Primary Teacher UK

2 year old joke is now a satellite photo

This is nothing to do with primary schools, but still really funny.  Taken from the Guardian:

Two pupils who drew a giant penis on a school lawn using weed killer two years ago can still admire their work from satellite photos now posted on the internet.  Despite the school re-seeding the area, the penis has turned up on satellite image search engines because a photo was taken before the new grass could conceal the appendage.

The unnamed pair of year 11 pupils from Bellemoor school for boys in Southampton, burned the 6-metre (20ft) phallus into the grass as an end of term joke. Staff, parents and pupils who log on can now see the image in all its glory.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "It was just one of those high school jinks. "This was an act of vandalism that took place during the summer of 2005. Southampton city council re-seeded the area and the grass was re-grown by the beginning of the new school term."

You can view the image on the Guardian website. Bet the boys who did it are having a good laugh!

Intrepid Berkeley Explorer

Next week we are scrapping the normal timetable for our annual 'Multi-Cultural Arts Week'.  During this week we each pick a country base all our work around it.  A teacher at school gave me a link to Intrepid Berkeley Explorer, a website with free videos and pictures of famous locations and landmarks around the world.  A lot of the pictures are large and it takes a long while to download them, even on a fast connection, but it's worth looking at if you're ever teaching about another country.

Link: http://www.geocities.com/intrepidberkeleyexplorer/

Are children set too much homework, and does it hinder their education?

A teacher in our school today returned from a course today and announced that "we shouldn't be giving the children homework anymore is it turns them off learning."  According to the AQA, who where running the course, homework turns children off learning by making them too tired. 

Obviously overjoyed by the thought of not having to set homework and mark it I looked into this a little more when I got home tonight and came across the following article.  According to the Independent:

"A new study to be published in the UK this spring claims that too much study after school turns children off education and sparks family rows. The book, The Homework Myth, by American academic Alfie Kohn, also claims that it does not help them to do well in tests, either.

There is international evidence to suggest Alfie Kohn may have a point on the test scores, if children are set too much homework. The Third International Maths and Science Survey, published in 1998, found that children who did a moderate amount of homework did a little better than those who do a lot or very little. For instance, the Finns, who do less homework than the British, score considerably better in international tests - coming top of almost every table for maths and science achievement through the ages of compulsory schooling. The Italians, who do more homework than the British, do less well.

However, Kohn, a lecturer and writer about education, psychology and parenting from Belmont, Massachusetts, would argue there should be no homework set at all. "Kids should have the chance to relax after a full day at school," he says. Primary school children should do no more than read for pleasure once they get home, he adds."

To article continues looking at the pros and cons and makes interesting reading.

My big problem with traditional homework is how helpful it actually is?  A lot of the time the work comes back in (apart from the hardcore of children who just never complete the homework) it is in someone else's handwriting, or 100% correct when I just know that the child would not have been able to get them all right.  When asked who helped they reply that they did it by themselves.  Should I be marking parents, brothers or aunties work?

At my school we've started moving away from traditional homework.  My last piece of homework over the holiday was to make something to do with the current topic we are covering.  The children were specifically told not to write anything.

The quality of the work that was returned after 3 weeks was stunning.  Children worked with their parents to create fantastic models, 3D pictures, mobiles and experiments all related to space.  The parents commented how much they enjoyed completing the homework with the children.  We've now put it all together to make a giant museum, with labels and instructions on how it was made, which the children happily show off to anyone that will look.

Surely this is way forward for homework... Why not try it the next time you set a homework task?

Interactive Whiteboards a waste of money?

According to a report (PDF file) published today by the DfES and the Institute of Education the £50million spent out on interactive whiteboards in secondary school has failed to improve grades.  The report even went as far as saying that, "Interactive white boards can even "slow the pace of whole class learning" and lead to  "relatively mundane activities being over-valued".

The report said teachers were using them in most or every lesson, but particularly strongly in maths and science. There was considerable variation in the use of the boards within departments and between subjects, but most were using them as a data projector.  It continued by saying that IWBs could contribute to the transformation of teaching methods "under the appropriate circumstances". However the report said:

"Such emphasis on technical interactivity was particularly prevalent in classes with lower ability students. Lessons with higher ability students tended to be less focused on getting students up to the board and were less concerned with being seen to be interactive.  In lower ability groups it could actually slow the pace of whole class learning as individual pupils took turns at the board."

