Teacher only Tuesday

Looking forward to school with no kids. At least that's what most people would think. BUT it depends on what else we're supposed to be doing. Last time it was a big presentation on literacy initiatives, followed by some workshops on the same theme. Sometimes you really wonder that for an education system touted as being so great, and teachers being head-hunted for the Arab states, why the literacy levels of the kids who have just finished 8 years in primary and intermediate schools is so low. Probably like us in the secondary area, far too much has been dumped on us to "teach" apart from our core.

Remember Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic?

Anyway, today is mostly going to be about the NZ New Curriculum. For those not working in the education sector (and on second thoughts, for some of us IN the education sector) the main points are that we have to teach towards these Key Competencies:

Thinking

Using language symbols and text

Managing Self

Relating to others

Participating and contributing.

Sounds really good?

Yeah Right

How do you teach thinking? logic? rationalisation? meditation?

Using language? At last. Back to reading and writing.

Managing Self? Get to school on time, don't hit anybody, don't get stoned at school, listen don't talk, follow the bloody rules

Relating to others? Dont hit anyone, give teacher a cuddle and then get him suspended for improper conduct with a pupil.

Participating and contributing? Group work, co-operative construction...basicaly don't hit anyone and talk to me.

How we're supposed to set up our teaching to accomodate all these is sometimes difficult to see.

Because, we're still supposed to be able to continue our current level of skill transference AND restructure our teaching methods to get across and assess these Key Competencies.

Phew.

But I've kept the worst for last.

Ringo has insisted that we do a session on restorative practices.

This is where you have a meeting with a pupil who has just caused disruption/cursed at you/behaved inappropriately towards you, with the intention of rebuilding the interpersonal relations between you both.

Sometimes it works. It's always worked, even before they've called it Restoratives. There's always been a pupil who's had a bad day, been bullied before, had an argument at home/with boy/girlfriend, who's just snapped and said or done something out of character. They are genuinely sorry about their actions, and mostly a quick quiet chat restores both sides.

Then there's the ones who really don't give a shit. They hate school/you/home/the world. Restoratives are a waste of time in these cases. Get them out of school and give them something productive to do, like land mine clearance, shark wrestling or grave digging (from the bottom).

We will have to endure.

We are teachers.

We are highly respected and highly paid members of society.

Yeah Right.