Once the holidays start I always feel a bit strange for the first day or so, almost like a comedown from the hectic busy pace of school. I have done some mental evaluating my last term, and armed with a glass of wine (and husband out for the evening) I will make a note of where I am.
I have enjoyed this term – or more so the start, I always feel rather stressed by the end as we are currently mid exam with the Yr 11,12 and 13. Every single year an internal panic starts to swell, rising in waves from mild panic to sheer terror – and that happens regularly throughout the course of the week, even daily (depending on whether my Yr 11s have done enough work or not). I have challenged myself to quite a few new things this term, and really enjoyed the vast majority of them.
January started with an inset day which I helped to plan. We completed a ‘teachmeet marketplace’, and spent the whole day sharing amazing teaching ideas. Staff worked in teams and presented their ideas in the marketplace which was held in the gallery from 1.30pm. I had a great day, and left with my head bursting full of new and exciting ideas. Staff had said they really enjoyed it too; it was a fabulous way to start a new term.
I have attended my first teachmeet – Pedagoo London in March, a fabulous weekend, sharing and discussing ideas with like-minded individuals was an amazing experience. I got to meet so many people, and began to be able to put faces to twitter names. I had such a great time, esp with the art girls @pennyprileszky, @leedsartteacher and @creativeartsatnorton. I even got to open the Disney Store on Oxford street with a massive key and a fanfare ceremony. I also managed to keep a relatively straight face throughout!
I have discovered that I really rather like training, sharing ideas and leading sessions for new and existing staff. I love the research aspect of this, and the fact that it gives me an excuse to ‘geek it up’ for a while. I was asked to run a 3 hour training sessions for NQTs and Schools Direct trainees in February. I was pretty nervous about it, but am always up for a challenge. The training was on ‘feedback’. I swotted up, read and re-read lots of blogs. Those I found particularly helpful were by @davidfawcett27 and @natkin. Thank you gents. I am also enjoying exploring teaching ideas and methods within my ‘Creative Teaching’ twilight cpd sessions. It is attended by like-minded, slightly excitable teachers; radiators rather than drains. We could often do with double the amount of time.
My organisation skills are (slowly) getting better. @Leedsartteacher and myself planned and designed a weekly 5min plan, inspired by the 5min lesson plans, to cover the entire week. My main reason was I was forever losing ‘to do’ lists, and really the 5min weekly plan is just a massive one, which is a lot harder to misplace. We had fabulous feedback from allsorts of people, and I for one find it really useful.
5MIN WEEKLY PLAN (Leeds Art Teacher’s conflicted copy 2014-01-12)
@leedsartteacher really is fabulous, and I regularly steal her wonderful ideas and resources. I use her marksheets for my Yr 11 classes, and students have commented on how useful they are finding them. I have also started using them for my Yr 9 projects – they are really having a positive effect on them. In fact, my after school GCSE sessions are often attended by 6 or so Yr 9 students wanting to extend their work. Claire has inspired me to be more organised, keep up to date with my marking and my planning. It is working.
I enjoy writing my blogs – this one to splurge stuff from my head, onto screen, for no other reason than I can, and I enjoy doing it – I find the process rather cathartic, and I will apologise now for my awful writing and lack of English skills, I AM having a good time. I have been amazed at the response to 9picsaday.blogspot.co.uk #artcubed. I am surprised at the amount of people who post their days to the hashtag, and the amount of people who view it. I get so much out of it – selfishly I do it so I can see the amazing stuff, and be inspired by it. If others get the same from it, then it’s all good. It has just been nominated in the edublog awards, another fabulous thing I am really pleased about!
I have been asked to present at two teachmeets, and have agreed to one. Location was the main thing, and the fact that it is near where my brother lives makes it ‘do-able’. The fact that anyone has even asked me to do anything surprises me, and I am very grateful for every opportunity, and it makes me happy the fact that others have some faith in me. I will do my utmost to not let them down.
