Category Archives: Contemporary issues

Eins, zwei, drei…

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German is a language I am familiar with. I am by no means fluent in it but I have been exposed to it throughout my school career. By primary 6 I was being taught the basics and I continued with my learning until S4.

The problem was that when I transitioned into high school my prior learning was not valued. I was to start again from the beginning until I was ‘set’ in terms of my ability! As a result all this time later the elements of the German language that have stayed with me are the basics and not the complex grammar and vocabulary I was taught in later years.

Furthermore when I was given the opportunity to visit Germany in my third year at High School I found that none of what I was learning, from a seriously outdated and a little bit stereotypical textbook, was completely irrelevant to life within the country. I didn’t know how to read a train timetable or ask where the toilet was. I found it difficult to order food in restaurants and in one particular incident I was forced, by my lack of vocabulary, to order an orange flavoured ice cream! Another memorable occasion when my German skills lacked was on a trip to a theme park. My friend and I were attempting to order chips and asked for: ‘Ein Pommes, bitte.’ The German man serving us proceeded to place a single chip on a plate and laugh at us.

The point I am trying to make here, other than that my German is severely lacking, is that we need to be equipping our children with the same level of language education as other countries across Europe and the World give to theirs. Why is it that our children reach secondary school and use modern languages as a chance to chat and muck around? Why is it that we, as British people, think that there is no need for us to learn another language? Where did this idea that ‘Everyone else speaks English anyway!’ come from? When in actual fact ‘75% of the world’s population do not speak English, and only 6% of the world’s population speak English as the mother tongue.’

The 1+2 scheme appears to be a step in the right direction in terms of changing Scotland’s approach to learning other languages. The idea of starting from a young age is sensible and mimics the approach of various other countries who are successfully producing bilingual children. The addition of a third language (or second additional language) in middle and upper stages is a great way of introducing children to new cultures and providing them with further opportunities. With this being said, at a time of economic trouble, is it really feasible to provide the resources needed to accommodate for children with mother tongues other than English? Or to train staff up to a standard to be able to teach a language in enough depth…or to have a grasp of more than one additional language?

I know that for me German is all I know, and as I expressed above I don’t know an awful lot! I don’t think I’d feel entirely comfortable if I was to be teaching a class French or Spanish or any other language. Is it down to myself as a teacher to pursue this and increase my knowledge base as I would do in any other curricular area? Or is it the responsibility of individual schools or councils to provide training to their staff?

In terms of our language inputs within university I am enjoying the refresher they are giving my dusty old German vocab! I would have perhaps liked to learn French instead so that I had a basic knowledge of both of these languages but due to staffing issues this was not possible. The German inputs are interesting and collaborative. By sharing teaching ideas we are building up each other’s repertoires of resources for teaching foreign languages, not just German!

The use of rhyme, songs and games and their role in introducing children to a new language or new vocabulary is discussed within Teaching Foreign Languages in the Primary School (Kirsch, C. 2008.) The repetition and rhythm within these types of activities is key to embedding language within our classroom and within our children. So far within our inputs we have covered Greetings, Numbers and Age. These are the types of things I still remember from my own language learning experience.

One of my main wonderings is what types of things do children in successfully bilingual countries teach their children and at what age? Is starting with this type of content relevant now that we are choosing to start teaching it so much earlier? And to what level must teachers be at within their own understanding of languages in order to facilitate progressive learning from Primary 1 right through to Primary 7?

 

 

My Teaching Philosophy (‘Why Teaching’ Revisited.)

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As one of our first Tdts in MA1 we were asked to write about why we chose teaching as our profession. I did not take the straight forward route to university like so many of my fellow education students did. I did not know from day dot that I wanted to be a teacher in fact I thought it wasn’t for me! I had decided I didn’t have the patience to work with children and so I went into full time employment instead of going to uni.

Initially I worked in a bank, I didn’t like it. Then I moved into administration up in Aberdeen, I didn’t like that either. Finally I was chosen out of over 100 applicants to work in sales and administration for a well know Jam company, I loathed that job too.

