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"I'm a boring teacher...even in term 6."

Over the last week, many teachers (myself included) have taken to their keyboards to express their objection to the TES’s policy of allowing teachers to charge for their resources. Unfortunately, this advert has riled me yet again.

Term 6 has the potential to be a difficult time in many schools; within a few weeks of term starting most assessments and exams are over. Not only this, but teachers and pupils are tired, everyone is quietly (or not so quietly) counting down to six weeks of rest, and lessons are often disrupted by trips and other events. All of these factors increase the risk of term 6 essentially becoming a throwaway: six weeks of “exciting” lessons which serve as fillers before the holiday.

The issue with this approach is that it sends a very clear message to pupils: lessons should only be challenging if they are leading up to an assessment. As result, once assessments are over, pupils are free to “enjoy” their lessons once again with easy topics or time fillers.

If we are to instill the inherent worth of education in pupils and retain our integrity as teachers, all lessons need to be challenging, regardless of whether the content is assessed or not. Equally, with great power comes with great responsibility. If pupils disrupt my lessons I have the right to isolate them for 24 hours. Am I willing to phone parents and inform them that I isolated their child because they weren’t paying attention to a DVD?

Term 6 provides teachers with an excellent opportunity to emphasise the inherent value of education and this can be communicated in a number of ways:

·        Teaching something outside of the taught curriculum
This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to demonstrate their subject knowledge and the passion for their subject. It teaches pupils that assessment is not what makes subjects worth learning and will hopefully help them to ‘catch’ the passion for the subject.

·         Projects (with structure!) which consolidate subject knowledge taught throughout the year
This gives pupils the chance to demonstrate the subject knowledge they have gained throughout the year. It also provides excellent opportunities for sustained deliberate practice which works towards mastery of different topics and techniques.

Obviously, these are not the only two options. However, whatever the approach, the emphasis needs to be on activities (especially those which span multiple lessons) which are well-scaffolded, have a clear learning purpose and which are challenging.

In one of my previous posts, “I’m a boring teacher and I’m proud of it”, I spoke about my belief that the purpose of education is to learn rather than to be entertained. I believe that the pitfalls some teachers fall into during term 6 highlight another misguided view; just as education should not have the happiness of its pupils as its main goal, nor should assessment be its ultimate purpose. Term 6 is an excellent opportunity to communicate this message. However, this should never be at the cost of academic rigor. 

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