Just a short blog as already my eyes are hanging out of my head (did I just have 5 days off?) and tomorrow we leave for Central Australia. Left our holiday destination at 1.30 today for what should have been a 3.5 hour trip. Due to an ill-placed booze bus that slowed public holiday long weekend traffic to a crawl, we didnt get home until 6.30 meaning that all of my last minute central preparations (including doing washing from the weekend and having it dry by tomorrow) were pushed back later than I would have liked. However - all I need to focus on now is two weeks of fun in the sun (and near 40 degree heat) of central australia with 92 year 10's. Despite the sarcasm I am actually looking forward to it! I will try to keep a diary whilst I am there and then post it here when I get back but I won't have much internet access as I am going.
signing out for two weeks...
Monday, March 28, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
A new excitement
Well exciting things are happening at school at the moment! Apart from the fact that tomorrow I teach my last class for the term (I am leaving after Easter for Central Australia with the year 10s for 2 weeks) we had a meeting last night about the Leading Schools Funding that our school has received and it sounds like a fantastic thing to be involved in.
The school has been provided with substantial funding, for new purpose-built wings to be added to the school that contain ICT rich environments and open learning spaces to trial a new program with the Year 9's involving rich tasks that are cross-curricular and student focussed. As the use of ICT in schools has been an interest of mine (thanks IS) I thought it would be a fantastic project to be involved in, and so wrote an expression of interest, which was taken up, and a team of around 20 of us had a meeting last night with the principals and talked about the possibilities and about what we invisioned.
It seems like most of us were on the same page in terms of what we would like to see in terms of facilities, and programs, and as the program will be aimed at year 9, we looked at all of the things that we are doing well at year 9 as well as all of the things we could be doing better.
In terms of my own professional growth and learning this project is a fantastic thing to be involved in, and I am hoping to be taking on as big a role as they are prepared to give me. At the moment nothing is concrete, but from what i heard at the meeting last night I am really excited about the possibilities of working in teams designing interesting and innovative curriculum that incorporates ICT in an authentic way into the learning process.
I am also thinking of the possibilities of somehow using my involvement in this project as a basis for an honours thesis or something, because I have been thinking about going back to uni part time in the next couple of years, and the authentic use of ICT in the classroom is one of the things I have been interested in researching and discussing. This might be the perfect opportunity for me to combine what I am doing at school with what I hope to be doing at uni because I think that study is more relevant if it is related to your every day working life. So I am going to email some of my uni contacts to see what they think and what the possibilities might be for study next year. Maybe that way I can get some reading done early. But I don't really know if and how that will work at this stage so I had better keep myself thinking small until I am given the go-ahead to think big.
At this stage I am really excited about the possibilities to be exciting and innovative. If this is done well, and if we take risks and are daring with what we do, then the possibilities are endless. I am concerned that some people might be too conservative when it comes to making changes, but we can wait and see I guess. For now, I will contain my excitement to my blog!
The school has been provided with substantial funding, for new purpose-built wings to be added to the school that contain ICT rich environments and open learning spaces to trial a new program with the Year 9's involving rich tasks that are cross-curricular and student focussed. As the use of ICT in schools has been an interest of mine (thanks IS) I thought it would be a fantastic project to be involved in, and so wrote an expression of interest, which was taken up, and a team of around 20 of us had a meeting last night with the principals and talked about the possibilities and about what we invisioned.
It seems like most of us were on the same page in terms of what we would like to see in terms of facilities, and programs, and as the program will be aimed at year 9, we looked at all of the things that we are doing well at year 9 as well as all of the things we could be doing better.
In terms of my own professional growth and learning this project is a fantastic thing to be involved in, and I am hoping to be taking on as big a role as they are prepared to give me. At the moment nothing is concrete, but from what i heard at the meeting last night I am really excited about the possibilities of working in teams designing interesting and innovative curriculum that incorporates ICT in an authentic way into the learning process.