Yet looking back if I hadn’t been working in that factory listen to all those people become frantic and stressed over JAM (really?!) then I wouldn’t be here today. Here at Dundee University. Here as an Education student. Here as a future teacher.

In my previous post last year I spoke about how I wanted to do something that mattered and that I wanted to be in a profession that made a difference to people on a personal level. This is still the case. In fact after my first placement I can happily say that this motivation has been instilled a new.

Last year I wrote that I wanted to be: ‘an adaptable teacher. A teacher that understands the advancements and developments in the world and rises to every new challenge.’ I still feel the same one year on. Every day can be a challenge in a primary classroom and I found within my placement that I have a knack of bouncing back, I am able to reflect and re-evaluate more quickly than I ever thought possible. I rose to the challenge when lessons didn’t go as planned, or learners didn’t respond in the way I had hoped. I rose to the challenge when two new children started and brought with them new ideas and new behaviours. Now I am back on campus rising to the challenge of new modules and a heavier work load all because I know deep down this is exactly where I want to be and exactly what I want to be doing.

A huge part of why I wanted to teach came from witnessing injustice and wanted to, in some small way, be a part of putting a stop to it. I am a huge believer of inclusion, even if in some cases that means exclusion, I am someone who sees everyone as an individual and wants to see them achieve their fullest potential. In my post last year I wrote: ‘I want to be an inclusive teacher, a teacher that works hard to cater for all her pupils. A teacher that explores new avenues and reflects on her own practice.’ This still stands. Through the International baccalaureate module I am beginning to expand these ideas of who I am as a teacher and who I want to be.

As part of a Tdt I took time to reflect on my pedagogy or my ‘Personal Philosophy of Teaching’ and I came up with this mind map: 20160921_112746

I believe in child led education where children learn through exploration and inquiry. I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to provide the children with creative lessons and authentic learning experiences that cater for them as individuals. I believe that all learning should be relevant and set in a context applicable to the children within my class. I believe that children should be in control of their learning and that by providing them with some ownership over their learning they will have a greater respect for us as teachers and for learning as a process. I think that parental involvement is a great tool and has a number of benefits to children and their learning. I think the same about outdoor learning as well as any opportunities the children get to explore their community or to bring the community into the classroom.

I am looking forward to reflecting on this philosophy as the semester goes on and following on from my placement within an IB school next semester. I am also attending an outdoor learning CLPL that will be helpful to me in terms of teaching ideas and approaches. By immersing myself in as many different perspectives of teaching as possible I hope to become an amalgamation of them all.

National Testing and Sweeping Statements.

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After Scotland rid itself of National Testing in 2003 in an attempt to move away from testing and back to teaching Nicola Sturgeon seems to have brought us right back to where we started. Aside from the issues I have with the reintroduction of national testing on the grounds of the stress it causes children and the workload it causes teachers, my main qualm is with Sturgeon’s sweeping statement that “The information will allow us over the next few years to set clear, specific and meaningful milestones on the road to closing the attainment gap.”file000978694068

It is my view that this gap in attainment cannot be fixed solely on an Educational level. It is time that the government stopped burying their heads in the sand and blaming teachers for these levels of inequality. In 1955 Halsey conducted a study that linked the educational underachievement of ‘working class’ people to poverty.  Goodman and Burton took this further by conducting a study that found the gaps in attainment began to widen from the age of seven. Both of these studies highlight the influence of factors outwith education on the levels of achievement of children.IMG_6806

This shows that by the time children become school age they have already been heavily influenced by factors from home that will have a detrimental effect on their levels of attainment. This is why I feel the government could be spending their money more wisely by continuing to fund the running of Nurseries that specialise in referrals for children under 3 who will benefit from time away from detrimental home environments.

Children need to be given these chances early on in life if we stand any chance of ensuring they lead happy and successful lives within which they achieve their full potential.