I have read a few of these posts over the last few days which started to make me think about my year which has certainly been eventful professionally and personally. As per the guidelines, I will write about 5 positive things that happened this year and then 5 wishes for 2015 (if I have this wrong, apologies).
Positives in 2014
1. Coming Out of Hospital
In late January, I started to feel unwell. After visiting my GP for blood tests, I was sent straight to hospital. This led to nearly three weeks of tests and investigations including CT Scans, liver biopsy, lymph node biopsy, ultrasound as the consultants tried to decide what was wrong with me. They still don't know although one nurse suggested that I may end up in a medical textbook! The day I was told I could go home was one of profound joy and relief as it was putting a massive strain on my wife (her horse died while I was in hospital) and the ward I was on was pretty grim to say the least. I am still under investigation but I am also still here so that's good.
2. Our School Performing Well During OfSted
I am lucky enough to work with a fantastic team of people. When our school was placed into RI las February (2013), the whole team decided that we didn't want that and we worked incredibly hard on the things that mattered right up until the next inspection this June. It was great to see everyone's efforts rewarded and have our school recognised for having made such rapid progress by OfSted. HMI now send other schools to us as an example of how a school can move quickly out of RI.
3. My Son Being Allowed to Go To China with School
My son is in Year 5. He struggles with his behaviour. When we applied for him to go to China with school, I was told by the Deputy Head that his behaviour would have to improve massively if the school were going to take him. Fair enough, as far as I was concerned. To Ewan's credit, he has made a massive effort to improve his behaviour and on 16th December, the Deputy Head told me that he had improved enough to go. His behaviour is not perfect and we still have a lot of work to do to help him with it. It will be the opportunity of a lifetime for him and he is beyond excited. He goes at the end of March 2015.
4. Getting Involved With Twitter
This started properly in January after attending the Literacy Shed Conference where I first met Rob Smith , Lee Parkinson and Mat Sullivan in person. I was introduced to the power of Twitter at this conference and have not looked back. I have written a separate post about how Twitter has changed my professional life which you can read if you have time. It has been a revelation for me and I am sure it will continue to be as great resource in 2015.
5. Working With Alan Peat
I have attended some of Alan's courses throughout my teaching career and have always found his work incredibly useful. This year I have had the opportunity to work with him which has been very exciting and rewarding professionally. I have also bee luck enough to get to know him and consider him a friend.
Wishes For 2015
1. To Stay Healthy
In 2015, I intend to make some changes to my lifestyle in an effort to ensure I don't return to hospital and so that I feel healthier. I am going to start playing football again regularly (I am not very good but I love it). I am also going to explore the beautiful place in which I live more thoroughly. Finally, I want to learn to cook as this will help my wife with her work/life balance.
2. Continue to Work On Projects That Interest/Excite me
I hope to be able to continue to work with Alan on a variety of projects. Also I have a couple ideas for a book that I would like to get on with.
3. Achieve ICT Mark For Our School
Hopefully, I will be able to make some serious headway into this as I believe that the process will help our staff members become more confident in using technology to enhance learning.
4. Organise A Teachmeet
I would like to organise a day long teachmeet where teachers can come to discuss and share ideas for delivering the new computing curriculum.
5. Learn Italian
Italian is a language I have always wanted to learn so 2015 seems as good a time as any to start now that I have a less stressful work role.
That's it from me. I hope 2015 is a happy, healthy and successful year for you too!
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Friday, 19 December 2014
Foreground and Background Retention
Having read the fascinating blog post by David Didau (@LearningSpy) Revisiting Lost Learning by Gerald HaighI started to think about learning and retention and how the retention of new information can differ depending on the length of time after it has been initially learnt.
This led me to the idea of foreground and background retention.
Foreground retention is where information is easily retrievable from the brain. Foreground retention would occur immediately after learning something. One example is in the classroom where the teacher teaches a new concept to his or her class. This concept is in foreground retention while the students practise during that lesson. It could still be in foreground retention for a while afterwards. Another situation is when students are cramming for exams. They place information into foreground retention for long enough to enable them to succeed in their exams but not for very long after. I suppose the key for teachers is to attempt to keep as much information and skills in foreground retention as possible.
