Johnson A Journey to and Beyond the Blackboard

Memories of a Boy Who Became a Maverick Headteacher
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-99107-544-8
Verlag: novum pro Verlag
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 368 Seiten

Kim Johnson, or 'Sir', has spent his life striving to achieve outstanding education specifically for children with special educational needs, and to bring fulfilment and confidence to each and every one of his students' lives. A Journey to and Beyond the Blackboard follows the highs and lows of a life devoted to helping others, at times at a detriment to his own personal life. It examines the relationships with his colleagues, associates and students. His authority, knowledge and experience in his chosen pathway leading to the corridors of Westminster - and he still rides his Harley!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Johnson, Kim

Leseproben

Part Two

Making the Grade in Teaching

Teach First are an organisation energised by the desire to ‘Build a fair education for all’ by developing the next generation of great teachers and brilliant leaders. In 2020 their mission statement was:

‘Our challenge is to unlock the potential in all our children, not just some.’

This being based upon the view that:

‘Too many kids aren’t getting the education they deserve. As a society, it is time to raise our game.’

As teachers we all started with such a view of wanting to make a difference and wishing to change education from the inside.

As you read through this part of my journey in five quite different school settings you will see how my learning continued – as indeed life and not just work should be. The question of remembering to stop and think at those learning moments key to making progress in one’s teaching impact.

It is important to learn at the ‘chalkface’ (and interactive whiteboard) about yourself … and those in your charge. It is important to question how you can change lives not least of all your own, and where your teaching craft takes you. I want for my journey to impress upon you that in being a teacher I knew I should enjoy that role, my subject and the learning I was to impart. In Part One you will have noted that as pupil and student some great teachers moulded me, and a few crazy ones certainly influenced me. This now translates into me being the ‘influential one’ stood before pupils in the performance of the many roles of a teacher.

About fifteen years ago at a family and friends barbeque I overheard a distant relative talking of her current time as a teacher. She spoke with such negativity that when she had finished it felt that those around her had ‘caught her gloom’ and then drifted away for a stronger drink to try and raise their own mood. At this point I asked, “Please tell me … when were you sentenced in Crown Court … for a seemingly dastardly crime … to serve your penal time in teaching?”

My naughty side definitely appearing at this time as I was struck with how such a person may be having such a negative impact on so many children. I should add that she back-peddled so much on her previous cathartic dump that had she been on a bicycle then she would have slipped and severely grazed her shins.

You will see how, even when faced with the most recalcitrant of pupils in a mood of spit, blood and tears I tried to engage with the thought ‘I can make it better’. It is such motivation and the need to develop a meaningful and trusting relationship with such pupils … and indeed those with the most pleasant and cooperative demeanour … that ensures a greater chance of success.

As a teacher my job was to see the best in my pupils … particularly when they may have never caught sight of the best in themselves.

In managing myself throughout … I like all that is implicit in the quote of unknown origin:

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass … it is about learning to dance in the rain.”

Teaching can be that way. Navigating the sunny and rainy days is what makes it so engaging.

Follow my journey … and if it helps … consider the words:

“If life seems jolly rotten.

There’s something you’ve forgotten.

And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.

When you’re feeling in the dumps.

Don’t be silly chumps.

Just purse your lips and whistle.

That’s the thing.

And …

Always look on the bright side of life.”

The very lyrics from Monty Python (and their film ‘The Life of Brian’) were an effective mood raiser … particularly for when I felt down, and a touch lost in the role of being a teacher.

As you read through the following chapters you will see how being energised in any such way, I was able to sustain my role as a teacher with my pupils … albeit a tad crazily too sometimes.

‘So as to … serve them all my days.’

Chapter 6

First Job in Norfolk

On arrival in the warm summer sunshine of 1978 the green of the trees, ferns and fields was a wonderful sight. Our cottage was pretty simple in its amenities with one bedroom, a bathroom with loo, kitchen, pantry and a front room with open fire. There was another room, but the cottage had suffered from lack of use and it meant this additional space was pretty damp-smelling and as such not really usable. For a first-time home it suited though and to stand at the door and gaze into the woodland, hearing the pheasants making their excited two noted crow noises emphasised our rural setting … for there was mostly no other sound to be heard.

As we had arrived over a week before term was due to start there was time to explore the school and immediate area. So we did so on foot, walking through the gap in the ferns along a track to a field’s edge and then onto the hall itself set on a slight hill looking down over the extensive grounds.

The school had two parts to it. Firstly, the old house dating back to the seventeenth century was a two-storey building with white-washed brick and slate roof with adjoining stables converted into a cottage. This building was the residential area for the younger pupils and dining room for all meals. The converted stable block being where the owners lived. The long drive down to the entrance had wooden classrooms one side and the admin. and older residential area the other, with two staff and family flats. All these buildings being the remnants of the USAF Military hospital from the war. The grounds were extensive with playing fields and woodland. Within the woodland was our home.

To the west it was only a short walk along a quiet road to the village hamlet where there was a simple shop and post office. In the other direction there was another small hamlet and a tiny railway station connecting the area to the larger towns and cities in the county. The couple running the post office were delightful in their greeting and welcomed us to the village as indeed were the ‘living in’ staff members when we gradually met them over the next few days.

My classroom was big enough for fifteen pupils sat around various tables set in the middle of the rectangular room. At one end there was a roller blackboard with three sections. Two for chalk use and one as a screen. There were meagre resources for use, and this prompted a visit to the office. One side of the corridor was the Headteacher and the other side the secretary and owner. The head was pleased to see me and asked if there was anything I needed to get teaching started. My list was then quickly assembled in words and he baulked at its thoroughness, then pointed across the corridor. The school secretary smiled and agreed to order them all in time for the start of term. I sort of guessed that with her air of authority she would make sure that happened. Her friendly manner afterwards to us being new members of the staff community was very genuine and she gave many tips on what to do and where to go for shopping and leisure.

Jan had always wanted to be a teacher from early in her life. Passionate about wanting to teach P.E. she had been an accomplished athlete and hockey player. Unfortunately, she had not secured a teaching post locally but soon got a position at the Sports Centre about eleven miles away. Not the most enjoyable job but it added to our joint income and enabled her to learn more about where we were living.

In the time before term started, I planned my first week’s work sat in the front room at a writing bureau I still have to this day. I had purchased a few texts from Jarrolds in Norwich as my key references for Physical and Human Geography as I was going to be teaching up to ‘O’ Level. They were to prove key to my teaching for the next two years. My P.E. teaching did not require such new texts as I already had some skills training materials. There was no expectation for extensive planning but nevertheless I also developed my outline scheme of work for the year to ensure that my exam groups got the right coverage, and I was not making it all up as I went along. I was sure Miss K. would have been smiling if she knew what I was doing with such conviction.

The day before term started the whole staff met for a motivational speech from the owner, laced with references to his budget. I watched fellow teachers roll their eyes and try to disguise their sighs of disapproval. As I had seen my brand new OHP (overhead projector) on my classroom desk next to boxes of pencils, crayons, pens and chalk as well as piles of brand-new text and exercise books … I smiled inwardly. Then he made reference to specific resources of cost and glared at me. Clearly my OHP was seen as a ‘luxury’ and therefore an...