More time in class?

So, the TA thing.

Just before the half term break my HoD took me aside and asked if I could help another year 9 set. We have a chemist teaching 2 year 9 physics groups this year and it is becoming clear that she is struggling. I was already TAing with one of those classes so it sort of made sense for me to take on the others too.

I just heard today that our scarily-efficient physics teacher is unwell, possibly long term. There is a chance she may be missing all of next term. Obviously we're concerned for her, but also we have concerns for the department as that would be a lot of lessons to cover. We had a similar situation last year when action man was off and it was massively stressful for everyone.

HoD has been saying for months that he'd like to see me make the move into teaching and I'm wondering now whether he might see this situation as an opportunity to push me further in that direction.

If he asked me to take over a couple of her sets, I don't know how I would respond.

Interesting times

CERN

We have a very tired department this morning as we arrived back from CERN at midnight last night.

It was worth the tiredness though. On Wednesday we arrived in Switzerland, booked into our hotel and then headed to Geneva for a tour of the United Nations building. We'd not done that before and it was a bit of a last minute thought but I think we'll probably do it again as it was a really interesting tour and the students all said they enjoyed it.

After a night on the town in Geneva we were up bright and early for our day at CERN. First we had a talk about the history of CERN and what they do there, then we were driven to the far side of the ring to visit the CMS cavern. This was a first for us and very impressive! If only we'd been there 2 days earlier - they had the detector open then for maintenance, but now it's closed again as they are getting ready to fire everything back up early next year. After CMS we had a visit to the magnet testing facility then time to relax in the CERN canteen before we headed back to the airport for the flight home.

All in all it was a pretty successful trip. we had the occasional misplaced passport and some slow moving students, but no one got lost or injured and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Next up - Rome again. Or maybe not as the school are still deciding whether we are allowed two physics trips in one term. I won't be heartbroken if I don't have to book another set of flights!

Friday Funny

Apologies for the language, but it really made me laugh and I just had to share!

A rod for my own back

When I took on the TA thing (which is going pretty well and is mostly good fun), my department agreed that in order for me to manage my increased work load I should drop a lot of the admin stuff I do for them. This term I have had very few photocopying or data entry requests which is great!


The annual trip to CERN is upon us again and of course my HoD has dealt with all the paperwork and admin himself. Wait, no sorry - I got confused for a second there. What I meant to say was that I have done all the paperwork and admin yet again. This morning I did the final job, which was getting the bus timetables for the various journeys we'll be making in Switzerland. Maybe I should have insisted that HoD deal with it himself for once. On the other hand I know that if I don't do it then it won't get done or at least not properly, and then once we are there HoD will utter his usual plaintive cry of 'Labtech666, Help!' and I'll end up sorting it out anyway.


I grumbled about this exact same issue a year ago and of course nothing has changed. By being generally pretty efficient and helpful (unless you catch me on a bad day) I have made it very easy for the teachers to get lazy.


Still I get a free trip to Geneva out of it, so it's not all bad!

How to... check a multimeter fuse

After almost 14 years as a physics technician, I can't believe I only just figured this out!


The multimeters we use have a 250mA fuses, which often gets blown if the students have set the meter up on the wrong setting and the current is too high. For 14 years I've been dismantling meters to check whether a blown fuse is responsible for an experiment not working properly, but now I have the solution!

• take 2 multimeters - one set to ohms and the other, which you want to test, set to mA
• Connect the ohm meter across the mA meter
• If the ohm meter reads 1, then the fuse is blown and you still have to dismantle the meter to change it
• If the ohm meter reads 0 (or thereabouts) then the fuse is fine.

The meter on the left is set to ohms and is testing the one on the right. This multimeter is fine.

Recruiting

There's still time to apply for the chem tech job but we've had a few applicants already.


Earlier this week my HoD said that he'd like me to be involved in the selection process. I guess normally the chemistry HoD would be in charge of this, but he's leaving us at Christmas so it's mostly fallen to my HoD, since he's overall head of science as well as physics. It certainly makes sense for both me and bio tech to at least meet the candidates, since although we don't work very closely we do need to coordinate resources etc at times, but I did point out that generally helping to draw up the shortlist and even maybe being in the interviews is really more of a senior technician thing, 'and I'm not senior technician'. 'Ah, but you will be' was the answer to that one, so he obviously hasn't forgotten the carrot HR dangled under my nose last term when I was thinking of leaving.


This morning he passed me a bunch of application forms to look at. One out of the five is already working as a technician, but all of them have strong science backgrounds. I kind of have a favourite, but that's only on paper. Looking forward to meeting them in the flesh once we set an interview date.

Chemistry vacancy

The rumours turned out to be true, and chem tech is definitely leaving us. The advert for his job has gone live on the school website today along with the job description so fingers crossed we get lots of lovely applicants.


I know I grumble a lot about work, but this is a good place to be most of the time, so don't let me put you off applying!

Back to School

Well, here we are again. I still haven't written about the Gambia Trip for which I apologise. I will make sure I do it in the next week.