Schools minister Jim Knight put it down to the research taking place as IWBs where first introduced:

"I believe passionately that ICT can be a excellent tool in helping teaching and learning. But ICT will never be a substitute for a good teaching. Only when teachers have the skills to use it properly can we expect them to use the technology to support and transform traditional teaching methods."

 

Fancy yourself as a scriptwriter?

Teachers’ TV, in partnership with the National Union of Teachers, is launching a national competition to find the best screen writers of the staffroom.

School staff who are budding screenwriters or simply have an interesting story to tell can win the chance of having their script performed by a well known actor for a special Teachers’ TV series Staffroom Monologues. As part of their prize, four winning writers will also have the chance to spend time developing their script with one of the UK’s top scriptwriters, Tony Marchant. The winning writer, as chosen by a select judging panel, will then be invited to see their monologue being filmed for broadcast by Teachers’ TV later in the year.

To enter, budding script writers that work in education (paid or voluntary) are asked to submit a single character fictional monologue of between 800 to 1,000 words by 26 February 2007 on any aspect of school life from the perspective of someone who works in a school. Full details and entry criteria are available from http://www.teachers.tv/monologues.

A Tantot

Here's a few resources a came across while trying to work out how to teach my children more French.  Already my superb TA has taken the children beyond what I know so it's a real challenge for me!

A Tantot is an award winning modern foreign languages site written for KS2 upwards.  The site, which has been designed to use from a whiteboard contains a number of games and activities to help children with their French, German and Spanish.

For those with G+T children in lanaguages have a look at Modern Foreign Languages Extra.  This site is in it's early stages, but already it has some interesting activities on it.

Don't forget also the Standards site has a scheme of work for French which you can download and edit.

More links can be found by viewing Primary-Teacher-UKs del.ici.ous page.

Do you want to be a head - part 2

The Independent has an interesting article about recruiting heads.  According to the post getting a head to fill a empty position is becoming very difficult.  Taken from the article:

"Consider, the problems faced by Brookland School in Hampstead Garden Suburb, north London. This 300-plus-pupil infant and nursery school apparently has everything going for it: an excellent Ofsted report in November 2005; dedicated staff and involved parents; modern buildings including its own swimming pool; an idyllic setting next to a conservation area, tucked behind fir trees and alongside desirable Arts and Crafts-style houses.

Yet since the retirement of long-serving head Sheila Abbott last July, the governors have advertised five times for a replacement, offering up to £59,000, but are still looking for someone to fill the post. They have even used a head-hunting agency to help them make their ad more attractive. "The governors are astonished to be in this position," says Caroline Marcus, their chair. "Brookland's reputation is very strong. Families move into the catchment area to come here. We thought it would be someone's dream job"."

According to statistics 36% for primary schools are finding it difficult to recruit a suitable candidate.  Faith schools are finding it even tougher with re-advertisements in Church of England schools at 40.5% and 58% in Catholic school.

The Independent's article continues by looking at why nobody wants to become a head - the same reasons which are making me think that a Deputy is as high as I'm planning to go at the moment.

No wonder schools are turning to unique ways of recruiting new head teachers!

Survey on multi-user games in education

Anna, a student at the University of the Arts in London is undertaking research into how teachers view multi-user computer games for teaching. She has emailed me to ask if any teachers can help her complete a survey.  It only takes a few minutes to fill in, so if you have the time, she would be grateful if you could download the survey and email it back to her at raisingdarwin@gmail.com.

Link:  Download Survey (Word Document) 

Drawing made easy

If you're anything like me, whenever you attempt to draw something infront of a class, the children just laugh at you. I'm the first to admit that I can't draw - all of my drawings end up looking like some sort of animal with wonky legs and no neck.

I came across http://www.drawingcoach.com/ the other day. Drawing coach is a free website that contains step-by-step guides on drawing cartoon animals, portraits, cartoons and more. The site also provides you with drawing tips and techniques and links to free drawing software, among other things.

If you want to impress your class during the next art lesson, this site is a must.

Pedometers to be given to deprived area schools

A £494,000 scheme will be giving over 45,000 pedometers to those children who attend 250 primary schools in deprived areas of England in an attempt to tackle the obesity problem.  A special website has also to be setup that will chart their progress and sets targets for their number of steps.

A scheme in 50 pilot schools showed 63% of children who took part had an increased interest in physical activity in their school. The Schools Minister, Jim Knight, said:

"Walking is one of the easiest ways to exercise and pedometers can make it more fun for children. Schools are already increasing children's activity levels by boosting the opportunities to take part in PE and school sport.  Pedometers can be especially effective in encouraging young people to be active out of school hours and at weekends."