Wishing you all....

a very merry whatever it is you celebrate, and a lovely family holiday time.

Christmas is important to me, and last year teaching in a church school it was a wonderful time of carols and services and fun. I have taught in schools were the approach has been far more multicultural...and that was lovely too. In the past we had huge family gatherings but of late our celebrations have been focused on the immediate family. Many readers will have to negotiate tricky times over the next  few days, as they get used to changes which may or may not be welcome. New family members, divorce, bereavement - it all seems so much more intense at Christmas, especially when you switch on the TV and everyone (except the residents of Albert Square) are having a wonderful time.

Over the years, I have come to the opinion that Christmas is a whole lot of actions as well as a celebration. Caring for others, watching the smiles on their faces, sharing our homes and our lives. We can't make life go the way we want it but we can make darn sure we leave people feeling a bit better than they did. That's my wish for Christmas.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Anxiety

The Guardian Teacher Network maths-anxiety

Interesting article, this.

In my first teaching job, I was gifted the bottom set of a cross Key Stage 2 maths set. Twenty Five 7-11 year olds, some of who couldn't count beyond 10. For my added delectation, I had the year 5/6 bottom English set.I suspect this pleasure was afforded to a New Qualified Teacher so I couldn't muck up the SATs results. After all, SATs is where it's at! I have to say, I loved it and since then I've taught lower set maths whenever I've had the choice.

Why?

Well, this article encapsulates one of the biggest problems in teaching maths...or any other subject, for that matter. Most children who aren't achieving in maths suffer from huge anxiety about it.  Crack that anxiety and they fly. Adults who have helped out in my classes, and I suspect there are a few of you amongst the readership, will have seen my class singing maths songs, tapping their heads and bottoms (Fractions - 'what you do to the top you do to the bottom'- bottom is such a funny word when you are 9), singing "I'm all about the maths" and so the 'we are maths geniuses' dance. We did smarties ratio and proportion, chocolate fractions (food always focuses the brain), maths sandwiches to help understand algorithms.  We made posters and puzzles and games ...and we came to believe we are all maths geniuses. It wasn't quick, it wasn't easy but we grew to understand that we can all do maths.

Many of the children we tutor are perfectly capable, bright little souls but somewhere in their early years in class, they managed to learn to fear maths. Our job is to help them 'unlearn' that fear.

Sometimes we meet parents who learnt that anxiety many years ago. It isn't helped by the fact that our children learn very different methods and terminology than we did.

Recognising that, we have decided at EKT to provide sessions for parents too. Details will be on the website soon.

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SPaG

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.

Fascinating stuff. No really, I genuinely find the nuances of our language  fascinating.

Of course I am a 50something humanities graduate, who is pursuing a Master's degree in the subject. I am not a 10 year old, facing a government SPaG test. Sample papers

One of my favourite  champions of children's education, Michael Rosen, has shared his views in an open letter to Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education. He expresses the frustration that many teachers will be feeling, on reading through these sample materials, far better than I could -
Dear Ms Morgan

It's worth opening the links, I promise you it is. Our children are being force fed a diet of literary terms that are completely irrelevant to almost everyone except linguists. I had to learn what determiners, modal verbs and fronted adverbials were before I could teach them to my last year 4 class. Interestingly the children were already using these in their work perfectly adequately without knowing their names.
We had a 'word of the week'. Often, ( look there's a fronted adverbial just crept into this sentence...or is it just and adverb? Hmmm.) when other adults came into the room, the children could explain terms the adults had never heard of. Now these 'other adults' ...TAs, teachers from other year groups, outside agency staff and parents... were perfectly literate and had managed all their lives without knowing, or caring, about the different types of determiner.
So why must our 10 year olds be subjected to it, you might ask? And it would be a very good 'ask' indeed.

Children no longer write stories regularly, as I did when I was young. They may plan, draft and edit 3 or possibly even 4, pieces of writing in a term. Many of these will be non-fiction pieces. Of course, there are excellent reasons for teaching different genres but the bottom line is writing has become a technical exercise, rather than a creative pleasure. We are robbing our children of their freedom of expression. I think that is very sad. In practical terms, the obsession with Spag isn't driving up literacy skills, it's just changing them.