I co-hosted the #ukedchat special on Art & Design on Thursday night. It was a last minute thing after the original host couldn’t make it. I was asked the night before. I said yes straightaway, then started to panic slightly! I was very lucky to have the support of the art teachers on twitter, too many to mention – but they all know who they are! It was a crazy hour, full of exciting and inspirational chat; I was most pleased that Gove / Ofsted were not mentioned once – it was so nice to spend an hour (although it was a crazy hour) discussing art / art teaching focusing on everything positive about what we do.
I do like to always focus on the positives, but sometimes they get a little harder to see. I have very much enjoyed meeting up with @jillberry102 – Twitter royalty, and reader / retweeter of many wonderful blogs. She encourages, inspires and makes me want to do better. She is even more fabulous in the flesh than on twitter (and that is no mean feat). Thank you Jill, for your chats and belief in me.
At the moment I am in the middle of planning for the Yr 11 Prom, and the reward trip to Alton Towers. A little crazy, in the fact that it is also in the middle of the art exams, but things will get done. The prom is slightly more worrying this year, as we have had a refurb of the community lounge and concert hall. (We hold the prom at school, in order to make it accessible to all). The refurb means we cannot put anything on the walls. I am in no way complaining about this, as the new space is beautifully clean, white walls which is going to be called ‘The Gallery’, and will house our exhibitions and be a permanent display space for us. You can see the space in the Teachmeet market place photos above.
I am looking forward to this holiday, and for once in 13 years, I am not going in to run revision / coursework sessions for my Yr 11, 12 and 13. I have decided that I need to be at home with my own children. I feel torn, but have given all my students strict instructions to keep in contact with me via the school email system. I cannot be in two places at once, and I really need to ground myself as Mummy this holiday.
One day into the holiday, and I can’t stop thinking about making next term that little bit better, planning new schemes and ideas, brewing more things in my head. I guess it takes a while to comedown after a busy term. Writing this has helped settle a few things, and I am determined to enjoy my holiday! *swigs wine*
mrsjobaker 
Lovely read… enjoy your family time. I find coming down after term really hard…. sometimes one has to determine to put family first… but like you I worry and plot and fill my head with art stuff.
Think we can never truly switch off. Determined to enjoy my family time, all the rest can wait. Students have my school email, if they need help, I’ll do what I can virtually. Some send images of their work for us to discuss. It’s not great, but for now, it’ll have to do. Enjoy your holiday, and I hope you get lots of family time too.
Good on you Jo for not running a revision session in the holidays. It is becoming for too much of ‘the norm’ and unacceptable pressure is put onto already exhausted teachers to run them. Kick back, chill out and enjoy your wine!
Thanks Maria, I did have 3 times when I thought I should change my mind, but Sam had asked me not to do much work, and the guilt kept me from saying yes!
Having stumbled across your blog via twitter, I have to say I’ve connected and empathised with most of it! (Except I’m primary!), but yes it’s Sunday am. Half term. And my head still buzzes with work thoughts! I hope you have a great holiday!
Thank you, I will admit I am no way a writer (as you can probably tell) but I use it as a very honest reflection of my teaching, and general thoughts about what it is I’m currently doing. It is a struggle for us all to fit stuff in, I am learning, but nothing yet works really well! Will manage great work / life balance one day. I also feel that possibly as soon as I think I’ve got it sussed, that should be the day I retire. Have a lovely holiday.
Stop criticising your own writing skills, Jo – you write WELL (and I’m an English teacher so I KNOW!)
Well done on all you’ve achieved this term, and have a really good Easter break with your family. You and they deserve it and your students will cope – sometimes giving them more responsibility and doing LESS explicitly to structure their learning/revision is actually giving them more. They do need to develop the skills and the motivation to do it for themselves if they’re to make a success of life and learning beyond school.
I have to say meeting you has been one of the bright spots in my year, too! One of the (many) spin-off benefits of Twitter!
Thank you Jill, for taking the time to read , and for your comments. You are very right – I need to see this as me letting them take the reins. They are old enough to want to do it for themselves, it’s the inner control freak every teacher has! As ever, I feel much better after I have heard your thoughts on the matter. Thanks again, hope to see you soon xx