Twitter is great, but expressing yourself in 140 characters isn't easy. Neither is it easy to keep track of all the ideas and resources that spill through your timeline.
A lot of sharing is done off the social network site through other methods.
A dropbox account means that you can share resources, as it is possible to tweet a link to the resources, which others can then copy to their own dropbox account, or download directly.
A blog means that you can express yourself in more than 140 characters when necessary - like I am doing now. Tags in blogs mean that if you have made a point previous on your blog you can find it again and refer someone to the post.
Pinterest is great for categorising and storing images, and images with links to websites. Downloading the button for your browser makes it easier, or in the mobile twitter app you can get the link to the tweet and pin the images in it.
Pocket is a great app/website, it is a 'read later' service, that allows you to bookmark tweets and links in tweets. On the web browser version you can also add tags to make finding links easier.
Feedly is a great app and website for reading blogs. There are so many tweeters now with blogs, and feedly brings the posts directly to you. Sometimes I don't bother with twitter, preferring to read the blog posts. If you do find a good blog post in feedly it also allows you to post to twitter to share.
Other services to consider are evernote and google. They can also be useful for sharing and saving the resources you find. I also like bit.ly as it allows you to create shortened links with a URL you chose.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Friday, 21 February 2014
New People and Fresh Starts
http://www.ase.org.uk/news/ase-news/ase-announces-new-chief-executive/?
'Shaun Reason is to become the new Chief Executive of The Association for Science Education. Shaun, who was recently the Chief Executive of a Group Charity and a former headteacher, comments on taking on the exciting new role,
“I'm very much looking forward to starting at the ASE and helping to have a positive impact on supporting science education in the UK. I'm keen to meet up with all those connected with the Association and to encourage those who are not members to join and to appreciate the benefits that can be found as a member.”
Shaun will take over the role as CEO at ASE from 1 May.'
I have to say I am encouraged and hopeful at the comments our soon-to-be CEO has made about the ASE. For several years now we have known the ASE is in trouble. It has been losing members fast and cost-savings have not been able to keep up with this loss in revenue.
However, I would say to Shaun that making ASE into an organisation that has sufficient benefits teachers, other educators and companies will want to join in significant numbers it is not going to be an easy journey.
I am chair of the West of England region, my committee and I are expected to recruit new members within the region. How can we do that when I have no way of advertising our events outside of our current regional members? It is my understanding that the regions are directly answerable to the CEO, so I would appreciate his support with this issue.
Still with regions, I feel there are conflicting ideas about what the purpose of regions is. I have been informally told that regions should be generating revenue for the ASE as a whole, yet of the £86 membership fee my region only see £1 per local member. How can our region provide value for money on a local level, raise enough money to sustain our own activities and expenses as well as raise significant revenue for ASE nationally? I see the role of the region as one of supporting members, and using the revenue we have to do this. Perhaps there is a balance to be found and I hope Shaun can work with regions on this.
I have been a regional committee member for three years. For the first two of those I know we felt adrift and cut off from HQ. Emails going unanswered and confusion over issues with bank accounts. This situation had been present for at least 7 years prior to that, my fellow committee members tell me. I would like to see Shaun develop a good working relationship with the regional officers in order to help us feel valued.
My last request related to regions. I want to see higher expectations and better sharing of practice between regional committees. We put on regional conferences and there is the opportunity to use these to raise the profile of ASE as well as a little revenue. However, there are many issues to be addressed. Cost: how much does each region charge, should we be consistent across the organisation and if so how, should payment be organised via eventbrite, the ASE website or through another organisation such as a former science learning centre? Venue, location, scheduling, catering, partners, branding, advertising, paying speakers' expenses, and finding speakers to talk about relevant issues are all areas that would benefit from being discussed and monitored. I would like to see Shaun attend regional events and experience them so he can help to share best practice and support the volunteers in regional committees to improve their offering.
Apart from being a regional officer for the ASE, I am a teacher. As a head of department and science teacher I would ask Shaun to review the member benefits as I am concerned they do not offer value for money. We (teachers) are struggling under the pressures of the changes the government are bringing in and we are looking to ASE for advice and leadership. It is not forthcoming. I know why, I understand why. However, if science education and supporting members is not the first and biggest priority of the ASE then how can we hope to hang onto members and how can we hope to bring through talented and enthusiastic volunteers to continue the work of the ASE?
I hope that Shaun can lessen the pressures on council and assembly to look at internal politics and help to focus the Chair Trio and the committees they run onto education. I am of the strong opinion that until the national ASE committees and post-holders can concentrate on our core business of supporting members then the ASE membership figures cannot recover.
