Showing posts with label Postman Pat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postman Pat. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Being True to Yourself

I had to make a career decision today. Do I take the easy option or go with my heart?
   I have taught mainly 7 - 10 year olds during my time of teaching. I have had many successes and the very occasional disappointment. All the ages have had their positives and challenges. It has been a matter of adapting to their at times quite different needs and fine tuning my teaching approach. The older children are great to teach as they have more independence. However for myself I have discovered that the younger children really respond to me and I love their energy and enthusiasm.
   This year I have had great fun with my year 3 class. I have thoroughly enjoyed my daily singing with the children. We’ve sung songs from Postman Pat to a bunch of New Order and Elliott Smith songs which I suspect are foreign to many and not in a typical classroom selection. They are songs I have loved to sing and play. It’s wonderful to see the children in full voice and at times jumping around as I play the guitar and sing with them.
   I’ve also loved the way they have got excited by words and how animated they get when they discover them in their reading and use them in their writing and learn to spell words like ‘circumstantialities’.  
   So in whether to go old or young my heart told me that I should teach the younger children as it felt the right decision.
   Have you had recent difficult decisions to make and how did you decide what was the right one?