Once information/skills have left foreground retention, they move into background retention. This is a situation where as David puts it, people 'know they know it' but are unable to retrieve it easily. This information is not lost, it is sitting dormant, waiting to be brought back into foreground retention. In order to bring skills/information from background retention into foreground retention, it has to be directly re-visited in some way. As Haigh explains, it can be re-learnt quicker than if it were being learnt for the first time.
Many people say that information they learnt to be able to pass exams was forgotten pretty much as soon as they had finished the exams. In fact Michael Rosen said as much when commenting on a blog post by David Didau. I would suggest that what is happening is that this information being learnt for the purpose of exams merely moves from foreground retention to background retention once the exams have finished.
I am not suggesting that I am breaking any new ground here. I am merely trying to make sense of what is a fascinating concept which has been, as always, eloquently examined and explained by David Didau.
This led me to the idea of foreground and background retention.
Foreground retention is where information is easily retrievable from the brain. Foreground retention would occur immediately after learning something. One example is in the classroom where the teacher teaches a new concept to his or her class. This concept is in foreground retention while the students practise during that lesson. It could still be in foreground retention for a while afterwards. Another situation is when students are cramming for exams. They place information into foreground retention for long enough to enable them to succeed in their exams but not for very long after. I suppose the key for teachers is to attempt to keep as much information and skills in foreground retention as possible.
Once information/skills have left foreground retention, they move into background retention. This is a situation where as David puts it, people 'know they know it' but are unable to retrieve it easily. This information is not lost, it is sitting dormant, waiting to be brought back into foreground retention. In order to bring skills/information from background retention into foreground retention, it has to be directly re-visited in some way. As Haigh explains, it can be re-learnt quicker than if it were being learnt for the first time.
Many people say that information they learnt to be able to pass exams was forgotten pretty much as soon as they had finished the exams. In fact Michael Rosen said as much when commenting on a blog post by David Didau. I would suggest that what is happening is that this information being learnt for the purpose of exams merely moves from foreground retention to background retention once the exams have finished.
I am not suggesting that I am breaking any new ground here. I am merely trying to make sense of what is a fascinating concept which has been, as always, eloquently examined and explained by David Didau.
Monday, 15 December 2014
Fun Not Included
There has been some debate on the Twittersphere as to whether children should have fun in their lessons. My feeling on the subject has always been that fun is a happy by-product in a lesson but the prime focus must always be on learning. If the children have fun and learn nothing then what is the point of employing a professional teacher to teach them. If the children's learning is moved forwards and they have some fun then great. If the children's learning moves forward and they don't have fun - so what - our primary job is to teach them things.
One of my worries with the fun thing is that it is exhausting to maintain. It is not humanly possible to plan 'fun' lessons every day of every week. Sometimes children need to just get on with something and/or practise quietly. Planning of lessons should always start with the intended outcome. Then activities should be planned that are the most effective way to deliver these outcomes.
Also, defining fun is a tricky issue. To some children charging around the classroom in groups, writing things on posters is a fun lesson. To others, using an iPad or other device is fun. To others, working quietly on their own practising something that has been explained to them well is very enjoyable. Which of these approaches is best? Well that comes down to which one has the biggest impact on the children's learning.
The British Army is the best trained and possible most effective fighting force in the world. However, I am not sure that the new recruits going through basic training would describe it as fun. Yet they most certainly learn a lot. This was brought home to me in the recent TV series about Royal Marine training. It is tough, uncompromising and I would never describe it as fun. However, the Royal Marines are extremely highly regarded around the world for their skills.
Jackie Chan, the famous actor and martial arts expert, attended the China Drama Academy which was set up to prepare children for life in the Peking Opera. This involved lots of acrobatic skills including martial arts as well as singing and dancing. If you asked Jackie whether he had fun while studying there, I am sure that he would reply in the negative. Discipline at the school was very severe and students were regularly beaten or given other physical punishments if they made mistakes.
