I’m torn between thinking that:
a) This is an amazing idea that will make me feel like James Bond
or
b) We’ll never know if the kids are really ‘checking their watch’ or reading a text message/browsing reddit.
My friend and I are massive ‘New Girl’ fan-boys. He just sent me this… a must see!
My Attempt at the Education Tag Video. Forgive the poor camera work, it’s a struggle to fit my big nose in! Perhaps you could imagine I’ve got a very silly hat on…
A while back I saw a post that had an absolutely awesome ‘Senior’s Leaving Gift-Bag’ idea. It had all sorts of cheap and symbolic gifts with really poignant explanations.
My Tutor Group are three weeks away from leaving for study leave and I want to give them a parting gift.
Could someone please direct me to this post!?
I think nearly every teacher’s favourite part of the job is running extra curricular clubs or workshops. I’ve always wanted to have more time to do these things, but with the pressure of preparation for exams it’s always tough to justify spending a good amount of time on planning and running them.
One thing that the students have run themselves (normally for a fundraising day) is a lunchtime of ‘Busking’ around the school. A bunch of them brought guitars, played a variety of contemporary hits and classics they knew and the school had a really awesome atmosphere.
One thing the kids couldn’t really do well was re-configure a song well for busking or pick something more left-field (there was a lot of Mumford and Sons and Oasis).
I have a few lunchtimes free this term and I’m thinking of having a few open-mic/workshops.
And so I ask, What songs would you most want to see performed creatively by a busker?
The Metalman, Tramore, Co Waterford, Ireland.
There are so many stories in the places we visit. I’m not sure if it’s just the pleasant nature of the people we met in Ireland, but each town and port-of-call had a really interesting narrative history.
In Tramore the metal man looks out to sea ensuring ships today don’t go the same way as the Sea Horse, which wrecked in 1816 with the loss of 350 men, women and children. The ship itself was incorporated into Tramore’s town symbol, and the famous Waterford Crystal also adopted it as their logo.
Another shipwreck in the news at the moment is, of course, that of the Titanic. We visited Cobh (pronounced ‘cove’), a beautiful town set in the wide mouth of Cork harbour and coincidentally the last port of call for the big ship. There’s a bronze statue near the waterfront of a mother and her two boys, apparently the first to go through immigration on Ellis Island.
Some of my favourite writers and poets are irish (though as brits we tend to forcibly adopt them). Wilde, Beckett, Heaney, Joyce, Friel. When your surroundings are so full of stories what can you do but tell them?
Read ‘Translations’ by Brian Friel. He says it much better that I can.
One of the most exciting parts of my job as a ‘Head of House’ is being able to run a 30 minute assembly each fortnight with 1/4 of the school (ages 12-18) that is pretty much ‘anything (enriching) goes’. Finding activities and games that engage the old (laid-back/cool) and young (hyperactive!!) is a challenge, but an absolutely welcome one. We’ve had ‘Inter-Family Improv Wars’, ‘Get to know you BINGO’, Spelling Bee Obstacle Course… you name it!
This week’s assembly was my most ambitious idea to date. I’d been thinking of organising a trip for the housemembers to go and see some live music locally, but I was running into difficulties in finding times/venues etc. So then I thought: ‘Why not have a band come in to school?’
I called up some old friends and they were more than happy to play some songs to an enthusiastic crowd of students! What followed was probably my most enjoyable experience as a teacher. My pupils (and staff) were completely awe-struck as two really talented guys played for them. We had a bit of everything: sparklers, singing from the balcony and a crowd-surfing inflatable shark!
For some of the younger students it was the first time they’d seen a real ‘band’, though it was the older ones who were asking for Autographs!
I think that experiences like this are vital for pupils. I’d suggest that some of my strongest memories from school are when I was blown away by a visiting speaker or group. If I was in a band (and didn’t take myself too seriously), I’d want to play to schools every day!
http://www.thecandlethieves.com
@candlethieves
I'm a Secondary/High School English teacher in the UK. About to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. [/ambiguity]
