Page 3 | Secondary teachers, do you ever have shite day with horrid kids and then blame yourself?

fizzbuzz · 2008-01-24T18:47:10+00:00

. Totally fed up with difficult pupils.... Been teaching 12 years, but they seem to get worse and worse,now blaming myself

roisin · 25/01/2008 22:22

Hope it goes well MB! How many days are they coming for?

One local secondary recently had a one-day-only Ofsted (because previous ones had all been so fab apparently), which I'd not heard of before.

Blandmum · 25/01/2008 22:24

2 for me.

sods law would mean one of the two was on my busiest day!

whatever, they can take me as they find me

smartiejake · 25/01/2008 22:27

Good luck MB. You seem so passionate about your work you can't be anything less than a fab teacher!

I work part time too (although in a junior school unit for HI) and we had an ofsted last july (a week before the end of term ffs! some of the kids books had already been sent home and lots of displays already dismantled )
unfortunately it was on a thurs and fri and I work on...

Mon, tues and weds!
Shame.

alfiesbabe · 25/01/2008 23:11

Asgoodas.... have you played Invigilation Tag? It's great! Hey, we could start a thread on invigilation games....

Original poster

fizzbuzz · 26/01/2008 08:57

we don't do invigilation at uour school. I thought it was one of the workplace reform thingys

Am really that some of you are doing it

OP posts:

roisin · 26/01/2008 09:25

The only thing we have to invigilate is mock SATs. (not external exams and mock GCSEs)

Blandmum · 26/01/2008 09:29

We don't do invigilation either.

Some of our invigilators are great, but some are shocking! One tried to read a book until one of the others stoped him!!!!

roisin · 26/01/2008 09:34

Talking of workplace reform - how is it going in your school?
Last term how:
a) much cover did you do?
b) many displays did you put up?
c) many displays did you prepare?
d) often did you have to collect money from pupils?

Last year how:
e) many exams did you invigilate?

Original poster

fizzbuzz · 26/01/2008 09:42

a)not much
b)none
c)none
d)none
e)none

OP posts:

Blandmum · 26/01/2008 09:50

None atm, because of Dh's illness, but for my collegues, not much, a drastic reduction and the PPA time is adhered to 100%

Some , but this is through choice

None, the kids do them

None, but I'm not a form tutor

None

alfiesbabe · 26/01/2008 11:52

Oh god, no, we don't invigilate any more, apart from some school exams. Def not external exams since the reforms. Tho I have to confess to missing some of those games we used to play....

janeite · 26/01/2008 12:03

We don't invigilate anymore but I was cross with the behaviour of yr 11 in their mocks (and not v impressed by some of the invigilators, one of whom had her mobile out fgs) so will probably go in as much as I can when the GCSEs are on. I have never played invigilation games though - please tell me more!

Cover - a fair bit but they are trying to cut it down

Displays - I prepared and put up 3 but a TA helped me; this year I've done none so far, so they are looking a bit dated now.

Money collecting - nope; a secretary does that.

badgermonkey · 26/01/2008 12:05

I do less cover than I used to, but we are still being put on cover when cover supervisors aren't doing anything (why? If they would just tell us why this happens I don't think I would mind so much).

I put up my own displays because it's a pain in the arse to get someone to do it for me - although the option is there. Also I get mad attacks of energy and leap up and pin things up straight away. If I had to wait to get someone else to do it I'd lose momentum altogther!

I never touch money. I try not to even take in slips for stuff if I can help it. And we don't invigilate (but don't get me started on the bunch they have in to do it! They're a prime example of a little bit of power going to someone's head...)

alfiesbabe · 26/01/2008 12:11

Invigilation tag ..... well, just tag really! One invigilator is 'It' and has to 'catch' another invigilator. Obviously no running allowed !! But quite funny watching everyone walking nonchalantly up and down the rows, weaving in and out of the desks, trying not to look like they're speeding up. And of course attending to any pupil requests for extra paper, dropped pencils etc as you go along. You can introduce slight variations - eg desk at front can be 'homey' and you're safe there, but only allowed to stop for 1 minute etc. And of course you have to actually touch the other person to tag them. And do it all without the pupils cottoning on

janeite · 26/01/2008 12:23

Lol - love it!

Original poster

fizzbuzz · 26/01/2008 12:51

Invigilation tig almost sounds almost worth doing invigilation for.

We used to make blu-tac people and towns on the gym windowsill. They would be different everytime you went in

OP posts:

roisin · 26/01/2008 15:17

Badgermonkey - I'm a cover supervisor, so this may help.

In our school teachers are never used for planned cover, but if someone phones in sick very late, or goes home during the day then staff sometimes have to be used because CS already have done max amount of cover agreed.

At our school CS do max 17.5 hrs cover per week (15 lessons plus 10 registrations), and have significant other duties/responsibilities with the rest of their time.

Our staff do very little cover (maybe 2 or 3 a year), but sometimes when they are still used there is a CS who is 'free'.

