School Days

Quoted from smokey111

Worthy of Alan Partridge!

I wouldn’t describe him that way

🖕

I went to Whitgift school. 1998-2004 I think?

Hated school and only had a small friendship group for a short time.. . Infact I have no contact with anyone in my year group at school.
I The only teacher I liked was my form tutor who genuinely understood me and actually cared. Although Mr Rumsby had a good bounce on him as he walked around the corridoors..  I didn't particularly enjoy any lessons except RE. Not because I'm religious but because a lass used to often fondle with me at the back of the classroom 😂

Now, I work in a primary school in somerset and now my goal is to help children enjoy school through learning and just general banter and understanding of the world. I try to be that middle person between boring work teacher and fun playful adult as I feel I never had that through my youth and if I did I'd have done so much better.. Without going to sloppy it's a proud time for me when I get people thattleft 2,3,4 years ago and when I walk past them in a gang they go "hey look its Mr O. He was the best teacher ever"

Great Coates primary as a youngster. Enjoyed it I think except for when i broke my arm..

Then I went to Whitgift school. 1998-2004 I think?

Hated school and only had a small friendship group for a short time.. . Infact I have no contact with anyone in my year group at school.
I The only teacher I liked was my form tutor who genuinely understood me and actually cared. Although Mr Rumsby had a good bounce on him as he walked around the corridoors..  I didn't particularly enjoy any lessons except RE. Not because I'm religious but because a lass used to often fondle with me at the back of the classroom 😂

Now, I work in a primary school in somerset and now my goal is to help children enjoy school through learning and just general banter and understanding of the world. I try to be that middle person between boring work teacher and fun playful adult as I feel I never had that through my youth and if I did I'd have done so much better.. Without going to sloppy it's a proud time for me when I get people thattleft 2,3,4 years ago and when I walk past them in a gang they go "hey look its Mr O. He was the best teacher ever"

Quoted from lukeo

I went to Whitgift school. 1998-2004 I think?

Hated school and only had a small friendship group for a short time.. . Infact I have no contact with anyone in my year group at school.
I The only teacher I liked was my form tutor who genuinely understood me and actually cared.

Sorry to hear that my friend. School days should be some of  the best of your life. I liked mine especially primary.

Hopefully you weren't bullied or nothing of that ilk at school. Those that bully others in whatever capacity are worth excrement. Having said that I do think people can change for the better and learn from their mistakes.

I wasn't bullied luckily. I had a girlfriend through most of secondary (RE didn't count 😂)
All I cared about was the bell at 3.30pm so I could go see my friends on the estate.

I was feeling sympathetic until you mentioned the girlfriend Luke. Now I’m just jealous. 😆

I enjoyed secondary school but I also think the mood of the country and what was happening at the time helped that; euro 96, town were decent, Brit pop, spice girls, new government etc…

I had a couple of inspiring teachers which led me down the path to being a teacher but to be honest, I’d walk away from the profession in a heartbeat if something tickled my fancy. Being a senior leader is a different role but my plan is and has always been the same, create a positive relational climate in which kids feel part of something, feel safe and feel cared about. Sadly, secondary schools don’t seem to offer this…not necessarily the fault of the school per se, more the system.

Must be something about RE classes and birds trying to fondle the lads…we had two lasses at our school who did it…in the same class…

Quoted from aldi_01

create a positive relational climate in which kids feel part of something, feel safe and feel cared about. Sadly, secondary schools don’t seem to offer this…not necessarily the fault of the school per se, more the system.

Not necessarily trying to lead the thread elsewhere but I’m interested why you think this? Are you in primary or speaking from experience of secondary? I get what you are saying but I’ve been lucky enough to work in two secondaries where I’d challenge that a little. Both successful in different ways, one local that changed the lives of many kids by making relationships not.  just with them but their families but it was set back years by a change of “leadership” at two levels that it seems to be struggling to recover from. Now working out of area and despite it being about 1900 pupils we try really hard to work on the relationships. Yes, size makes it tricky as some kids feel out of the loop and we can’t get the message to all staff all the time. Hence asking if you’re primary (edit - just read your mental health posts, alternative provision?) and how you think you can manage it but less so of secondaries?

Quoted from LN8Mariner

Not necessarily trying to lead the thread elsewhere but I’m interested why you think this? Are you in primary or speaking from experience of secondary? I get what you are saying but I’ve been lucky enough to work in two secondaries where I’d challenge that a little. Both successful in different ways, one local that changed the lives of many kids by making relationships not.  just with them but their families but it was set back years by a change of “leadership” at two levels that it seems to be struggling to recover from. Now working out of area and despite it being about 1900 pupils we try really hard to work on the relationships. Yes, size makes it tricky as some kids feel out of the loop and we can’t get the message to all staff all the time. Hence asking if you’re primary (edit - just read your mental health posts, alternative provision?) and how you think you can manage it but less so of secondaries?

