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The Ups, The Downs and The Loops: Navigating the Rollercoaster of Secondary School Teaching.
By Deaglan Bradley.
An uncertain beginning…
To say that I was apprehensive about returning to secondary education would be an understatement. I often questioned, while walking to St Dominic’s Grammar, why was I doing it? Why was I throwing myself back into an education system that I consistently voiced my negative opinions about while going through it myself? I almost convinced myself that this was not the career path for me. However, upon entering that first Year 9 classroom on an autumn morning, my opinion shifted. I saw before me, 20 students filled with passion and a sheer love for the art of Theatre. In a time when the arts are undervalued and underfunded in society, it was a sign of relief to see the youth of my generation have so much love for performance. So, there and then I set myself a goal. If I could continue to keep the fire within these children burning as they transition into adulthood, I would have successfully continued the fire within MYSELF for my future teaching career. To truly measure my success as a student teacher, throughout my blog, I have utilised and practised Borton’s Model of reflection throughout and to ultimately indicate my success as a teacher.
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You’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression…
My initial impressions of St Dominic’s Grammar School were mostly positive, the corridors seemed bright and full of life, with the walls being saturated with artwork, academic achievements and school trips. This immediately made me feel at ease within the school as there was obvious care and love that the teaching faculty had for their students. However, looking back, while I believe that there was no malicious intent by St Dominics through these displays of achievements, the individual student who does not match these grades or sporting accolades may find themselves feeling inferior to the ‘perfect student image’ that seemed to have been plastered throughout the halls of St Dominics. “The use of rewards has a detrimental effect on the intrinsic motivation of students and consequently affects student achievement in a negative way”. (Stipek, 1993). Ultimately, where I would differ from St Dominics in regards to achievement, would be my more individual-centric approach to my pupils, allowing for their rewards to be more personal and catered for their specific abilities.
Enter, If you dare…
Like any job, meeting the faculty for the first time is always a daunting experience. In the beginning, the drama department seemed to be warm and welcoming, creating conversation and immediately making me feel at home with the staff. Aine, the head of the department, gave me a quick tour of the building, breaking the ice with an array of jokes and anecdotes of her time at University. I built a strong rapport with her and felt her warm nature was invaluable for me entering the school with no previous relationships with any of the staff. However, the warm nature of the drama department seemed to fizzle upon entering the staff room at break and lunch. The staffroom culture at St Dominic’s seemed to be almost gang-like, with five strongly divided groups taking up the large room. Similar to university, the drama department seemed to combine with the English and language departments and a strong friendship seemed to be present when I entered the group. The flaws of St Dominics really began to show, as an outsider, I was greeted by each teacher individually but that was when my conversation with most of them came to an end. Topics such as mortgages, students and their parents seemed to permeate lunchtime and I longed for the school bell to ring so I could go back to the safety of the drama department. As a student teacher, I feel like this was one of the major flaws I have discovered while working there, the faculty should be encouraging those who wish to enter an already precarious field that they themselves have experienced, not excluding them for being younger and less experienced in their line of work. This would have been easily overcome by simply including myself/ any other placement students in the conversation, perhaps even organising a scheme within the school for placement students to easily insert themselves into the culture of the individual school.
“But I have also seen awful staffrooms dominated by a `mafia’ who make
younger, less experienced teachers or staff feel dreadful and isolated.
The senior management team need to watch their staffrooms. They can
build and develop morale or they can divide and alienate.”
