Moya Daly » observation 2

Well, that’s it for the moment- Observation Number Two is over, and I cannot tell you how relieved I am! Managed to drag myself out of bed an hour earlier than usual, traffic not too punishing, but was bordering on apoplectic when I arrived at work and had left department key in my other handbag. This could have meant being unable to print out the email with the MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT of an observed lesson-the lesson plan! As I was up ’til gone 2am working on it, and had no ink in my printer, I sent it as an attachment to my work email. No problem, you might think. Except that as nobody else is usually on my floor that early, fear robbed me of movement for a while. Thank goodness for Andy in IT-he has a key to my section, thus saving the day-or at least my sanity at that moment anyway.

With LP all printed out-copy for me, one for my tutor, all fifteen million worksheets/handouts (see previous  blog), assessment grid (please let this work in my favour- think I may have tempted fate here, but more of that later) class and individual student profiles at the ready, I began to feel calm……..ish……well ok that IS an exaggeration, but as I have likened Observations to a trip to the dentist ( you know, you dread it so much that by the time you’re actually in the surgery, the fear tends to subside) you will understand what I mean. I can’t pretend I was not nervous, but in my zombie-like state of total acceptance ( condemned man and all that ) I even toyed with the idea of nipping downstairs and out of the building for a shot of nicotine!! Quickly rejected that idea, as i certainly did NOT want to bump into my tutor outside looking totally unprofessional and smelling like an ash tray!

Consoled by the fact that my current class consists almost entirely of very conscientious students who are hardly ever late (famous last words) I wrote my aims on the board, placed my materials on my desk in order and waited. (Cue music-Mozart’s requiem for a dead woman, perhaps)

Oh I know this sounds overly dramatic, but I can honestly say that I feel less nervous about  job interviews, exams, presentations or even giving birth. Any budding psychologist who could explain this to me? I swear I am NOT by nature a person who is easily affected by nerves.

Anyway, after taking a call from one of my strongest students, I sensed my confidence ebbing away. Chanting the mantra ‘It’s only an hour out of your life’ and thinking of my daughter’s text: MUM, DON’T STRESS- YOU’RE JUST DOING WHAT YOU DO EVERY DAY-AND YOU KNOW YOU ARE A GOOD TEACHER. YOU’LL BE FINE. Bless her, a lovely thought but am I really the only person who manages only adequate performance at best in observations?

Ok, well I got through it. One activity went so badly I felt the urge to shock everyone by picking up the fifteen million sheets and throwing them all up into the air. Needless to say I resisted. When that didn’t work I simply drew on one of those fifteen million alternative worksheets (who says it doesn’t pay to have too much material??) and produced what I thought was a very successful Mingle activity. Now I say successful, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating of course, and I shall let you all know in due course-next Tuesday 2pm-just how successful it really was. I managed to tick all but two boxes on my famous assessment grid, and the new students seemed to enjoy their first full session in the class- so at least THAT aim was met!! My observing tutor smiled a lot, which could mean several things: she couldn’t believe how rubbish I was, she enjoyed the lesson, she wondered what on earth I was doing in a classroom and secretly wondered why I wasn’t on a checkout till in Tescos, or maybe just maybe she thought I had worked hard to plan and prepare the lesson, she could recognise that I am passionate about my job, she witnessed how happy the students were, or she was simply remembering one of Johnny Vaughan’s comments from the Breakfast Show on the radio in the car!! We shall see!

Look in next Tuesday and you may detect a more amiably humoured tone to the blog. I’m off now to catch up on the sleep I lost last night. Oh Friday, you are so dear to me this week!

Aw, my students were so sweet. And guess what? During the next -UNOBSERVED- part of the lesson, we decided to turn the Q&A activities into a task based project next week, with students working in pairs or groups to discuss and write questions for interviews with other classes and/or the staff. I can’t wait!!

How nice! One of the readers of this blog-you know who you are-has sent me a few words of encouragement. Thank you! I see that the number of readers has increased by one…..ooohh how exciting! Yesterday’s input session was on assessment: importance of, how to, terminology to describe and type of. Very interesting. There is so much to learn, and I genuinely enjoy most of the sessions. That is not to say that the workload doesn’t cause much stress and anxiety, of course. It’s just a good idea occasionally to remind myself that I CHOSE to do this course, and that I enrolled with my eyes wide open, so to speak. Everyone warns you how tough CELTA 2 is, so no sympathy is sought here.(Well, I say none sought, but please feel free to empathise as much as you wish!)
Oh, and we had a really helpful Q&A session with the tutor who will be marking this next assignment, which focuses on learner support. My anxieties were allayed somewhat after this, and I am determined to start this assignment a little earlier than I did the last two. Hmmmm! Well,I guess that won’t be too difficult, after being up until 4am completing the last two! It’s not that I don’t work on, research, think about, live breathe and die ASSIGNMENT. It’s just ……well, you all know about my affiction, so I won’t bore you with the gory details. I do so despise having to make decisions. Which policy to discuss? Which teaching approach to use and evaluate? And now which disability or barrier to learning? Oh, and which student? This is extremely difficult for someone who is barely able to choose the filling for her sandwich! Anyway, I digress. More news to share with you all….. I may be attending a Teaching and Learning conference in Birmingham which includes a workshop on……..yes, you guessed it: Task Based Learning!! I am awaiting confirmation from my team leader that Head Office has agreed to funding. Fingers crossed. It’s not ’til June 16th, which is a shame, because it will be too late to be of use for my next Observed Lesson on the 8th June.(Shivers with terror!!!) I’m already in ‘Eat, sleep, breathe Observation’ mode. This means that I’m constantly thinking of ideas, checking my resources, running a lesson plan through in my head, then swiftly changing my mind to the next ‘brilliant idea’. One would think that, at my age,a teacher would be rather more grounded and mature about these things. I have no idea why I crumble at the thought of being observed. I’m almost as anxious when I have my regular observations at work! Pathetic, isn’t it? Mustn’t complain. It’s a necessary part of the job and the course, and one must simply put up with it. Give me a good old-fashioned exam any day. Seriously!! Ok, that’s it for today. Next week is going to be very busy,with both course and work commitments. We have a trip to the Victorian Kitchen at Gunnersbury Museum next week, and a Writing Project to be finalised. Plus my middle daughter is due home from Uni-she graduates in July-so I must make room for her and her possessions. When she moved into Aberystwyth Uni three yaers ago we needed a Transit van for the journey. Now she has amassed even more!! This will mean SERIOUS de-cluttering in my house. As you may be aware, sufferers of procrastination and indecision find this type of task very distressing. Hasta la proxima!