I am also thinking of the possibilities of somehow using my involvement in this project as a basis for an honours thesis or something, because I have been thinking about going back to uni part time in the next couple of years, and the authentic use of ICT in the classroom is one of the things I have been interested in researching and discussing. This might be the perfect opportunity for me to combine what I am doing at school with what I hope to be doing at uni because I think that study is more relevant if it is related to your every day working life. So I am going to email some of my uni contacts to see what they think and what the possibilities might be for study next year. Maybe that way I can get some reading done early. But I don't really know if and how that will work at this stage so I had better keep myself thinking small until I am given the go-ahead to think big.
At this stage I am really excited about the possibilities to be exciting and innovative. If this is done well, and if we take risks and are daring with what we do, then the possibilities are endless. I am concerned that some people might be too conservative when it comes to making changes, but we can wait and see I guess. For now, I will contain my excitement to my blog!
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Perhaps I have been too harsh?
I have been thinking since the last time I blogged that perhaps I have been whingeing just a little too much about history and how difficult it is to work with someone who is very different to you. I guess that part of the reason that I complain about it so much and that it effects me so much is because of the fact that I feel like I don't know as much as I should. I feel like I should be the expert, and for this year I won't be, I am just learning as I go too. But that makes things hard. Because I don't feel that the other teacher I am working with is 100% up on the new course outline, I feel uncertain about everything, and this compounds the problems that I have with working with said person. I feel like I have to be totally up with everything so that I can keep her on the 'straight-and-narrow' when she should be acting as a mentor to me, teaching me how she does things and what she knows. Unfortunately that is not the way that the relationship works at all, which makes it harder for me because I have to go elsewhere to get my advice. Networking is a wonderful thing though!
I also have spent more time with said history teacher and have found out that really she is as unsure of things at school as I am about things with History. She worries about whether or not she will have a job next year, and is trying to adjust to a very different expectation and work ethic at this school compared to what she was used to last year. All of these things mean that I really need to be more understanding and less judgemental so that is my aim for now.
Enough about that. Getting very excited! I have only 2 classes left with my Year 12's, 3 with my Year 7s and a similar number with my year 11's before the end of the term! With easter this next weekend, school finishes on Wednesday for the students and Thursday for us, with a lovely long weekend ahead of me of sailing, knee-boarding and fun in the sun. Then I get home from the easter weekend away on Monday night, only to leave at 6.30 the next morning for a 2 week year 10 central australia trip! Can't wait, but I have so much to do between now and then, including getting my packing done. I have just organised my holiday homework for the 7s and 12s and I am a bit excited about having a holiday (well two actually!) It should be great fun!
Anyway I am not really talking about anything exciting at the moment so I will go and get ready for my Sunday history lecture at melb uni! Yay!
I also have spent more time with said history teacher and have found out that really she is as unsure of things at school as I am about things with History. She worries about whether or not she will have a job next year, and is trying to adjust to a very different expectation and work ethic at this school compared to what she was used to last year. All of these things mean that I really need to be more understanding and less judgemental so that is my aim for now.
Enough about that. Getting very excited! I have only 2 classes left with my Year 12's, 3 with my Year 7s and a similar number with my year 11's before the end of the term! With easter this next weekend, school finishes on Wednesday for the students and Thursday for us, with a lovely long weekend ahead of me of sailing, knee-boarding and fun in the sun. Then I get home from the easter weekend away on Monday night, only to leave at 6.30 the next morning for a 2 week year 10 central australia trip! Can't wait, but I have so much to do between now and then, including getting my packing done. I have just organised my holiday homework for the 7s and 12s and I am a bit excited about having a holiday (well two actually!) It should be great fun!
Anyway I am not really talking about anything exciting at the moment so I will go and get ready for my Sunday history lecture at melb uni! Yay!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Trying not to be so slack!