As a tutor, it's good business news. Children will need tutors more and more, to learn how to squeeze through the hoops our government has set up.But, at East Kent Tutors, we pride ourselves we are above simple business models. Our concern is with the well-being of our clients, and with old-fashioned concepts like justice and fairness. Every Child Matters, as the  the Government policy of 2003 tells us. Every child has the right to:

• To be healthy.
• To stay safe.
• To enjoy and achieve.
• To make a positive contribution.
• To achieve economic well-being.

It's good isn't it?

But let's examine one of those objectives just a teeny bit. To achieve economic well-being. For many children in our county, that would  require social mobility. Well that's OK, we have grammar schools for that don't we?  Recent figures show that grammar schools in Kent have, on average, 3% of children on free school meals (the marker used to indicate low income) compared with 15% in comprehensive schools. How much wider will that gap become with obscure grammatical terms being the benchmark for success? Many parents can help their children with this type of homework?

Dear Ms Morgan,
Please think carefully about why we educate children and how we engage them in creative thinking.
Then, please consider whether teaching subjunctives to 10 year olds  is really helpful to that process.
Thank you

The power of NO!

According to the BBC today:
Stressed teachers being 'reduced to tears'

Is that any news to those of us who have worked in education?

No, not really.
Your child's teacher probably works 60+ hours a week, planning creative lessons, marking books with developmental marking comments, creating resources, taking after-school clubs....the list is endless. Your child's TA will also work way more than their contracted hours.

Why? Well the job needs doing. The DofE, Ofsted, League tables and other external pressures, all add to the workload. Some of these are useful, many are not.  Some of the useful activities can be used in a way that is unhelpful. The story of the teacher told off for crying in the staff room touched a chord. Teachers are human beings. They have lives. Mostly that's good. Sometime's it's grim - I  well remember the  parents' evening 2 days after my mum died.

When life goes wrong there is no option for the teacher but to carry on. they go to work and paint smiles on their faces for the children, they chat with parents, they mark and plan as usual. Our teacher's need recognition for what they do come sunshine or rain. They need co-operation from parents and they need the support of their management.

And sometimes they just need someone to say "No."
No you can't do more.
No you aren't expected to run yet another club/ take on another responsibility
No you need to go home and rest/get yourself well/spend time with the kids,
No you aren't expected to be jolly and smiley in the staff room because we are here to support you.
No, Ofsted isn't the be all and end all, we are here to meet our children's needs.

      

Results

The Kent test results are out. Here in our little corner of the world selective schooling, and the choices that surround it, are part of everyday life. I know there are readers  for whom this isn't the case, so please bear with us. The debate around selective schooling is fascinating, but not for today's blog.

Today, at East Kent Tutors, we are celebrating the success of our students...100% passed the test! Their success is richly deserved for all the hard work and commitment they put in. We are very proud of them.

But we are mindful that there are other children out there for whom the results have not been so positive. So what next for them? Well, the appeal process is one option; schools will advise on the way forward. I have personally been involved in a number of successful appeals. Be prepared to 'big up' your child; remember they are more than just a set of numbers on a test paper. Think of all they can offer their new school...sporting prowess, music, art, responsible attitude -maybe they have been house captain, or Head Boy/Girl. This process will help 'sell' your child, but even more importantly it will focus your (and their) mind on their general skills and abilities, and boost their confidence. My biggest concern over selective education is the impact on the10 year olds who don't pass. Make sure your child knows his/her worth is not dependent on the outcome of one brief moment in their life.

A wise man once described life as a journey. You can speed off down the motorway and get to your destination quickly and efficiently. Or you can take the B roads - it may take longer but you get there in the end, and maybe take in a few sights on the way.

I was a B road person. They didn't have selective schooling in my area, and I did reasonably well at school but my results weren't dazzling. I wasn't particularly motivated as a youngster, and my teachers weren't too bothered either. I ended up taking my degree as a mature student. Yes, it was a bit tougher, studying whilst raising a family, but it taught me that the door  to achievement is never really closed, even if sometimes it feels a bit stiff and creaky.

So to those headed off on that motorway, drive carefully and never get complacent. To those who are rethinking their plans, the journey will be fun and get you where you need to go, even if it isn't the one you thought you would take. And to every one of you - enjoy the ride!

Bon voyage et bonne chance

It's that time again.

Across the country, young adults are moving on to new challenges this week: uni, college, new jobs. Our tutors are waving farewell to loved ones, heading off on new adventures - an especial good luck my Least Un.