Sweeping generalisation perhaps but having delivered school improvement support to both primary and secondary, it is always feels easier to enhance and embed positive relational climate in primary, usually because of the more natural nuturing feel and size.

For what it’s worth, I do know secondary schools that’s work wonders (often the less fashionable ones) but political ideology sometimes impacts the development of secondary schools. Not a criticism, they’re working within a sector that has become obsessed with data and ‘results’. It’s no different for us in special needs. Power has been given to parents/carers which I have no real issue with but sometimes it can be a hindrance. We’ve got a number of pupils that, whilst making progress in all areas are probably not in the right setting but pressure on the system, parents wanting a special school place and then lack of provision forces our hand.

NELC has challenges for reasons we all know. I think a bigger pressure, and why some schools are reluctant to alter or differ too far from the status quo is pressure. I’m a union man, always have been but their constant narrative about behaviour then conflicting themselves with saying exclusion is not appropriate just confuses everything.

Government mouth pieces like Tom Bennett inflame and conflict the approach and then the obsession with ofsted headings doesn’t help.

Personally, having worked in most of the secondary schools locally, mainly in a supportive role, the ones that aren’t ‘outstanding’ are usually the more nurturing, caring and positive places. Actually taking in to account pupil needs and so forth…

It depends on how you come at it I guess, I’ve worked in secure units and PRUs and seen the damage a restrictive mainstream system can do but equally the wife is a head and her school is very much the opposite of that.

Equally, my friend, whilst a successful head is very much on the side of behaviourism and is very much data driven…does that make him wrong? Probably not but it’s about opinions…

Professionals have those based on research and experience and sometimes it’s extremely healthy…although when doing my MA research in to juvenile sex offenders seeing two clinical psychologists going at each other over their different opinions it was a bit bonkers…

Quoted from aldi_01

Sweeping generalisation perhaps but having delivered school improvement support to both primary and secondary, it is always feels easier to enhance and embed positive relational climate in primary, usually because of the more natural nuturing feel and size.

For what it’s worth, I do know secondary schools that’s work wonders (often the less fashionable ones) but political ideology sometimes impacts the development of secondary schools. Not a criticism, they’re working within a sector that has become obsessed with data and ‘results’. It’s no different for us in special needs. Power has been given to parents/carers which I have no real issue with but sometimes it can be a hindrance. We’ve got a number of pupils that, whilst making progress in all areas are probably not in the right setting but pressure on the system, parents wanting a special school place and then lack of provision forces our hand.

NELC has challenges for reasons we all know. I think a bigger pressure, and why some schools are reluctant to alter or differ too far from the status quo is pressure. I’m a union man, always have been but their constant narrative about behaviour then conflicting themselves with saying exclusion is not appropriate just confuses everything.

Government mouth pieces like Tom Bennett inflame and conflict the approach and then the obsession with ofsted headings doesn’t help.

Personally, having worked in most of the secondary schools locally, mainly in a supportive role, the ones that aren’t ‘outstanding’ are usually the more nurturing, caring and positive places. Actually taking in to account pupil needs and so forth…

It depends on how you come at it I guess, I’ve worked in secure units and PRUs and seen the damage a restrictive mainstream system can do but equally the wife is a head and her school is very much the opposite of that.

Equally, my friend, whilst a successful head is very much on the side of behaviourism and is very much data driven…does that make him wrong? Probably not but it’s about opinions…

Professionals have those based on research and experience and sometimes it’s extremely healthy…although when doing my MA research in to juvenile sex offenders seeing two clinical psychologists going at each other over their different opinions it was a bit bonkers…

Thanks for this Aldi and I am 100% with you. Having worked at the local exam factory and then at one of the eight worst schools in the country (TM  ) I much preferred the latter. Staff who cared and kids who gave it back in spades, probably because they did not get it at home. Yes they had their challenges but made it all the more worthwhile. Now out of NELincs I am lucky to be at a school that I think is halfway between the two, an exam factory but does it by nurturing first and foremost... still got some staff who don't get it and they do drive me crazy!

As for Bennett and Birbalsingh... cart before horse in my opinion. Too many adherents at the moment though.

I've been teaching since, 1997, you were at secondary then (perhaps?)... I could have taught you! Which school did you go to?