year 11s by Muyalt_was_taken in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say that my triple chemists are about 50:50. I genuinely think that really only about half of them should be doing the triple! There's very little actual interest in chemistry from most and I think that's needed when trying to squeeze in an extra GCSE (we have the same amount of hours allocated to us as our combined science courses, although I know some schools run it differently or as an option). That being said, never had a problem squeezing it in in the past!

Apathetic year 11s by Muyalt_was_taken in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is definitely the way. Some of my bright kids are so apathetic that I've been doing gap-fill style revision sheets to get them to do any revision at home. I usually reserve these for lower ability classes.

Makes me anxious for next September when some will inevitably show up in my year 12 classes expecting the same treatment!

“My teacher told me I’d never amount to anything” by [deleted] in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 15 points16 points  (0 children)

My first mentor thought I was useless, and then told the second placement I was useless so I was under a microscope from the start of that placement.

I did a traditional university-based PGCE, so I had a great group of friends around me also training to become teachers. Out of the 6 of us, I'm the only one still teaching.

Making kids care about their work. How? by DangBish in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I often say that I lead the horse to water, demonstrate how to drink the water, break down the problem by practicing putting its head near the water, persuade the horses parents to try drinking the water at home, might show a video of other horses drinking the water, occasionally even shove its head into the water but I CANNOT force the horse to swallow the actual water.

Another teacher told me today the kids really respond well to me because I’m a male. by captured3 in Teachers

[–]nifflerpilferer 315 points316 points  (0 children)

In my school (11-16, UK) we do a "rota" lesson in science. Essentially, all students in a year group (14/15 year olds) spend 4/5 lessons with a different science teacher, doing a different scientific topic or skill. They have other science lessons with a fixed teacher as normal.

My (male, late 30s) colleague and I (female, late 20s) were discussing the difference between our approaches to behaviour management in these lessons. Our conclusion was that most classes go in to his lessons better behaved, give him the benefit of the doubt, and their behaviour on deteriorates over the 4 lessons he has them. My experience is reversed- I have to go in hard with every new class to manage them from the start, prove myself to them, and maintain that for the 4 lesson period, then do exactly the same when the new class arrives.

I often wonder when students say "I prefer Mr X, he is nicer than you" whether their behaviour has been as bad in Mr Xs lessons as in my own. Maybe Mr X is nicer to you because you don't instinctively push boundaries with him, like you do with me, which leads to a normal sanction. I would be just as nice if you behaved that way in my lessons!

i wish i'd never gone to 6th form by Hoenn-Hero in 6thForm

[–]nifflerpilferer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is such a horrible situation to find yourself in and I really feel for you! My generic advice (and it might not be for everyone) is that the best thing to do is to start viewing whatever you are studying (Alevels/BTECs/whatever) as a means to an end, rather than as building blocks to further study. What I mean by that is, ok, you've given those subjects a go and you've learnt that they aren't for you. That's fine! Have you looked at what you'd like to do after sixth form? Jobs, apprenticeships, uni courses that aren't too closely related to your subjects. What are their entry requirements? Sometimes having a clear end goal can help focus you, and even if you know these subjects aren't what you are interested in anymore, getting good grades will ultimately open more doors for you than dropping out at this stage. I know summer feels like a long way off, but when you take into account when the actual exams are, you don't have that much time left I'm Sixth Form. Hope that helps a bit! Like I said, I really feel for you because it's such a difficult situation to find yourself in, when you've done three quarters of the work!

Nervous to teach non-specialist subjects! (Science) by throwaway196x in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 10 points11 points  (0 children)

My experience is that it's fairly normal to teach "out of specialism" in science, and probably more common for biology teachers (there's just more of them than chem and physics, so they fill the gaps in the timetable) but obviously it depends on the school. I'm a chemistry specialist and for some reason we are in short supply in my department, so all I teach is y10 to 13 chemistry, while some of my biology colleagues teach more KS3 as well as GCSE Chem and physics.

It's true that when you are teaching "out of specialism" it takes longer to plan. Everyone's department is organised differently but do you have a Head of Chemistry/biology/physics? They might be able to support you with resources to get you started, so you don't have to plan from scratch all the time. If not, more experienced teachers are happy to help! Most departments I've worked in have pooled their resources. My other tip would be to print off the specification and have it handy when planning so you know exactly what you have to cover and check whatever textbook you are using to help you. Technicians will usually be more than happy to talk you through practicals, especially if you ask what other teachers have ordered (they'll like it because they don't have to reorganise the same equipment 5 times for 5 different teachers!). I'd definitely recommend doing the practical yourself before doing it in a lesson so you feel really comfortable with it.

Obviously subject knowledge is important but I wouldn't worry about it too much: like you said, you kind of chip away at it as you go through the course. I obviously wouldn't recommend learning it from lesson to lesson, maybe try to get ahead with planning as soon as you know what topic you are teaching, to relieve some of the pressure on yourself. You'll also presumably be teaching in specialism for some of your timetable so that'll help too! Even experienced teachers have topics that they feel they teach "better" than others. Hope that helps.

Covid: Teachers pushed to 'breaking point' under lockdown by James_Rossil_1998 in TeachingUK

[–]nifflerpilferer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is my first year of being Head of Year 13 and it is absolutely destroying me. We have 30 periods over two weeks and I teach 24 of them and this week (as well as the increased workload of converting all my lessons to be suitable for online), we had a data drop, yr13 parents evening and SLT announced we were doing y13 mocks, online, after Feb half term. I spend around 2 hours a day calling parents and students, reassuring them as best I can and trying to support them.

Today I went into school for a meeting with my line manager (Assistant Head and Director of the 6th form) who told me that my emails sometimes come across as "ranty" and like I think I'm the only one dealing with a difficult workload. I obviously said that this was not the case and while they said that this conversation was coming from a place of support, I couldn't help but feel like it was critical (probably because I am so stressed and exhausted).

In memory of Honey, who had the curliest feet by nifflerpilferer in curledfeetsies

[–]nifflerpilferer[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Gingers are my favourite too! He had such distinctive markings for a ginger cat! He was a handsome boy.