Social Media and Wikipedia

Up until a few weeks ago when I started teaching, I thought I was quite young. I can now admit that I was mistaken. I reached this conclusion shortly after being told how to wear a scrunchie by a group of people who weren’t even alive the first time they were popular. Another strong hint was the hearty laughter that erupted when I mistakenly assumed Tik Tok was still best known as a Ke$ha song (if you have to Wikipedia that one, know you are not alone). Not to mention the utter shock that greeted me when I finished off a Friends quote. 

When I was a pupil, I thought that those at the board in front of me knew everything. Yet from the other side of the school desk, I get the impression that the youth of today know more than I ever will. Especially about makeup. Most of my students seem to have skipped the ‘one block colour’ eyeshadow phase and went straight to professional MUA levels of blending.

It is a curious thing to be a teacher. I am constantly surrounded by brilliant souls whose minds and imaginations have not yet been bent out of shape by practicality. 

To them, the world is not at all big or scary. It fits nicely into little filtered squares. 

My generation (I fear I can indeed now say that, as some people my age have children on purpose) grew up with social media floating on the horizon. We used it, but I wouldn’t say it dominated our lives. We didn’t have phones that were worth more than small cars. We didn’t know what a ‘preset’ was. Some of us still carried chunky digital cameras around to take date-stamped pictures of us and our friends hitting up Foyleside and wearing plastic jewellery. 

A lot has been said about how damaging social media can be, and I will agree in many ways it is incredibly harmful. It allows for non-stop bullying, causes young people to attach a lot of value to their aesthetic and is a dangerous trap in terms of peer and celebrity comparison.

However, amongst all of the doom and gloom, as a teacher I have noticed just a few things that I regard as positive side effects of the current candid craze.  

1. It improves creativity – A lot of young people have not had the chance to travel the world or experience much outside of their own community. Many pupils produce creative writing pieces based on things they have seen in pictures and videos online and I think in some ways it helps them to understand that there is a lot more to life than what they see around them. 

2. It can improve empathy – Related to the above, a lot of teenagers may not have ever realised or been able to imagine the ways in which many people in our world struggle had they not witnessed it on social media. Most are now aware of issues related to poverty, politics, mental health and the environment due to them being presented in a visual medium that they can access and understand. Short media clips on Facebook and Instagram bring world news into their sphere whether or not they have ever switched on BBC1. What’s more, they can articulate opinions on these subjects in a manner far beyond their years, often as a result of perusing the comments sections and chasing up information through Google searches.

3. It helps them to deduce meaning – I recently did a lesson on PEE. My class were overjoyed, as you can imagine, so to start things off I asked them to list the ingredients that go into the perfect Instagram photo. We then linked all of these things to literary techniques and it was the quickest I have ever been able to communicate to a group of adolescents that authors do not just write books in one sitting, nor accidentally include alliteration. 

4. It helps them create meaning – Okay, it might not call for the use of as many words as an English teacher would like, but hearing my pupils tell me about a photo they took that they are proud of, or a funny caption they concocted, does warm my heart a little. It shows them that they can use images and language to make people laugh and to be honest that is all I need to segue into a poetry lesson.

I won’t pretend that I understand everything the kids these days are at (again, in my mid-twenties, and having been informed by my students that I am officially old, I can and will use this phrase). But I do think that amongst all of the horror stories there should maybe be one positive piece regarding this social media platform that those young minds love so much. 

Brigid Jones’s Homework Diary

They say it takes a village to raise a child. As the end of the first placement approaches, I can confirm it also takes a village to create a teacher.

The end of ‘School Experience One’ as they call it, signals the halfway mark of the PGCE course. Walking through the front door on the first day, I could not imagine making it this far without crying in a store room. As chance would have it, the only tears I have shed are at the prospect of leaving. *audible cringe*

When I began this course, I was fairly sure I wanted to be a teacher. A few weeks in I was convinced I’d be absolutely awful at it as a career and should be removed from the course. I couldn’t even pronounce Vygotsky let alone remember any of his theories. Fast forward a couple more weeks, a nice long Christmas break and a new Netflix PB and I think I may have finally found my feet. (I’ve just jinxed it haven’t I?).

