Miss Art of Teaching

Easter break is a good way to catch up with high school friends. I always tell students that the friendships you build at school can become lifelong ones. We need to make an effort to keep them and communicate our thoughts well. Throughout my friendship journeys, I have drifted apart with some people and with others I have come back together even stronger than before. We have all walked through different hardships and also shared many great memories together. Every day I chat with six other girls via a mobile app called 'Line'. We enjoy talking about work, relationships and anything in general. The girls help keep my spirit up high and I try to do the same for them. The weather today was super. I keep forgetting how blessed I am to be born and raised in Australia. The scenery is breathtaking especially if you drive further up away from the suburban and city life. We decided to go to Burrawang to check out the Easter markets. I ended up splurging a bit on things I didn't ...

Term One is almost over and I am so proud of all the Year 7 students. They have made my job as the Year Adviser very rewarding. Students have settled in well and are enjoying all the different classes. By teaching four Year 7 classes, I have been able to build strong relationships with students. I am able to learn about their strengths, build onto their confidence and make sure they feel safe to thrive in this new environment.  I always remind students that they are responsible for building onto other people's memories. At my school we do not tolerate verbal, emotional, physical bullying or exclusion. Students have the power to make the right choices and to make a positive impact. It is lovely to see students putting in the extra effort to include others. They also understand that if something is not right, they tell a teacher straight away and don't fight back. By fighting back, they can make the situation worse, get hurt or be blamed for initiating the incident. It...

I love how I can have honest conversations with students. I've been wearing this shirt forever and must have gained some weight. My button decided today that it will undo itself while I was teaching in front of a class of Year 7 students. I spent the start of the lesson explaining to students what they need to do. When I finished, I happened to look down and was horrified to find it had un-button itself. Then I had to spend the next five minutes explaining why it might be nice to tell the teacher when something isn't right i.e. fly undone, button popping off. This brought back memories of my history teacher who had his zip undone and none of the students in my class was brave enough to mention it to the teacher. It was also amusing to find a note in my suggestions jar. It recommended to me to 'check your shirt when coming into the classroom'. Note taken! Above: When sticky tape is a life saviour. 

I love the fact that I am presenting more in front of larger groups of people. It is training me to become more comfortable inside my introvert shell.  Above: Prepping for today's Year 7 meeting This year I am teaching Year 11 Visual Arts students. I rewrote the program and assessment tasks. The first unit requires them to make five artworks based on one sentimental object. Last lesson, they had trouble thinking of what was sentimental in their life. I brought in my own box of memories to help students understand what makes an object sentimental. I was able to capture the attention of all my students. It was exciting for them to see what kind of objects was being taken out of the box. I took this opportunity explain how a strong concept/narrative holds the attention of the audience. It was also a fantastic way for students to learn more about me and to see that I am more than just a teacher - I am a human being with emotions just like them! Above: Box decorated fr...

Year 7 will start their first day tomorrow. I still remember my first day of high school. I was standing alone in my roll call line waiting for instructions on where to go. The only other person I knew, was standing very far away. My six years of high school life was like a roller coaster ride. There were many ups and downs. However, my 'memories' remind me of how high school was not just about the academic side but about making life long friends. Every day I speak to my high school friends via sms and I meet them regularly for food feasts and hiking trips. Since I am the Year 7 Adviser, I want students to see the value of making memories. It has become the focus of my speech. I want students to make memories together. I want them to also understand that we all take part in someone's memories, so we need to remember to be kind to one another. Kindness is also the theme for my classroom this year.  I will be taking a lot of photos as I love recording down memories and I...