Footballers such as David Beckham and Eric Cantona used to stay behind after training to practise and perfect free kicks. I doubt that they would see this as fun but it was the best way for them to improve their skills.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I am not worried about whether children I teach are having fun. Rather, I am worried about whether they are making enough progress over time. As a result, my opinion on fun is changing. Now I am not sure it matters at all.
One of my worries with the fun thing is that it is exhausting to maintain. It is not humanly possible to plan 'fun' lessons every day of every week. Sometimes children need to just get on with something and/or practise quietly. Planning of lessons should always start with the intended outcome. Then activities should be planned that are the most effective way to deliver these outcomes.
Also, defining fun is a tricky issue. To some children charging around the classroom in groups, writing things on posters is a fun lesson. To others, using an iPad or other device is fun. To others, working quietly on their own practising something that has been explained to them well is very enjoyable. Which of these approaches is best? Well that comes down to which one has the biggest impact on the children's learning.
The British Army is the best trained and possible most effective fighting force in the world. However, I am not sure that the new recruits going through basic training would describe it as fun. Yet they most certainly learn a lot. This was brought home to me in the recent TV series about Royal Marine training. It is tough, uncompromising and I would never describe it as fun. However, the Royal Marines are extremely highly regarded around the world for their skills.
Jackie Chan, the famous actor and martial arts expert, attended the China Drama Academy which was set up to prepare children for life in the Peking Opera. This involved lots of acrobatic skills including martial arts as well as singing and dancing. If you asked Jackie whether he had fun while studying there, I am sure that he would reply in the negative. Discipline at the school was very severe and students were regularly beaten or given other physical punishments if they made mistakes.
Footballers such as David Beckham and Eric Cantona used to stay behind after training to practise and perfect free kicks. I doubt that they would see this as fun but it was the best way for them to improve their skills.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I am not worried about whether children I teach are having fun. Rather, I am worried about whether they are making enough progress over time. As a result, my opinion on fun is changing. Now I am not sure it matters at all.
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Teaching E-Safety From A Parent's Perspective
I had a discussion the other night on Twitter with @FarrowMr about the importance of teaching computing in primary schools. He is of the opinion that the only really important aspect to teach is E-Safety. While I don't agree about the lack of importance of other areas, I do agree that teaching children about E-Safety is vital. This was brought home to me in a very real way recently.
Previously in our school, E-Safety was something that was taught to the children once a year for an hour in a fairly dry manner using the same video from the ThinkYouKnow website. The video is a useful resource but it had become like chewing gum for too long as far as the children were concerned.
This year I have taken on a new role which involves leading computing as well as teaching it to all the classes in KS2. The thought of watching this video another eight times makes me want to stick pins in my eyes! As I am lucky enough to have been given some autonomy regarding how I deliver the new computing curriculum, I decided to change the way I approached the teaching of E-Safety.
First of all, I have changed the frequency that it is taught. To me, it is a little like teaching maths in real-life contexts as in it shouldn't be taught as an add-on at the end of a week's work. Instead it should be something that is taught as an on-going process so that the children practise the principles of E-Safety whenever they are working on-line. I now teach half-termly E-Safety sessions focussing on different aspects of E-Safety. However, whenever the children are working on something that requires them to be online, I will do a short reminder of that half-term's focus. This helps to embed the message.
With Year 6, I decided to take a slightly different slant on E-Safety this half-term. The focus was cyber-bullying. Rather than come at from the usual 'What would you do if you were being bullied?' angle, I decided to flip it by asking them to imagine that they were the parent of a Year 5 child who they thought was being cyber-bullied. To spark discussion, I showed them a short animation from the website www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/ To my delight, a very mature discussion ensued with all manner of practical suggestions ranging from 'asking my child's friends if they had noticed anything' to 'I would look for changes in how they behave, like if they became sadder'.
The children really took the idea onboard maybe because I had given them a sense of greater maturity by asking them to act in the role of a parent. This discussion led us into designing a 'Parent's Guide To Cyberbullying' using an app of their choice. The results reflected the quality of the discussion. For resources for teaching e-safety try the following :
1. www.childnet.com
2. www.digizen.org
Previously in our school, E-Safety was something that was taught to the children once a year for an hour in a fairly dry manner using the same video from the ThinkYouKnow website. The video is a useful resource but it had become like chewing gum for too long as far as the children were concerned.
