Teach Primary Issue 18.6

Q A & 1 What is your idea of perfect happiness in your job? Having children completely engaged in their activity. Those times when everyone gets on board with the lesson, and shows a real interest, are really special. If children are not enjoying their time with you, they won’t gain any real benefit; but it’s not always easy to get everyone on board. Every now and again though, you get to witness one of those light bulb moments; something just falls into place. Or you might have just one particular pupil who never really engages with the class and they start to show a real interest. Maybe they suddenly find just enough confidence to participate with their group, and finally feel their ideas and suggestions are heard and appreciated. This can turn everything around for them. 2 What is your greatest fear at work? To have children say they’re bored. I put a lot of effort into making my teaching time interesting, and know from experience that once you lose the class energy it can be difficult to bring it back. 3 What is your current state of mind? Inspired. I’m about to start work on a poetry workshop with a Year 5 group 7 What do you consider your greatest teaching achievement? Our end-of-year production of A Christmas Carol . There was a really bad bug going around and lots of performers – including two Scrooges – had to drop out. We had to muddle our way through as best we could and hope our authentic costumes would carry the production. In the end, it was a great production and everyone involved had so much fun. We turned all the chaos into an exciting time. There was a real sense of achievement and camaraderie in managing to pull it off. 8 What is your most treasured teaching possession? My prop box. I run lots of drama classes, but this is also great for creative writing. It’s just lots of objects in a big cardboard box, a very eclectic mix. There’s a very battered old-fashioned telephone, a plastic vase, a hair dryer, a handbag etc., lots of old things that are great for kick-starting story ideas; pick three items and use these as the basis for a story, or ideas for small group drama improvisations – loads of fun! TP and have been looking at all the places we find poetry, such as song lyrics, advertising jingles and rhyming story books. I still get excited by it all. 4 What do you consider the most overrated teacher virtue? To hold curriculum above everything else. Although access to an education is a truly marvelous thing, which when fully utilised can change a person’s life forever, kindness should always be both considered and taught as the most important quality anyone can have, and should be prioritised in the teaching profession. To show compassion, never to bully or make fun of others, and to always think of other people’s feelings are the most important things we can teach children. Imagine a world where kindness was prioritised over SATs results. 5 On what occasion do you lie to your class? When I say I tried really hard when I was in school! 6 Which words or phrases do you most overuse with your class? Probably, “Today we’re going to do something really great.” It doesn’t work if you say it at the beginning of every lesson. And, “Can you please not talk when I’m talking. It’s very rude.” We take the famous Proust questionnaire and pose eight of its questions to a fellow educator. Take a peek into the deepest depths of a teacher’s soul... NAME: Karen Hart JOB ROLE: Drama and literacy specialist, author and freelance journalist EXTRA INFO: Author of Faiths and Festivals Book 2 (Practical Pre-school Books, £19.99) 98 | www.teachwire.net F EATURE S BACK PAGE Karen.Journalist “Imagine a world where kindness was prioritised over SATs results”