I hope that Shaun can lessen the pressures on council and assembly to look at internal politics and help to focus the Chair Trio and the committees they run onto education. I am of the strong opinion that until the national ASE committees and post-holders can concentrate on our core business of supporting members then the ASE membership figures cannot recover.
I think that the benefits of ASE membership are worth £20/quarter, but I am an active member, making connections and boosting the helenrogerson80 brand on the back of the ASE. What about those who are not doing that, what do they get from the ASE. I hope that Shaun can help sell the ASE to potential member and make it into an organisation that is growing rather than shrinking.
The ASE is important to science education national and internationally and for the sake of the education of our children it must survive. I wish Shaun all the best in his new role and offer him my support where it is needed.
Saturday, 25 January 2014
What I want for my students from the science education I provide
Last Monday my Headteacher asked me to write a little bit about what we are doing in the department. I wrote a long list of the things we have done to engage students in lessons and homework and another long list of all the extra curricular things that we do. At the end I felt compelled to write my aims for the education of the students at my school and I thought that I would share it here. (The only editing I have done is to remove the name of the school. )
The recent science subject ofsted report was called ‘maintaining curiosity’, this absolutely my aim for the science department I lead. I want students to ask questions about science and scientific ideas. I want them to wonder about how the world works. I also want them to have an idea about how science works, how scientists collaborate more and share ideas in an effort to come to the best conclusion possible about the area they are investigating. I teach about the hole in the ozone layer – a fairly recent discovery – and how scientists checked their own work and then other scientists checked their work to be certain and then those discoveries lead to a global change in how we behave. I find it incredible that science can have so much influence, especially when in other areas like global warming humans chose to ignore it, and I hope this comes across to the girls. I want my students to be as aware of the failures and politics around science and not just regard it as a body of facts. But also I want them to see science as a human endeavour that has spanned centuries building on the knowledge and ideas that have gone before and that it is never fixed, and one day they could be one of the people who takes science in a new direction.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Dealing with the awkward teacher
John Beighton once told me that he'd never met a teach who wanted to ruin a student's education. It is something I remember as a middle manager and leader.
At your senior management interview you were probably asked how you would deal with an awkward member of staff, and due to advice from colleagues, feedback from failed interviews and reading a few choice management books you know the answer.
So, why is the awkward person you were asked about still awkward? Possibly even more so.
Have you tried to listen?
Have you showed compassion?
Have you tried to empower?
Have you laid down the law? And I mean stood your ground when you feel you are right.
Have you included this person?
Do you understand the source of their frustrations and awkwardness?
Have you tired to model for them why you think they are wrong?
Have you wondered why they aren't isolated in their thinking and are able to take other staff with them in their dissent?
Have you praised that person personally? Have you praised that person publicly? Have you praised that person at all?
Have you found anything good in what they do?
Have you listened to them?
Have you shown any empathy to them at all?
Have you really done all the strategies you talked about in your interview and read about in your books? Or instead you have ignored that person, gone around them, been frustrated that they can undermine you so easily, so have resorted to a level of bullying?
Consider, that person is probably lacking in confidence, frustrated and consider that this person probably cares passionately about their school and their students. Otherwise, why fight you?
Maybe, just maybe, your awkward character is one of the best teachers to walk into a classroom. Maybe, just maybe, your management and the management of your predecessor has destroyed that person's confidence. Maybe, just maybe, including that person by listening to them, praising them and recognising their strengths and expertise, and then involving them fully in a project will start to bring that person around. And maybe, just maybe, after some time that person will be a real asset to your school.
Or maybe you should just continue to waste your time and energy being frustrated with them.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
At your senior management interview you were probably asked how you would deal with an awkward member of staff, and due to advice from colleagues, feedback from failed interviews and reading a few choice management books you know the answer.
So, why is the awkward person you were asked about still awkward? Possibly even more so.
Have you tried to listen?
Have you showed compassion?
Have you tried to empower?
Have you laid down the law? And I mean stood your ground when you feel you are right.
Have you included this person?
Do you understand the source of their frustrations and awkwardness?
Have you tired to model for them why you think they are wrong?
Have you wondered why they aren't isolated in their thinking and are able to take other staff with them in their dissent?
Have you praised that person personally? Have you praised that person publicly? Have you praised that person at all?
Have you found anything good in what they do?
Have you listened to them?
Have you shown any empathy to them at all?
Have you really done all the strategies you talked about in your interview and read about in your books? Or instead you have ignored that person, gone around them, been frustrated that they can undermine you so easily, so have resorted to a level of bullying?
