A few weeks ago I was asked what I thought the 3 most important things were when looking to fill roles within a school. There are loads of different things that I could have talked about – I could have talked about the pastoral element and how every teacher was a pastoral teacher; the importance of preparation or I could have talked about the value that teachers involved in extra-curricular activities added to a school. Instead, the 3 things I identified as being important were:
- Relationships
- Passion for their subject
- Experimentation
When working with student teachers and newly-qualified teachers – these are the 3 core principles that I try to instill as they begin their journey through the teaching profession.
- Relationships
The best teachers are the ones who are actively interested in the students that they teach. They are interested in their character, their progress, their knowledge and in improving their grades. They want to help create a sense of belonging. They want to make a difference to that pupil in the short amount of time that they spend with them. They want to create a working relationship on an individual level with all the pupils that they teach where trust and honesty is at the very forefront of their intentions. I have no doubt that teachers can make a massive difference to the lives of the students they teach. I know that the relationships that are built can (and do) last much longer than the 7 years of school. Some will keep in touch. Some will become friends (and colleagues). What we say, how we act, how we interact with our pupils will make a massive difference to them. If we are respectful, courteous, encouraging and positive – then we will get that back from our pupils. If we are negative, nit-picking, defensive and demanding . . . we will get that back too – you reap what you sow. How we interact with our pupils and how we go about developing those relationships defines our classroom. We can either be drivers for wellbeing – promoting self-esteem and being aware of how we might ‘build-up’ our students or we can be people who constantly belittle and knock down those most sensitive of egos.
- Passion for their subject
The best teachers are the ones who (at post primary level) have a real interest in selling their subject. They have spent a lot of time (and money) becoming an expert in an academic field and they are now ready to share this knowledge with the next generation. Jim Heal and Carl Hendrick in a recent presentation at The teaching and Learning Summit 2023 at Eton College noted that, “You can’t teach what you don’t know.” We want our teachers to be people who have a passion and deep interest in what they are teaching. We want them to be interested experts. This is not something that should be taken for granted as the reality is that the education system does its very best to squeeze the enjoyment of subject out. We need to protect this carefully. We need to ensure that our young teachers are given the tools, the encouragement and the incentive to keep their passion alive for their subject. They should be able to get regular support in subject collectives where they will be able to tap into best practice and come under the influence and guidance of experienced teacher practitioners who can help them become the best that they can be. We need to be ensuring that Pedagogical Content Knowledge is embedded, clear, effective and informs their practice.
- Experimentation
The best teachers are the ones who continue to develop their practice. They are continually trying to improve, to tweak lessons and resources and to remain as up-to-date as possible with current educational research. The first thing I say to every student teacher who comes to train with us – is plan like crazy but don’t be afraid to fail. It is ok to try something – to try a technique or an activity and have it fall on its face. I want them to see our school as a place where it is safe to fail, where they will be supported and encouraged to try things in a different way. I want to see all teachers try to improve their practice and use new techniques and skills to enhance the learning of their students. I want them to trial new things and develop new resources. To try new learning possibilities – new learning techniques, theories and strategies that might help the organisation, memory or processing of the student.
Do we need more experimentation in the NI educational system?
I like to see teachers engage with the most up-to-date research in education. However, it is not always that useful. Some of the research is flawed or lacks wider general application. But, how will we know if we don’t try it. I find a lot of educational research is not grounded in the everyday realities of the classroom and so I prefer to read and take advice from actual teaching practitioners rather than people who were in a classroom for a short time a few years ago. I want to read the everyday, year in and year out struggles (and victories) rather than from people who now make their money visiting schools for big sums pedalling the same old stuff. I sometimes worry that we are starting to lose the voice of the everyday teacher amongst the noise of psychologists and sociologists who might understand how people work but maybe have less idea about how teachers can use this knowledge to engage in the one-to-one and whole class level. I want to see (and get greater free and ready access) to proper educational research carried out by teachers. I want to see the Department for Education in Northern Ireland supporting this more. I want to see bursaries for study and financial support for experienced teachers to be encouraged back into deeper study. I want to see the EA providing opportunities for teachers to get together to share research projects. I want the Area learning Communities to have a pot of money for educational research that they can use to support teachers who are actively trying to enhance their practice. I want to see school leaders doing everything they can to spread the word and share their experience with their neighbours, their competitors and the schools at the other side of the country. I want to see new opportunities for professional development where teachers with 25 or more years of experience are asked to take a lead and reflect on their experiences. I want to see more partnership. More networks of good practice in Northern Ireland where research and outcomes are celebrated and supported.
Having been a teacher now for over 28 years, I try really hard to avoid using the phrase that there is ‘nothing new under the sun in education’. I don’t think that is right and whilst sometimes we see similar ideas come to the fore on a cyclical basis – I do think that the modern classroom in 2023 is very different from when I started in 1995. I don’t think I left my PGCE course with a particularly amazing understanding of educational pedagogy. That has certainly changed over the time since as I have endeavoured to continue to try new things and to enhance HOW and WHAT I teach.
I have written on this many times before on this blog – but education in Northern Ireland seems to be stuck in some sort of Mobius loop. I have spent the last 6 months talking to a few universities about potentially doing a PhD in Education and to seal the deal – I am looking for some chance of funding to help pay (for even a little) for this. I have not been able to find any support in NI. If I want to take my own educational journey to the final level – I have to pay for this myself. I can’t even get a loan because I don’t live in England. We need to value education, experimentation and research in education much better than this. My fear is that by the time we actually get round to doing this – the system will be broke beyond compare and all of the good teachers will have gone by then.
Other TM blog posts on this . . . .
24/09/2022 – Using research to develop the practice of teaching
04/03/2022 – Is it time for common holidays/ training days across NI schools?
26/09/2020 – Why I am more convinced than ever that we need to rethink teacher education?
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