So, as promised, here is a blog specifically about school. You wouldn’t think it could be that different from school in the States, but you’d be wrong. I feel like I’m going through a crash course in British style teaching and curriculum to desperately keep on top of things.
For starters, there’s uniforms. And I love it. My students look like they’re in Gryffindor because of our colours and if I try hard enough, I can feel almost like I’m teaching at Hogwarts (minus the amazing castle and, you know… the magic, and stuff). It’s great. Honestly, I understand now what the research tells us- that uniforms decrease the “need to impress” and remove some of the social anxieties that come along with having to choose what to wear every day. If it’s already dictated, there’s less stress on students in general.
Next, the schedule- and it’s something I’m still trying to get used to. In secondary school in the states (for the most part), you would have the same schedule every day and typically teach multiple sections of the same subject. For example, I taught all 9th graders last year (year 10s) and my schedule consisted of five sections of Algebra 1. Now this highlights several differences in the systems- daily schedules, naming grades, mathematics curriculum, and lesson planning.
Here, my daily schedule is different for two full school weeks- 10 straight days of different classes at different times. Every day is filled with frequent checks to my timetable to make sure I am where I am supposed to be and me asking myself, “now, what am I doing next?” It can be rather nice having different schedules and seeing different students each day. It breaks things up a bit and gives me something to look forward to if I have a rough day (“Phew! Tomorrow I only have to teach two lessons!” or “Thank goodness I don’t have to see them again for three days!”), but also prevents me from settling into any sort of routine because each day I have different things to plan for.
Now, as you may have noticed, separating students by age is slightly different per country. In the US, we have grades starting with kindergarten and going up to 12th- and all are mandatory. In the UK, they start counting years at age 5, so kindergarten and year 1 are the same. The US typically has a three-tier system consisting of elementary school, middle school (or junior high), and high school. Here, typically there are only two tiers- primary and secondary. Secondary school is made up of students in year 7 through year 11 and sometimes, like Marlborough, includes the sixth form (year 12 & 13). School is only mandatory through year 11 (age 16) and the sixth form is optional (and must be tested in to) only for those students planning on continuing their education at university.
Another big difference is that no one is held back. If a student fails to progress in the US, they do not pass on to the next grade and must repeat classes to earn the proper credits. Here, all students are separated into sets based on ability in the subject and attend class with like-ability students. Those in the higher sets tend to be highly skilled and motivated students who enjoy being challenged. They learn higher level material and get through more of it. Those in the lower sets are students who either do not understand or do not care to understand the subject material. Each set is challenged at their level which means that the lower sets usually are not even presented with the full breadth of a topic and their outcome expectations are reduced to match the limited material presented. In the UK, students who fail to meet the standards are just moved into a lower set. Eventually, all students will be held accountable for a certain amount of basic information in each subject.
I’m not sure which system I prefer. On one hand, I like the accountability in the US system, but on the other hand, I think it is also unreasonable to expect such high-level material to be conquered by ALL students. The UK system understands that not everyone is university bound and allows for difference in interests and abilities while still maintaining a lower bound of education necessary for adult life.
I will say one thing- separating students into ability sets can make for one hell of a class. In the US, most classes wind up being the same size (large- usually around 30), but the disruptive, intentional non-learners are typically split between all the classes, so you only wind up with a few behaviour issues per class. Having a bottom set of year 10s means I have a smaller class (only 12), but the entire class is made up of students who can’t focus, have no interest in maths, or who may struggle due to other issues. It’s difficult to say the least and much of my time is spent on classroom management rather than curriculum. At least this is balanced by my top set year 8s where I have yet to have any significant behaviour issues and am delighted with the insightful questions and friendly challenges in class.
As for the curriculum, I am dismally unprepared. Being trained in the US system with each year of math separated into distinct branches- algebra, trigonometry, calculus- has me grasping at straws here in the UK. Here, they support a fully integrated maths curriculum (US folks, think Common Core with general math instead of subject specific). Each year should cover all branches of maths. My problem is that I am used to the Illinois State Standards. They spell out what should be covered in each subject each year and usually have delightful examples and sample problems to help guide the difficulty level. Here, I am faced with different curriculum expected to be covered by different sets (so not all year 9s will be learning the same thing) and the extent of certain topics and the depth to which I should teach them varies by set. I just feel horribly lost and concerned that the material I am presenting is either too hard or not hard enough. I have no idea what they learned in previous years, so even if I feel confident that I’ve prepared a proper lesson, I may begin it and find that the students don’t have the background to complete the tasks I ask of them.
So, to wrap up, school is good for the most part. It’s got ups and downs. There’s wonderful students I wish I could have in every lesson and students who make me want to load up on Xanax. I just wish someone could magically take my years of education training and hit a translate button so I understood what exactly was going on here. I’m a bit tired of turning to my neighbors in the maths office and asking, “What does this mean?” or “What do I do with this?” I miss feeling confident in my teaching.
Adventure Time with D & Co. 