Yesterday was my first day back in school, and the first chance to get a look at the new headmaster during the morning's staff briefing. First impressions are good so I look forward to seeing what he will bring to the role. He said that no activity should take priority over any other, so maybe we won't lose as many lessons to sport this year as we have in the past. Here's hoping!


The lab refurbishments happened while we were gone. they're still putting the finishing touches to the new chemistry set up in lab 2 which looks great. Just a pity we don't get to use it in physics. The computer room refurb on the other hand looks like a total cop out. They've put done new flooring and ripped out the old teachers desk... and that's it! No storage, no new teachers desk or even a table to put the teacher's computer on. Nothing. Action man is going to be based in there and I think he has plans to scrounge bits of furniture from elsewhere in the school.


I heard a rumour yesterday that chem tech may have handed in his notice. Will let you know if that turns out to be true and post a link to the job advert when one appears.


I'm still waiting for confirmation of my TA timetable for the year. Hopefully it will materialise before lessons begin on Tuesday.


Here we go again! :)

Off we go!

Today's the day. It's the last day of term and this afternoon I head off to The Gambia with 4 teachers and 24 students for a fortnight of science teaching in 4 Gambian schools. I'm nervous and excited and being pulled about as far out of my comfort zone as it's possible to go.


Still no word from the interview I had last week, so it looks like I'll be staying put for the foreseeable future and I guess next year will bring a whole new set of challenges and surprises. Looking forward to a break first though. :)

Almost there

Today feels very much like the end of term. It's not, as we still have another week to go, but today is the last day of teaching this academic year. Next week all the students will be attending various activities as part of our second annual ArtsFest and all the teachers are involved too but thankfully none of the fun and games will be happening in my area!


My main job over the next few days is to empty lab 2. Over the summer the computer room next to my prep room is being converted into a physics lab and lab 2 is being refurbished and handed over to chemistry so I have to get everything useful out of there and into temporary homes. It's a big job, but strangely satisfying (so far). Of course once we return at the end of august I'll be moving a lot of stuff again as I get my new lab 1 kitted out and ready for action.


No word yet from the interview I had earlier in the week. :(

Interview

Well, in the end I wasn't the only job applicant and yesterday, along with 3 others, I went along for an interview.


It's always interesting to have a look around another school and mostly I really liked what I saw. Sadly the bit I wasn't so keen on was the science department. I think it has potential but some serious money needs to be spent on the labs. It's a much smaller school than I have ever worked in before - about 330 pupils, 6 science teachers, 4 labs. In a way I think that could be very nice as you'd get to know everyone quite quickly and it was emphasised that everyone is expected to get involved in school life beyond their own department. That could be a good thing, I don't know.


The interview process itself consisted of 3 separate interviews with the Head of Science, the Principal and the Vice-Principal. This was the first time I've ever been interviewed by a Principal! All 3 clearly had different aspects that they wanted to find out about. The Head of Science was obviously interested in my credentials as a technician and my skills, the Vice-Principal mainly asked about ways in which I could benefit the school as a whole and my skills and experience outside of science, and the Principal seemed to want to find out who I am as a person, I suppose to decide whether I would fit in.


I felt as though I made a good impression but the one thing no one could tell me was what the hours or salary are likely to be! Those are fairly major considerations and it does seem odd that they couldn't even hint at a ballpark figure. It sounds as though there's a bit of a restructuring of the staff going on at the moment which I guess is fair enough, but if they did offer me the job there's no way I could accept if they can't give me those sort of details.


Last night after I got home I had a call from my best mate (Head of Biology at the school concerned) who told me off the record that I'm definitely the Principal's preferred candidate but that everyone is going to sleep on it and I may hear something by the end of today.


However...  I have now been offered a big juicy carrot by my current school. I knew that going for an interview would shock them into action and they have proved me right. It's a carrot that I won't get until this time next year but it's a good carrot. Can't really say too much because it's all a bit unofficial at the moment.


So now we wait.

Job Application

I applied for a job last week. I've no idea if I actually want it or not, but at the moment I seem to be at a bit of a career crossroads. If I stay where I am then the only way to get any sort of career progression (and hence more money!) is to head down the teaching route - initially as a TA alongside my technician job and then ultimately perhaps going for QTS and moving into teaching full time or working as some weird teacher/technician hybrid. I'm still very unsure as to whether teaching is the right path for me, so my only other option is to look elsewhere for a Senior Technician post.


The job I applied for is one I normally would have ignored. The advert is for a general technician, said 'full or part time' and there was no indication of salary or working hours given which generally suggests to me that it probably wouldn't be worth my while. However, I happen to have a bit of background information on this one.


You see, my best friend is the Head of Biology at this particular school and is very keen for me to apply. At the moment they have a full time technician and a part time assistant. The full timer is now retiring and it looks as though they are waiting to see what sort of applicants they get before deciding whether the part timer gets more hours or whether they appoint a new full time technician. I also happen to know that as of 24 hours before the job closed, they had no applicants at all (mine was a bit late!).


