Jan 31, 2022·edited Jan 31, 2022Liked by Rebecca Birch
Many years ago I taught at a rather dreadful charter school in an impoverished neighborhood (I'm not sure if there's an Australian equivalent; it's a state-funded but generally unaccountable independently-run experimental school). The school leaders were well meaning but had no educational credentials and were thus incompetent, but one thing they did that I loved was that I had a classroom aide. She took attendance, recorded who had done the homework, kept track of who had gone to the restroom, shared tasks like copy-making, etc.
It was one of the most liberating things I've experienced in 24 years of teaching. I didn't have her help during my non-teaching time, which is what I think was the thrust of your post, but during instructional time I was able to focus exclusively on my students and instruction and 20 years later I still remember that freedom longingly!
Many years ago I taught at a rather dreadful charter school in an impoverished neighborhood (I'm not sure if there's an Australian equivalent; it's a state-funded but generally unaccountable independently-run experimental school). The school leaders were well meaning but had no educational credentials and were thus incompetent, but one thing they did that I loved was that I had a classroom aide. She took attendance, recorded who had done the homework, kept track of who had gone to the restroom, shared tasks like copy-making, etc.
It was one of the most liberating things I've experienced in 24 years of teaching. I didn't have her help during my non-teaching time, which is what I think was the thrust of your post, but during instructional time I was able to focus exclusively on my students and instruction and 20 years later I still remember that freedom longingly!