It’s been a school year that started on extremely wobbly foundations – think of a jenga tower missing a few blocks, perched atop a base of soft sand. By October half term, the sand had washed away and the jenga tower collapsed in a heap. I was not in a good way. Initially then, IContinue reading “Stepping Up”
Tag Archives: primary teacher
All the things I didn’t say
It’s been a long time since I’ve opened up my blog, especially with a view to writing something! Things are always so busy, and there are always so many demands on my time that writing in order to share it always lands at the very bottom of my priorities list. Still, there is a sizeableContinue reading “All the things I didn’t say”
My first WomenEd
I’ll be honest, I did question why I’d sacrificed my Saturday lie-in, as I got on a train at 8.11am yesterday. (For those thinking ‘Surely you’ll just have Sunday though?’ you’d be wrong, I was up early again for figure skating this morning!) I’m not very good at new things, or rather, I don’t feelContinue reading “My first WomenEd”
Why I won’t be adding to my series revisiting my NQT year
Apologies for the clickbaity title! My very first blog, published on April 1st 2020, was as good a beginning to a blog by a teacher as I could have come up with. September was a fluffy, upbeat, optimistic account of that first month in the classroom, reflecting how I felt about it at the timeContinue reading “Why I won’t be adding to my series revisiting my NQT year”
One Drop in the Ocean
It’s been a while since I put pen to paper (99% of my blogs start with paper drafts, or at least rough handwritten notes) and, much like every other time I’ve left a hiatus of note between posts, a lot has changed. Usually, my idea of change is ‘just’ the internal sort, and I’m usedContinue reading “One Drop in the Ocean”
NQT/ECT Advice #4
How to prepare for a supply teacher I studied at university for three years to become a teacher, (‘become a teacher’ on paper at least, I wouldn’t say I’m there yet!) and not once did this topic come up in taught sessions, lectures or even in conversation – we just never thought about it! ButContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #4”
Student Teacher Tips – English
English is my favourite core subject to teach: as a student, I loved my uni sessions and found it so exciting to apply what I’d learned to placement experiences, alongside my own long-standing passion for the subject. However, I was as student with others who felt completely oppositely to me: they loved maths for itsContinue reading “Student Teacher Tips – English”
My Presence is Not Like Yours
In defence of the Quiet Teacher I’ve written about being introverted before (I am not ideal) and about supporting introverted and shy pupils (Empowering the Quiet Ones.) It shouldn’t feel like such a niche topic to write about: according to introvert guru Susan Cain, 30 to 50% of people show introverted traits and would likelyContinue reading “My Presence is Not Like Yours”
December
It’s such a long time since I’ve written one of these blog posts, revisiting my NQT year with an eye to finding something useful to share! When I flicked through my diaries to find what I wrote in December, I wasn’t sure how any of it could become something useful to an up-and-coming NQT. ThoughContinue reading “December”
Empowering the Quiet Ones
When ’empowerment’ emerged as a theme for the #DailyWritingChallenge, I thought long and hard about it. I feel as though I have been empowered by this blog, sharing pieces of myself with every entry I post and making connections with new people who have been affected by the things I have written. But this time,Continue reading “Empowering the Quiet Ones”
Are Treadmills Over-rated?
I’m in a weird in-between stage in my life, and I don’t know if I like it. Actually, I think my family would attest to me not liking it very much, considering how much I’ve moaned about it lately! All my life, my next step has been predetermined and secure. I have always known whatContinue reading “Are Treadmills Over-rated?”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Stillness
I have craved stillness all week. A classroom is not the best setting when temperatures are rising, and the movement required of teaching Year Ones, even in a bubble, is not the most comfortable thing in the world when outdoor temperatures are high. But the real stillness I’ve wanted has been mental rather than physical:Continue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Stillness”
NQT/ECT Advice #3
What do I do in my first week? This was requested on Twitter by @miss_jwoodcock – I hope there’s something helpful in among all this! I think this is the blog I would have most wanted to read myself, as an NQT-to-be. There was so much running through my head, and despite all my placementContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #3”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Happiness
I struggled writing this! Not because I’m not happy, but because there’s a lot of things that can make me sit back and say “Yeah, I’m happy.” And for someone with a chronic anxiety disorder, it’s pretty great to be able to do that! When I sat with my blog notebook today, this is whatContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Happiness”
#DailyWriting Challenge – Roots
I’m currently reading Becoming by Michelle Obama; after lusting after this book, life got in the way and I ended up putting it down for an extended period, more than once. But there really is no excuse not to read, in lockdown! Though that makes it sound like a chore, and this book is farContinue reading “#DailyWriting Challenge – Roots”
NQT/ECT Advice #2
On Rejection… I wrote this in the wake of what initially felt like the end of the world: being unsuccessful in interviewing for a further maternity cover at my school, that would have allowed me to stay for another year. I was crushed because I’ve loved working at that school, with wonderful children and fantasticContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #2”
NQT/ECT Advice #1
What can I do over the summer to get ready? This was requested by @Miss_Grimmer on Twitter, and it’s actually been quite nice to reflect on what I did last summer, what I didn’t do and what I maybe should have done! I hope there’s something useful in here for soon-to-be NQT’s thinking about theContinue reading “NQT/ECT Advice #1”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Harmony
Harmony – noun – the state of being in agreement or concord There has been a lot of negativity about teachers this week. Some of it is aimed directly at us: poisoned arrows of accusation that we’re not working hard enough;that we haven’t worked while schools are closed; that we think ourselves ‘special’. The worstContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Harmony”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Curiosity
Curiosity. Noun. The desire to learn or know about anything; Inquisitiveness. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/curiosity?s=t Curiosity is the value that immediately sprang to mind as I chatted to one of my pupils this morning (over the phone, observing and respecting all social distancing and professional boundaries, I feel obligated to add!) They told me excitedly about all theContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Curiosity”
November
While this is an addition to my NQT series, it is equally an entry for the #DailyWritingChallenge, under the heading of ‘perseverance.’ November was a long, hard slog for me: not a month I will forget in a hurry for sure. I moved out of my parents’ house, for that first taste of independence andContinue reading “November”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Trust
There have been better days than today, and I am sure that better days are coming. Today, not even a run was enough to clear my head, so I guess that leaves me waiting it out. I have to trust that it will get better. How is it even possible to feel burnt out byContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Trust”
#DailyWritingChallenge – Purpose
When I was in the classroom every day, I think I knew my purpose. I was a teacher, with all the unpackable purpose of that job title that I had worked for so long to earn. Being an NQT though, I was still very much finding my feet and still in a permanent state ofContinue reading “#DailyWritingChallenge – Purpose”
Who Am I?
Being a teacher is something I dreamed of, something I worked hard for, something I knew would be difficult but that I persevered for regardless.
I never expected my first year to be like this.
October
This is the second in my series of NQT Year blogs, looking back and reflecting on each month. Now, October, where I tried to keep afloat, sometimes with success and other times with less than that… “[My headteacher] told me today that I’m smiling again.” Tuesday, 1st October 2019 As the leaves began to change,Continue reading “October”
One Quiet Teacher 