NQTs receive too much advice in August. It is too early for many of them. They need to have a go first.
Nothing prepares you for that first hour alone with your class. It is a moment that many have waited for for a long time. It is when you are finally in charge! It is equally terrifying and exciting. You can do things your way, or so you’d like to think.
Looking back at my NQT year, I wanted to make the mistakes. I wanted to learn from them, not from someone else’s anecdotes. Teaching is enriched by the massive differences between us. What works for one does not necessarily work for another. That’s not to say that there are not some stupid ideas that some will claim work for them, when in reality they’re still a stupid idea…
As an NQT mentor it is easy to try and lead an NQT to adapt to your own working ways. Naturally that is the easiest thing as it’s what they know and it will benefit them! But this isn’t always the best thing for the NQT. So yesterday on Twitter I decided to ask a few questions that are purely subjective. None are wrong answers but a mentor or colleague could try to convince you that their way is the only correct way. I just wanted to reassure you that others do things differently. Do what works for you (with a little compromise in the middle from both parties)
Marking, we know that it is most effective in lesson but that isn’t always possible. The vast majority of teachers seem to mark in school rather than taking it home. But sometimes you need to take it home. In the early years of my career, I had very young children at home and wanted to be home as soon as possible. This meant taking marking home. Now, I rarely do. But it is on you, as long as it’s done in line with school policy!
Now, ideally everything done in PPA. BISH BASH BOSH, Bob’s your uncle! But unfortunately the real world doesn’t always work like that. The key here is being considerate to colleagues. Nobody wants a last minute rush to the photocopier, it’s extra stress in an already busy job. Personally, I like to get into school early to avoid the queues and prep myself. If it’s printed off too early it just increases the likelihood that it will go missing. But equally, I know colleagues that have a filing system that means they are prepared for the next millennia. That works for them. You need to do what works for you and the team (compromise, not just a winner and a loser) – realistically, what difference does it make having a resource printed off 3 days before the lesson? (As long as your colleagues know what the task is so that they can prepare).
Short one here. Some people bloody love naming tables, others hate it. It makes no difference either way. Enjoy!
Obviously school policy dictates this, but I recently found out that a colleague had been causing unnecessary work for themselves. Just think, who is this for? If the answer is ‘it helps me or the child’ then keep doing it. If anything else, what’s the point?
Parents evening, I remember my first parents evening. I went armed with levels and academic information to hand. A colleague was appalled. She had a ring binder full of notes and examples of work for each child. If you know the child, you don’t need all of that. If you need some reminders of what to discuss then notes are useful. But I suppose that it’s better to be over prepared than under-prepared for your first experience.
The point of the blog is to say, advice is great but it can be flawed/biased so sometimes you have to find your own way…
Good luck, I’m sure you’re all doing a great job!
Mister Bodd 