Consider, that person is probably lacking in confidence, frustrated and consider that this person probably cares passionately about their school and their students. Otherwise, why fight you?
Maybe, just maybe, your awkward character is one of the best teachers to walk into a classroom. Maybe, just maybe, your management and the management of your predecessor has destroyed that person's confidence. Maybe, just maybe, including that person by listening to them, praising them and recognising their strengths and expertise, and then involving them fully in a project will start to bring that person around. And maybe, just maybe, after some time that person will be a real asset to your school.
Or maybe you should just continue to waste your time and energy being frustrated with them.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, 6 January 2014
How did you start the term?
Support: helping a colleague because you care how they are coping.
OR
Support: something you are threatened with when things aren't going well?
It is (usually) good to hear about good practice in your teaching and hear about an initiative you might want to incorporate into your teaching. However, the pressure on teachers is huge at the moment. We can't work hard enough, we can always do more.
All of this is really important because ofsted will put you in special measures or in our case we won't be able to attract new students.
Focusing on targets, exam grades, attracting students etc can seem like a treadmill you can't get off and every step takes more effort than the last one. I know that there is a lot of people feeling pressure in schools at the moment.
How did we start the term? A focus on the strategic plan and some ludicrous suggestions about how we will track students without using levels?
We started with the school vicar asking us to consider each other and not to be afraid to show our vulnerabilities. This is just not something I would ever expect to hear in the previous schools I have worked at. As with every body of staff there are teachers facing issues bigger than being three weeks behind with their marking. To start the year with a focus on each other and supporting each other is a real comfort to me and my colleagues. Having worked at schools where competition between staff is encouraged and requiring support is a bad thing the presence of the vicar is very welcome.
Of course, the vicar isn't necessary for this to happen, a school that encourages support and honesty between staff doesn't have to be religious. Perhaps it is the presence of the outside/non-teacher that helps. Yes, she sees her job as trying to evangelise us so that we can gain eternal life through belief in Jesus. ("I am the way..." etc was quoted today). Yet, compassion and consideration for others is also something she brings as part of her job.
As someone who is not religious I am not sure I would go to the vicar directly for support and comfort, but it is nice to know someone has our welfare as her priority.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
OR
Support: something you are threatened with when things aren't going well?
It is (usually) good to hear about good practice in your teaching and hear about an initiative you might want to incorporate into your teaching. However, the pressure on teachers is huge at the moment. We can't work hard enough, we can always do more.
All of this is really important because ofsted will put you in special measures or in our case we won't be able to attract new students.
Focusing on targets, exam grades, attracting students etc can seem like a treadmill you can't get off and every step takes more effort than the last one. I know that there is a lot of people feeling pressure in schools at the moment.
How did we start the term? A focus on the strategic plan and some ludicrous suggestions about how we will track students without using levels?
We started with the school vicar asking us to consider each other and not to be afraid to show our vulnerabilities. This is just not something I would ever expect to hear in the previous schools I have worked at. As with every body of staff there are teachers facing issues bigger than being three weeks behind with their marking. To start the year with a focus on each other and supporting each other is a real comfort to me and my colleagues. Having worked at schools where competition between staff is encouraged and requiring support is a bad thing the presence of the vicar is very welcome.
Of course, the vicar isn't necessary for this to happen, a school that encourages support and honesty between staff doesn't have to be religious. Perhaps it is the presence of the outside/non-teacher that helps. Yes, she sees her job as trying to evangelise us so that we can gain eternal life through belief in Jesus. ("I am the way..." etc was quoted today). Yet, compassion and consideration for others is also something she brings as part of her job.
As someone who is not religious I am not sure I would go to the vicar directly for support and comfort, but it is nice to know someone has our welfare as her priority.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 29 December 2013
Nurture 13/14
I am trying to get a better balance of work and the rest of my life, so I hope my nurture 13/4 post reflects this. Science teaching is a passion, but I want to be more than just that.
13 reflections on 2013
1: LEL
The best thing about 2013 was the summer holiday. During that time Richard cycled the epic cycle ride from London to Edinburgh back to London in 112 hours. There was a lot of building up to it. I tried to be as supportive as I could during the year. I paid for his dynamo hub wheel at the start of spring, and I was glad that I did as it came in useful and meant Richard could afford to buy a GoreTex jacket. At the time his was riding I was very nervous as I wanted him to complete the ride inside the time limit, and also be safe. It was such a massive achievement for Richard, stepping up from cycling 400km once before to deciding to cycle 1200km, and I was incredibly proud that he did it. My only disappointment was how upset he was that his achievement was largely ignored by his senior colleagues at his own school.
