What makes a good/bad primary teacher (first post [blush])

[Mathsquerading]

Well Hi Mumsnet. I?m new here and I confess that I have no kids!

However, I am a primary school teacher (since Feb 2011).

Basically, I live and work in a European country as a primary Maths teacher. The school is a state ?English Immersion? school so I teach maths???.in English.

I have no teaching qualifications (I was actually an engineer before but the country I live in doesn?t demand a specific teaching qual. just a relevant degree). I?m really lucky in that the school I work at is super as are my colleagues who are extremely supportive and give me loads of advice.

Generally, the kids and parents are pretty good too (folks don?t send their kids to an immersion school if they don?t give a toss about education).

So, being a bit ?green? to this job (which so far, I really enjoy btw!) and having no kids, I?d be really interested to hear parents? and other teacher?s views on what makes a good/bad primary teacher (I teach 10 to 12 yr olds ? the system is a bit different here, kids go to secondary at 12/13 yrs).

How do you feel about discipline? What makes you think ?yay ? thanks for helping me out!? and what can make things worse at home?

What do think can put kids off a subject? I had loads of awful maths teaching at school but I carried on with it (I was lucky to have a good Maths teacher at ?A? level) so I am adamant that I?m not going to make it boring for the kids. Maths can be a bit ?dry? and even at this level it demands a certain amount of concentration and mental discipline. I do realise that not all 11 yr olds are going to be the next Stephen Hawking but they do need to know how to fill out a tax return etc. I try to mix group work/games in with solitary work at test them after each subject.

I?d love to hear your views, from all sorts of perspectives. I do have some kids with ?special needs? too (ADD and family issues etc but nothing insurmountable).

Hi and thanks!

You need to start by liking children-its surprising how many primary teachers don't!! And the children can tell. Dont have obvious favourites either-be fair

Data-driven evidence based practice. Smart targets and treating parents as equals in their child's education.

I agree with snice - most important thing is to like children.

Also, very important to actually be a cheerful personality and show the children that you are happy to see them. Children find it very offputting if they think that their children is not pleased to see them/grumpy etc.

I think that it also helps to have very clear basic rules (not too many) and to stick to them. If you however have to make an exception then explain clearly why you did not stick to your rule on that occasion.

It is also very important to build children's confidence, especially that of the more quiet children or those who are just not that good at maths at present.

In which country do you teach? Do you have a lot of disruptive children?

sorry, should have said 'that their teacher is not pleased to see them'

Thanks for responding, I do appreciate it :) I do actually like kids!!!!!! It has been a bit of a suprise for me but after 15 yrs working with middle-aged men I love that fact that my new "colleagues" seem to enjoy seeing me in the morning and some now give me a big kiss, say hello and seem genuinely enthusiastic about the day ahead :o

I work in Belgium - in a nice area where people generally respect education.

I'm so pleased to be here doing what I do (despite the drop in salary - I bounce out of bed in the morning now)

What would you like to see with regards to boys/girls? I try to instill confidence in the girls (I went to an all girls secondary) but I do realise that the lads really thrive on competition. (all those years in construction has made me very "male aware" ). Sometimes it isn't easy bringing out the shy girls/boys but keeping mr. competetive male occupied!

In comparison to the UK, the "difficult" kids are not difficult at all. BUT, they are working in their second language. Something which I really admire them for and tell them constantly (sometimes I tell them how LUCKY they are to have such an opportunity!).

I think that you are lucky not to have really disruptive children as they can make it very challenging for everybody.

If you have some quite competitive children and some very shy ones, then I would be especially alert to ensure that everybody has a turn and no jokes or laughing at mistakes (within or outside teacher's earshot - one of the basic rules: we go to school to learn, making mistakes is okay, the important thing is that we try and help each other).

I also think that it is important that you keep a good record where each kid is. Especially in a big class it is easy for a quiet child to slip through. You may assume that the child can do X and then only a lot later you find out it cannot do X and may as a result not have understood anything building on X. As a beginning teacher, you may find that it helps to have a list of all children and cross of each time you do one to one work/give them a proper opportunity to show their knowledge etc. just to make sure none is missed out.

Good luck.

"Data-driven evidence based practice. Smart targets and treating parents as equals in their child's education."

Well I try to give the the "real world" targets - today my example of surface area of a cylinder was related to a project I once had at a bog-roll factory :o (11 yr olds + bog roll = I'm sure you can imagine!)

I've bought a fair few text books and I hope to be accepted on a PGCE next year. I have no probs with maths itself (you'll be glad to know as I've designed a fair few UK houses/foundations in my time) but more the discipline side and what works for kids that find maths difficult or lack concentration?

apologies for typos