Blog Post by Matt Hamer
People probably define me as the “Head of Year 7,” however if someone was to ask me what my job title is, my answer will always be “PE and Business Teacher.” I take great care and pride in my additional roles of being the Head of Y7 and being a DSL, and I feel very fortunate and privileged to be given the opportunities that I have to impact on the lives of young people, however, I see these roles as exactly that… additional.
In a busy day/week/term, my thought process is always on my classes, I suppose Y11 in particular, and my time, priorities and energy will be put into those first, thus allowing me to filter down my responsibilities from there. My goal is to ensure the students in my classes are successful but I am also empowered to support others to ensure their students are successful through my pastoral support.
Just stop a second and think about how lucky we are; we have 25 young people in front of us, some of them can’t afford a new pair of shoes, some of them are in foster care, some dealing with a family bereavement, some simply have no support/guidance at home… and yet 23 of them would do anything you’d ever ask of them! Yet, we all love to focus and complain on those 2 that don’t – maybe that’s okay though, as long as we focus on them correctly. Here’s how I do:
As a teacher, like us all, I try my best to teach from the top down. I will always teach the students how to get full marks on the exam question/piece of coursework, with the aim for each student to reach as close to that goal as they possibly can. However, there may be a way of doing that whilst focusing on those “2” who have barriers. When planning a lesson or making a resource/task, I always think of how engaged (name of boy with poor ATL) would be. With anything “you’re only as strong as your weakest link.” I always feel if I get those individuals on side, then the rest will follow along. When modelling an answer, for example, I aim to target (name of boy with poor ATL) to support with the answer, because let’s be honest, without us (me and his peers), he’s too lazy to do it himself, so let’s guide him along with the process… maybe he’ll have a chance then?
You’re probably thinking, wait on, “what about those 23 legends in the class?”….. We’ve already established this, they will be fine as you’ve put the structures in place to allow them to achieve at the highest level, you’ve told them how to get full marks, and they’ll do all they can to get as close to that, anyway. If everything was our priority, then nothing would be – so when you feel like you’re spinning too many plates, remember your main priority and keep it as exactly that.
Final thought.
As teachers, how often do we feel let down because that child got 2 grades below their target? Or you didn’t hit FFT20 because of uncontrollable factors? This in turn equates to us answering questions about the who/what/whys. Let’s just make sure we do our part so (name of boy with poor ATL/ HAP girl) doesn’t feel the same level of disappointment, too.