2: Gromit Unleashed
During the summer Bristol and the surrounding areas had a Gromit trail. (a) I found all 50 Gromits, which I was more pleased with than I should be at 33. (b) The Gromit trails also meant that Lucie and Dominic had an excuse to visit, it was great to see them and drag them around Bristol. (c) And another group of twitter friends met up to search for the Gromit statues in central Bristol and we ended up in zero degrees with Karen getting a tour so she could explain microbreweries to her year 11 triple science class. This was great fun. (d) My mam also came to stay and we also went Gromit hunting. I don't see her enough and it was lovely to be able to show her Bristol. (e) Part of the hunt also meant we had an excuse to go to London for the day as a family to see the one at Paddington station and go to the science museum.
3: Joanna Lumley
At the end of the 2012/13 school year Joanna Lumley spoke at our school speech day. She was everything I expected her to be. She told the girls to "be beautiful, be brave, be kind, be clever, be happy". Qualifying all these with descriptions. The last piece of advice was for the girls not to be slaves to the mobiles. (That advice fell on deaf ears!) It was good for me, the parents and girls to hear that exam results aren't everything. As a school it is what we believe, and hope to produce well rounded young ladies with an interest in the world.
4: ASE conferences
I have been to 3 ASE conferences this year. I helped to organise the regional one. I really feel they are the best CPD a science teacher can have. Apart from the sessions, the ASE conferences are an opportunity to network with the best people in education. I am terribly grateful to the ASE that through their conferences I was able to talk to Brenda Naylor (Keogh - the concept cartoon lady). I am responsible for upper key stage 2 science (despite being a secondary science teacher) so I asked her "what is primary science all about?". Brenda was so sweet to me and answered me so concisely, but helpfully and inspired me to do well and see the importance in teaching my Year 6 class science. This is just one example of the power of the ASE conferences. Rest in Peace Brenda, you touched a lot of people and having only had two conversations with you I can see why you were such an important part of primary science education.
5: New Head Teacher
In January we got a new Head Teacher. The year has been interesting as a result. She is the best Head I have worked for. However, it hasn't all been plain sailing. It is fantastic to be lead with someone with such passion for the development of the young people in our care, they are her focus. We came runner-up recently in a ranking of pastoral care. My focus continues to be STEM education as we need to produce the female engineers and scientists of the future, but I know that I have the support of the Head in this (although she perhaps doesn't know the extent of my passion!) and I feel it isn't at odds with the Head's aims.
6: Laptop
One of the worst things this year was my laptop dying. I haven't been able to afford a new one yet. I use my iPad as my main computer now, but it isn't easy and I feel my efficiency slipping.
7: Car
The other really bad this was that my car needed £2500 spent on it in April. The head gasket. Savings cleared out.
8: Escapism
While Richard can escape his problems by riding 300/400/600/1200km through the day and night, it is not my cup of tea. I look to more sedate activities. As a student and young teacher I used to go to the cinema on my own every week. (for a year with my friend Naomi). I stopped when I got together with Richard and after a couple of years I got frustrated and forced ourselves to get back into the habit. I am pleased that we have been to the Curzon cinema in Clevedon about 12 times in 2013 (and other cinemas on top of that). Reading is also something I enjoy, so last Christmas Richard gave me a kindle, and I have read 31 books using it since then. I love it and have already pre-ordered quite a few books for 2014. I have never read quite so much as last year.
9: Step-daughter
I am delighted with the way that my step-daughter is growing up. Year 8 was hard for her, she was bored, bullied and unhappy in school. She can draw (and explain) electron shell diagrams, she is reading Tolstoy, yet her teachers didn't recognise it. However, she didn't allow her negative experience of school to put her off learning, and now she is in Year 9 her love of school is returning. The thing that impressed me most about her this year was when we went to visit my friend Vivienne in Scotland. We walked up the side of a mountain (a big hill anyway) and she didn't complain one bit because that evening she wanted to go out in Viv's sea Kayak with Matt, Viv's boyfriend whom she had never met. Her determination to try new things is so strong that she is an inspiration to me.
10: Controlled Assessment
I am pleased that I took the advice of those who said we should do controlled assessments with the students in one whole day. We have done this three times now and it makes a huge difference to the time management, focus, preparedness and results of the students.
11: New Appointments
This year I have appointed a new chemistry teacher and a new technician. Very exciting appointments and the chemistry teacher especially is a fantastic edition to the school. She is an inspiration to me and spurs me to be a better leader and teacher.
