I have just completed my final teaching practicum for 2015. This means in a few short weeks I’ll be finishing my studies and be entering the big wide world of being a ‘real’ teacher. I am tired and rundown. I got the flu on the second to last day of term; the doctor was concerned that I would get pneumonia. Needless to say, I gave my last teaching placement everything I had. The upside is that my practicum report reflects this, so although I feel like I have squeezed out the last bit of juice I had, my efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
I was lucky enough to get a placement at Mount Barker Waldorf School. I have have previously mentioned I have a particular interest in alternative types of education. I was hoping that my time at this Steiner school would be an eye-opening experience. I really want to know how creativity can be fostered rather that stifled in education.
For my placement I was given a class 8 Main Lesson, class 8 English and class 10 English (they refer to year levels as ‘classes’ and not ‘years’). For people who are not familiar with Steiner Education the concept of a Main Lesson will be completely foreign. From reception to class 12 every school day starts with a Main Lesson. This is a two-hour block of time in which various subjects are taught in detail over a three to four-week period. For example, my Main Lesson was the Industrial Revolution which ran for three weeks in total. Any teacher will tell you that this is a huge responsibility. Not only in preparation but in marking. Students are expected to do 45 minutes of homework every night for main lesson which is due the next day. If you consider the time it takes to make a PowerPoint for your following day’s lesson, prepare worksheets, extension work and extra support materials (for those students needing scaffolding) there’s little time to mark 60-90 pieces of work everyday/night (this is an approximate indication of the level of marking expected per day. Students may complete 1-2 pieces in class and one more for homework. In a class of 31 this marking becomes overwhelming by day two).
Needless to say, this was extremely challenging and tested my time management skills. Some how in the end I got there. Looking back I’m not sure how I did it. The general rule of thumb at Mount Barker Waldorf School is that any teacher who is on Main Lesson is excused from staff and faculty meetings. After their main lesson is complete they are given anywhere between 4-8 weeks with the mornings off. This is to lighten their load and help them catch up on anything that might not have been addressed while they were on Main Lesson. So you can see it’s a pretty intense workload.
In terms of teaching style, the Waldorf Steiner philosophy stresses the importance of story telling. This is particularly important in History. I found this challenging. I had to completely reevaluate my teaching style. I worked to teach history through personal biographies and help the students put themselves in the story. For the most part this method actually worked really well. For example, I taught my students about life before the Industrial Revolution. We discussed various methods or farming and the way society was structured. Then I introduced them to a fictional character called John Smith, a poor farmer working on the land of Lord William Windsor. I told them about the introduction of turnips, this new vegetable introduced from Europe would have a huge affect on the way peasants farmed the land. I asked students to pretend that they were in fact John Smith, that they had children and a wife. We talked about how their life would change if they moved to an industrial city. This method worked brilliantly. By trying to put themselves in the shoes of the peasants they gained a good understanding of the way society changed and how it affected the working class people of the Industrial Revolution.
The thing I found most difficult about main lesson was the flow. I often found that because I was expected to tell stories I would end up talking way too much. Of course, if I had my time again I would have done it differently. But that’s the thing with teaching prac. you’re there for 5 weeks and then it’s over. By the time you’ve reflected on the unit and ironed out the kinks your time is already up. If I had my time again I would have tried to vary my learning tasks more, perhaps making smaller tasks to break up lessons.
Another thing I found immensely challenging was learning to cater for the abilities of my students. Like most classes, some of my students were really advanced, and others were really behind. I worked really hard to ensure that each lesson I had extension work and supporting materials. I needed to have all bases covered. It took me about a week to get this balance right. I know that this is something I will need to continually work on.
I was lucky enough to get a placement at Mount Barker Waldorf School. I have have previously mentioned I have a particular interest in alternative types of education. I was hoping that my time at this Steiner school would be an eye-opening experience. I really want to know how creativity can be fostered rather that stifled in education.
For my placement I was given a class 8 Main Lesson, class 8 English and class 10 English (they refer to year levels as ‘classes’ and not ‘years’). For people who are not familiar with Steiner Education the concept of a Main Lesson will be completely foreign. From reception to class 12 every school day starts with a Main Lesson. This is a two-hour block of time in which various subjects are taught in detail over a three to four-week period. For example, my Main Lesson was the Industrial Revolution which ran for three weeks in total. Any teacher will tell you that this is a huge responsibility. Not only in preparation but in marking. Students are expected to do 45 minutes of homework every night for main lesson which is due the next day. If you consider the time it takes to make a PowerPoint for your following day’s lesson, prepare worksheets, extension work and extra support materials (for those students needing scaffolding) there’s little time to mark 60-90 pieces of work everyday/night (this is an approximate indication of the level of marking expected per day. Students may complete 1-2 pieces in class and one more for homework. In a class of 31 this marking becomes overwhelming by day two).
Needless to say, this was extremely challenging and tested my time management skills. Some how in the end I got there. Looking back I’m not sure how I did it. The general rule of thumb at Mount Barker Waldorf School is that any teacher who is on Main Lesson is excused from staff and faculty meetings. After their main lesson is complete they are given anywhere between 4-8 weeks with the mornings off. This is to lighten their load and help them catch up on anything that might not have been addressed while they were on Main Lesson. So you can see it’s a pretty intense workload.
In terms of teaching style, the Waldorf Steiner philosophy stresses the importance of story telling. This is particularly important in History. I found this challenging. I had to completely reevaluate my teaching style. I worked to teach history through personal biographies and help the students put themselves in the story. For the most part this method actually worked really well. For example, I taught my students about life before the Industrial Revolution. We discussed various methods or farming and the way society was structured. Then I introduced them to a fictional character called John Smith, a poor farmer working on the land of Lord William Windsor. I told them about the introduction of turnips, this new vegetable introduced from Europe would have a huge affect on the way peasants farmed the land. I asked students to pretend that they were in fact John Smith, that they had children and a wife. We talked about how their life would change if they moved to an industrial city. This method worked brilliantly. By trying to put themselves in the shoes of the peasants they gained a good understanding of the way society changed and how it affected the working class people of the Industrial Revolution.
The thing I found most difficult about main lesson was the flow. I often found that because I was expected to tell stories I would end up talking way too much. Of course, if I had my time again I would have done it differently. But that’s the thing with teaching prac. you’re there for 5 weeks and then it’s over. By the time you’ve reflected on the unit and ironed out the kinks your time is already up. If I had my time again I would have tried to vary my learning tasks more, perhaps making smaller tasks to break up lessons.
Another thing I found immensely challenging was learning to cater for the abilities of my students. Like most classes, some of my students were really advanced, and others were really behind. I worked really hard to ensure that each lesson I had extension work and supporting materials. I needed to have all bases covered. It took me about a week to get this balance right. I know that this is something I will need to continually work on.
Here's a photo of me and Danika on prac,. She was also teaching and Mount Barker Waldorf School with me.