Journal Writing Experience

Journal writing experience  

Task 2b

I have been keeping a journal for the last couple of weeks which first felt very silly but the more I do it the more I seem to relax into it. It has helped break down situations in my head after writing them down on paper, not only have I been writing about what I've done, but what the atmosphere was in a certain situation or event, how I felt about it, how it made me feel, how other people reacted, what someone done well, or how I could of handled a situation better.

I am going to write about Wednesday 22nd October as its one of my busier days teaching in Canterbury at a youth club. I have tried many different ways of writing in my journal and certain ones have helped me on when reflecting on my day. One of my favourite ways to write was writing a list, at first it felt awkward just writing down things I saw, did and felt but I felt random things pop into my head and then I went into more detail on a few bullet points after I wrote a list of things. 

Wednesday 22nd October 2014

• Parking was busy
• Children at the primary school were full of beans
• A supply teacher had a different way of teaching. Drama teacher teaching dance different perspective, less technique or control, but more energy, liveliness, entertaining, amusing, funny etc...
• Weather was nice for this time of month, blue sky but cold air
• Traffic in Canterbury was busier than normal, roads were busier than normal in general
• Grade 4/5 were less chatty after our chat last week=BONUS!
• Classes worked really hard, even though tired by the end of the evening, especially Grade 3 tap picked up their dance very quickly! Was really impressed, surprised, proud
• Grade 4 ballet need to work on technique more turn out, stretching feet, lengthening legs and arms
• Tired atmosphere in Grade 4 tap, last lesson of the evening, atmosphere was lethargic. Kids feel drained by last lesson after some students have done 3 or so lessons.
• Enjoy teaching Wednesdays, evening raced along!
• Children are in need of half term! Catch up on sleep as there is so much to do before Christmas still

I dread Wednesday on Tuesday nights as there is so much to do and so much to plan for all my lessons Wednesday, I teach a couple of hours at a secondary school, primary school then drive to Canterbury to teach 6 lessons in the evening after school hours. There is a lot to plan especially this time of year when we are focusing on pantomime dances which us teacher choreograph and don't spend as much time on syllabus work which all us teacher know inside out and back to front.

 Teaching new dances they are going to perform on stage is always exciting for them so I feel the classes are slightly chattier too but in a good way, it is sometimes hard when people are missing if they're ill, on holiday etc... as each student has their own specific place and always makes the formation look odd which can be frustrating sometimes. The classes I teach in Canterbury have worked hard this term and I teach a great group of children, none of them are rude and always a nice atmosphere in class which makes a huge difference. Don't get me wrong some classes have their moments of being far too chatty especially my Grade 4 ballet class which consists of 14 girls around the age of 13-15 so they are always gossiping but I sat them all down last week and told them they need to be more focused especially in ballet as ballet should be disciplined otherwise their dance isn't going to look as clean and as tight as it could, they have all taken what I said on board and came back and were a lot less chatty so we got far more done compared to last week. Even one girl at the end of the class commented on how much we got done and most of them agreed with her which goes to show how much you can learn when you actually fully engage your mind and concentrate.  

Also today I was teaching at a secondary school later than normal so couldn't make it to the Primary School in the next town on time so we had a supply teacher stand in, and I watched/assisted for the second half of the class. This supply teacher that stood in for me today actually studied Drama at college, and normally teaches drama or musical theatre and had a completely different way of teaching. She focused her class more on energy and just letting yourself go rather than technique, for example the children got into pairs and then ran across the room and after every 3 runs and did a leap, instead of spending time explaining lifting one legs and thinking of jumping over a puddle and springing onto the leg in the air she showed them once and then just let them had a go. I think the children preferred this as they just want to give it a try and not put too much thought into it, and it was nice to see some of the children pick up leaping after just watching the teacher do it once, but some children needed to practice more as some were just hopping and didn't quite get the concept of springing onto the other leg and stretching their legs in the air. I think they all had fun and as she was a drama teacher she was very entertaining to watch with different voices and, pretending to cry and if the children smiled then she would smile too. I think the children had a lot of fun and relaxed quickly as some children can be quite stiff and awkward around a new teacher they have never met before. I picked up a few different ways to react with the kids and different voices and joking around with the kids can make it fun for them, but after a while I think the kids felt too relaxed and was very loud and more out of control than normal, and if the class was always like that I think the children would think they could get away with a lot more, like shouting and being sarcastic to teacher which I don't really agree with. I think the children should have a lot of fun and laugh in dance class obviously but maybe I wouldn't take it as far as this other teacher. I think it is nice to have a fun crazy class if you are just going to meet the children once or twice but if you see them every week you need to make sure the children know you're a teacher (not just a friend) and respect what you say. 

Wednesday's always fly along, I think because I am constantly teaching or driving to the next location to teach there is no chance for the day to drag. By the end of the evening I feel exhausted but also feel like I have accomplished a lot, once my mind is focused I normally achieve all my lesson plans and I hope the children go home feeling like they have had a successful day just like me.