12: Extra-curricular science
I hired an incubator and eggs before half term. It was so exciting to see little lives come into the world and the girls loved it. The girls and staff were extremely supportive, a community pulling together. I recommend it to everyone. In March we put in place some activities to celebrate science week, and it was a great success with the girls, especially the assembly. In June year 9 completed science projects and presented them to the head and other teachers, which was great fun.
13: Exam results
After a full academic year working at my school and leading the science department the results came in. I was worried, what if the controlled assessments were marked too highly? (They were in planning but not enough to pull down our results overall). What if the final exam had high grade boundaries to pull down the percentages of students passing? However, our results were great. Not all students were delighted, but no results were lower than I expected and many were higher than I expected. I take no credit for this, the girls at our school work hard and have high expectations for themselves. However, it was a great validation of the work that I am doing and my importance to the success of the department.
There is more, there is so much more. Eating out, going for long walks, trying a new recipe every month thanks to the Waitrose recipe cards and using the slow cooker we got for Christmas last year to good effect, seeing my brother pick his life up after hitting rock bottom, having good friends move into the village, buying some beautiful new dresses, my uncle doing better after cancer, the birth of my cousin's new baby girl, meeting sex education Alice, talking with Christine Harrison, reading 'magpieandtry.blogspot.co.uk' and trying new teaching ideas out, instagram, #ASEchat, Sarah and Ali who run ASE in the west with me, being able to spend quality time with Dr Dav, Andy Murry and Chris Froome and all the other great sporting moments of 2013, Diane my supportive Assistant head at school, my department who are great fun, Joan and Cat who are the Year 7 team with me, the school Christmas party, the winter wonderland lights show at Westonbirt Arboretum, attending the October Science Museum lates, going to Slimbridge and buying binoculars, every time I go to Folyes in London, Alwinton Show, the inspiration I get from the York Science project, the ideas and resources of Lucie, the positivity and friendship of Karen, the science TV and radio guide, research Ed 2013, teachmeet Clevedon, teachmeet Wilts, Ed Walsh's keynote at the ASE west conference, the Cheltenham Science festival, the Bristol festival of nature, Rev Alice's assemblies, staff choir, the girls performances in lunch time concerts, all the EAL girls at the school adding to my life experience, school in general as it is such a happy place.
14 things for 2014
I don't think that I can write properly about 2014 until I have been to the ASE conference in January, but here goes.
1: Richard will be 50 in 2014, I want to mark the occasion appropriately, but I don't know what that is yet.
2: I have some tickets for the commonwealth games in Glasgow, I am really looking forward to them as I love watching live sport. I hope we can see some world cup track cycling too, and we aim to see the Grand Depart of le Tour.
3: We moved into our house in 2011, and we still haven't decorated our bedroom yet (any of the upstairs in fact). I want to at least strip the awful wallpaper in 2014!
4: I want to make more of an effort to visit Westonbirt Arboretum more often. I drive past it each day and I have never been during autumn. I must rectify this in 2014.
5: In 2013 I managed to lose 6lbs during the summer, I have put 2 back on, but I want to lose another 10-12lbs during 2014 to get back to the shape I was once proud of. Will power is necessary!
6: I need to save money in 2014 to be able to buy myself a new laptop. I would love to save enough to be able to afford a trip to Hong Kong, but I think this may be beyond me.
7: The new national curriculum provides an opportunity I want to make the most of, I just don't known he details yet!
8: I really hope my A2 physics students get the results they need to get to university.
9: The more involved I get in the ASE the more I realise its power and importance. I want to continue to contribute to it, and I will.
10: I keep finding white hairs in my brown ones. 2014 is the year that I am going to have to face doing something about them.
11: I am organising to take the whole school to the Big Bang Science Fair and I hope that the trip is a success that puts science week onto the school calendar as a permanent event. I want to start the engineering education scheme up in school in 2014/15 with year 12. I want to put STEM on a stronger footing within the school and attract more post-16 students who want to student STEM subjects at university. To me the value of studying science is clear and this is something I want to ensure comes across in my teaching and the teaching of the rest of the department.
12: I have no more excuses not to apply for my CSciTeach accreditation in 2014. I should be working on the application instead of writing this.
13: I want to be more organised, my time, my resources, everything! I want to be organised enough to make the most of all the opportunities I am given.
14: In terms of improving my teaching practice and making resolutions for my department I will wait until after the ASE conference. The event always inspires me and connects me to the right people to point me, my teaching and my department in the best direction. I am especially looking forward to seeing Mary and talking York Science!
