I see a bad moon rising...

Jeez this teaching malarky is hard work!! I am absolutely shattered all the time - my wee brain is fried, but loving it all the same!! This hasnt even been a full week so really have no excuse to complain about being tired. However, the crit date has now been announced so this week is going to be another busy one - then again, when are they not?!!

Going through a nice stage where I am not dreading my teaching periods anymore, but would actually rather be teaching than sitting in the base writing lesson plans!! Im feeling like a wee sponge - I just want to absorb everything and make the most of the time thats left in school. Im aware of how quickly time is flying by - half way through already! Omg!

My social life is suffering too... so sad!! Apart from being too tired to do anything but sit on the couch with a bottle of wine, I am avoiding the embarrassing situation of meeting pupils when out. I will definately not want to work in the same area as I live when I come to applying for jobs!

My struggle this week with a lot of classes has been to get everyone to the same stage before moving on to the next step. Mmmm.... a very tough one I have found. There is such a huge mix of ability in these classes in S1 and S2 that generally the ones who are really good at art take forever - they work slowly and carefully, producing excellent work. However those with less ablity tend to fly through the task and produce less impressive work. Therefore extension tasks need to be suited at those with less ability. This week should be easier however as most of my units of work begin a new stage where everyone should start off at the same stage! Not for long though I would imagine.

Anyway, long overdue post I admit. Maybe in the stress of the lead-up to my crit I'll feel like moaning more - however judging by the amount of preparation I have to do this week, I somehow doubt it!!

Have a good week y'all!!

Monday, Monday.....

Time for a quick update - so much for vowing to blog everyday! Oh well... things have been fairly busy.

Have had a good first week back in school. Being so busy meant that before I knew it, it was Friday and I had met all my classes. Really pleased with my timetable. Although I have loads of classes, they are really well spread out and I am learning everyone's names fairly quickley - where would I be without seating plans?! On the whole, my second school is very different from my first. The department is much larger, and there is more of an ethos of academic achievement within the school. Standards are extremey high and there is a huge waiting list for places at the school. The classes I have taught so far reflect this; on the whole, pupils work hard and want to do well. This is quite refreshing having been in a school on my first placment, where underachievement was a huge issue. However, whilst I cant help feeling this may be lulling me into a false sense of security, there are issues which arise as a result of this.

I feel much more relaxed about teaching than I did last placement - perhaps more confidence in my classroom management, perhaps just a reflection of the way things work in the department. I am enjoying getting to know my classes and establishing routines for working; giving out materials and tidying up. I found it really hard last placment, going in and starting with a class - perhaps expecting them to work differently to the expectations of their teacher. Maybe the teachers in my last school approched things in a very laidback manner - little routine for classroom practice. The pupils in this school however are responding well, and maybe this is because they are more used to this way of working. The department this time however is open plan!! To be honest, it is not as bad as I had imagined it might be - i thought i would feel really self-concious raising my voice etc, but when you're with a class I suppose you become so caught up in dealing with things effectively you just get on with it! I have found it more of a struggle if there is a particularly noisy class next door, because often it becomes a distraction for pupils.

I remember the HT in my last school saying that no school is as special as your first placment school. And Im beginning to understand what she meant. Although there is nothing I specifically dislike about my placment 2 school, I find myself comparing it to my first school. Is this bad?? Maybe its just the settling in thing.... I dont know....