Item 2: Report on Staffroom Subcultures (Frankel, 2010)
https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/staffroom-enter-if-you-dare
Popstar or Teacher? Keeping the attention of a distracted crowd…
When the bells began their final ring and the clapping of the shoes against the marble floor silenced, the quick 30-minute lessons began. Through now experiencing both sides of the desk, I can conclude that Teachers who are experts at their crafts have the vital ability to keep a class engaged, focused and enticed throughout their lessons. Having a class focused is ultimately paramount for success in secondary education, both on the side of the mentor and the mentee with Student Engagement being “directly linked to reduced high school dropout rates” and allows for students to “feel better about themselves, be satisfied with their lives, and enjoy higher work quality later in life” (Corso, pp.51). The drama department excels at this. Their ability to create countless ways of keeping pupils engaged throughout their drama periods at the drop of a hat is extremely commendable. Most notably, Aine’s practice of teaching through character creates both a fun and educational environment, with students hanging onto every word. She originally created the character of a Police officer, who was interviewing and looking for a local homeless man who had gone missing, she used props, pupils and the actual drama suite itself to truly bring this character to life and design an enjoyable experience for the students in the lesson. Taking this into consideration when leading lessons, I decided to utilise Aine’s techniques, which ultimately paid off as I got through everything I had planned to get through in my lesson and very rarely had to control the class out of character.
Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere…
Teaching within a predominantly working-class secondary school in West Belfast has allowed me to gain a rich and unique perspective into a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds that were brought into the classroom. As Teachers enter into the 21st century “legitimation of ethnic, religious, cultural and regional diversity has broadened the range of demands and expectations to which secondary education is called upon to respond” (Taylor, pp.16) Teachers are expected to accustom to the ever-changing cultures and subcultures of contemporary society and as a student teacher, I was no exception. When I entered St Dominics, Sensitivity was at the forefront of my mind, it became an integral part of my teaching style and process as I made sure to make each and every pupil feel valued and included within my lessons. My proudest moment as a result of my inclusion was the comments made by a non-binary pupil within my class. Throughout their school life, they did not feel as if they were at home within St Dominics (As a homosexual man, I felt I could empathise with this pupil), feeling they did not fit the traditional “girly-girl” persona that permeated the corridors. As she began to feel she related more to the non-binary identity, she made it known to her classmates and teachers that she felt more comfortable being referred to with they/them pronouns, to which many did not understand and instead chose to ignore her requests. I made sure that this was not the case within my classroom. Through Aine’s aforementioned teaching style, I embodied the character of a non-binary homeless person (making sure to get the student’s permission beforehand). I made sure to normalise differing identities from differing social backgrounds, strongly delivering the message that while we may all be different, everyone is indeed deserving of respect. The pupil ultimately felt respected and included for the first time within the drama department by their peers and complimented me on my handling of a sensitive topic. However, while I believe I handled themes of identity through my teaching with respect and inclusion, I believe the curriculum does not award these pupils with the same kindness. White, middle-class texts involving British and American women permeate the junior-school curriculum, with only one text in the A-Level set texts seeming to be any form of accepting at all through its depiction of a transgender woman. I ultimately take St Dominics to task and I hope that they will soon end the discrimination that is so obvious within their curriculum, ultimately allowing for a more equal and enjoyable education for all.
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“My hope is that every St Dominic’s pupil that enters the doors of this
beautiful school will enjoy their learning, seize the opportunities
afforded to them, flourish, thrive and leave us as happy, confident and
competent young people. We strive, as outlined in our vision, to unlock
our individual and collective potential and to be prepared to meet the
challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century whilst reflecting our
strong Dominican Ethos.”
Orla O’Neill
St Dominic’s Principal.
Final Thoughts…
As my journey is soon to be coming to an end, I reflect on the experience as a whole. I find myself profoundly transformed as a result of my time at St Dominic’s, the richness of diversity and the varying characters within the college have allowed me to gain an insight into the trials faced by both teaching staff and the pupils as they both guide themselves along the 7-year path they have together, and I am sad I am not here to join them on this road. Ultimately, both the challenges faced and the memories gained have moulded the teacher I will soon become, acting as a compass as it guides me towards a future of acceptance, diversity and inclusion.
Thank you St Dominics.
Bibliography.
Corso, Michael J., et al. “Where Student, Teacher, and Content Meet: Student Engagement in the Secondary School Classroom.” American Secondary Education, vol. 41, no. 3, 2013, pp. 50–61.
Stipek, DJ “Motivation to learn” Boston: Allyn and Bacon 1993
Taylor, William. “Aims and Objectives of Secondary Education.” European Journal of Education, vol. 32, no. 1, 1997, pp. 15–32.