General Chat

I was really lucky to go to one of the best teacher training colleges in the country. My husband went to the same one several years before me so we have the same background. We were told and really believe that teaching is a drawing out of the child and not a pumping in! It is obviously important to make sure they have the necessary skills to study but with primary children it is vital to keep that spark of enthusiasm. If you can get them really keen then little kids will really work hard......whatever they are studying. I am not keen on being made to keep to a strict curriculum. I stopped supply teaching a few years ago and became a freelance artist because I found the National Curriculum didn't give me the chance to do things on the spur of the moment as I'd done before. In one of my first classes a child unexpectedly brought in a wasps' nest (empty fortunately!). I decided that morning to have a themed day and we did bees and wasps, drew hexagons and related geometrical designs in art/maths? plus wrote and read about them. We found masses to do and it was a really happy creative day. Sue