Life in 2013 was busy, but I had a good time. I hope 2014 is another good one. There is so much more to look forward to.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
13 reflections on 2013
1: LEL
The best thing about 2013 was the summer holiday. During that time Richard cycled the epic cycle ride from London to Edinburgh back to London in 112 hours. There was a lot of building up to it. I tried to be as supportive as I could during the year. I paid for his dynamo hub wheel at the start of spring, and I was glad that I did as it came in useful and meant Richard could afford to buy a GoreTex jacket. At the time his was riding I was very nervous as I wanted him to complete the ride inside the time limit, and also be safe. It was such a massive achievement for Richard, stepping up from cycling 400km once before to deciding to cycle 1200km, and I was incredibly proud that he did it. My only disappointment was how upset he was that his achievement was largely ignored by his senior colleagues at his own school.
2: Gromit Unleashed
During the summer Bristol and the surrounding areas had a Gromit trail. (a) I found all 50 Gromits, which I was more pleased with than I should be at 33. (b) The Gromit trails also meant that Lucie and Dominic had an excuse to visit, it was great to see them and drag them around Bristol. (c) And another group of twitter friends met up to search for the Gromit statues in central Bristol and we ended up in zero degrees with Karen getting a tour so she could explain microbreweries to her year 11 triple science class. This was great fun. (d) My mam also came to stay and we also went Gromit hunting. I don't see her enough and it was lovely to be able to show her Bristol. (e) Part of the hunt also meant we had an excuse to go to London for the day as a family to see the one at Paddington station and go to the science museum.
3: Joanna Lumley
At the end of the 2012/13 school year Joanna Lumley spoke at our school speech day. She was everything I expected her to be. She told the girls to "be beautiful, be brave, be kind, be clever, be happy". Qualifying all these with descriptions. The last piece of advice was for the girls not to be slaves to the mobiles. (That advice fell on deaf ears!) It was good for me, the parents and girls to hear that exam results aren't everything. As a school it is what we believe, and hope to produce well rounded young ladies with an interest in the world.
4: ASE conferences
I have been to 3 ASE conferences this year. I helped to organise the regional one. I really feel they are the best CPD a science teacher can have. Apart from the sessions, the ASE conferences are an opportunity to network with the best people in education. I am terribly grateful to the ASE that through their conferences I was able to talk to Brenda Naylor (Keogh - the concept cartoon lady). I am responsible for upper key stage 2 science (despite being a secondary science teacher) so I asked her "what is primary science all about?". Brenda was so sweet to me and answered me so concisely, but helpfully and inspired me to do well and see the importance in teaching my Year 6 class science. This is just one example of the power of the ASE conferences. Rest in Peace Brenda, you touched a lot of people and having only had two conversations with you I can see why you were such an important part of primary science education.
5: New Head Teacher
In January we got a new Head Teacher. The year has been interesting as a result. She is the best Head I have worked for. However, it hasn't all been plain sailing. It is fantastic to be lead with someone with such passion for the development of the young people in our care, they are her focus. We came runner-up recently in a ranking of pastoral care. My focus continues to be STEM education as we need to produce the female engineers and scientists of the future, but I know that I have the support of the Head in this (although she perhaps doesn't know the extent of my passion!) and I feel it isn't at odds with the Head's aims.
6: Laptop
One of the worst things this year was my laptop dying. I haven't been able to afford a new one yet. I use my iPad as my main computer now, but it isn't easy and I feel my efficiency slipping.
7: Car
The other really bad this was that my car needed £2500 spent on it in April. The head gasket. Savings cleared out.
8: Escapism
While Richard can escape his problems by riding 300/400/600/1200km through the day and night, it is not my cup of tea. I look to more sedate activities. As a student and young teacher I used to go to the cinema on my own every week. (for a year with my friend Naomi). I stopped when I got together with Richard and after a couple of years I got frustrated and forced ourselves to get back into the habit. I am pleased that we have been to the Curzon cinema in Clevedon about 12 times in 2013 (and other cinemas on top of that). Reading is also something I enjoy, so last Christmas Richard gave me a kindle, and I have read 31 books using it since then. I love it and have already pre-ordered quite a few books for 2014. I have never read quite so much as last year.
9: Step-daughter
I am delighted with the way that my step-daughter is growing up. Year 8 was hard for her, she was bored, bullied and unhappy in school. She can draw (and explain) electron shell diagrams, she is reading Tolstoy, yet her teachers didn't recognise it. However, she didn't allow her negative experience of school to put her off learning, and now she is in Year 9 her love of school is returning. The thing that impressed me most about her this year was when we went to visit my friend Vivienne in Scotland. We walked up the side of a mountain (a big hill anyway) and she didn't complain one bit because that evening she wanted to go out in Viv's sea Kayak with Matt, Viv's boyfriend whom she had never met. Her determination to try new things is so strong that she is an inspiration to me.
