Blogs from Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

The Senior Leadership Team, SLT, (basically the administration) has been making a big deal about this Academic Review Day business. Basically, no classes are being held today. Students are scheduled to a fifteen-minute appointment with their Personalized Learning Tutor, and that's the only time they have to be at school today. For the appointment, students are to arrive in full uniform with their parents/caregivers to discuss their grades, behavior, goals, and overall progress in school. Almost every teacher has a Personalized Learning Tutor Group (PL Group), and they have to "interview" every student in their group. I temporarily had a PL Group when another teacher was out due to surgury. Now, thank God she's back, I won't have to meet with anyone. This will be an easy day! I, along with two young girls who are ... read more

Preparations The science department at school is being inspected, or "audited" as they call it here. We've been out of our minds with the preparations. All the students' exercise books must be marked. All seating plans must be displayed at the entrance of the classroom. All students must have taken a unit test, the teacher must mark it, and the score must be entered into the computer. The auditor will also be observing a lesson by each teacher. The lesson plan must be typed out in the official format of the school. I must include possible extensions and modifications for students with special needs. Of course, the lesson must have variety and flair. Since the auditor is coming to observe my best class and since we've just finished a unit, I make a lesson plan to ... read more

Hi all, Well that is our holiday over. We have lots of photographs and lots and lots of memories which may end up in a book!! Well you never know, they say everyone has a book in them and this may just be David's. As promised, a photograph of the Calypso Inn, it was just around the corner from our hotel although we had to go into a travel information shop to find it (the lady was quite bemused at our enquiry as we didn't look like the general run-of-the-mill backpackers). And the one you have been waiting for of David in his teletubby outfit. If anyone is thinking of doing a trip to foreign parts and not backpacking we suggest they take a laptop. Most of the hotels have only one Internet acess machine and ... read more

Everything about teaching in this school confuses me. Staff briefings include statements like the following: "The science department is being audited the week after half term, so be ready." What does that mean? "All books need to be marked by the end of this week." Marked? How do I mark them? "Students' levels should be entered into the computer by Monday. Base it on their assessment." What are levels? How do I enter them into the computer? What assessment? "PM interviews will be conducted on Monday, 3 November." What are PM interviews? "SATS have been scrapped, so we'll have individual department asssments at the end of the year for year 9." What does that mean? "Year 11 will take some of their GCSE during late November, so be ready." GCSE? How do I get ready for ... read more

After the netball game, I go to Jodi’s and Deanna’s house, near the bottom of Farley Hill, close to my old bed and breakfast. We watch some show called Hollyoaks, which is the most depressing, melodrama of all time. I'm more interested in the microwaved Chinese take-out and "chips" courtesy of Deanna. After a couple of TV shows and glasses of wine mixed with cherry soda (Jodi's invention and you should try it!), we are upstairs, primping for our night out. I'm wearing my new high-heeled boots I got in Covent Garden for half price. A group of the teachers who competed in the netball tournament are going out drinking, so we'll be joining them in all our glory. The bar is huge, with lots of room to stand around the bar and talk, a seating ... read more