Learning curves

A lot of us will be going trough steep learning curves this week. New classes, new teachers, new classrooms, new subjects. No wonder there are so many yawns going round!

We are no different here at EKT. Teachers never stop learning. Some of the best lessons come from our students. They are on the coal face and their insights can be eye-opening. Some lessons come via Continued Professional Development sessions - not sure if writing essays for the MA can be considered CPD but it is giving me insight into the frustrations a lot of pupils feel when faced with a Big Write. And some come through sheer necessity. The website needs updating and we will be looking at doing that ourselves soon, and I personally am revisiting study sessions on Language for Thinking and discovering something completely new to me Colourful Semantics, which we will use to build on existing experience of Read Write Inc, as both teaching and assessment tools.

Assessment is crucial - although tests are probably not the best way of achieving accurate assessments. Remember that we offer a free half an hour assessment for new students.

Teachers love feedback too.

So look out for an updated website and news of our study progress.

Test Day

Apologies to those who read this from outside the Kent Test area but this week many of us in this corner of our green and pleasant land are preoccupied with just one thing. The Test.

Now, I know I have only just posted about the first day back at school - if this was handwriting the ink wouldn't have dried on the previous post - but that's pretty much how things are right now. We have barely drawn breath after dropping the off at the school gates before our minds - and the children's  and indeed the teacher's minds - switch into Kent Test mode. It's this week. No time for them to ease themselves back into the swing of things, straight into testing.

Now those of you who know me personally will be able to imagine the expression of exasperation and disgust on my face as I type this. It's too soon. Half the children will have been in bed till lunchtime over the last 6 weeks, the other half outdoors, or on game consuls. It's a shock to the system getting back into routine as it is but to add to the joy we schedule an important test on day 4 (and in all probability a practice test on day 3). Oh for the days when the first week was a gentle process of class and teacher getting to know each other.

Still that's by the by. We have the system we have. so what can we do to make things easier for the children? A few of my top tips.

 Parents:

• Make sure they get to bed nice and early this week.
• Provide a good breakfast before they go - it's proven that nutrition really does make a difference.
• Make sure they have water bottles - hydration is vital.
• Reassure them that whatever the outcome you are proud of them for trying - never use the F word...'failure' is banned in this household. All the test does is provide an indicator of where they will learn best, not how' clever' they have the potential to be.
• Remind them that of the test seems hard to them it will seem just as hard to everyone else, so no panicking. It's not a fixed pass mark so if everyone struggles the pass mark will be lower.

Children:

• Remember them to fill in an answer for every question . Apart from there being a 20% chance of it being the right one, the mark will act as a 'place holder' to ensure the following answers don't get shunted across into the wrong box.
• Circle questions you want to come back to. Take another look if you have time at the end of the test.
• Don't spend too long on any 1 question. You might not want to let a question 'beat you' but if you spend 5 minutes on 1 question when you could have answered 10 easier ones then it really has beat you. Go for the easy marks and get as many as possible.
• Use every single minute. If you finish early, check, check and recheck!
• If you start to feel panicky close your eyes for 10 seconds and breath slowly. This will help control those feelings...oh and don't forget to remind yourself that you are a star and your parents and teachers are enormously proud of you for doing this - for giving it your best shot.                                                                

  

  For all our stars

   

Back to school

 Well today's the day for most of our munchkins. Back to school, back to routine, back to homework. The first week is usually exhausting as we (yes teachers too) get used to new expectations, workload, classmates and topics. It's pretty exhausting for us parents prising our nearest and dearest out of bed for the early starts, making sure they have everything they need and keeping an eye out for homework. But it settles down; for most of us this time next week it will be like there's never been a break.

For a substantial number of children it will be a bit more challenging as they start new schools. Transitions can be tough, with so many new things to remember: a whole new staff, new classmates, a new, and possibly far bigger, building to find your way around, a longer day - especially for those who are having longer journeys to get to school... trains, buses, long walks.  And MORE homework. I still remember my first day at secondary school. We had comprehensive schooling in Essex - no selection - and the journey to the local comp wasn't too bad but the school was huge and there was so much moving around. At the end of the day I wasn't sure that I'd make it through the rest of the week, let alone another 7 years. It's no wonder that sometimes our children get a little emotional at the start of term.

