Planning? Check. 30 children? Check. Assessment data gathered? Check. Assembly preparation? Check. Parent interview forms out? Check. Observation by DP?... Heck!
Middle of week five at the new school. I felt like I was swimming under a pool of policy and procedure folders. My green appraisal and black data handling folder had had last years dust blown off them and my delightful DP handed me a schedule for her visits.
It was due during literacy. I'd only established the reading groups and the routine was patchy at best. I'd lost a quater of the class to a Young Writers group and the nor'wester had kicked in, with it's potential mayhem on the minds of all.
I arrived late after the bell with her on my heals and... the children had heads down engrossed in their own reading books. God bless 'em. Quick check of planning and said DP ensconsed at my desk, away we went.
Once down on the floor with the first group I couldn't see her and to be honest forgot about the whole observation business, until I'd sorted the last group. She was chatting to one of the children by then, looking through one of her books. Gulp. Were the relevant LIs in ( I like to call them WALTs "We Are Learning To...")? Had she followed proper book procedure (illustrated in the grey folder)? Ah not to worry.
On to writing. Conferenced a few while the others madly edited (great use of the dictionary lads!) and published.
And she was gone!!
The last of the kids had bundled out the door when she came back in.
"Wow" was her first comment. Eh? What was going on?You've never seen anything so bad... What?
"Five weeks in and all that up and running? Brilliant."
Ok ,she wasn't taken the mick.
It hadn't felt like it. New job and all, I felt I was flying on serious amounts of Berocca and information overload (that sea of folders!)
However among comments of clever questioning and happy children engrossed and knowing what they're doing and why, I had missed a couple of folder moments but nothing that couldn't be sorted with a few copies of exemplars by the end of the day.
Cool.
As educators we never seem to stop and often are too self critical. Stepping back and taking stock of what we do, or getting someone else to do it ,can make you feel like your dog paddle is going to keep you afloat and that you're not sinking.
Plus there's the wonderful colleagues, like my DP, who never cease to amaze me in their generosity of time.
I teach, I learn.
Middle of week five at the new school. I felt like I was swimming under a pool of policy and procedure folders. My green appraisal and black data handling folder had had last years dust blown off them and my delightful DP handed me a schedule for her visits.
It was due during literacy. I'd only established the reading groups and the routine was patchy at best. I'd lost a quater of the class to a Young Writers group and the nor'wester had kicked in, with it's potential mayhem on the minds of all.
I arrived late after the bell with her on my heals and... the children had heads down engrossed in their own reading books. God bless 'em. Quick check of planning and said DP ensconsed at my desk, away we went.
Once down on the floor with the first group I couldn't see her and to be honest forgot about the whole observation business, until I'd sorted the last group. She was chatting to one of the children by then, looking through one of her books. Gulp. Were the relevant LIs in ( I like to call them WALTs "We Are Learning To...")? Had she followed proper book procedure (illustrated in the grey folder)? Ah not to worry.
On to writing. Conferenced a few while the others madly edited (great use of the dictionary lads!) and published.
And she was gone!!
The last of the kids had bundled out the door when she came back in.
"Wow" was her first comment. Eh? What was going on?You've never seen anything so bad... What?
"Five weeks in and all that up and running? Brilliant."
Ok ,she wasn't taken the mick.
It hadn't felt like it. New job and all, I felt I was flying on serious amounts of Berocca and information overload (that sea of folders!)
However among comments of clever questioning and happy children engrossed and knowing what they're doing and why, I had missed a couple of folder moments but nothing that couldn't be sorted with a few copies of exemplars by the end of the day.
Cool.
As educators we never seem to stop and often are too self critical. Stepping back and taking stock of what we do, or getting someone else to do it ,can make you feel like your dog paddle is going to keep you afloat and that you're not sinking.
Plus there's the wonderful colleagues, like my DP, who never cease to amaze me in their generosity of time.
I teach, I learn.
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