Schools aren't as safe as we'd like to hope

#5 Schools aren't as safe as we'd like to hope

At this time yesterday morning, she would have been preparing for a new week in school. No doubt she would have been going over her lessons for the day. Reminding herself to photocopy the homework. Have a word with the Year 6 child about the work he'd struggled with. In the back of her mind she may have been preparing for half term, perhaps a holiday to look forward to. Maybe she was thinking ahead to retirement, surely not too far away, and receiving her well-earned pension whilst spending her time with those that she loved.

 Nothing could have prepared her for what lay ahead. 

Anne Maguire's tragic death has horrified and spread fear among teachers everywhere. Whilst now is the time to pray for her family and those that witnessed this terrible incident in Leeds, you can guarantee that in the medium term, there will be national calls to tighten security in schools; and that unions will use this event to demonstrate the pressure that teachers face in the classroom.

As a primary school teacher, I do feel safe. I feel in control. I feel strong. In a secondary school, the children are a lot bigger, a lot stronger. If I taught in a secondary school, this morning I would feel a little less safe. It's not the knives that I'd be worrying about...it's everything else that children bring to school.

Put it like this. Here is a system that throws together several hundred children each day. Each one has witnessed different things around the breakfast table, or perhaps the night before. Arguments. Laughter. Domestic abuse. Love. Graphic language. Nurture. Abuse. A good proportion will have returned from school the previous day and spent the time in between in front of a screen, watching TV that is unsuitable for them or playing ridiculously lifelike games that parents bought to keep them quiet. They have not been socialising with their peers. They have been shooting, killing, even performing acts of a sexual nature on a computer. They have been accessing hardcore porn which is so prevalent on the Internet. Their worldview is shaped by such things. Their relationships are shaped by such things. And so often, they don't have a clue about the consequences of their actions in the real world.

And so, to lessons. Crammed in a hot classroom, sitting closely to someone you don't like. The pressure of exams and tests. Black children, white children, Christians, Muslims, boys, girls. Teachers. Children. Friends. Enemies. Us. Them.

Snap.

This morning, two lives have been ruined. A 15-year old boy who is currently in police custody and a 61-year old teacher who paid the ultimate price in a career where there should never have been a price to pay.

Schools aren't safe places. What can we change? More security? Police on site? CCTV in every classroom? Stab vests for teachers?

No. It's too much. All we can do is teach good values, to parents and children. Teach about consequences. Teach against violence. It may not be enough, but I'm a teacher, not a security guard.

RIP Anne Maguire.

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Never save cutting and sticking until the end of term

#4 Never save cutting and sticking until the end of term

With a hectic school schedule, and short lesson times, the temptation is to wait until the end of term for the children to glue everything into their books.

Don't do it. Just don't. It will be chaos. Their books will look like a result of the Big Bang. And the cleaners will hate you.

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The best books have a happy ending.

#3 The best books have a happy ending

If you read just one book to your Year 6 class, make it this one.

'Wonder' by RJ Palacios is an emotional rollercoaster. It follows the story of a  child with Treacher Collins Syndrome. Children who have this condition have facial deformities.

August, the central character, just wants to lead a normal life, but he can't because of the way others view him.

Without giving too much away, this is a story about  a family's love, a boy's courage, bullying, friendship and being different. It's a story that touches on human emotions in incredible ways. 

Using the slogan, 'You can't blend in when you're born to stand out', this book celebrates our differences but makes us feel deeply uncomfortable about the times when we have judged others because of the way they look.

We laughed. Some of us cried. I choked up on several occasions as I read out loud. And all the while, I couldn't see how things could turn out well for this kid. 

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Don't judge a book by it's cover. Don't judge a person by their face.

Read it!

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Meat is Murder

#2 Meat is Murder

Morrissey is a famous vegan. As a big fan of his,
I've still found some of his rants quite amusing. Until now.

A circle time discussion of class pets was meant as a light-hearted way of getting to know the kids better. We had several dogs, cats and rabbits. We had a hamster and some budgies and a number of goldfish. And Chloe had a pig.

