Once upon a simpler time, way back at the beginning
of our training year, my fellow English trainees and I had the pleasure of
observing a KS3 lesson on grammar. As the children bundled into the classroom
they were each given a placard, thus becoming a different part of speech: verb,
noun, adjective, preposition, etc. The aim of the game was for them to organise
themselves into sentences, but when we arrived on the scene our eyes were met
with quite a different spectacle: there was a noun on the floor being
administered first aid by a helpful adjective; a group of personal pronouns
talking about themselves; a pair of conjunctions holding hands in the corner; an
interjection looking shocked; a gang of adverbs relentlessly, mercilessly and
gleefully chasing a verb around the room – and there were prepositions all over
the shop: on the tables, under the tables, in the cupboard, behind the door… It
was absolute carnage, but at least it was grammatically correct carnage.
There are two reasons why I will never forget this
lesson. One, it made grammar stimulating and engaging and would surely have
been graded ‘outstanding’. Two, it was a perfect example of a day in the life
of a teacher. Yes, it was chaotic. Yes, it was unpredictable. Yes, it was
exhausting. But by Gove – sorry, by Jove – the teacher knew exactly what kind
of journey she wanted to take her pupils on and she made sure that they all
reached their destination. In that sense, this lesson also represents a year in
the life of a trainee. The past 12 months have also been a journey. It has been
chaotic, it has been unpredictable, it has been exhausting – but we’ve made it.
Together. I’d like to thank everyone who helped us along the way. I’d also like
to propose a grammatically correct roadmap for future trainees on how to make
it – and avoid the carnage:
Verb – Teaching is a doing word:
you learn by doing (and by getting things wrong)
Noun – Education, education,
education… Only joking, it’s all about biscuits,
biscuits, biscuits
Adjective – It never gets easy, but
it does get easier
Adverb – Teaching is the verb: find the adverb that’s right for you – how do you want to teach?
Pronoun – Allow yourself a bit of
me time
Preposition – You will never stay ahead,
but don’t let yourself fall behind
Conjunction – Work together, plan together, moan together
Interjection – Um! Sorry! Excuse me! Ask
for help
Matt Irwin, English Trainee Teach - now NQT !
No comments:
Post a Comment