10: Controlled Assessment
I am pleased that I took the advice of those who said we should do controlled assessments with the students in one whole day. We have done this three times now and it makes a huge difference to the time management, focus, preparedness and results of the students.
11: New Appointments
This year I have appointed a new chemistry teacher and a new technician. Very exciting appointments and the chemistry teacher especially is a fantastic edition to the school. She is an inspiration to me and spurs me to be a better leader and teacher.
12: Extra-curricular science
I hired an incubator and eggs before half term. It was so exciting to see little lives come into the world and the girls loved it. The girls and staff were extremely supportive, a community pulling together. I recommend it to everyone. In March we put in place some activities to celebrate science week, and it was a great success with the girls, especially the assembly. In June year 9 completed science projects and presented them to the head and other teachers, which was great fun.
13: Exam results
After a full academic year working at my school and leading the science department the results came in. I was worried, what if the controlled assessments were marked too highly? (They were in planning but not enough to pull down our results overall). What if the final exam had high grade boundaries to pull down the percentages of students passing? However, our results were great. Not all students were delighted, but no results were lower than I expected and many were higher than I expected. I take no credit for this, the girls at our school work hard and have high expectations for themselves. However, it was a great validation of the work that I am doing and my importance to the success of the department.
There is more, there is so much more. Eating out, going for long walks, trying a new recipe every month thanks to the Waitrose recipe cards and using the slow cooker we got for Christmas last year to good effect, seeing my brother pick his life up after hitting rock bottom, having good friends move into the village, buying some beautiful new dresses, my uncle doing better after cancer, the birth of my cousin's new baby girl, meeting sex education Alice, talking with Christine Harrison, reading 'magpieandtry.blogspot.co.uk' and trying new teaching ideas out, instagram, #ASEchat, Sarah and Ali who run ASE in the west with me, being able to spend quality time with Dr Dav, Andy Murry and Chris Froome and all the other great sporting moments of 2013, Diane my supportive Assistant head at school, my department who are great fun, Joan and Cat who are the Year 7 team with me, the school Christmas party, the winter wonderland lights show at Westonbirt Arboretum, attending the October Science Museum lates, going to Slimbridge and buying binoculars, every time I go to Folyes in London, Alwinton Show, the inspiration I get from the York Science project, the ideas and resources of Lucie, the positivity and friendship of Karen, the science TV and radio guide, research Ed 2013, teachmeet Clevedon, teachmeet Wilts, Ed Walsh's keynote at the ASE west conference, the Cheltenham Science festival, the Bristol festival of nature, Rev Alice's assemblies, staff choir, the girls performances in lunch time concerts, all the EAL girls at the school adding to my life experience, school in general as it is such a happy place.
14 things for 2014
I don't think that I can write properly about 2014 until I have been to the ASE conference in January, but here goes.
1: Richard will be 50 in 2014, I want to mark the occasion appropriately, but I don't know what that is yet.
2: I have some tickets for the commonwealth games in Glasgow, I am really looking forward to them as I love watching live sport. I hope we can see some world cup track cycling too, and we aim to see the Grand Depart of le Tour.
3: We moved into our house in 2011, and we still haven't decorated our bedroom yet (any of the upstairs in fact). I want to at least strip the awful wallpaper in 2014!
4: I want to make more of an effort to visit Westonbirt Arboretum more often. I drive past it each day and I have never been during autumn. I must rectify this in 2014.
5: In 2013 I managed to lose 6lbs during the summer, I have put 2 back on, but I want to lose another 10-12lbs during 2014 to get back to the shape I was once proud of. Will power is necessary!
6: I need to save money in 2014 to be able to buy myself a new laptop. I would love to save enough to be able to afford a trip to Hong Kong, but I think this may be beyond me.
7: The new national curriculum provides an opportunity I want to make the most of, I just don't known he details yet!
8: I really hope my A2 physics students get the results they need to get to university.
9: The more involved I get in the ASE the more I realise its power and importance. I want to continue to contribute to it, and I will.
10: I keep finding white hairs in my brown ones. 2014 is the year that I am going to have to face doing something about them.
11: I am organising to take the whole school to the Big Bang Science Fair and I hope that the trip is a success that puts science week onto the school calendar as a permanent event. I want to start the engineering education scheme up in school in 2014/15 with year 12. I want to put STEM on a stronger footing within the school and attract more post-16 students who want to student STEM subjects at university. To me the value of studying science is clear and this is something I want to ensure comes across in my teaching and the teaching of the rest of the department.