Don’t get me wrong. There are days where nothing goes right. The computer won’t work when you do have a PowerPoint. The projector screen won’t go up when you don’t. Ten out of thirty kids have forgotten their entire school bag. Once, in a surprising turn of events, my dog almost ate someone else’s homework. Like any job it has its challenges.

But something that I didn’t expect to love just as much as I do, is the joy that standing in front of a room full of wee faces learning for the first time what a “yob” is, would bring. It wasn’t what they were supposed to take away from the class. It wasn’t something I had planned to talk about at all. But their delight at learning a new word and excitedly shouting “Don’t be a yob!” at each other as they left the room made me belly laugh in a way I definitely haven’t at a desk job. 

I’ve had the chance to observe a lot of different styles of teaching. I don’t know if I will ever be chill enough to walk into a room and decide on the spot what we’re doing that day. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually manage to reprimand a student without over-empathising as to the reason why they might have decided to slide down the banister and almost crack their head open on the stairs. But I’ve been told it comes with time!

Speaking of time, it is the one part of lesson planning I do have an issue with. Why should it be up to me to decide how many minutes the students spend on a discussion about how important it is to be able to analyse the agenda of the media? Or how finding a poem you relate to can be a source of comfort and make you feel less alone in tough times? If they’re getting something from it, I am not inclined to stop them to make sure I get through my entire plan. “Linger longer” is the mantra I will take away from this experience and I think it applies to much more than just plenaries.

Am I Human? Or Am I Teacher?

Nine weeks into the course. Two weeks in a primary school and seven back at uni. Next week, I will start my first “big girl placement”. No half term break. Not even a day off until Christmas. I haven’t had a guilt free nap, shopping spree or Netflix-binge since August.

Kids - don’t do teaching for the holidays.

All jokes aside, I can honestly say that the past few months have been amongst the best of my not-so-young life. I say ‘not-so-young' because I recently overheard a conversation between a few first-year students whose biggest worry was whether or not to pay their TV licence fee. Takes me back...

Having spent two years out of uni, I was a bit worried that I would have forgotten absolutely everything. Granted I got lost a few times in induction week (having to explain that yes you did go here for undergrad but no you've no idea where to find the School of Social Science building is just a tiiiny bit embarrassing), but overall it wasn't too hard to settle back into the routine again. 

My undergrad degree consisted of about two afternoon lectures a week. This time around it is a lot more intense, with 9am starts and only a brief 30 mins to dash for coffee between classes. 

In a short space of time we have covered everything from lesson planning, subject knowledge, behaviour management, figuring out your own personal style as a teacher, how to be confident in the face of children, how to pretend you know everything about everything and what is the most appropriate way to slate Trump in every single lesson that you teach. 

The days may be long but they are certainly not dreary. Being in quite a small class means that you get to know everyone, and you'll find that a sense of camaraderie develops quickly whilst queueing in Greggs.

At times, you may feel like you know nothing but when a guest speaker comes in and you are able to understand and contribute to the topic at hand, you realise that you have actually absorbed quite a lot. 

Teaching is something that you definitely need to do for the right reasons. But if you care about young people, your subject and making an impact then don't let all the stuff about the lack of jobs put you off. It is not an easy or straightforward career choice. Looking back at all of the amazing teachers I had over the years, I can't believe the amount of time and energy they must have put into their students. (If they are reading this now and feel like offering any tips, it would be much appreciated 😂)

Would love to see Professor Trelawney's medium term plans.

2016 Laura would probably never believe that 2018 Laura would be sat in her room on a Tuesday night, so I guess you could say that the PGCE has really helped me to grow as a person. I feel like I have learnt so much, but also can't believe they are going to let me loose on real-life teenagers in just a few days.

