Hey you,
It’s been a while … how’re you doing?
Me? … THE SHORT ANSWER
Yeah … I’m good.
Me? … THE LONG ANSWER:
Yeah … I’m good now. Life is hectic as always … it’s been pretty up and down over the last couple of years, what with changing school, moving house etc etc … maybe I can be honest with you … changing school is sh1t but I’m in a much better place now and the school I’m at feels “right” … It’s taken a while but I feel like I can be me … just me …
Let me take you back first … 2 years ago last Feb I was on holiday in France skiing and I saw another ad for a school really close to where I’d just moved house and I was curious. This was the 3rd ad I’d seen and I wondered if they were struggling to recruit … in addition to this we’d moved house the previous September … it was only a move of about 7 or 8 miles but still … the nearly hour long drive each way was getting me down … in addition to this the school I was at, had come out of Special Measures and I was starting to feel like my job there was done … so I grabbed the bull by the horn and emailed the HT, explaining that I’d be interested if they were ever looking for a Lead Prac. To cut a long story short, on the interview day he managed to recruit TWO lead pracs and a teacher at the same time. Result!!
During my interview I was asked if I had any reservations (or words to that effect) and I responded along the lines of that I know I come with a “reputation” and I didn’t want people to pre-judge me and have the impression that I think I’m something special … I suppose I was worried, as both myself and Seager have been over the years, about not being able to deliver results. Imposter syndrome kicking in … maybe all the results the kids had got over the years had been a fluke?!?! Anyway, fast forward to Summer 24 and the results came in … my exact words were that I felt “vindicated” (maybe I mean validated ?) for the changes that I’d suggested during the year … the students did sooo well!!
This year has been even delightful … I feel like I’m falling in love with teaching all over again. We’ve done so much as a team, my HOD is a dream and so open to trying new ideas … not that loads needed doing … and I suppose that was part of the problem during the first year … I’ve never worked in a school where you basically didn’t have to start from scratch and I struggled to find what my “role” was. That’s changed and I’m trying to be more zen about things … I’ve still got loads to learn about the teams strengths and weaknesses but my focus to date has been about gaining credibility with my peers and also teaching groups … that all takes time.
Alongside all that there’s been a couple of health scares in my house (without giving it away … theres’ only two of us in the house and it wasn’t me!!) which was horrible … it’s all good but at the time my head was in the shed … stupid really how we all process stuff in our own way. Some of you will get this, some of you won’t … but I’ve been with my husband over 30 years .. he’s my best friend (most of the time!!) and the thought that one day he may not be … well!?!?
Anyway, I’m back! (in truth I’ve always been here!?!) … I even enjoyed Ofsted this week when they arrived on Tuesday! It was lovely to walk one of the inspectors around on a learning walk. There was nothing he said that we didn’t already know … no suprises but it all takes time. It was also nice that I felt I had the confidence to say to him … you MUST come up to my lesson and see what we’re trying to do to address some of these things. I just wanted to show off how well my year 10’s were doing, some of which are part of a sub group that needs addressing (more on that in the next few days!)
That confidence is something that seems to have developed over the years. I feel that I know my stuff … and I don’t mean superficially. I mean REALLY know my sh!t … Of course it’s all about context and I know my strengths lie with those borderline grade 3/4/5 students … the tricky ones I particularly love teaching! … you know the ones! The ones that when you see a class list your stomach drops … I spend the first few weeks moaning about them but then I’m usually their biggest fans as I see a change … I love changing their views about learning and particularly about learning maths!
Anyway, I’m back and have a plan!! … the plan is to get back to doing more of what I love. I love sitting here late into the night and having a brain dump … so my plan is to do this more but with more structure than just letting my blogging Tourettes take over … so I’m hoping to write about “My Year 11 timeline” … what I do and when I do it … but all focussing on year 11 … you may or may not be interested … to be honest its my blog and I’ll do what I want!! (hehehehe)
On that note … it’s good to talk and I’ll see you soon.
Ta-ra
Mel x