When they are still at Primary school (indeed even when they are starting GCSEs) it all seems so far away, yet I can remember talking to my own children about university from the time they were relatively young. Governments come and go but the increased leaving age of 18, and the desire to see increasing numbers of young people move into tertiary education seems here to stay.
So we need to prepare our youngsters for the long haul.

Good study practices, self motivation, a desire for lifelong learning and an enthusiasm to push their boundaries to reach their full potential...these are the things we can instill from the earliest age.

Lets feed our children's curiosity and their self worth, so they are ready to fly, when the time comes.

Our very best wishes go with each and every one starting on their chosen paths.


And to all you Mums, wondering what to do with that extra time.

Kent Test

Good luck to all the students taking their test this week.

Remember:

• Keep calm, this is a chance to show just how amazing you are.
• Read the questions carefully. It's easy to miss a single word (eg. not), that changes the meaning of  the whole sentence.
• Underline key facts.
• Don't spend ages on  a question you can't do. Circle it and move onto the next question. Go back and look at circled questions if you have time at the end of the test.
• Make sure you mark an answer for every question...if you don't know the answer just choose one, there's a 20%  chance of getting the right answer.
• If you finish early CHECK! Check, check, check. Read through the questions and your answers again. 

Once again - Good Luck.

Happy New Year.

For many schools, the new academic year begins tomorrow. Maybe not for the children, but staff will be assembling for Inset days, up and down the country. Inset days at the start of term are a strange limbo land, easing yourself back into the swing of things, catching up with colleagues, updating information, routines, skills, loads to do but no children to give school that real 'school feeling'.

So, to ex colleagues and friends who are starting back tomorrow - good luck, have fun. I shall miss that buzz that goes with the start of a new academic year, even though I shall not miss the early morning starts. A special good luck goes out to one of our tutors, who is starting a new job tomorrow, though happily she is currently still available for afternoon/evening sessions with us.

Teaching is an amazing, rewarding, frustrating, exhausting profession and let's not forget all the wonderful, talented TA's who support our teachers.
 All these people will be giving your children every ounce (should that be gram?) of effort they have. They will work an enormous number of unpaid hours to make sure your children's school experience is the very best they can  manage.
And so (yes, yes I did start that sentence with an And.  It's a literary device forbidden to our children. I have lost count of the number of books I have marked with the instruction 'Never, NEVER, start a sentence with And or But'. I promise  faithfully to instruct your children in the ways of literary accuracy but the fact that Mr Gove dislikes starting sentences with connectives - or conjunctions as we are calling them once again - makes them seem doubly appealing to me) A heartfelt, all the best, to all you school staff. And (there's another one) good luck to all the children starting their new classes this week.

Your child's teacher is one of the biggest influences on their lives, outside family. Get to know them, work with them.
Rest assured, we shall be doing all we can to support them, as we support your children on this year's learning journey.

Holidays

Sunset over Brockenthurst

Breaks are good. They recharge our batteries, allow us time to relax and they give us an opportunity to think about, and talk about, things we  take for granted. My holiday is nearly over; I've popped home for the day to collect A level results with my youngest (Huge well done  J, brilliant results). The most precious thing about this time, for me, is the chance to spend quality time with my children - I use the word loosely , the fact that the youngest is now celebrating his escape to uni might give a hint why. We love camping on the Forest. We walk miles, spot deer, barbecue and play board games. We enjoy each other's company. I am blessed that we get along so well.

Clouds reflected  in Eyeworth Pond

 Mixed  with the laughter and the fun, is a deep pleasure in that escape from town life, from time constraints and from confinement indoors. We have always camped and in previous years I delighted in watching the children, Usborn Spotter's Guides in hand, dashing from tree to tree trying to identify all the nature around them. They grew up knowing the forest, knowing trees, discovering fungi. They grew up knowing that every drop of water they used needed to be fetched and later disposed of. They developed and awareness of the environment that has made them rather pleasing adults.

Home to many, many species.

Holiday times taught them about: ecology, weather systems, the water cycle, life processes, living things, habitats, light - reflections, diffusion, shadows,  classifying, hypothesising, testing, evaluating results (the last few form the basis of every good game of Pooh sticks), to name just a few.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer break...and learning loads on your travels

Thank You

I have been overwhelmed by the lovely messages of support that I have received in the last week.  The new ventures are a tad scary. After years of independence and assurance (through lesson observations, Pupil Progress meetings, end of term data and feedback from parents) that I am a good teacher, I have become accustomed to working with in my comfort zone. Studying at post grad level is not totally new for me, in itself, but the sustained study at Masters level is a little daunting after so many years of delivering education, rather than receiving it, and starting a business is completely uncharted territory.

