New:
My classes are scattered around the week. I see each set of kids 3 times a week, except for Year 9's whom I see 3 times every 2 weeks. No two days are the same. Some days are jam packed with lessons, and some days have long breaks in between lessons. I've been used to having the same schedule every day. I'm not quite used this new situation. I have to check my planner constantly to see what I'm teaching next.
One advantage to this situation is that students get to take many more courses. I've been used to students taking 6 or 7 classes. Here, students take perhaps 12. It really impresses me how most students are able to keep abreast of work in so many subjects.
It does lead to another new thing, which is having set amounts of homework (an hour's worth, say) I'm permitted to assign, as well as set days on which I can assign it. It's somewhat necessary to keep students from being overloaded, though I do find it burdensome sometimes. If homework takes longer than anticipated, or it is just a little bit that needs to be done on an off day, I can expect some resistance.
Grades are not given to everyone at the same time. They are given to each year group at different points in the term. Every student has a baseline grade, which is a low-end prediction of what they should score on the national exam. Baselines are set by the school, and not by me. However, I give attainment grades rating their work thus far. If the attainment grades differ greatly from the baseline grades, then I can expect questions as to why.
I also write reports on the work of every single student. Unlike US students that just get a report card each quarter, King's Ely students receive a full paragraph or so from every teacher. It is certainly a time consuming process, which is probably why they stagger the report dates for different year groups.
Students all take national tests called GCSE's at the end of Year 11 (equivalent of 10th grade in the USA). Tests are given for every single subject they take. So, I teach a GCSE curriculum of physics, which is split up over 3 years. Students will take a science curriculum involving biology, chemistry, and physics, but unlike the USA they take them concurrently every year. Instead of taking one course a year for three years, they take all three courses for three years, but they only learn a bit of the curriculum each year. As a result, everyone takes all three classes. In the USA, only biology is generally tested at the state level, so everyone takes bio, fewer take chem, and the fewest reach physics.
Students in every year group are split up into sets, arranged by ability from 1 to 5. These sets are also coordinated among subjects. All the sciences and maths go together, so if a student is in set 1 for biology, he/she is also in set 1 for chemistry, physics, and math. They all have the same curriculum, as it is set at the national level. In the USA, we have names like "honors," "academic," and "general" level, though that varies by school, and they are unique to each subject. A student can be in honors biology and academic geometry. Students are grouped by ability anywhere you go. They just give it a different name here. However, since the USA has no set national curriculum, the ability groups usually learn slightly different material depending on what class they're in.
Students are all assigned to a tutor, grouped by house and year group. I am the tutor for the Year 12 boys in Hereward House. As such, I keep an eye on their grades and behavior, discuss plans of improvement with them when necessary, and stay in contact with their teachers regarding their progress. I've seen no system like this before, and I think it has a lot of advantages for the students.
The students have a morning meeting every day, two cathedral services, two tutor meetings, and one school assembly. At NHS, first period would be full of announcements, official attendance, the pledge of allegiance, and anything else that needed to be done. Full school assemblies were rare. Here, lesson time is devoted to nothing but lessons, which is very nice.
However, the timing of the lessons is surprisingly inexact. All lessons are 50 minutes long, but there is no set transition time between lessons, no matter how far students must go to get to the next lesson. For instance, Lesson 1 is from 9:10-10:00 and Lesson 2 is from 10:00-10:50. There's obviously no way that the next lesson can begin exactly when the previous lesson is over. If teachers go over their lesson time (the bells aren't always reliable), it really delays the students getting to the next lesson. So, I have to be really flexible on what I consider tardy. I generally always have been, anyways, so this isn't a big change.
Students at King's Ely are incredibly active, partly because they are all required to do sports. Lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays end at lunch, and from 2:00-4:00 students must do athletics. There are a variety of sports, but they are split by term. This past term, boys did rugby and girls did field hockey. Some kids did rowing as well. That's it. If you don't care for those sports (and there are plenty who don't), then tough luck.