Admittedly, I probably will not be updating this blog regularly. I would like to say that it's because I will be so busy writing lesson plans. Realistically I'll be crying in a store cupboard in an undisclosed school in Omagh. 

Truth be told, I am only writing this now because I am procrastinating instead of working on an essay. (I told myself I would not leave everything to the last minute this time around, but old habits die hard). That said, if anyone knows someone who is considering doing TEFL or a PGCE course, please point them in this direction 😊

TEFL to PGCE

If you had asked me as a child what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would have said I wanted to be an author without missing a beat. I loved reading, hoarded books and even kept a little, tiny notepad stuffed with novel ideas that would have almost definitely turned out to be bestsellers if I hadn’t left it in the pocket of my school pinafore and put it through the washing machine.

Long term this is still my goal, I do definitely want to write. But something that ten year old me didn’t bank on was student debt, the cost of petrol, the cost of food, the cost of a crippling shopping addiction and a penchant for expensive gin. 

At eighteen I skipped off to uni to study English Lit with Creative writing, and loved every second of it. At twenty one I graduated and suddenly found myself in the real world, where my scribbles in a now slightly larger and fancier notebook didn’t quite equate to paying my phone bill. I knew that I needed to get a job; I just didn’t know what that should be. I had worked part-time in shops, bars, crèches and offices but none of this had really lit a fire under me. And I knew I was the type of person who needed to be passionate about what they were doing. 

Unsure of the next step I signed up to teach English as a Foreign Language in China. I initially headed off with a desire to see a different culture, travel and experience new things, i.e. run away from my problems and ignore my lack of direction. Over the course of the almost-year that I was there though, I discovered that I really liked teaching. I had not really considered it as a career before. To be fair, I hadn’t really considered much career-wise. But one month in I knew I enjoyed it. I loved standing up, moving around, interacting with people, discussing different things every day and even the less active stuff (like planning, marking and having to be in bed early so that I would have the energy to handle a bunch of children at 8am) was great. More than this I found that I really cared for the students and wanted to see them progress and achieve their full potential.

This led me to apply for the PGCE when I returned from my travels. In TEFL the lessons were focused on the structure of the language, helping students to understand grammar, learn vocabulary and speak fluently. I enjoyed this of course, but when I think back to my own time at school and imagine teaching the likes of Austen, Shakespeare and Morrison, well I will save that particular nerd-out for another time. But basically I am really looking forward to the year ahead and hope that I can pass my love of reading and writing onto others. It’s taken me a while but I have finally found something that I will be excited to get out of bed in the mornings for.

So overall, what I’m saying is; if you don’t know what to do with your life yet, just sign up to a random company on the internet, hop on a plane and go to Asia. (EDIT: Mostly joking here, at least Google them to make sure they are reputable).

Over the course of the year I hope that I can turn this into some sort of ‘how to survive your PGCE year’ type thing, I have heard that it is an intense yet incredible year and it would be great to have the blog to go back and reminisce over when I am unemployed. 

The reality is that I will probably post twice and forget all about it 😶😶😶

Letter From A Little Girl

I see you half one slice of bread  

And pop it in the toaster 

I wonder why you’re doing that 

And follow suit thereafter

I see you plucking at your skin 

Saying how you must get thin 

I ponder why you’re doing that 

But follow suit thereafter

I don’t understand yet 

Why you’re looking in the mirror

Looking at the magazines 

You seem to hate what you see

You don’t like the arms that carry me  

The hands that stroke my hair 

The legs that I hide behind 

When I am sad or scared 

I don’t understand yet

Why you didn’t try my birthday cake

Why you didn’t want a happy meal

Why the dark bread you ate was ‘light’ 

Why you left in the middle of the night 

But soon it will be my whole life 
To pick apart my body  

To measure every gram and ounce 

And want there to be less 

To tell myself I won’t stop til I fit into that dress 

To squeeze in late night workouts 

Amongst other pressures of life

To turn down things I used to love 

In my everlasting attempt 

To improve my reflection. 

