I think this year will be the most challenging year of my life. And I don't say that lightly. I will be finishing my PGCE as well as going back to work full time and starting at a new school with a new curriculum on top of all the scary Covid requirements and regulations! If I think about it too much I get sucked into an unhelpful vortex of anxiety. What if I don't finish my PGCE? Will we stay open? What if we close? What if only some of the schools close and not others? How will I manage child care? Will I get ill? Will I get really ill? Will my son go to school this year?...
However there are plenty of things to be thankful for. I have a job. I found a placement. I will have new colleagues to meet and get to know. I will have a new class who I will get to spend a lot of time with and really get to know. So in the spirit of thinking positive, I'm setting myself some goals for things I would like to achieve this year that should be achievable whether I'm doing online teaching or in class.
1. TIME MANAGEMENT
a) By nature I am an organised person and this year does not bode well for me. I will have to go with the flow and be endlessly adaptable, but I still hope to work on my time management. In particular I wish to schedule some off time in the week as well as a day at weekends.
b) I want to schedule in time to do things that I am not especially good at finding time for. In particular I'd like to make a better effort at contacting parents and keeping them up-to-date about the good things that happen in class.
2. EMOTIONS
I'd like to do more PSHE work with the children. This year it seems more important than ever to create emotionally literate children and a safe classroom environment for all. I'd like to try introducing mindfulness or yoga into the classroom too.
3. RESPECTFUL AND SENSITIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
a) Reprimand and praise individuals privately.
b) Frame requests, reprimands and reminders positively. Emphasise purpose over power (the reason for the rule rather than my authority).
4. SET UP GOOD HABITS for saving my voice and patience!
a) Deal with behaviours that are irritating before I get wound up.
b) Teach students explicitly how to actively listen and participate in class.
c) Teach students to use hand signals for common requests and give non verbal corrections, answers and reminders so that I can look after my voice.
5. SET HIGH STANDARDS
a) Some of the ideas that struck me the most when reading Doug Lemov's Teach Like a Champion were Right is Right, Cold Calling and No Opt Out so I would like to experiment with those.
b) This year I'd like to bring all my students with me, which means planning lessons which work at the pace of the slowest rather than the middle of the class as I usually do. I'd also like to make sure that everyone has understood the lesson's key vocabulary and can use it before discovering comprehension problems at the end of the lesson (or even unit!).
Have you got any goals or resolutions this academic year?
