Interesting article Rebecca. I was an English teacher who officially left teaching last year (well, I couldn't renew my registration). I loved teaching but struggled with many of the aspects of it. A lot of this was to do with my own attitudes and insane perfectionism, which I can see now I've had a bit of distance from everything. But now I'm starting to believe a big part of it was that my teacher training was just entirely inadequate. I think I subconsciously recognised this when I was teaching, but my lifelong tendency to blame myself for everything meant I didn't give it the thought or weight it deserved. Although I could tell you all about educational philosophy and analyse data to within an inch of its life, I was often frustrated that I didn't seem to be able to 'teach' kids and judged myself for not knowing how to do this naturally.
I feel sad that I gave up on my career- one that I was always so passionate about. Do you have any recommendations as to how to 'retrain' ourselves if we feel like this? I haven't had access to many of the resources being out of schools and I really have no idea where to start. The research doesn't seem accessible to the lay person.
As an educator with 34 years experience, please allow me these two points:
1. I agree, vociferously, with just about everything you say here, and
2. Please, PLEASE avoid jargon. (For example, "Having said that, while there is no real hierarchy of priorities embedded within the Standards, the emphasis on differentiation and ICT is concerning.")
When making points about education, I know you are speaking to educators, but speak as if you are educating the layman. As educators, we spend far too much time and energy making our concepts indecipherable to the common man/woman.
Don't hate. I was once an architect who designed those open classrooms.
Interesting article Rebecca. I was an English teacher who officially left teaching last year (well, I couldn't renew my registration). I loved teaching but struggled with many of the aspects of it. A lot of this was to do with my own attitudes and insane perfectionism, which I can see now I've had a bit of distance from everything. But now I'm starting to believe a big part of it was that my teacher training was just entirely inadequate. I think I subconsciously recognised this when I was teaching, but my lifelong tendency to blame myself for everything meant I didn't give it the thought or weight it deserved. Although I could tell you all about educational philosophy and analyse data to within an inch of its life, I was often frustrated that I didn't seem to be able to 'teach' kids and judged myself for not knowing how to do this naturally.
I feel sad that I gave up on my career- one that I was always so passionate about. Do you have any recommendations as to how to 'retrain' ourselves if we feel like this? I haven't had access to many of the resources being out of schools and I really have no idea where to start. The research doesn't seem accessible to the lay person.
The AITSL standards are so very open to interpretation.
As an educator with 34 years experience, please allow me these two points:
1. I agree, vociferously, with just about everything you say here, and
2. Please, PLEASE avoid jargon. (For example, "Having said that, while there is no real hierarchy of priorities embedded within the Standards, the emphasis on differentiation and ICT is concerning.")
When making points about education, I know you are speaking to educators, but speak as if you are educating the layman. As educators, we spend far too much time and energy making our concepts indecipherable to the common man/woman.