Tell me, honestly,

Did you want this to be my lesson? 

A Lesson in The Life of a Very Stable TEFL Genius

“Okay everyone, sit down.… Can anyone remember what “sit down” means?”

It’s at this point that I realise the little darlings probably aren’t going to listen to me, and most likely will continue to eat crayons and poke each other in the eye for most of the lesson unless drastic action is taken.

I look over at the Chinese teacher, who is supposed to assist me in these moments. She is already several kitty filters deep on WeChat (China’s version of Whatsapp/Facebook/Twitter combined) so clearly I am once again on my own. 

I brace myself.

“Who’s ready for Wheels on The Bus?!?!”

A stampede of little feet rush towards the projector screen in front of which I had stood unnoticed for five blissful minutes. 

Some more excited than others for English class.

Over an hour - and what feels like several hundred renditions of The Wheels on The Bus and Old McDonald - later, I’ve been cuddled, prodded, slapped across the face and kissed multiple times by my class of gorgeous two year old babies. One child won't stop punching whoever stands beside him, one peed themself and another fell over for no apparent reason and started crying. I have one punch-victim on my hip and am bribing the rest of the class to stop running away with stickers. A litter of paper airplanes lie at our feet, a failed attempt at a worksheet involving colouring in/tracing the letter F. Right now I can think of one or two choice words that definitely wouldn't have been appropriate for the phonics portion of this lesson. Judy (the Chinese teacher) is showing no sign of intervening and bringing an end to the class that was only supposed to be half an hour long. Another punch lands. I think it's time to admit defeat and put on Peppa Pig. 

Same.

In China, children as young as two attend school and whilst I am sure this has many educational benefits on down the line, it definitely doesn’t make things easy for the first time TEFL teacher who has no clue what she is doing. They have no real idea what this school gig is about yet and as a result can be very unruly. It also takes an extreme amount of energy to help them with every simple task or exercise. As well as holding English lessons (for which expectations of the students are crazy high) I also usually have to chip in with spoon feeding, clothes changing, wiping up after and wrangling the class during dance and PE lessons. Good job they’re cute. 

“Teacher Laura, what about the homework sheet?” Asks the Chinese teacher, still holding her phone aloft. 

I look at her incredulously. These kids can barely hold a pencil. 

Before learning just how young my class would be I had amassed a selection of activity books and worksheets. I soon realised however, that seeing as they couldn’t yet write in their native language, it was unlikely they would manage full sentences in English. So far we had just been learning the alphabet and simple instructions/vocabulary through songs, games and the occasional colouring-in sheet. 

Front - back: Making a paper airplane with homework. Tracing hand on homework. Eating crayon. Thinking about eating crayon.

I pull out a cut and stick exercise relating to animals. 

“I was thinking maybe they could do a ‘match the sentence’ homework today.”

Haha. You can try that one in your Chinese class Judy. 

“Okay everyone, say thank-you Teacher Laura.”

A chorus of “Than-you teach-ah Lola” rings out. I side-eye Judy, wondering how on Earth she thinks they’re ready for sentences when they can’t even say my name yet.

Safe to say I am exhausted, and it's not even 9am (school starts before 8 o'clock here). But their big beaming faces, looking up at me like I am the coolest teacher ever makes it all feel worthwhile.

Teaching Wan Wan important life skills, like selfies.

JAN 2018 - I know at times my humour is quite deprecatory. Hopefully in future I will have time to compile a post about all of the amazing things there are to do/see/experience in China on your one day off a week. Yes it was tiring, and frustrating at times, but looking back at this time from my current desk job, I can 10/10 confirm that it was much more interesting and rewarding. It was an unforgettable experience that I will always cherish. The kids especially will always hold a special place in my heart. Their energy was really what kept me going. Furthermore, I can muster up a whole lot more sympathy for a crying two year old than I can for most grown-ups who phone into the EA.

Sure slap on some sudo and he'll be fine.

So. Cute.

Not what I had in mind when telling Melody to dream big...