Tom’s Blog

Planning, planning, planning planning did I just say planning? I am in the middle of planning madness, medium, weekly, lesson planning you name it I do it! This last few weeks have been busy, busy preparing for my teaching practice. In the meantime I have to write assignment to evaluate …. Medium term plan, lesson plan..

It’s all happening at the moment and I have to say for someone who is not too organised usually I have been really efficient, it must be this planning business that is slowly making it’s way into my brain!

Back to the drawing board now to plan effectively a constructive plan and a creative planning approach!! Go, go plan!! I think I might start planning everything soon. I am in the middle of planning madness!

Oh and why the picture below ? Well that’s what you get when you search for planning in google images!

Crystal Planning

In case you haven’t notice it is winter, and it is really, really cold. Especially when you have to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning to get ready to go to your school placement. I live in Liverpool and my placement is in Wigan… So it’s a little bit of a journey to get there (1h20 to be exact!) The cold weather hasn’t made my journey easier especially with the snow storm we had a couple of week ago. I took that picture the other morning on my way to the bus stop!

Teaching practices are great experience but it is also a really busy and tiring time. Most people I know have to travel quite a long way to their placement so it all add up to worn you out! Still my 6 weeks are nearly over and I will be back to Ormi with the joy of seating in lecture and seminar watching other people teach!

It’s been a while since I last wrote an entry for this blog, well I haven’t done any updates since last year! To be honest I have been so busy, it is just unbelievable. I started my teaching practice on 5th January and since then I haven’t had a minute. I have spent my time writing lesson plans, medium term plans, marking books, researching websites for ideas and resources. Teaching practice just takes over your entire life. I have to say it is not getting easier to plan each lesson. In this placement I only teach a 50% timetable so I can’t imagine next year when I will have to teach 75%. As a keystage 2/3 trainee I teach French and Spanish to year 7,8 and 9. It is a great experience but really tiring and time consuming.

Hopefully I will get my life back at the end of next, going back to lectures and life at uni. I haven’t been on campus since the begining of the xmas holiday so I hope plenty of new shops and other exciting entairtainement will have open since.. You might also want to go and have a look at the Hi forum to join the conversation and ask questions to other applicants.

Yesterday was the d-day for teachers.tv filming. I previously thought I wouldn’t be able to go but my tutor decided we couldn’t miss it so instead of learning about French grammar and culture we went to Maggie Webster’s lecture on English as an Additional Language.

It was a really interesting presentation with a lot of personal experience and great ideas for teachers. But I have to be honnest the real excitement was the filming, well we have all been to lectures before! Even though I got told off for moving slightly to the left while their were filming someone talking behind me…

Apparently it will be on-line in January and I shall post the link here once it is available.

Have you always wanted to be on TV? Here is a unique, extraordinary opportunity for you!! (I hope you are ready for this) Teachers TV is coming to Edge Hill on 20th November.

It will be filmed in the FoH Amphi Theatre, in my opinion it’s worth going just to have a look at the new building. (they even have a dyson airblade hand-dryer in the conviniences, read my previous post for more info!!)

There will be 3 lectures for 3 TV programmes the lectures will focus on the “best lecturers delivering the best lectures”. (that’s according to the official leaflet)

So what’s the plan, batman? Well, here it is:

1. 10-11am What kind of teacher will you be? Ian Shirley
2. 12-1pm The value of writing Vicky Duckworth
3. 2:30-3:30pm English as an Additional Language Maggie Webster

If you go leave a comment to tell me how it went cause I have a lecture on that day!

Have fun and remenber to smile and look happy you are on TEACHERS TV!!

If you want to get an idea of what is teachers tv go here or just watch our chancellor, Dr Tanya Byron, being interviewed in November 2007.