This year I have taken on a new role which involves leading computing as well as teaching it to all the classes in KS2. The thought of watching this video another eight times makes me want to stick pins in my eyes! As I am lucky enough to have been given some autonomy regarding how I deliver the new computing curriculum, I decided to change the way I approached the teaching of E-Safety.
First of all, I have changed the frequency that it is taught. To me, it is a little like teaching maths in real-life contexts as in it shouldn't be taught as an add-on at the end of a week's work. Instead it should be something that is taught as an on-going process so that the children practise the principles of E-Safety whenever they are working on-line. I now teach half-termly E-Safety sessions focussing on different aspects of E-Safety. However, whenever the children are working on something that requires them to be online, I will do a short reminder of that half-term's focus. This helps to embed the message.
With Year 6, I decided to take a slightly different slant on E-Safety this half-term. The focus was cyber-bullying. Rather than come at from the usual 'What would you do if you were being bullied?' angle, I decided to flip it by asking them to imagine that they were the parent of a Year 5 child who they thought was being cyber-bullied. To spark discussion, I showed them a short animation from the website www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/ To my delight, a very mature discussion ensued with all manner of practical suggestions ranging from 'asking my child's friends if they had noticed anything' to 'I would look for changes in how they behave, like if they became sadder'.
The children really took the idea onboard maybe because I had given them a sense of greater maturity by asking them to act in the role of a parent. This discussion led us into designing a 'Parent's Guide To Cyberbullying' using an app of their choice. The results reflected the quality of the discussion. For resources for teaching e-safety try the following :
1. www.childnet.com
2. www.digizen.org
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Teachers Are Doing It For Themselves - Teacher-led CPD
I am sure there has been at least one occasion where your headteacher has decided to send you on some course or other that they think you need. Sometimes this is useful, sometimes it is waste of your time and the school's finances.
Since becoming active on Twitter, I have received lots of CPD which has been exactly what I need, delivered by people who are 'walking the walk' every day. If there is something I wish to know more about, I can ask someone who I have connected with on Twitter and I can get responses very quickly. This is much better than spending a whole day out of class (having to deal with a range of issues when I get back) and only finding about 10 minutes of it useful. This is not the case for all all-day courses, I have been on some excellent ones. The best ones, like the responses I get on Twitter, are those where I leave with ideas I can do the next day in class. Using Twitter to access instant, targeted CPD is a very efficient model.
Tonight I was lucky enough to attend a teachmeet in Stockport organised by @mediashaw and hosted by @IctMrP. This was my first experience of such an event. What a great idea. It involved a range of teachers, yes everyday teachers, sharing ideas and projects that had worked for them. I am sure that everyone in the room tonight will have left with lots of ideas to try tomorrow. The credibility of the ideas shared tonight was increased by the fact that they have all been tried out in class and are not the brainchild of a distant academic. In the US, there are whole day (or even longer) Teachmeets called Edcamps. Maybe this is something that would work here. I would attend and it wouldn't cost our school a thing as all the presenters share their ideas willingly and for free. Like somebody said about tonight's event, it's great to see so many teachers giving up their time to get better.
Us teachers have got a lot to offer and between us we have a wealth of expertise and buckets of creativity. Let's share it with each other.
Since becoming active on Twitter, I have received lots of CPD which has been exactly what I need, delivered by people who are 'walking the walk' every day. If there is something I wish to know more about, I can ask someone who I have connected with on Twitter and I can get responses very quickly. This is much better than spending a whole day out of class (having to deal with a range of issues when I get back) and only finding about 10 minutes of it useful. This is not the case for all all-day courses, I have been on some excellent ones. The best ones, like the responses I get on Twitter, are those where I leave with ideas I can do the next day in class. Using Twitter to access instant, targeted CPD is a very efficient model.
