The glorious goriness of teaching.

I think every teacher in the world has come across Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs (if not, there is a handy picture below); and most of us have probably even witnessed its power in the classroom. The student who is being left out by their friends because of something they have or haven't said or done to this or that person: that is the same student who noticeably lacks concentration and effort during the lesson. Even worse are the students who come in wearing the same stain on their blazer because none of their clothes get washed: they very rarely contribute and tend to walk around school with their eyes on the floor - or sometimes aiming to cause the most mischief. Simply put, we can't move up the hierarchy until we have fulfilled all of the needs at each level - or colour as it may be on the picture below. So where does that leave us now? As teachers, the overwhelming majority of us are fortunate to have our bottom two colours filled in consistently without too much w...

It's been a while since I have written anything. The Easter break gave me an opportunity to hugely reduce screen time and I took it. Being sat in front of my laptop for hours a day is hurting my eyes, my back and my mind! While I've been away from a laptop screen, I've still been checking emails and Twitter to keep up with the news and hear about ideas people have been having to help my virtual teaching. One major reason for me loving the profession comes from the shared wisdom! There are so many incredible practitioners with invaluable advice to help you move forward and learn constantly. The current situation is obviously a difficult one with a lot of people having a lot of opinions on what is the right or wrong thing to do. With time over the break, I started thinking about the approaches people are taking at the moment and how varied they could be. There are people teaching virtual classes online using video; others are setting booklets of work upfront and checking ...

If we had to list the number of ways our life has changed over the past month or so, I think we would be surprised. Although we are all aware of the huge upheaval, our survival instinct is trying to convince us that things aren't that  different; that it's like a weekend, or a prolonged holiday.  There are positives to our minds protecting us; but the downside is the guilt we feel for being scared, anxious and worried. The unprecedented situation we are in has led to people spending more time indoors, significantly less on a to-do list, and as a result an increase in pressure to actually do something. These 'somethings' range from baking an incessant amount of banana bread, home workouts at least once a day, and cleaning out that cupboard that's been full for ages. If any of these activities support your mental health by providing a distraction, by all means keep filling your days. But for some people, all it does is give them a sense of inferiority if all they...

Isolation. Lockdown. House arrest. I have heard it called a variety of things; all of which have fairly to extremely negative connotations. Having been an optimist for most of my life (conveniently skipping over the notorious teenage years), I recognise my outlook will be leaning towards the bright side, but I really can't help noticing how many benefits there are to our current situation. Before I go on, it's important for me to mention that I am by no means forgetting about the awful reasons behind us having to self-isolate. And my heart goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones as well as to all of us who are worrying about loved ones...and loved one's loved ones. I know personally I can't stop thinking about those people undergoing any kind of chemotherapy - Mum only passed away last June and I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for those trying to keep the people they care about safe. The whole situation is tough enough without adding an...

Schools officially closed their gates a week ago today.  I have been working from home since the Tuesday before that however - due to developing Coronavirus symptoms. So it was from my own living room that I found out schools were being closed for the unforeseeable future, and the face of education was going to be a very different one. The news that schools would be closed to the majority of students came just as our year 11's were getting their mock results, in the middle of year 10 doing their assessments, and just as our school production was about to start! I missed our year 11’s final day at school: after two years of watching these kids grow, make progress and work so hard, I was absolutely devastated that I couldn’t be there to say goodbye and wish them luck. I will admit I have shed a fair few tears about the fact that they won’t sit their exams as usual – they have had so much taken away from them. A lot of people might be thinking teachers are now ‘off w...