Well here I am trying to lift my average blog from once a month to something a bit more regular. I am actually sitting in my Year 11 English class and the students are doing an essay on Lord of the Flies so I have some time up my sleeve. Have been thinking about the Early Career Teachers conference on Friday - trying to work out what I was going to talk about in my role as a panel member, and it got me in a reflective mood (but sorry Scott, I still haven't finished writing out my notes).
School at the moment is all of these things: interesting, exhausting, difficult and new. My year 12's have their first SAC tonight after school and I think that there is a strong possibility that I am more nervous than them. The shoes of the history teacher who I took over from this year are big shoes to fill, and I am concerned that our marks will not be good enough. Last year there were several perfect study scores in History, but I think that this year the result might not be so good. But then we all know what I am like with trying to be perfect and worrying when I think my efforts fall short. I know that in the end all I can do is teach them what they need to know and point them in the right direction and that it is up to them to make the most of the year.
I am also finding it difficult to find a balanced way to work with the other history teacher. It is important that we are in close contact about what we are teaching and the sources we are using, but we are very opposite in both our teaching styles and in the way we go about things, and so it is difficult for us to reach a common middle ground. This SAC that we are giving them tonight was not written early enough for my liking, and so I am feeling like we are all under-prepared, and I can't work like that. So even though it is another 7 weeks until the next SAC is due to be done, I will be insisting that it is written much earlier, so that there is not the type of rush that there has been this time around. It is just very difficult to get my colleague on task and organised to get things finished. But in a lot of ways this colleague is dealing with a lot; new school, new subjects and a whole new culture, so in a lot of ways I understand, but it does not make it any easier to get things done with her!
That is one of the things that is difficult about this year - dealing and working closely with new staff members who do not necessarily share the same ideas as you, or the same work ethic and with who you are writing assessment, planning curriculum and cross-marking. I am finding it very hard to feel on top of things when a lot of my time is spent waiting on things. I guess that some of that comes from my anally organised nature - I like to be able to plan ahead, but when I am relying on another teacher to be able to do that then that is a bit of a problem.
Anyway, enough of the whingeing. My double is coming to a close and some of the students have finished off their writing task and are getting restless so I better sign off here.
Off to the SAC I go - so so nervous!
School at the moment is all of these things: interesting, exhausting, difficult and new. My year 12's have their first SAC tonight after school and I think that there is a strong possibility that I am more nervous than them. The shoes of the history teacher who I took over from this year are big shoes to fill, and I am concerned that our marks will not be good enough. Last year there were several perfect study scores in History, but I think that this year the result might not be so good. But then we all know what I am like with trying to be perfect and worrying when I think my efforts fall short. I know that in the end all I can do is teach them what they need to know and point them in the right direction and that it is up to them to make the most of the year.
I am also finding it difficult to find a balanced way to work with the other history teacher. It is important that we are in close contact about what we are teaching and the sources we are using, but we are very opposite in both our teaching styles and in the way we go about things, and so it is difficult for us to reach a common middle ground. This SAC that we are giving them tonight was not written early enough for my liking, and so I am feeling like we are all under-prepared, and I can't work like that. So even though it is another 7 weeks until the next SAC is due to be done, I will be insisting that it is written much earlier, so that there is not the type of rush that there has been this time around. It is just very difficult to get my colleague on task and organised to get things finished. But in a lot of ways this colleague is dealing with a lot; new school, new subjects and a whole new culture, so in a lot of ways I understand, but it does not make it any easier to get things done with her!
That is one of the things that is difficult about this year - dealing and working closely with new staff members who do not necessarily share the same ideas as you, or the same work ethic and with who you are writing assessment, planning curriculum and cross-marking. I am finding it very hard to feel on top of things when a lot of my time is spent waiting on things. I guess that some of that comes from my anally organised nature - I like to be able to plan ahead, but when I am relying on another teacher to be able to do that then that is a bit of a problem.
Anyway, enough of the whingeing. My double is coming to a close and some of the students have finished off their writing task and are getting restless so I better sign off here.
Off to the SAC I go - so so nervous!
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