Today I was surprised - the vast majority of students knew that it was Remembrance Day, but so many of them had no idea as to what that actually meant. So on a number of occasions today, I became a history teacher. Educating senior students as to a major part of our nation's military history. It made me sad to think that they perhaps should already have learnt this, but at the same time glad that they cared enough to listed to my explanations!
Outside the worries of my students' lack of knowledge, I am scrambling to complete external marking for SACE. This has been quite an interesting experience, although I haven't loved it as much as I enjoyed moderation. But there are so few opportunities to see how other schools teach your subjects, and how students perform under different teachers and systems. It gives me ample time to reflect upon my own teaching practices, and mentally note things I can do to improve my own teaching and that of my colleagues around me.
One of those colleagues made a passing comment a few days ago, when she asked me how marking was going and my exhausted response earned this reply: "ah well. You're on the leadership path anyway!" Despite giving me a small warm fuzzy at this compliment, this made me stop and think, as I generally dislike the thought of going into leadership; isn't teaching in the classroom why we become teachers in the first place? Much like my volunteer roles, I see myself performing far better when working with the youth that I enlisted to teach in the first place.
In a way, I guess I am gearing myself up for a leadership role in the future. I thoroughly enjoy peer teaching, and showing friends and colleagues how to do things, or helping them to improve on existing skills. I adore the 'light bulb' moments, and I am enjoying being part of a couple of committees where I have the opportunity to try and make a difference in my school community. However, for the medium-term meanwhile, I guarantee you'll find me more in the classroom than in the meeting room.
:)
Outside the worries of my students' lack of knowledge, I am scrambling to complete external marking for SACE. This has been quite an interesting experience, although I haven't loved it as much as I enjoyed moderation. But there are so few opportunities to see how other schools teach your subjects, and how students perform under different teachers and systems. It gives me ample time to reflect upon my own teaching practices, and mentally note things I can do to improve my own teaching and that of my colleagues around me.
One of those colleagues made a passing comment a few days ago, when she asked me how marking was going and my exhausted response earned this reply: "ah well. You're on the leadership path anyway!" Despite giving me a small warm fuzzy at this compliment, this made me stop and think, as I generally dislike the thought of going into leadership; isn't teaching in the classroom why we become teachers in the first place? Much like my volunteer roles, I see myself performing far better when working with the youth that I enlisted to teach in the first place.
In a way, I guess I am gearing myself up for a leadership role in the future. I thoroughly enjoy peer teaching, and showing friends and colleagues how to do things, or helping them to improve on existing skills. I adore the 'light bulb' moments, and I am enjoying being part of a couple of committees where I have the opportunity to try and make a difference in my school community. However, for the medium-term meanwhile, I guarantee you'll find me more in the classroom than in the meeting room.
:)