February, 2007

Good news….I found a website to appeal against the ****** parking ticket, and lodged my appeal online, informing them I have proof of payment. Bad news………..I lost the ticket proving payment!!!!! Good news…………found it again today!
More good news………..I have been reading Geoff Petty’s ‘Evidence Based Teaching’(it’s the in thing, you know)and ‘Teaching Today’, which has reassured me that I am actually doing quite a lot of the recommended ‘stuff’ already. This boosted my confidence no end. Bad news………..first observation looms!!!!
First half of the input session was about reflective practice followed by best practice. We had to take in a lesson plan we had taught and scrutinise it for good and bad points…….hmmmmmm yes,well……. moving on……..
As the session went on, we discovered more and more ‘stuff’ we are required to include in our observed lessons. Class profile,for example must contain notes for each student (!!!) on level,background, learning style,assessmnet to date, and any relevant detail which could affect the teaching or learning! So that’s fine, then-no problems!!!!!! I felt close to tears.
Thank goodness for the second half-feedback on the mini task from last session. Very interesting-and no,sadly I did NOT shine, as I thought I would;actually my effort was very mediocre. The final nail in the coffin was when I had to ask what ‘inflected’ meant when referring to verbs!!! I’m sure everyone knows that-I, unfortunately, did not and this did nothing to boost my already drooping confidence.
On a (slightly) lighter note, (I use that term rather a lot, don’t I?)I have at least managed to log sixteen and a half hours of lesson plans. Only ninety-seven and a half to go then!
The presentation looms-(shivers in fear)-it’s no laughing matter, really.I just need to find the Tomlinson report somewhere, summarise it, pick out the important parts, match all these pats to the corresponding column in the grid, and think of an entertaining way of presenting these rivettingly interesting facts and figures to the rest of my class.
How could I ever have thought that CELTA was easy???????
More bad news……I missed my daughter’s school parents evening two weeks ago, rather than miss a week of the course. Now I find out that the Year 9 Options Evening is also on a Tuesday-next Tuesday, in fact. Had a very nice letter from her head of year saying how sorry she was not to have seen me at Parents Evening, and hoping I could make it to the Options Evening. So I had to make myself look totally uncommitted to the course by asking my tutor if I could leave early next week. She said that of course I shouldn’t miss this event, that it was very important, but of course the paranoid side of me was convinced that the words were uttered through clenched teeth, and I swear I could hear what she was really thinking……..useless, uncommitted, drama queen. I just KNOW she was!!!!
I need to start planning all my observed lessons well in advance. I am sooooooooooo scared.
Meanwhile, I must sleep, perchance to dream and all that. Just hope that damned grid assignment doesn’t make an appearance!
Until next week, then-bye!

Absolutely irrelevant really but I am soooooooooo furious that I got a parking ticket after paying £4.80 to park near the college-as I have to every week-only to find that the ticket had slipped down the windscreen and I had been ticketed!!! It was actually still partially visible, so I am really cross. It’s bad enough having to pay that much to park every week, without the added indignation of being faced with a 40.00 fine. I am going to appeal it. Any suggestions anybody????

Now I know how my kids feel! I have never been so glad to know that there is a half term holiday! Input sessions this week were extremely contrasting. The first dealt with Objectives-unless the verbs used are actually something the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson- you just cannot use them!!! Structure of lessons and realistic objectives are weaknesses for me, so I felt very deflated and inadequate. It’s very daunting when you know that these are the things which will be scrutinised when you are being observed. I am also experiencing something I have never had to deal with before-cliques! In all my years as a mature student, I have always integrated well with my fellow trainees, however over 50% of this group is already working in the college, so there seems to be a bit of a divide, which is a real shame, as it does make things quite difficult. I am fortunate that I am quite confident and chatty, and I have to say that they’re not all like that, but nevertheless it’s a shock-and a first for me. Still fretting over the dreaded presentation-haven’t done any real research yet but it’s due on the 6th March I think, and I cant think of it without going cold all over!! Anway now to the positives-yes, there are some- the second half of the input session was bilingualism, accent and dialect and we discussed the demise of received pronunciation and the value(???) and acceptance of estuary English. This subject fascinates me and oh how I wish that the presentation were on this subject! Instead we have a mini task to do which isn’t even going to be marked or assessed!!! Just my luck.
I have yet to start logging my required 114 hours of teaching and I am the only one in the group to be so remiss. Every one of my lessons on a daily basis now seems to be lacking in almost every way! I must start some serious forward planning to ensure good lessons for the observations.
Apparently I am being overindulgent with my objectives-one is ideal-two is the maximum………….some days I have four or five!!!!!!!!!!! Note to self:-choose one, stick to it, time your activities and ensure the objectives are easily met. Oh it sounds so easy, doesn’t it?
Have I mentioned on here that I have a new grandson? I’m sure i did. He was born last Monday at 7.05pm-Kye Preston. My fourth grandchild, my son and daughter-in-law’s third child. That was my excuse for not having researched enough about Inclusive Learning. Never mind-I will shine in the mini task, I’m sure. We have to focus on one person for whom English is not a mother tongue and ask lots of very intersting questions, then write it up. Oh it really isn’t fair this won’t be marked as i’m sure I could do better in this than in the other project.
Anyway, must go now. Need to start reading some more books. Geoff Petty has been recommended so I bought two of his and now I’m off to look for some of the recommended titles in the bilingualism field.
Happy Teaching everybody!