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We can do something about the fact our libraries are as distant a memory as an apothecary shop because, ultimately, the reality is that if a child doesn’t engage with reading or leaves school unable to read, it is the school’s fault.Ī nd this reality is what gave birth to Register and Read at South Axholme Academy. So the minor issue of a lack of money, or books, or libraries really pales in significance. We know that we are fighting the digital era battle and that book token gifts or prizes are just not comparable to Fortnite bucks.
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Our students should not and must not suffer nor should their access to a range of texts. This might sound harsh, but the reality is, even though we might be sick of hearing, “IT’S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY”, tough luck. Unfortunately, funding has gravely depleted and our patience to re-teach the already taught (a thousand times) is at breaking point.
No gimmicks. just skill full#
And there are some cracking PPTs out there that guide us through the teaching of capital letters, full stops, apostrophes and vocabulary. Don’t get me wrong, some of the paid-for strategies are brilliant. Having had the experience of being a Literacy Coordinator a few times in my short career (and after a baptism of fire as a HoD) I am now quite fond of time-saving, paperless, free, and effective methods of any sort, but particularly where the thankless task of raising literacy standards (especially reading standards) is concerned. I mean it when I say I think I’ve tried it all. Oh, and if any of you have a ‘No Gimmicks’ handbook on parenting… But I just cannot pretend I skated out of work yesterday and didn’t feel a little bit envious of those of you colour-coding your new timetables and scrambling around for class copies of ‘Of Mice and Men’. I am already in love with the idea of being proud of my OWN child for a change. I already love this little person I haven’t even met. Yes, I have no doubt my life is about to change for the better. I am going to miss the planning, and the banter,a the tears and the tantrums, and the coffee ,andt sneaking into rooms for resources, and the moaning about lack of scissors and glue, and the cheeky trips to the canteen for chips on a Friday. So, much as I cannot wait to meet my baby and become a mummy for the first time, I am going to miss teaching. Or worse than that, interactive whiteboards may have been re-installed in every classroom and 85-lines-long learning objectives could be ‘the’ strategy that will finally work. You could even be back to using chalk and projectors. And change happens rapidly in teaching.īy the time I return from maternity leave, you could all be balancing on tables and spinning plates as part of a new government initiative. So much so that I have been to work for two days this week. For the last three years, I have loved every minute of my job. And we work together as a team, belly laughing daily.
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We know our resources and methods are effective. Not only that, I am walking away (albeit temporarily) from a strong and successful department who have, yet again, received our best ever results. I am 100% new to this and I cannot even create a PowerPoint to make me feel ready. No method I can think of creating from an examiner report that I know will definitely work. No questions asked.Īnd now we are about to meet our tiny human. And we’ve both been able to work long hours and put all our efforts into our careers. Together for ten years and married for eight, our lives have been easy in that our only responsibility has been whether or not our dog will fit in the back of each car we’ve bought. It is no secret amongst friends and family that my husband and I thought very carefully about starting a family. I may even “not be that bothered about teaching anymore”. So why am I not experiencing a sense of relief that I don’t have that familiar feeling of imposter syndrome or the back-to-school timetable anxieties I have yearly? After all, I am approaching “the best moment of my life” and “will change so much” when I meet my little girl for the first time. You only have to read back over my blog posts for the truth about my failures (and victories) to know that my career has been… interesting. Those that truly know me know that I have had a turbulent relationship with teaching.