12: I have no more excuses not to apply for my CSciTeach accreditation in 2014. I should be working on the application instead of writing this.
13: I want to be more organised, my time, my resources, everything! I want to be organised enough to make the most of all the opportunities I am given.
14: In terms of improving my teaching practice and making resolutions for my department I will wait until after the ASE conference. The event always inspires me and connects me to the right people to point me, my teaching and my department in the best direction. I am especially looking forward to seeing Mary and talking York Science!
Life in 2013 was busy, but I had a good time. I hope 2014 is another good one. There is so much more to look forward to.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 17 November 2013
On blogging....
Laura McInerney wrote a blog post about the perceived lack of women bloggers here: http://lauramcinerney.com/2013/11/17/the-very-few-thoughts-i-have-about-being-a-woman-blogger/
I didn't make it to the list that Old Andrew wrote in his comment.... Oh well.
I can't speak for other women, as the initial image of Laura's blog post shows, I think that it is unfair to generalise the experience of one/some women to that of many, in the same way that if I said the male bloggers all come across as trying to sound clever by quoting international eduction researchers it wouldn't be fair either as I read many blogs by men that don't.
Personally I feel that arguing the toss via blogs and twitter is a waste of my time, and I should be planning/marking/enjoying my life etc. Perhaps many women feel the same. I read with interest (and some alarm) this blog post: http://www.learningspy.co.uk/learning/know-oh-hang-know/ and found the debate thoroughly ridiculous and totally irrelevant to me.
As a member of the science teaching community I have a voice via the ASE and SCORE back into government. I know many of the people personally who represent me as a science teacher, and make decisions on my behalf. I trust them. You only need to see the work that Ann and Brenda did on the primary curriculum to know that faith is not misplaced, and have heard Stella Paes from AQA say at the ASE summer conference that the UK had the world's experts in science education.
I am content with the purpose of my subject and know that there are very many people out there who know much much more than me. You only need to be in a room a short while with Ed Walsh, Christine Harrison, Pete Robinson, Robin Millar, Sally Howard, Jane Turner, Mary Whitehouse, Steve Marshall, Chris Colclough, Linda Needham, Ann Goldsworth James Williams and Stuart Naylor to know that anything I would write should not be accepted as an authority.
I don't blog to make myself feel like I have a voice and that I am influential. I don't blog to share my authority in my subject. I don't blog to justify my teaching style. I don't need to care that I didn't make it to Andrew's list.
Why do I blog? I blog to share what I have done, what I am thinking and what is challenging me. I hope that my posts support others and support me.
If you are a woman, who doesn't think they can blog because they are a woman, you surprise me. If you have something to say then set up a blog and go for it.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I didn't make it to the list that Old Andrew wrote in his comment.... Oh well.
I can't speak for other women, as the initial image of Laura's blog post shows, I think that it is unfair to generalise the experience of one/some women to that of many, in the same way that if I said the male bloggers all come across as trying to sound clever by quoting international eduction researchers it wouldn't be fair either as I read many blogs by men that don't.
Personally I feel that arguing the toss via blogs and twitter is a waste of my time, and I should be planning/marking/enjoying my life etc. Perhaps many women feel the same. I read with interest (and some alarm) this blog post: http://www.learningspy.co.uk/learning/know-oh-hang-know/ and found the debate thoroughly ridiculous and totally irrelevant to me.
As a member of the science teaching community I have a voice via the ASE and SCORE back into government. I know many of the people personally who represent me as a science teacher, and make decisions on my behalf. I trust them. You only need to see the work that Ann and Brenda did on the primary curriculum to know that faith is not misplaced, and have heard Stella Paes from AQA say at the ASE summer conference that the UK had the world's experts in science education.
I am content with the purpose of my subject and know that there are very many people out there who know much much more than me. You only need to be in a room a short while with Ed Walsh, Christine Harrison, Pete Robinson, Robin Millar, Sally Howard, Jane Turner, Mary Whitehouse, Steve Marshall, Chris Colclough, Linda Needham, Ann Goldsworth James Williams and Stuart Naylor to know that anything I would write should not be accepted as an authority.
I don't blog to make myself feel like I have a voice and that I am influential. I don't blog to share my authority in my subject. I don't blog to justify my teaching style. I don't need to care that I didn't make it to Andrew's list.
Why do I blog? I blog to share what I have done, what I am thinking and what is challenging me. I hope that my posts support others and support me.
If you are a woman, who doesn't think they can blog because they are a woman, you surprise me. If you have something to say then set up a blog and go for it.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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