Learning from Other schools – Jean Ramsey

Sharing Good Practice

I feel like it is a long time since I put finger to keyboard but hey, life is like that sometimes with just too much to squeeze in.

So where am I up to?

O yeah…I met a fantastic group of dedicated teachers when I took part in the directors’ training day for The Shakespeare for Schools Festival on 25th May the week before half term. What an inspirational bunch. We were from all over the South East and met up at The National Theatre’s rehearsal rooms near Waterloo. I was so excited to be out of school and learning something new. The day before, I consulted the very nice man at the station and he recommended I get the silly o’clock train (6:17 am from Bicester North to Waterloo) because I would not want to be late and I might have to let several tube trains go by because they would be so crowded. I arrived at 7:45 for a 9:00am kick off! But I had time to get a coffee and sit in the sunshine watching the Thames glide by; pinching myself with excitement…I am very easily pleased.

We had a fabulous time working with a professional actor and a director. The best part though was just sharing good practice with other colleagues because our school has never participated before and for some of the others this was their 6th or 7th year in succession. Some of the teachers were from special schools where the young people cannot speak far less remember lines by themselves. I am fortunate enough to work with a fantastic colleague, Louisa Hook at the special school behind us Bardwell. It is because of her encouragement that I have taken the plunge this year. We have a performance space with lights so for two years they have come to rehearse under our lights just so that it would not be so intimidating in the real thing. It did my year 10’s so much good to watch the young people from Bardwell performing their signed version of ‘Macbeth’. Some of the helpers stood behind the characters feeding them the lines and some just signed. They used soundscapes and musical instruments to great effect creating a truly spooky atmosphere. It was proper piece of theatre. We are doing ‘Macbeth’ too and Louisa is going to lend me her severed head!

Why is it so difficult to get out of school just for a day to learn so much from each other and other professionals from different fields? We now have this ‘rarely cover’ phenomenon which means your non contact lessons are hardly ever taken to cover absent colleagues and classes are taught by cover supervisors…we have two excellent supervisors. The downside though, is that if there are a lot of people away because of illness, insets have to be cancelled at short notice and tempers get VERY frayed. It does not just happen in our establishment all the wonderful people I met complained of the same things: hardly ever allowed out and too little time to rehearse because of the exam pressure…oh don’t get me started on that! That’s a whole new can of worms!

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Schools and the New Goverment

What the new coalition means for education – Jean Ramsey

I am sure all we teachers are sleeping more easily in our beds having been freed from the tyranny of the local education authorities by the new coalition government’s Department for Education led by Michael Gove. In our spare time, we can join together with a bunch of like minded parents and teachers and form small schools of our own. I have been in this game a long time, thirty years and counting, and it seems like only yesterday, that under a Conservative government, we were fighting to preserve small, rural schools from closure on the grounds that they were uneconomic.

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Why social media should be taught in schools

Educating Youth in Social Media

The wonderful Andrew Davis has just sent me the results for his first Social Media course in a school and it is impressive.

Every student received a Grade C and above for 90% of course work submitted. All students were border line C/D before. (Quite a few As and Bs)

· Two thirds of boys targeted, benefited by remaining or by moving into a top target group.

· Submitted as part of the School Improvement Plan (SIP)

· 100% course work submitted, which equates to 90% of English Course work.

· 100% attendance over the 4 weeks

· Hitting tight turnover deadlines in all of the course work

Here is a video on his work please help spread the word

Socia Media Fundamentals Case Study from andrew davis on Vimeo.

Calls to Parent helpline shows 84% of bullying is in schools.

National Anti-Bullying Week

National charity Parentline Plus is calling for a stronger partnership between parents, pupils and teachers to tackle bullying in UK schools.

The call comes during National Anti-Bullying Week* (16th – 20th November) and follows research carried out by Parentline Plus from calls to their free 0808 800 2222 Parentline which shows most bullying happens in schools.

f 41,513 calls taken by Parentline Plus during the period October 2008 – September 2009; 1,847 calls (4.4 %) concerned bullying in its various forms.

Key findings from Parentline Plus:

• 84% of bullying occurs in the school environment
• For 89% of the cases, the perpetrator was known to the victim
• 11% of cases, the callers child is the perpetrator
• 69% of the perpetrators come from either the same class or same social circle as the victim in school.
• 76% of calls about bullying were from parents concerned about the verbal abuse their children had received, where as 56% concerned physical abuse.
• 5.7% of calls were from parents concerned about their child being cyber bullied.

Jeremy Todd, Parentline Plus Chief Executive said:
“Bullying in schools is a real concern to families and parents of bullied children often find the situation traumatic and difficult to manage. Some families may find it difficult to report bullying to the school concerned and parents should contact Parentline Plus, or visit our “Be Someone to Tell” website if they need support. Fostering strong partnerships between parents and schools will ensure that if problems do arise there is already a trusting relationship between teachers and families.”

Scary isn’t it.  So schools looks like we have not tackled this problem fully. What do you think the answer is…

Also take a look at Bullying by Text

Is the relationship with the teacher the most important thing?

Relationship vs. Measurement

“What students lack in school is an intellectual relationship or conversation with the teacher”.
William Glasser

I have to say that I love this quote and for me, it is the answer to everything when it come to education. A good relationship can heal a lot. Don’t you remember working for the teachers you liked and not for the ones you didn’t? It’s human nature.

However, for most schools this appears to be the last thing on the agenda. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the schools or the teachers, the problem is the system, a system that put measurement above relationships.

I believe that relationships are the key to any long-lasting change. If we want to influence and impact the next generation then we must ensure that we build our relationships with them over anything else.

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Education and Web 2.o technologies

Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World.

I came across this great report the other day called Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World. It is a study of Web 2.0 technology and how it is being used in UK schools.

It is so great to see that it is actually being talked about. I am an avid supporter of Web 2.0 technology and the opportunity it gives schools for open and honest communication with their students, as well as it’s ability to encourage participation, collaboration and community. However, the picture in schools is very different, with most not even considering the possibilities to connect with their students at a different level, or even acknowledge that we are now dealing with digital learners. My vision is that every school has a person dedicated to youth participation and engagement using social media.

So here are my highlights from Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World.

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