So positive feedback is good.

What is best of all, for me personally, is reading comments that talk abut me 'knowing' my pupils. 'Knowing' them is the highest accolade I can ask, since it means I am on the right track to identify their individual learning needs. Know the child, know how to help them reach their potential. Simple.

So  thank you, once again, all of you who have posted comments or photos on Facebook, those of you who have written lovely comments in cards and report feedback forms and those of you who came to speak to me on my last day in class. Your words have meant a lot.

 

Summer holidays

Colleagues in Essex, and further afield, are waking up this morning to that holiday delight - a weekend without marking or planning. For us here in Kent, there is one more week. A delightful week, crammed with all manner of exciting activities, but a school week, nonetheless. Still, this time next week the school year will be over; uniforms will be put away, school books will be read through, to see how much progress our children have made in the last year, before storing them away. 6 weeks  freedom will loom ahead, without too much thought for the new academic year.

Every September teachers hand out pristine new books, set lessons that will assess the children's current ability, then sigh sadly as they mark a goodly number of books that are well below the standard, at which the previous teacher assessed the children. Is it because the previous teacher 'over-leveled' the children? Well if I'm honest, occasionally it is. Sometimes we genuinely value one trait over another (the creativity versus technical accuracy debate is an interesting one) another, sometimes (dare I say it) the lure of performance related pay it too tempting...the One-more-making-2-sub-levels-and-I'll-have-hit-my-target syndrome does exist, whether we like it or not. But more often than,  not it's simply 6 weeks without picking up a pencil, and in many cases without having opened a single book. (No apologies for Oxford commas, or starting sentences with conjunctions on this blog I'm afraid; it's one, but far from the most significant, of the issues Mr Gove and I don't see eye to eye on. I'll heed the current Ed Sec, in terms of what I tutor though, pinkie promise! )

So what is to be done to ease those September sighs?

For a start - Read! Most libraries have some sort of summer reading challenge, which many children find fun. Read as a family; my grown up children and I still read to each other on family holidays. We all fell in love with Harry Potter in the middle of a campsite in the New Forest. Hot chocolate and Harry evenings were how we ended each day. If you are planning outings, rad the websites together, read reviews of the place,look at the timetables (great for maths) and maps (maths and geography), plan your schedule together. I'm probably teaching granny to suck eggs but it's so easy to just do things ourselves because its quicker. Anything written will help keep your child's reading  ticking over, especially if you talk about what you've just read.

Collect fliers/posters..any text that your child is interested in is a potential learning tool

And Write! Postcards, reviews... create a Trip Advisor account and become critics...diaries are fun and if your child has Show and Tell, the children love hearing about their classmate's adventures and the new teacher will probably love to flick through it next term. It will helps us get to know your child's interests as well as getting an idea of his /her abilities.

If there is anyone out there who has holiday ideas, please feel free to post them. 6 weeks is a lot of time to fill, so let's make it as much fun, and as creative as possible.





 

sessions

I've been touting around to get opinions on the provision of different sessions. Most people assume tutoring will be 1:1, or delivered via some sort of +club (in various incarnations depending on where you live).
I  enjoy 1:1 sessions. You see huge progress, as your student has the benefit of your undivided attention, and as a tutor you have the time to ensure your sessions are tailored to your students' needs.  But, they are costly; not everyone can afford it.
The idea of paired sessions was to make it that bit more affordable, and to encourage the student to be less dependent on the tutor (How can you and your study-buddy find out what you need to know?)

The group sessions are the uncharted territory though. Aimed at being smaller and more personal than a large group in the local village/school/church hall, these sessions are hopefully going to be way more affordable for those on low incomes. £2/£3 a session, in the tutors' homes, 5 or 6 children at a time. I think there's a market for this. I have staff lined up, should it prove successful. But if you have a view, please let me know. Starting up your own business is an exciting but slightly baffling matter.

Hello

Well, this is another first in the new business venture. There's been a bewildering array of technologies and tasks that I hadn't dreamed of when I first conceived the idea of EKT. Fundamentally I am a teacher, not an administrator or a salesperson, so a lot of this is quite new: business cards, websites etc.

It's exciting but its a wee bit nerve wracking too.