Adebayor's started so well for Man City
Thom gets in touch
We're following newly qualified teacher, Thom Dunn as he begins his first year in the profession. Find out more about Thom from his previous blog entry here
The last time we heard from Thom he had four weeks of teaching under his belt and was looking forward to the October half term break. Now he's back in school to complete the final half of the autumn term. Here's what he's been up to...
Brilliant. Made it. After the heat, the oasis of half term holidays was glorious. We’d earned it, staff and kids alike. One of my final lessons before the break was with a Year 7 class, in which I did an activity aimed at encouraging creative thinking skills: ‘if happiness was a shape, what would it be?’ What colour is a headache?’ That sort of thing. It got me thinking too – if teaching was an object what would it be? A relentlessly surprising jack-in-a-box sprung to mind. My half-term of teaching ended with a Year 9 lesson. The inevitable pressures of assessment deadlines meant that it was an essay-writing lesson and, even though the fatigue was palpable, they put their heart and souls into it; they did themselves (and me) proud.
The icing on the cake was the commitment of the student who, frustrated at having left the first half of his essay at home, cycled home under his own volition at the end of the day, hurried back, and thrust it into my hand just as I was leaving. See? Jack-in-a-box.
For the holidays, my girlfriend and I went away for a few days. She’s an NQT too, and it was bliss for us both to recharge and indulge. The week ended with me DJ’ing at a club night in Norwich called D:tox, an appropriate name considering the holiday’s cerebral abstinence. Now it’s all systems go again for the long run to Christmas. As well as on this blog, you’ll also be able to hear about it on my imminent audio diary for Victoria Derbyshire’s show. Stay tuned for more ups, downs, and jack-in-a-box moments.