In theory this could put me in a strong position. I've got lots of experience and I know that physics specialists tend to be a bit of a rarity. If I get an interview, and like what I see, I could try to push for a better salary and see what happens. Even if I decide I don't fancy it, or they aren't offering a good enough deal, the fact that I've applied for something else might give my HoD the kick up the backside he needs to get on to HR and sort out my contract and start the process of deciding what my TA salary should be. Could be onto a win-win here!

Group 4 headaches

As part of the science part of their IB (International Baccalaureate) diploma, our lower 6th students have to complete something called a Group 4 Project.
We take the whole group off timetable for a couple of days, and they have to work together in small teams to carry out an experiment and then report their findings to the rest of the group. They are marked on their teamwork and presentations rather than the quality of the experiment.


In the past we have always given them around half a day to plan their experiment and draw up their requisition list and then we as technicians have a week to get the equipment together before the experimental session. This year, however, my HoD decided to let them start the experimental work on day 1. I can see some benefit as they are getting to try out and develop their ideas, but from a technician point of view it is turning out to be a nightmare!


Roughly every 90 seconds I'm getting a knock at the prep room door and usually find a queue of 3 or more students all wanting stuff. They're only asking for little things each time but it's adding up to one big headache especially as many of them are not physicists and don't really know quite what they want. I had one very sweet lad come down from biology who said 'I need something, I think it's called a power pack'. You should have seen the look of terror on his face when I asked what voltage he needed and whether he would like stepped or continuously variable. Then I had to show him how a croc clip works.


They've gone to lunch now, but will be back in about an hour. I'm tempted to lock myself in a cupboard and refuse to come out!

An African adventure

Every year a group of lower sixth students from my school take a 2 week trip to Gambia, where they teach science lessons to Gambian children in 4 different schools as well as doing building work to improve school facilities and even finding time to see a bit of the country.

This year, completely out of the blue, I've been asked to go on the trip! When I was first approached I honestly thought it must be a case of mistaken identity. There's a chemistry teacher with a similar name to me and I assumed it was actually her that they wanted. However, I was wrong. For the first time they are taking a technician.

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. At the moment the students are planning their 20 minute lessons which they will be teaching around 40 times over the course of the fortnight. In previous years it's not been that unusual for students to come knocking on the prep room door a couple of days before the trip asking to borrow equipment and it's not always been possible for me to supply what they want. Being involved for the planning stage means that I can give them advice about what will work and make sure that any extra equipment is ordered in plenty of time.

When we get to Gambia I'll be in technician mode every morning, as we are teaching from 8.30 until 1, making sure the students are getting on ok with their teaching and troubleshooting any equipment issues and then in the afternoon we are visiting local villages and markets as well as a reptile farm, spending time on the beach, having drumming lessons(!) and generally enjoying ourselves.

I'm still stunned to have been invited, but what an opportunity!

Teaching

Yesterday was unusual.

My colleague who used to be our nqt (who shall henceforth be known as Action Man on account of his military background) was ill and unable to get to school at short notice. We managed to arrange cover for his morning lessons, but Thursday afternoon in science is really busy and there weren't any free teachers. The lesson was for one of the classes that I work with when I have my TA hat on, so HoD asked me if I could just watch them while they did a test.

When the class turned up they were distinctly unhappy about the whole test plan. Apparently Action Man had said they wouldn't have the test until next week. I checked with HoD and we agreed they could revise quietly instead.

It turns out that bottom set year 10 don't really get the concept of quiet revision. Almost immediately they started asking me to explain concepts that they were having trouble with and within a few minutes I was more or less teaching them. I drew diagrams on the board, helped them define terms and made up some example calculations. HoD popped in at one point, expecting to see a quiet room and instead found me demonstrating transverse and longitudinal waves with the aid of a slinky!

By the end of the lesson a couple of the girls said I was a really nice teacher and asked if I could take them for chemistry.

I don't know that I'd want that to happen too often, but I actually really enjoyed myself. Those kids had better pass the test now, after all the effort I put into them!

So, I'm a TA now

Just before Christmas senior management gave the go ahead for one technician to start working and training as a TA. We had a technician meeting and neither bio or chem tech wanted the gig, so it fell to me by default.

I've been given a timetable and all my teachers know that during those periods I won't be available to help them out unless it's an emergency. They've also all been asked to be a bit more organised with their requisition sheets so I have plenty of time to plan my week. I'll believe that when I see it!

The school want me to get a qualification, so I'm being enrolled on a competence-based thing called 'supporting teaching and learning'. A lot of the stuff I do as a technician will count, but when the assessor comes to visit she will need to see me supporting in Maths, ICT and English.

Maths and ICT are no problem. Plenty of both to be found in physics. English on the other hand is not so straightforward and I've been told I will need to do 1 lesson of English a week.

So far I'm starting to quite enjoy the physics lessons, but I'm dreading English. It was one of my worst subjects at school and I don't know what possible use I could be in a bottom set year 11 English class. Apparently the English department are delighted so I hope I don't disappoint them too much!