Tonight I was lucky enough to attend a teachmeet in Stockport organised by @mediashaw and hosted by @IctMrP. This was my first experience of such an event. What a great idea. It involved a range of teachers, yes everyday teachers, sharing ideas and projects that had worked for them. I am sure that everyone in the room tonight will have left with lots of ideas to try tomorrow. The credibility of the ideas shared tonight was increased by the fact that they have all been tried out in class and are not the brainchild of a distant academic. In the US, there are whole day (or even longer) Teachmeets called Edcamps. Maybe this is something that would work here. I would attend and it wouldn't cost our school a thing as all the presenters share their ideas willingly and for free. Like somebody said about tonight's event, it's great to see so many teachers giving up their time to get better.
Us teachers have got a lot to offer and between us we have a wealth of expertise and buckets of creativity. Let's share it with each other.
Friday, 14 November 2014
Developing Subject Leadership
The school where I teach was put into Requires Improvement in February 2013. One of the areas that required improvement was subject leadership. As a team of staff we worked extremely hard on this and the school was awarded 'Good' when OfSted revisited in June 2014. In this inspection, the team commented on the strength of our subject leadership. I'd like to share a few ways in which we set about improving the effectiveness of our subject leadership.
As a staff team, we decided on some key tasks that would make our subject leadership more effective with the main focus always being how to raise standards in our subjects.
1. Attending Local Cluster Meetings - luckily there are 6 primary schools within a short distance of our school. This enabled us to meet termly to discuss and share ideas. These meetings were not attended by headteachers which allowed staff to speak freely. They proved extremely useful as we were able to set our own agendas, focussing on what we needed most.
2. Regular and robust monitoring - All our coordinators undertook regular monitoring of outcomes in their subject. We didn't bother monitoring planning (what's the point?) or doing lesson observations (again, what's the point?). Where standards were good or better, that staff member will not be monitored for an extended period of time. Where there is an issue, follow up monitoring focusing only on the specific issue takes place 2 weeks later. This was difficult for some staff at first but soon became easier when the realisation that it was happening in all subjects, dawned.
3. Improving our own subject knowledge and knowledge of good practice in the subject we were leading. As subject leaders, we took it upon ourselves to seek out ways to improve subject knowledge and practice e.g. OfSted subject pages, subject association memberships, becoming active on Twitter. The cluster meetings also helped with this.
4. Interviewing children about our subjects. This provided valuable information and changed the way many staff approached the teaching of some subjects.
5. Closer examination of in-school data - this was most relevant for Maths and English Coordinators. We use a data tracking system called iTrack which as coordinators we had to become very familiar with this. It raised lots of questions that could then be investigated by coordinators. Termly analysis of such data enabled coordinators to have a clear picture of standards in their subject across the school.
6. Raising the profile of our subjects - as coordinators, we worked hard to find opportunities to enrich the curriculum. For example, our Art coordinator organised for an artist to come in and work with our Year 6 children, with excellent results. Our Science coordinator achieved PSQM Gold in only one year. Our school has recently won a national award for its international links.
7. Useful action planning - We limited our subject action plans to one side of A4 (with the exception of Maths and English). This was to make sure they were focussed, manageable documents that could be reviewed quickly as the year progressed. The objectives for these was decided from the previous year's subject report. The action plan would then be used to devise a calendar of actions for the year. This ensured that we were undertaking regular coordinator activity. As we worked on leading our subjects, we kept activity logs. This meant that when OfSted talked to coordinators, they had lots of evidence to draw on and the conversation was often led by the coordinator rather than the inspector.
There is no magic answer as there never is in our job. However, starting with some of the things mentioned above will help to make an impact.
As a staff team, we decided on some key tasks that would make our subject leadership more effective with the main focus always being how to raise standards in our subjects.
1. Attending Local Cluster Meetings - luckily there are 6 primary schools within a short distance of our school. This enabled us to meet termly to discuss and share ideas. These meetings were not attended by headteachers which allowed staff to speak freely. They proved extremely useful as we were able to set our own agendas, focussing on what we needed most.
2. Regular and robust monitoring - All our coordinators undertook regular monitoring of outcomes in their subject. We didn't bother monitoring planning (what's the point?) or doing lesson observations (again, what's the point?). Where standards were good or better, that staff member will not be monitored for an extended period of time. Where there is an issue, follow up monitoring focusing only on the specific issue takes place 2 weeks later. This was difficult for some staff at first but soon became easier when the realisation that it was happening in all subjects, dawned.
