Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Crepes in this petty pace from day to day

[CointreauVersial]

Anything but the C-word!

Ooh David Essex - now he was well gorgeous.

God Herbs - I thought it was an Assistant post .

I am all happy because I had a lovely afternoon doing my voluntary stuff with the SpLD specialist in ds's school. I got to do Stuff. And there will be lots of opps for doing Useful Stuff. And it was all things that I learnt on my course and I liked the SpLD specialist a lot. It was all good. I feel I have made a very positive step which will help me build up my confidence. Yay!

Yay Stropps! That is brill. I know that feeling you have, and it's great. Now harness it, and remember it if you hit a slough of despond.

Re me me me, I have asked what 'features of character' means. Is it qualities such as kindness, mean-ness, etc, or blond hair and big feet?

There are four pupils in my group, ranging in NC level from W to 3. How the bloody hell am I supposed to do this?

HLTAs are basically teachers. They are usually paid by the hour but get to take classes and do planning and what have you as well as small group work and some 1:1, but they don't get the perks of a proper teaching salary. They are one of the ways that schools are trying to get round the cuts. A lot of the jobs which would previously have required a qualified teacher are now going to HLTAs. However, schools are usually vv pleased if they can get a qualified teacher into an HLTA role, as it is a win-win for them.

X-posts, Herbs. Um. W to 3. That's quite a big range. Something fun and eye-catching (visually appealing resources), and nicely differentiated. Um...

Great news Stropps. It always helps to get a confidence boost.

Herbs - it would be a foot in the door and good experience.

I am sitting beside the warm oven waiting for potatoes to bake - no expense spared here.

Have you got any KS info for these pupils? I mean are they KS3 or KS4? Or a mixed bag? If I was doing it (assuming it's stuff like "kind" "grumpy") I would introduce it at word level with visual resources and move them to matching pics and words. Keep it at word level for for the W and L1 (cloze exercise) and move it on to sentence level for the others. Um.. dunno.

I'm wondering about getting them to choose facial expressions that describe them, and each other, matching them with words, asking them to describe themselves and each other out loud, then write some sentences. Simple ones like 'x is kind' for the W, 'z is loud but lovely', or something for the 3s.

Dunno.... I've only got 25 minutes...

Ha! X-posts, Stropps. Seems we're thinking on the same lines! The kids are in year 10, so their English is a long way below their KS level.

Honestly I'm learning all this on the hoof. It's totally different from adult education.

I've asked for a class profile and any assessments, so I can tailor the lesson. Even if I don't get them, at least I'm asking the right questions!

Crepeys....I am in full panic mode. I simply cannot do this teaching. I can't. I'm supposed to take in handouts, and materials, and I don't know what to do. Not for the first session.

x-posts, Hatty. Thanks for reminding me I need to do something about cooking supper

ps: that Leveller article had me practically shouting "Yes, yes!" When I read it courtesy of Herbs on FB yesterday. It was why I bloody loathed my 2 years at one of the UK's top girls' schools, as the system there was all about learning to play the game and join their club and I simply couldn't do it. It made me sick. It was de rigeur to blub copiously when singing the school song - and the Harrow and Eton school songs at the end of school concert every year (or was it term, I can't remember). I got into trouble for doing a Corbyn. It was also why I made sure that I went to a university where I was highly unlikely to bump into any other public school pupils. Thus ruining my networking chances for ever, obvs. Somewhat short-sighted, I suppose, but I was determined to make my statement. I even did an excellent anti-public school rant during my university interview, because one of the lecturers interviewing me decided to home in on the fact that I'd gone to a posh boarding school. They must have liked my rant.

Have you got a synopsis of what you're going to be teaching, MI? As in: we will be covering the following, blah, blah, blah. And a recommended reading list?

X-posts again, Herbs. Remember they are teens and you can't rely on them being cooperative in terms of wanting to describe each other. (Although you'd like to thing the school would have selected the more cooperative ones.) Also, LW is pretty damn low and will need loads of visual prompts to ensure comprehension. I'd go for something based around resources that will work even if they don't want to talk to each other

There there MI. Tell us more about it so we can try to help.
What is the panic? Not knowing where to start? Not knowing what is expected? Performance anxiety?
I would start by saying to yourself that they wouldn't have offered you the gig if they weren't confident you could do it. And follow it up by saying that on here we all KNOW how marvellous you are and that you can do it.

I feel I should do some interactive, peer learning guff, as they do go on about it rather in the school bumph. I shall spend tomorrow trawling lessons plans and stealing appropriate ideas. MI - I recommend this course of action also!

Yes, I have the timetable which I have gone through extensively, and the reading list most of which I have read, and I have an idea of what I am meant to be doing. But it involves actually keeping them occupied and interested in what I’m saying, and making them do stuff. For hours. It was hard enough the last time round keeping some of the buggers interested for an hour. I’m supposed to take stuff in. And tell them what to do.

I do have some materials that I’ve used before, and I’ve made contact with someone else who v sweetly says she’ll send over hers and talk me through but they are going to be like the worst class I had before and just sit there lumpenly and see through me as an UTTER FRAUD.

Oh yes, the interactive stuff needs to be in there, I'm just saying that - from experience with teaching teens - it's good to have a back-up plan in case they all just sit there looking shifty.

MI, you totally can do it!

Not to speak of the fact I'm not being paid much at all and cannot turn this into a full-time project. I've done quite a lot of looking through and making notes but now I just feel worse.

W to 3, that would be my teaching group then Children who achieve a W might actually be able to talk/understand more than read/write at primary level, but in Y10 Are they W because they are EAL rather than SEN. They should be on P levels if SEN.

I just asked my Y10 what he thought "features of character" involves and he looked very confused and then said "describing what a person is like?"

MI, courage! You can do it! Whatever it is you are supposed to be teaching! Is it tips on how to be a top journalist/editor, or the like?

I'm working on the assumption that Herbs' pupils must be EAL. Surely otherwise a W Y10 wouldn't be in mainstream??

True, Stropps!

They are indeed EAL. New to the UK or still struggling with English. Appaz.

I would use lots of pictures of people with appropriate descriptive words for the least able to match up, with support. And practice pronunciation and using them in sentences verbally. Maybe then matching descriptive sentences to a picture (then perhaps putting cut-up words in right order to match a picture) and lastly writing their own.

More able would need word banks to write sentences and more complex things to read?

I'm teaching them journalism. Helpful colleague being v lovely. This too shall pass.

MI, it will and you will be great - and interesting.

Herbs, good luck, whatever features of character turn out to be.

The crepey A and E baton passed to me tonight - ds got kicked on the nose in footie (he helpfully bent down at the crucial moment) so we plodded off but turned round at the sight of the four-hour wait sign. Have decided the apparently out of date policy of waiting is the right one .