We have a number of our old students starting new school's today. Good luck to each and every one of them. You are stars.

To tute, or not to tute, that is the question

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23973213

Parents naturally want to do their best for their children", said Sir Peter.

But he added:"Providing private tuition for them puts those children whose parents can't afford it at a disadvantage.

There's no doubt that tutoring isn't cheap. It's costlier in the South East than some areas, but cheaper on the whole than London? Why does it cost so much? Well it is a job and to be able to afford to make even a modest living one has to take into consideration the cost of resources (manipulatives, books, stationery) and the fact that you do little business during holidays, among other things. My salary has dropped massively since leaving teaching but for me that is more than compensated for by job satisfaction. 

That said, fairness has always been vitally important to me. I have mentioned in previous posts that we will offer tuition at reduced rates for families on benefits and shared sessions are another way of reducing costs. We now have morning sessions available for parents who just need a bit of familiarisation with the new curriculum and current methods. These sessions can be booked via the website or on facebook. 

We have also provided advice sessions for parents who can't afford tuition but want some ideas to help them extend their children's learning and to ready them for SATs/Kent test.

So please contact us if we can help in any way. We want to help bridge those divides.

47%

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Ok, that's 100 dots.
100%. 
47& are blue, 53% are orange. 
Those 47 dots represent the 47% of our 11 year-olds who, according to the BBC news website( Link ) have failed to meet a new tough standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

That's a lot of dots that have not attained the label 'Expected'. They are 'Emerging' dots (no mention of 'Exceeding' dots in the article - not sure what that tells us). In fairness, some of those dots would have been 'Expected ' in some subjects but the Government requires they are 'Expected' in each of the key areas: maths, reading, spag (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and teacher-assessed writing.

Now I'm not an  expert (though that should be OK since apparently we are all fed up with experts, says Mr Curriculum Designer Man) but my reading of 47% 'Unexpected' tells me one thing.  The 'Expectations' were way out.

Those of us who have taught the new curriculum knew that.
Those who administered the tests confirmed that they were, indeed, more delusional than inspirational.
Those who comforted distressed children, waited to see just how bad it was.

It's bad.
The Education Secretary said she didn't know what the results would look like. Well, she jolly well should have known because those of us with children, or working with children, could have given her a jolly good idea. Now is the time to look at what children really need to learn and how they need to learn it. I agree with Nicky Morgan that a direct comparison is not  reflective of schools' achievements. It's a reflection of the suitability of the curriculum, and so I thought I'd give you a direct comparison so you could decide for yourselves.

Last year the dots would have looked like this:

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Education Secretary's comments on SATS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36703784


Read the article if you fancy but essentially Nicky Morgan has said 'Don't panic Mr Mainwaring!'

The tests have been made tougher and Mrs Morgan says lower results should not be interpreted as a decline in performance by pupils.

"They simply cannot be compared directly," says Mrs Morgan.

She's right, the results can't be compared with what has gone before. The new Curriculum is way harder than the previous version and includes much which is really hard to rationalise as age-appropriate.

 If only I were Education Secretary, I would wish to see the subjunctive removed,for example. Immediately, I would demand clarity about fronted adverbials and why fronted adjectival phrases were less important.  The rule book would be changed regarding the active and passive voices. 

See what I did there? If you did, well done, have a house points and then translate it into 'sensible speak'. If not don't worry, linguists disagree about many of the things your children are being taught as absolute fact and it's quit clear that deploying certain techniques just sounds clunky and unpleasant.

I could get into the maths curriculum and algebra for 10 year-olds but I don't want to bore you too much.