3. Improving our own subject knowledge and knowledge of good practice in the subject we were leading. As subject leaders, we took it upon ourselves to seek out ways to improve subject knowledge and practice e.g. OfSted subject pages, subject association memberships, becoming active on Twitter. The cluster meetings also helped with this.
4. Interviewing children about our subjects. This provided valuable information and changed the way many staff approached the teaching of some subjects.
5. Closer examination of in-school data - this was most relevant for Maths and English Coordinators. We use a data tracking system called iTrack which as coordinators we had to become very familiar with this. It raised lots of questions that could then be investigated by coordinators. Termly analysis of such data enabled coordinators to have a clear picture of standards in their subject across the school.
6. Raising the profile of our subjects - as coordinators, we worked hard to find opportunities to enrich the curriculum. For example, our Art coordinator organised for an artist to come in and work with our Year 6 children, with excellent results. Our Science coordinator achieved PSQM Gold in only one year. Our school has recently won a national award for its international links.
7. Useful action planning - We limited our subject action plans to one side of A4 (with the exception of Maths and English). This was to make sure they were focussed, manageable documents that could be reviewed quickly as the year progressed. The objectives for these was decided from the previous year's subject report. The action plan would then be used to devise a calendar of actions for the year. This ensured that we were undertaking regular coordinator activity. As we worked on leading our subjects, we kept activity logs. This meant that when OfSted talked to coordinators, they had lots of evidence to draw on and the conversation was often led by the coordinator rather than the inspector.
There is no magic answer as there never is in our job. However, starting with some of the things mentioned above will help to make an impact.
Monday, 10 November 2014
Educating The Rainbow Nation
I have recently returned from a visit to Cape Town in South Africa. I was given the chance to visit the mother city as part of a school partnership programme funded by the British Council. The partnership, which has been active for three years, is with Pelican Park Primary School in a largely Asian area of Cape Town. The school was chosen as it represents a middle-income context and to challenge the preconceptions that children at our own school have of Africa.
Cape Town
Cape Town is a the type of place that grabs hold of you as soon as you arrive, makes your head spin continually and then sends you home with it having planted itself deep into your heart. Visually, it is a stunning place, dominated by Table Mountain with the inhabitants sandwiched between the mountain and the ocean. The climate is Mediterranean which made it pleasantly warm for my visit. Everywhere you go in Cape Town you can see the mountains and usually the ocean. The city, like the rest of South Africa, is trying to shake off the shackles of Apartheid. Twenty years have passed since the first democratic elections but many of the old issues remain. The people are incredibly warm and welcoming with a passion for good food and entertaining guests. I would challenge anybody to feel unwelcome there. Capetonians see it as their responsibility to make people welcome. I have defintely returned a few pounds heavier!
School Visits
The main purpose of out trip was to teach the children of Pelican Park about Manchester and our school as well as gain experience of teaching classes in another country. Another objective was to visit a range of schools in order to see the full range of the South African education system.
The children were generally intrigued with how school operated in England and of course there were the obligatory questions about Manchester United and had I met the Queen? They were shocked that children started school in England so young as in South Africa they start formal schooling at about 7 year old. Their primary school children stay at primary school until they reach the end of Year 8 (They call it Grade 7). Children must pass end of year exams or they are kept back. The staff were astonished that we didn't keep children back in England!
The class sizes at Pelican Park were very similar to England. However, this was only because the governing body had funded the salaries of some teachers from fund-raising activities. Other schools we visited (except one) had average class sizes of about 40. The children at Pelican Park are generally well-behaved and ready to learn. They come from reasonably well-off families and the community plays a large part in the life of the school. The school hosts regular parent open evenings where the school asks for input from parents on a range of things. The one I saw involved parents getting into groups with a teacher leading each group. They discussed the new behaviour policy the school wanted to adopt. Each group then did a drama sketch on the stage to demonstrate the points they wanted to make! Members of the school governing body were there to help host the event. This event definitely gave me food for thought in terms of involving parents.