Fwiw in our school CS work very hard and are never 'not doing anything', though most of our staff do realise this.

twinsetandpearls · 26/01/2008 19:07

Lat term as am have not been in since Christmas
a) I think I did one voluntary cover for an hour as the cover teacher had gone awol, one half hour cover as a new teacher had run out of school after an awful lesson and I think two other half hour formal covers.

band c) I have my own classroom displays and my year group board to do, I alter my year group board every other week and my classrom displays are changed every half term and there are some which are constantly updated. I know we are not meant to do displays but if I don;t do them who will.

d) Am not a form tutor so don;t do collecting money, they don;t really do it either other than for charity collections.

e) I don't do invigillation - we pay people to come in but will pop down to be a claming presence if it is my yeargroup or subject.

trulymadlydeeply · 26/01/2008 19:35

I'm doing supply at the moment. Had a stool thrown at me last week by a Y8 because I took a toy off him!

Saw some of the same kids 3 times out of 5 lessons of Friday, so wonder what kind of quality education they are getting (I try to be really hands-on, even with science!, and work hard to engage them and to get onto their level in some way, so I know a bit about their perceptions of the world and of their school experience).

I've come back to teaching after 3.5 years out of the job, living abroad, and have found myself a bit depressed by how things seem to have deteriorated. Some kids FAB, some truly grim, but there seems to be so little curiosity or desire to take any responsibility for any part of their own learning, that I fear for aspects of the future.

PS Good luck next week, MB.

ScienceTeacher · 26/01/2008 19:51

Haven't read the whole thread so apologies if it has already been mentioned

I think that most teachers follow the 'reflective practioner' model, which means that you do your best, and then afterwards think about how things went and improve it for next time.

Anytime something goes wrong in lesson, the teacher really needs to take responsibility. Even great kids can act up, and when they do, it is often the fault of the teacher. For example, a poorly planned lesson where the resources don't appear means that the teacher needs to waffle/apoligise/waffle...

Even with truly difficult classes, it is still up to the teacher to take the hit for a bad lesson. There are teachers who can relate to these kids, so there is some hope, and opportunity for lessons. At the end of the day, you can only control your own behaviour, and not the pupils'.

If you have a lot of difficult classes, it is a horrible working environment. What is crucial is to have a supportive team behind you.

I can't hack that environment and am in awe of those who can. I teach in a place where pupils have a generally good attitude and where sanctions are real. I cannot fob off an bad lesson on them - if things go pear-shaped, there is only one person to blame.

Asgoodas · 26/01/2008 20:09

a) much cover did you do? At least one a week, registration cover usually too.
b) many displays did you put up? All of the ones in my room
c) many displays did you prepare? All of them in my room
d) often did you have to collect money from pupils? Doing it now for SATs revision and trips (ASS HOY)

Last year how:
e) many exams did you invigilate? Lots
[Hmm] quite naffed off now as appear to be a human mug.

Asgoodas · 26/01/2008 20:18

quote
Anytime something goes wrong in lesson, the teacher really needs to take responsibility. Even great kids can act up, and when they do, it is often the fault of the teacher. For example, a poorly planned lesson where the resources don't appear means that the teacher needs to waffle/apoligise/waffle...

Even with truly difficult classes, it is still up to the teacher to take the hit for a bad lesson. There are teachers who can relate to these kids, so there is some hope, and opportunity for lessons. At the end of the day, you can only control your own behaviour, and not the pupils'.

Pompous twat

janeite · 26/01/2008 20:25

AsGoodAs, I had to bite my tongue and sit on my fingers to avoid replying to the thing you've just quoted!

I am considered a very good teacher, routinely get "Outstanding" for lesson observations, work as a coach to struggling teachers but I still sometimes have crappy lessons where, even if I've planned everything to perfection, something goes wrong - they all turn up late and knackered from PE, one of them is in a foul mood because they got their foot trodden on in the corridor; they've had two supply teachers before getting to me etc - sometimes kids will play up WHATEVER the teacher, whatever the lesson.

It's naive to think that every teacher should be able to achieve perfection every lesson I think - even Ofsted inspectors don't expect that - you can still get an Outstanding even if the class (or some of them) play up a bit, providing they can see you managing the behaviour.

We all have more to learn, we can all improve however long we have been teaching, we must always be "reflective practioners" of course we must - but grrrrr to try to blame every bit of misbehaviour on the teachers.

Asgoodas · 26/01/2008 20:37

Sorry for the poor language this person sounds like he/she works in lovely leafy - maybe private school, and/or holds a senior position.
Science Teacher -You don't sound in awe of us poor professionals who work in inner city and challenging schools - you are far too busy blaming up, looking down your nose and saying that we deserve it as we 'fob off poor lessons on them.'
Shame on you

hercules1 · 26/01/2008 20:40

scienceteacher - the best lesson plan in the world cannot counteract events that happen outside the classroom. Kids coming into lessons who have just been fighting, high on drugs, having a serious shitty time at home etc don't suddenly leave all this behind with a good starter.