So Much to Learn...So Little Time

Another First

My first presentation to peers.

This weekend sees me giving my first presentation to  my teaching colleagues nationwide. During the seminar I asked the delegates to script, produce and post a podcast. Here are the results.
Hopefully you will leave me a comment or two on how I did on the day.

Download coomunicate_07.m4a

ninemillion for the UN

Microsoft is giving money away all this month.
Sorry folks, but not to you.

If you use the special click4thecause search engine until 31 March, microsoft have promised to donate money the the UN's ninemillion.org programme. The money donated will help the UNHCR  provide education and sports programmes for the nine million youth refugees worldwide. 
Now multinationals are not my favourite cup of tea and where they give they are probably profiting somewhere. However Microsoft and Bill Gates are not quite the same as the evil oil barons and this venture should be supported.
I'm going to suggest at school that Friday (also red nose day) all searches should be carried out via click4thecause.

Signposts or weathercocks?

Are teachers signposts or weathercocks?

I heard an interesting interview with Tony Benn and the weekend (on the Worriker show on 5 Live.) He basically said there were 2 types of politician; those who show the way (signposts) and those who follow which ever way the wind of poularity is blowing (weather cocks). Interestingly he associated himself with Thatcher on this one by saying that she at least kept true to her guiding principles, unlike other more recent Prime Ministers one could mention...

This got me thinking about my profession. Ideally teachers should be able to be signposts. We should have the time and resources necessary to direct our students in the direction which is most suitable for their education. We do after all spend quite some time with them and get to know them. However how often do we feel we are forced to turn off a sure path (in our own professional opinion) to follow the fickle winds of political popularity. Take today's announcements of language learning in primary schools in England (of course we already have it here in  Scotland). Sounds great, it is great, but have they consulted those who will have to deliver it. Where are the languages teachers to deliver it. Successive governments have consistently reduced the importance and relevancy to pupils of MFL and as a consequence there is no way on this earth that the required number of QUALIFIED teachers will be found to pull this off. OR, as seems to be a worrying trend in my homeland, will teaching assisstants be "trained" to deliver language lessons. It is at this point that I thank my lucky stars that I camr to work in Scotland. For all the problems that exist in our education system here at least we are trying to iron them out in a concrete and consultative manner (ACfE). I really feel for my friends and colleagues working down south who have to put up with constant interference and messing around  clueless politicos.

Two Events

What a week, but it was worth it.

Well last week was one of my more busy ones. My S3's took part in the Institut Francais' Rencontres Theatrales on Wednesday. Of course I was worried about how they would perform, but once again they were awesome. It was quite a shared learning experience because I'm not exactly a drama teacher but I had ideas about what I wanted to see on stage. Some of my actors however perform regularly and were able to contribute some excellent ideas about how to stage our little masterpiece, so I am really quite pleased to say I learned a lot from them as well.
If you just happen to be curious about their play ("La jeune fille, le chef et la grenouille: une Cendrillon africaine") you can see it on the departmental blog, along with a slideshow of some pictures I took of the whole event. At a later date I will be posting podcasts of the other acts as well.

Next on Thursday I took part in Joe Dale's Flashmeeting. It was an hour of sharing practice and just decent conversation between hardworking teachers. Check out Joe's post rather than me going on about it...no pint in reinventing the wheel.
It was great to see and here from folk whose names I have come across on the web and it was even better to find out more about their work.

Now I've only got to worry about Communicate 07.