Teachers must participate in sports as well, and I was assigned to assist with one of the Year 10 rugby teams. On the bright side, it really does emphasize that the school is trying to do more than just get kids to pass exams. They want students to experience a little bit of everything, and sports are a big part of that. The school wants teachers to interact with students in many different ways, as a classroom teacher, as a coach, as a tutor, etc. We are taking care of these kids, and we need to see them in as many ways as we can. The only down side is that there can be a bit of confusion about what the duties involve. I asked questions about every duty in my first couple weeks, but only in sports was I continually asking questions throughout the term. It's the only area which was completely new to me. I'd never coached a sport before.
Beyond that, there are myriad activities including chorus, band, theater, and ely scheme (outdoor adventures). In the last couple weeks of term, I saw some students perform in every single one of them. It really dumbfounded me how much time it must take in order to prepare for so many activities. The students at King's Ely are some of the most active and engaged students I've ever seen.
Students are all assigned to a tutor, grouped by house and year group. I am the tutor for the Year 12 boys in Hereward House. As such, I keep an eye on their grades and behavior, discuss plans of improvement with them when necessary, and stay in contact with their teachers regarding their progress. I've seen no system like this before, and I think it has a lot of advantages for the students.
The students have a morning meeting every day, two cathedral services, two tutor meetings, and one school assembly. At NHS, first period would be full of announcements, official attendance, the pledge of allegiance, and anything else that needed to be done. Full school assemblies were rare. Here, lesson time is devoted to nothing but lessons, which is very nice.
However, the timing of the lessons is surprisingly inexact. All lessons are 50 minutes long, but there is no set transition time between lessons, no matter how far students must go to get to the next lesson. For instance, Lesson 1 is from 9:10-10:00 and Lesson 2 is from 10:00-10:50. There's obviously no way that the next lesson can begin exactly when the previous lesson is over. If teachers go over their lesson time (the bells aren't always reliable), it really delays the students getting to the next lesson. So, I have to be really flexible on what I consider tardy. I generally always have been, anyways, so this isn't a big change.
Students at King's Ely are incredibly active, partly because they are all required to do sports. Lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays end at lunch, and from 2:00-4:00 students must do athletics. There are a variety of sports, but they are split by term. This past term, boys did rugby and girls did field hockey. Some kids did rowing as well. That's it. If you don't care for those sports (and there are plenty who don't), then tough luck.
Teachers must participate in sports as well, and I was assigned to assist with one of the Year 10 rugby teams. On the bright side, it really does emphasize that the school is trying to do more than just get kids to pass exams. They want students to experience a little bit of everything, and sports are a big part of that. The school wants teachers to interact with students in many different ways, as a classroom teacher, as a coach, as a tutor, etc. We are taking care of these kids, and we need to see them in as many ways as we can. The only down side is that there can be a bit of confusion about what the duties involve. I asked questions about every duty in my first couple weeks, but only in sports was I continually asking questions throughout the term. It's the only area which was completely new to me. I'd never coached a sport before.
Beyond that, there are myriad activities including chorus, band, theater, and ely scheme (outdoor adventures). In the last couple weeks of term, I saw some students perform in every single one of them. It really dumbfounded me how much time it must take in order to prepare for so many activities. The students at King's Ely are some of the most active and engaged students I've ever seen.
Not so new:
One thing seems to make school administrators happier than anything. Meetings. We have a lot of them here.
Students still have many creative excuses for why they couldn't do their homework.
Asking questions in class still is the most useful skill that students are most afraid of mastering.
The key to good teaching remains the same. It all starts with making sure the students and parents know that you care. The next step is to show students that they can succeed. Everything else is just details.
In any profession, colleagues share a special bond, and I don't think there are many jobs in the world that don't involve grabbing drinks at the end of the week. However, I've always had a difficult time finding a social balance with my colleagues. It's no different here.
So, the new definitely outweighs the familiar, which is no surprise. I am learning a lot, that's for sure.
One thing seems to make school administrators happier than anything. Meetings. We have a lot of them here.
Students still have many creative excuses for why they couldn't do their homework.
Asking questions in class still is the most useful skill that students are most afraid of mastering.
The key to good teaching remains the same. It all starts with making sure the students and parents know that you care. The next step is to show students that they can succeed. Everything else is just details.
In any profession, colleagues share a special bond, and I don't think there are many jobs in the world that don't involve grabbing drinks at the end of the week. However, I've always had a difficult time finding a social balance with my colleagues. It's no different here.
So, the new definitely outweighs the familiar, which is no surprise. I am learning a lot, that's for sure.
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