State schools in South Africa charge schools fees. These are usually decided by considering what the parents can afford balanced with the amount of money the school needs to raise in order to function effectively. The government pays the salaries of a certain amount of teachers that it decides are enough for the school. The governing body can then employ more teachers if it wishes but these salaries are not paid by the government. For example, a school must reach a certain number of pupils to have a deputy head. This number is decided by the government.
In an attempt to support the large amount of weak teachers in the system, the government have introduced textbooks for all subject areas. These are really dry and mean that children have to carry masses of books around with them! Talking to one ex-headtacher, he said it had been a disaster. The percentage of children passing the Matriculation exams at 18 years old is rising but the pass rate for the exam is around 30% if memory serves me correctly.
The inequalities between schools is nothing short of staggering. Under Apartheid, schools for non-white children were built without corridors or halls. The classrooms were all separate buildings. This meant the children were forced to spend a lot of time outside even when the weather was unpleasant. People in Cape Town told me that they think this was a deliberate move by the Apartheid government to 'encourage' children to drop out of school. This legacy remains in many of the schools visited. I don't know if it's true but it is a pretty chilling idea.
An ex-headteacher took us to visit some schools. He is now a headteacher's mentor - supporting head teachers , particularly those in challenging circumstances. He was a wonderful man, determined to help the next generation of leaders in education despite having retired. The idea of a headteacher's mentor could be a useful one to apply in this country. The first school we visited was Herschel Girls School. It is the top performing school in South Africa. For those of us who have taught in urban state schools, imagine all of the well-behaved, clever girls you have taught and put them into one class. That is what all the classes at Herschels are like. The school fees are more expensive than their University fees. The staffroom looks like the Hilton. A truly stunning establishment.
The next school we visited was a township primary school of 1600 pupils. When we arrived I noticed that there was a hole in the roof. The headteacher explained that the night before all the computers had been stolen! How this woman came to school and carried on was just inspiring. She was immensely proud of her school and what she had achieved. The atmosphere was busy but focussed. It was clear that the staff had worked very hard to get these children ready to learn, many of whom lived in shacks or back yards.
Our final school visit was to a high school in an area called Mitchells Plain. This was an area created when coloured people were forcibly removed from the District 6 area of Cape Town as part of the Group Areas Act in the 1960s. These people were forcibly turned out of their homes/farms and dumped miles out of the city into what effectively became a ghetto with 60% unemployment and sky-high crime rates including major gang issues. It is not somewhere to hang about too long without a guide! The headteacher of the school told us that he had come to an agreement with the gang leaders that they would leave the school alone. There was hill near the school where the two rival gangs solved all of their 'difficulties' as he put it. This involved shoot outs, initiations etc. This was preferable to the previous situation where children at the school would have to dive on the floor as rival gang members shot at each other with the school in the middle! I admit to feeling slightly uneasy just being there never mind teaching there.
All in all, the trip was one I am really glad I was able to make. I got to see the real South Africa that many tourists don't see. I met some amazing people who were incredibly welcoming and honest about the problems they face. They were rightly proud of their city. I wish them all the best of luck as I believe that they have the chance to solve the issues that remain and I sincerely hope that they do.
Cape Town
Cape Town is a the type of place that grabs hold of you as soon as you arrive, makes your head spin continually and then sends you home with it having planted itself deep into your heart. Visually, it is a stunning place, dominated by Table Mountain with the inhabitants sandwiched between the mountain and the ocean. The climate is Mediterranean which made it pleasantly warm for my visit. Everywhere you go in Cape Town you can see the mountains and usually the ocean. The city, like the rest of South Africa, is trying to shake off the shackles of Apartheid. Twenty years have passed since the first democratic elections but many of the old issues remain. The people are incredibly warm and welcoming with a passion for good food and entertaining guests. I would challenge anybody to feel unwelcome there. Capetonians see it as their responsibility to make people welcome. I have defintely returned a few pounds heavier!
School Visits
The main purpose of out trip was to teach the children of Pelican Park about Manchester and our school as well as gain experience of teaching classes in another country. Another objective was to visit a range of schools in order to see the full range of the South African education system.
