Recently I had a comment from a colleague from University that has made me stop and think. For the past three terms I have been working in a team of four teaching a fluctuating 90-110 children. I mentioned that I was making the Christmas gifts for all of the children in the studio and her response startled me. Her first response was "Why? Shouldn't you be each doing them for you own kids?" Recently as a team we have been talking about how we teach and work together and what we can change around this. We have spent this year setting up routines, adjusting to the environment (it's a new school this year) and finding our feet. Somewhere along the way we fell back into the routine of key groups are priority which is something we want to change but in some aspects this is already in effect.
It's funny that when I first applied for my position I was nervous of the space and how it functions as I have never been in an environment such as this yet quickly I saw the benefits of being in the space and the daunting 100 children became a family of children I have watched evolve and group. Too often you get caught up in your class and your small group of kids and miss the other children in that year as they grow and learn. You miss opportunities to share learning experiences and introduce them to new novels and share their interests yet in this environment I have been able to share my love of novels with not just 25-30 children but with 100 children with different interests in literature. I have been able to teach all 100 children in maths and watched them learn and thrive and I have had incredible support from a team with a variety of experience both in and out of the classroom. I have been very lucky to have such support as a Beginning Teacher.
Some days it is hard, you can't just take a day off because you are tired because there are three other people just as tired. You can't just make a decision, it needs to be shared and discussed then agreed on. Anyway as I was thinking all of this I started to form my response regarding why I was doing the Christmas gifts alone and it started to become clear. I volunteered because at the end of this year I am in a way saying goodbye to this team and I wanted to thank them as well as these children, because not everyone is crafty and because that way every child gets the same gift it is from all of us not just from me and that means more. Looking back on this year I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to meet these children, the team and to discover the advantages of an ILE.
It's funny that when I first applied for my position I was nervous of the space and how it functions as I have never been in an environment such as this yet quickly I saw the benefits of being in the space and the daunting 100 children became a family of children I have watched evolve and group. Too often you get caught up in your class and your small group of kids and miss the other children in that year as they grow and learn. You miss opportunities to share learning experiences and introduce them to new novels and share their interests yet in this environment I have been able to share my love of novels with not just 25-30 children but with 100 children with different interests in literature. I have been able to teach all 100 children in maths and watched them learn and thrive and I have had incredible support from a team with a variety of experience both in and out of the classroom. I have been very lucky to have such support as a Beginning Teacher.
Some days it is hard, you can't just take a day off because you are tired because there are three other people just as tired. You can't just make a decision, it needs to be shared and discussed then agreed on. Anyway as I was thinking all of this I started to form my response regarding why I was doing the Christmas gifts alone and it started to become clear. I volunteered because at the end of this year I am in a way saying goodbye to this team and I wanted to thank them as well as these children, because not everyone is crafty and because that way every child gets the same gift it is from all of us not just from me and that means more. Looking back on this year I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to meet these children, the team and to discover the advantages of an ILE.
Comments
Post a Comment