"A pig? That's a bit different. Where does it live?"

"In the garden," she replied.

"Why do you have a pig, when everyone else has dogs and cats?"

"So we can eat it," she replied as if this was a stupid question.

The class looked horrified. I looked horrified. In my shock, I moved swiftly on to teaching subordinate clauses, trying desperately to get the image out of my head of Chloe with a bolt-gun to the head of an unsuspecting Percy Pig.

My own attitude to eating meat is anything goes, as long as I don't see it alive beforehand. My visit to Korea, for example, still haunts me. At a fish market, my friend chose a fish for our tea. It was swimming in a tank with others. The fish seller, grabbed it from the tank, killed it with a fatal blow and then sliced it before our eyes. There was no need to cook it...it was still warm. Then there was the time I went sea fishing off Bridlington. I caught about a dozen mackerel. Back home, they remained in the freezer for months. I couldn't bring myself to eat something that had been happily going about it's life in the North Sea before I put an abrupt end to it.

What a waste.

Recently, I've read a book that has changed my attitude. 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer opened my eyes to the appalling conditions that animals on factory farms contend with. It gave evidence on the pain and stress they endure, which were beyond what even a depraved imagination could comprehend. It also gave some alarming statistics about the dangers posed by contaminated meat entering the human food chain, something which occurs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

"We know, at least, that this decision will help prevent deforestation, curb global warming, reduce pollution, save oil reserves, lessen the burden on rural America, decrease human rights abuses, improve public health, and help eliminate the most systemic animal abuse in world history."

Mostly, this book made me ask questions. Can I justify eating a creature whose only purpose in a painful and inhumane existence was to feed me for just one meal? 

Whilst it wouldn't turn me to vegetarianism, this book has made me question where my meat is coming from. I want to know that my meat has enjoyed life before its slaughter. I want to know that it was slaughtered as humanely as is possible. I want to know exactly what vitamins and nutrients it was fed in its diet.

There will be a price to pay. Organic meat is more expensive (and let's face it, there has to be a reason why meat is cheap compared to in the past), but perhaps we eat too much meat anyway?

So this book has changed the way I think. It's the reason why I regret not doing anything with the mackerel I caught. It's the reason why I will happily eat the carcass of lamb that a nearby farmer gave to us recently. Finally, it has made me see that Chloe was right after all.

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BEST CLASSROOM APRIL FOOLS PRANK EVER

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April Fool

#1 Some word problems are impossible.

April Fool's Day. Can teachers join in? Is it permissible to fib to your class for one morning, for the sake of entertainment? Well, we do it for Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, so on that basis, I decided to set my top set maths class an impossible question:

My maths set love a challenge. I convinced them with some 'Higher Order Thinking Skills', it could be done. Every one of them started writing calculations on whiteboards. Various strategies and methods were used. One table were convinced that it was to do with the area and perimeter of a compound shape. Only one child, a Chinese boy with a keen eye for maths and an even keener eye for logical thinking, didn't attempt it.

After fifteen minutes of hard work, my bright maths set explained their answers in great detail. Several of them had got the same answer of 28. A few others chose 3. A handful had gone into algebra. When I revealed the true answer, I was greeted by blank and confused faces. Only then did it twig with one of them. The others laughed. I laughed. The Chinese boy continued to look confused. It took me another fifteen minutes to explain the concept of April Fool's Day to him.

Despite my amusement, I felt slightly bad that I had exploited the good nature of my maths set. It did make me think though, that teachers get away with telling a fair few lies in the nature of their profession.

Here's one example: My eldest daughter, 5 years old, came home from school last week and said, "Daddy, Mrs A can see through walls."

My ears pricked up. "Really?"

"Yes," she replied. "She can see into the cloakroom and outside."

"Does she see good things as well as bad things?" 

"Yes. But mostly bad things."

Lesson of the day: Tell the truth in all circumstances. But remember that a little bit of creative embellishment can make for a happier - and more entertaining - classroom environment.

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