A new school. A new term. A new teacher.

Introduction

Ok, so it's the start of term and I'm a little anxious. Nothing to do with 'will they like me?' or 'am I good enough?'. I know I can do it - I've been teaching English, Media and Drama for a year now. What's scary is I'm now completely on my own! All the books in the world can't make up for the fact that come Monday morning, I will have 5 (lovely - I'm sure) classes of boys all expecting me to be their guru. Their guiding light... and all that... 

First Impressions

The school is great. There are lots of resources (even if some are a little old) and the Eng Dept have tried their best to keep on top of tatty books etc, to keep standards and expectations high. This, for me, is nice. I know that when I hand out those books, I can be confident in knowing they should be returned in just as spotless a fashion. 

Teaching staff are nice, very supportive and I do feel one of the team already. I am particularly grateful that there is another NQT starting with me. So we can fall back on each other if need be. She seems so much more confident about everything and has far more experience in teaching English than myself (which is scary as I feel very out of the picture as I was expecting to be teaching a LOT more drama than I am.) 

I already have plans for separate KS3 and 4 drama clubs and am looking into options for future GCSE classes (hoping that if I'm forth coming and enthusiastic - I can be HOD within 3 years by fluke!) So I know I need to work hard and impress them this year. 

What to do now

I guess the first thing is to settle into lesson planning and find the data for my new classes. I am setting a goal to be ready for the first HT by the end of the weekend. It's a big ask and I'll have to be really focused (something I'm currently finding hard to do as the summer hasn't quite worn off yet!) But I know once I get into a groove, I can hammer out lesson plans easily. It's all about remembering that you're there to guide them, they are there to do the work. 

Quote of the Day:

"The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you on to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth."
Dan Rather