Can someone tell me where time is going please?

Hi everyone,

Wow, another week has disappeared off the calendar. I cannot actually believe how quickly this academic year appears to be going. I am sure it is down to the obvious fact that I am having such an incredibly fun and rewarding time, sharing the outstanding learning experiences and achievements of my students. It is so obvious to me that this process is having an incredibly positive impact on the students at school. I receive positive feedback from them on a daily basis, as well as from their parents/carers, my friends and family, which is very rewarding, thank you. I am always aware that if I had more time available during the week, I would increase the number of uploads I make to the Classroom 21 pages. However, I always said to myself that I would not neglect my teaching duties and would ensure the process did not have a negative impact on my classes as a whole. That was the reason I did not add an entry to the blog last week. I literally did not have enough hours in the day/weekend to write it. I know that later in the year, when the GCSE season has finished, I will be able to increase the number of uploads, which I am looking forward to.

As I have said to my students, as their teacher it makes absolute sense for me to investigate and learn how the process of setting up social media channels and blogs is done. Why? Because I am certain that one of them, possibly all of them, will have an idea that will change other people’s lives positively in the future. 

They may well require the use of social media to do. So I think one of the most important lessons I can provide them with is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of setting up social media accounts and blogs as a means to share ideas and to demonstrate that there is no reason why, if they choose to, they should not attempt the same process. It is difficult to see why the process of blogging will not continue to grow into the future. For example, this week I saw that Scientific American have just created Frontiers for Young Minds, an open access scientific journal that is written by and reviewed by young people. As they state, this journal is not only rigorous but also shaped for younger audiences by the input of their own peers.

Joseph’s incredible creative talent for filmmaking, along with his cousin Owen’s and his friends fantastic acting skills have totally inspired me. I taught Joseph on Friday and with the use of the iPads, as a class, we watched his movie montage. It was so incredible to see the positive reaction that Joseph received from his classmates and peers. To me, it was incredibly rewarding to see Joseph walking around the class, speaking with his friends, informing them of how he did this special effect or that, what software he used to create the movie and where he shot the movie. I hope that the process may have inspired other students at school to be more creative in their every day lives. Hopefully I have time in the future to put together montages of his other movies, which are just as creative. Thank you again to Joseph and his friends and family for allowing me to share his work with a wider audience.

One of the reasons I decided to share my student’s outstanding work on social media is the possibility that someone sees the their talent and provides them with an opportunity that would not ordinarily be available to them. In the case of Joseph, whose ambition is to become a film-director, imagine if he was able to observe a television or film director at work? In the future I am hopeful that teachers are able to provide such opportunities for students who are as passionate and focused on a particular career path as Joseph is with his. It makes total sense to me that students in secondary schools are provided with work experiences directly related to their career ambitions, as often as possible. And that work experience is beneficial and rewarding as I have seen countless ‘work experiences’ that have been a complete waste of time. To me, the current system appears floored at a fundamental level. I am hopeful that at some point in the future I am able to provide an opportunity to Joseph, his cousin and his friends to have a positive learning experience in the field of film or television of some kind, as personally I think they totally deserve it. Again, I am ever the optimist but we will have to watch this space…

This will be a very exciting week, as Classroom 21 will begin the process of completing the second milestone. I am very much looking forward to being able to continue to showcase the creative talents of the students who I teach. I am in no doubt you will see how young people in our schools are already focused on making their ambitions a reality. Thank you for your continued help in supporting them to believe in themselves, as they are all truly remarkable individuals.

D.

P.s. I came across this photo today, which shows disadvantaged children being taught in India. It reminds me how lucky I am to be in the position I am in. I am going to show it to all of my students tomorrow to remind them how lucky they are.