Risky Business

My head of department and I have a specific type of lesson that we call “the sacrificial lamb” - ironic really seeing as neither of us are in any way religious and we’re both vegan.  However, what I am talking about, of course, has nothing to do with lambs, or sacrifice. What this refers to is a lesson where you put yourself fully out of your teaching comfort zone and do something entirely new, experimental and left field.  I have to be honest, it’s risky. But the idea is that if it goes completely wrong, it’s not the end of the world and it gets written off. One lesson sacrificed for the greater good of teacher development. Nonetheless this isn’t the type of lesson you want to do all the time.  And it should be reserved for classes that you really trust as lessons like this have all likelihood of falling flat on their face. It goes without saying that it is best avoided with new classes and of course they should NEVER, I repeat NEVER be used in an interview lesson despite what any teachers out there might have been taught during their PGCE.  I vividly remember being told the urban legend of the English teacher who took a sack of onions into an interview lesson as a prop to support her teaching of the love metaphor in Carol Ann Duffy’s “Valentine” and bagged her dream job, but I mean, come on. What teacher in their right mind is going to start messing around with onions with children that you are meeting for the first time?  Well, I was pretty impressionable during my training year and freshly inspired from the legacy left by the mysterious onion wielder I took a shot at this type of thing. My first experience of the sacrificial lamb. I confidently bowled up to an interview for a job I really wanted, lesson prepared within an inch of its life, clutching, god I can barely type it without cringing. An umbrella.  To assist my teaching of metaphors and personification in creative writing. An umbrella! Jesus who did I think I was? I can still picture the vacant faces of 25 thirteen year olds looking at me bemusedly as I stood under the umbrella at the front of the classroom for ten minutes trying to explain the relevance of my ridiculous prop. Understandably they were either confused by the teaching method or too distracted by the strange woman in front of them to concentrate but either way, a few hours later I got a call with the news that, unsurprisingly, they wouldn’t be offering me the position.

 In recent months in my endless quest to get out of my comfort zone I have been trying out some new stuff in the classroom .  Not quite sacrificial lamb stuff but something nonetheless. In my very first placement school, I worked with an incredibly charismatic teacher who always used to put classical music on when her students were completing original writing to aid concentration and assist creativity.  I’ve always wanted to try this out (historically it has always helped me with my own focus which is no mean feat as I’m basically ADHD disguised as enthusiastic) but I’ve always been a bit scared to do it. This school was an all girls grammar, very academic, the sort of place where the girls were all avid readers, mad for English, would keep their hands up to contribute for so long that they would have to use their resting arm to hold it up - you know the type.   It stank of classical music whilst writing. Whereas where I work now is a bit different. My kids are amazing don’t get me wrong but the Year 13s that I wanted to use it with don’t have quite the same relationship with English to put it lightly.

 But last week I decided to be brave and try it out.

 In my quest to be more experimental I’ve tried previous things already this year, all of which have failed miserably.  In a moment of madness I decided to move all the desks in my classroom into a giant E shape to try to encourage more university like discussion and maturity in my students.  The outcome? More noise than you can even imagine. Picture 27 rowdy music students all sitting opposite each other in fours, some with their backs to me (great planning on my part,) essentially replicating the behaviours they would probably display in the canteen.  That was quickly changed back. I’ve also tried to calm the rowdy mood of my last period on a Tuesday by bringing in sweets and biscuits as a treat for my kids. Well. Rowdy soon turned to riotous as they fought over the last party ring and then proceeded to munch and rustle all through their sugar highs for the remainder of the lesson.   And, unfortunately for me the vice principal appeared at my classroom door to observe my teaching, just as the sugar frenzy ensued. I won’t be doing that again in a hurry.

 But I am pleased to say that the classical music? It worked like a charm.  The atmosphere in the room was precious. Sensible, focused, adult. 50 minutes of writing felt like twice that time and the work completion rate nearly doubled too. Not quite a sacrificial lamb but definitely something I will do again.  I would love to be able to show off my knowledge of classical music at this point and tell you which composer I was listening to but sadly I cannot.  I did however listen to a few YouTube playlists to find the perfect one for the classroom and below is the beautiful one that I used

Happy listening!