LittleLegends.biz

Having just qualified as a Secondary School Teacher  I have had an amazing insight into what happens behind the scenes in schools.

Piers (my brother) is a teacher and I never really understood why he used to go off the radar during term-time.   Now I know better!  Teachers are generally perceived as having an “easy life” because they have apparently short hours and long holidays.  However, this could not be further from the truth.  All the teachers I know work tirelessly behind the scenes, coming in early and staying late to support students, attend meetings, communicate with parents, plan lessons, mark work, receive further training and many other things.  They are  not paid for this extra work  but they generally don’t mind about it because they love what they do and are dedicated to their jobs.  Although teachers have long holidays, often these are taken up with planning new and improved lessons for their students or perhaps even going on a residential trip.

Now although teachers work hard, they would not change their careers.  This was illustrated by a funny conversation in the staff room today when I heard that teachers will have no sympathy with anyone who tells them how hard  work but will immediately feel for anyone who tells them that there job is boring.  With teaching, although it is hard work there is never a dull moment.   It is such a varied job and you rarely have a chance to sit still!

The school I have been at is widely regarded as challenging, yet the teachers really accomplish amazing things with the pupils and are able to reach even the most reluctant students.  I have seen some inspiring teachers at work and to do what they do day-in, day-out, year after year requires someone with pretty remarkable qualities.

So, I would like to take my hat off to teachers everywhere for the wonderful job they do.  Thank you and keep up the good work!

Just speaking to a friend Jon and he told me about a new research project at the BBC called Backpage.

It’s essentially a place for parents, children and teachers to share homework hints via video – a little like YouTube but homework focused. At the moment, Backstage is a research project running for the next 4 months and they’re looking for clips with tips on Maths and English. As they say,

There’s no special formula – just send in tips that you think would help someone else help their kids with homework….

Fingers crossed this moves from research to production soon – it’s a brilliant idea

[cross-posted from Monkeymagic]

There is a thought provoking article over on Parenting Ideas about the importance of teaching children commitment.

The main theme of the post is that you teach kids to commit by teaching them that they must attend, eg karate lessons, even if they don’t feel like it. This has certainly made me question my outlook. The post generally makes sense to me but from certain experiences I have had it does not always ring true.

For example, my little boy was starting to attend football lessons. However, he was very young for his group and was bullied by both the other children and bossed around by some of the onlooking fathers! In that situation, I had no problem with him stopping attending the lessons because I don’t think sticking at the lessons would have done much for his self esteem. It also brought back memories of being forced to do things as a kid which only served to dent my confidence.

The art is probably picking something that your child enjoys and then ensuring they last the course. If your child does not like the extra curricular activity in the first place then surely it is a losing battle?

One of the particular aspects of a Martial Art, such as Karate which the blog post discusses, is that it teaches children discipline and respect. It is far more than learning about self-defense. Having said that, the same goes for many other lessons such as ballet or music.

In this day and age when instant gratification is all around us the article picks up on the notion that it is important for children to learn the satisfaction and skills that come from pursuits which require dedication and where there is much slower progress.

So, if you are going to make your children commit to an activity, think carefully before you make your choice!