Bottom line is, if your child took SATs this year, you will almost certainly have no idea how s/he performed compared to an older sibling or friend. Mrs Morgan hasn't been able to come up with any sensible way to explain it to you, so you are going to have to rely on that good old favourite - your child's teacher. The teacher won't be able to answer some of your questions, after all if the Ultimate Boss is on the BBC news saying   "I don't know what the results will look like yet", you can't expect poor old 'Sir' to be any more in the know. But that teacher will know something (the most important something of all) Mrs Morgan doesn't know...your child.  The teacher will know how hard s/he tried, how effectively s/he worked, what type of learner s/he is and what progress s/he has made. 


As for Mrs Morgan's suggestion  that you should  "see the results as what they are - a reflection of how well children this year have performed against a new curriculum"   the reality is the results will reveal way more about the effectiveness of the curriculum itself. Is it fit for purpose? Personally, I am looking forward to the national data being published (yes I am that sad person who finds data fascinating- but only when it is used as a tool to refine best practice) and hearing what comes next. 

In the meantime, your children are the first to have had to deal with this and the deserve a great big round of applause for doing so.

Well done year 6; I salute you!

Kent test or not Kent test, that is the question.

My apologies to the Bard but around now there will be many many parents of year 5 children making that very decision. Of course the vast majority of testing is non-negotiable. SATs, GCSEs, these are inevitable in our society where government bodies seem to believe that testing is the only way to assure teachers are doing there job. Our children are amongst the most tested in the world. But here, in Kent, unlike many other areas, we also have that one test we can opt into, or out of, the Kent Test (or 11+ as it's known in some areas).

For some the decision is a simple one. Some children are assured to fly through the test, in the certain knowledge that if their nerves fail them their books are so beautiful that an appeal would be sure to succeed. Some are clearly neither or a temperament, or maybe ability, to cope with  grammar school.
But a lot fall into that borderline zone, their teachers will have used words like maybe, possibly, with lots of practise...

So how do you decide if your  child is one of this large group?

I'd suggest asking yourself:

Why do I want my child to take the test?
Which school would be our ideal? What is special about that school?
Would my child be better as a big fish in a small pool or do they need competition to produce their best?
How would my child cope with a train/bus journey?
How stressful will my child find the test?
How will my child feel if they don't pass?
What is plan B?

View as many schools as you can. Get a feel for what each offers and how they might suit your child. Reassure your child that there are good schools to be had whether or not they pass the test. Ensure your child sees the test as a chance to showcase their ability, rather than something to fear, help your child understand that they are so much more than a set of test results and that their worth lies in who they are not where they go to school, consider relaxation techniques that might suit your child and above all be proud of them. We will be offering extra sessions throughout the last 2 weeks of August to cover test technique and will be running sessions where the children can practise under test conditions.

We are hugely proud of our students, both those opting to take the test and those who have chosen otherwise. If you are undecided  and want to talk through the pro's and cons, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Tests and all that.

Well done to all the year 6's who have made it through SATs week (and to all the parents, teachers, TAs and assorted support staff who played a vital role in making it as stress-free as possible for the children.

Good luck to all those starting GCSE or A level exams;we tutor more primary children at the moment but we do have some GCSE pupils.

Tests have been in the news a lot over the last couple of weeks: leaked papers, apparently ambiguous questions (I say apparently because  I haven't seen the actual test papers) tales of tearful children and a general astonishment at the difficulty of the tasks we are asking of our 7 and 10 year olds. Oh, and let's not forget the government minister who got a sample question wrong, or the educations secretary's misspelt letter.

However, I'm not going to make political statements - that's not my job. What I am concerned about is what next? What happens when the results come back. Whatever the 'national standard' turns out to be, however your child  has done, rest assured that they have been working at a far higher level than we did at primary school. They have been working incredibly hard to learn concepts way beyond that which can be reasonably viewed as age-appropriate, or in some cases even vaguely useful. Time and again we have heard parents say they don't understand their children's homework.

So make sure your child  knows you think they are amazing irrespective of the results that come back, give them time to do all the childhood things they have missed out on whilst cramming for these tests and be proud that they have finished with that stage of their life -- new challenges lie ahead.