The children were generally intrigued with how school operated in England and of course there were the obligatory questions about Manchester United and had I met the Queen? They were shocked that children started school in England so young as in South Africa they start formal schooling at about 7 year old. Their primary school children stay at primary school until they reach the end of Year 8 (They call it Grade 7). Children must pass end of year exams or they are kept back. The staff were astonished that we didn't keep children back in England!
The class sizes at Pelican Park were very similar to England. However, this was only because the governing body had funded the salaries of some teachers from fund-raising activities. Other schools we visited (except one) had average class sizes of about 40. The children at Pelican Park are generally well-behaved and ready to learn. They come from reasonably well-off families and the community plays a large part in the life of the school. The school hosts regular parent open evenings where the school asks for input from parents on a range of things. The one I saw involved parents getting into groups with a teacher leading each group. They discussed the new behaviour policy the school wanted to adopt. Each group then did a drama sketch on the stage to demonstrate the points they wanted to make! Members of the school governing body were there to help host the event. This event definitely gave me food for thought in terms of involving parents.
State schools in South Africa charge schools fees. These are usually decided by considering what the parents can afford balanced with the amount of money the school needs to raise in order to function effectively. The government pays the salaries of a certain amount of teachers that it decides are enough for the school. The governing body can then employ more teachers if it wishes but these salaries are not paid by the government. For example, a school must reach a certain number of pupils to have a deputy head. This number is decided by the government.
In an attempt to support the large amount of weak teachers in the system, the government have introduced textbooks for all subject areas. These are really dry and mean that children have to carry masses of books around with them! Talking to one ex-headtacher, he said it had been a disaster. The percentage of children passing the Matriculation exams at 18 years old is rising but the pass rate for the exam is around 30% if memory serves me correctly.
The inequalities between schools is nothing short of staggering. Under Apartheid, schools for non-white children were built without corridors or halls. The classrooms were all separate buildings. This meant the children were forced to spend a lot of time outside even when the weather was unpleasant. People in Cape Town told me that they think this was a deliberate move by the Apartheid government to 'encourage' children to drop out of school. This legacy remains in many of the schools visited. I don't know if it's true but it is a pretty chilling idea.
An ex-headteacher took us to visit some schools. He is now a headteacher's mentor - supporting head teachers , particularly those in challenging circumstances. He was a wonderful man, determined to help the next generation of leaders in education despite having retired. The idea of a headteacher's mentor could be a useful one to apply in this country. The first school we visited was Herschel Girls School. It is the top performing school in South Africa. For those of us who have taught in urban state schools, imagine all of the well-behaved, clever girls you have taught and put them into one class. That is what all the classes at Herschels are like. The school fees are more expensive than their University fees. The staffroom looks like the Hilton. A truly stunning establishment.
The next school we visited was a township primary school of 1600 pupils. When we arrived I noticed that there was a hole in the roof. The headteacher explained that the night before all the computers had been stolen! How this woman came to school and carried on was just inspiring. She was immensely proud of her school and what she had achieved. The atmosphere was busy but focussed. It was clear that the staff had worked very hard to get these children ready to learn, many of whom lived in shacks or back yards.
Our final school visit was to a high school in an area called Mitchells Plain. This was an area created when coloured people were forcibly removed from the District 6 area of Cape Town as part of the Group Areas Act in the 1960s. These people were forcibly turned out of their homes/farms and dumped miles out of the city into what effectively became a ghetto with 60% unemployment and sky-high crime rates including major gang issues. It is not somewhere to hang about too long without a guide! The headteacher of the school told us that he had come to an agreement with the gang leaders that they would leave the school alone. There was hill near the school where the two rival gangs solved all of their 'difficulties' as he put it. This involved shoot outs, initiations etc. This was preferable to the previous situation where children at the school would have to dive on the floor as rival gang members shot at each other with the school in the middle! I admit to feeling slightly uneasy just being there never mind teaching there.
All in all, the trip was one I am really glad I was able to make. I got to see the real South Africa that many tourists don't see. I met some amazing people who were incredibly welcoming and honest about the problems they face. They were rightly proud of their city. I wish them all the best of luck as I believe that they have the chance to solve the issues that remain and I sincerely hope that they do.
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