And news of the long-promised adult sessions - you too can spot the subjunctive,the past progressive and modal verbs. You can learn to 'chunk' and understand decomposition. ( I can see you all shivering with the excitement of it all . Half hour sessions will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings - just the thing after you drop the kids off for their own morning's work. For more information message us on Facebook -
 https://www.facebook.com/East-Kent-Tutors-928477163883890/

 or e mail: sue@eastkent-tutors.co.uk.

Viva maniplulatives

Posh word, simple meaning. Things you can handle...play with.

They go in and out of fashion but I am a huge fan. The look on a child's face when an abstract concept is transformed into a practical task is magic. Ideas become realities. This week I have been sorting through the new stock and it occurred to me just how many of these wonderful maths aids we often have tucked away around the house. During the holidays there are so many fab opportunities to consolidate your child's learning

 I have to confess to buying new Lego, even though there are boxes full of the stuff in the loft...the colours are so pretty these days. Lego is wonderful for learning number bonds, addition and subtraction, multiplication and divisions factors, multiples and fractions. It's also a brilliant way of practising the new spatial aspects of the 11+/Kent Test. 3D rotation and aerial views really lend themselves to a nice, cosy half an hour with the Lego.

Then there are pegs...10 of them on a coat-hanger and there you have an excellent method for learning number bonds.

 Recipe cards (not technically  manipulatives in themselves but the cooking is hands on) are brilliant for scaling problems. Instead of making one batch of cakes, try making one and a half and get your child to work out the new quantities...and of course they get lovely practice in measures as they weigh out ingredients.

4 is half of 8, 2 is half of 4.

I'm off to play with my new toys (displacement activity - I should be writing an essay on Coriolanus). have a fantastic Easter break, and see how many of those wonderful manipulatives you actually have tucked away just waiting for a chance to become a learning experience.

Changes

It's been a while since I posted last. There have been a number of reasons but the main one is the I've been too busy doing to spend time writing.

 There has been a lot going on. Firstly we have increased our  staff and the area we cover.  We'd like to extend a very big welcome to Mr Mascall and Mrs Sherlock, who will be covering Medway and the Folkestone areas, and we have new tutors joining us in the East Kent Coastal area. This is really exciting, considering that I left work last July expecting to to be a one man band for some time.

We have also spent a good deal of time and money on improving our practical resources. We have a fab new range of maths manipulatives, which the children are thoroughly enjoying, new books and technology.

For me, personally, I have been enjoying settling into our new schoolroom.

I have also been working on the idea of sessions for parents who want to understand the new methods, new terminology and  the new curriculum. I will be starting sessions on Tuesday mornings at 10.30  to cover each of these areas. We are in the process of updating the website to include these sessions but for the time being please contact me for further details on:

http://www.eastkent-tutors.co.uk/contact.php

or call 075515 642020

New Year preparations

Tonight, in many homes around the county, uniforms will be laid out, pencil cases checked, bags packed and children will be climbing into bed for an early night, to ensure they are ready for the morning. In other homes, pretty much the same process will be taking place, minus the uniform but with the addition of checking lesson plans and resources are ready...teachers find the first day of term daunting too!

Here at EKT we have the added luxury of not starting until 3.30 tomorrow, so we have a little more wriggle room but for me personally, preparations include decanting all my resources into my new 'schoolroom'. The students watched its construction throughout December but haven't yet seen the finished article. As well as providing a lovely, bright study area for the students, it will be my own study area, as the Master's study continues, a space for books, music and contemplating while I watch the birds and the trees outside.

It hadn't occurred to me how uncomfortable my study conditions have been until I started planning the conservatory back in May last year. As an adult, I manage to study wherever I happen to be but it isn't always easy. We need to remember that when we expect our children to get on with their homework. They need peace and quiet, good lighting and relevant resources around. we need to prepare for study, both practically and emotionally. Children can't work well when they are overtired, or hungry or over stimulated. Our part is to ensure they have the environment they need. Now I get that building a conservatory is a bit of a radical response but we can all ensure the children have a drink and a snack, a space on the table to work in and no TV/ radio blaring in the background.

Now, as we all get ready for the new term ahead, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New year and happy studying.