Yesterday I took a mediation workshop, all by myself, for the first time in this way.
At the end of the day, as the ‘students’ left, there were loads of thanks, happy faces, smiles, laughter. I had that feeling of a good job done, of people working together, of cooperating with me as well as helping to shape the day by making requests/suggestions. I felt I had learned as much as they had, and they had achieved more because of their willingness to work with me.
As I was sat at home, enjoying a cup of tea in the evening, I realised that this is how teaching used to be – maybe not all the time, but there were times when things just worked and flowed. I realised that it is how classes and teaching could be if only …
I do know that teaching teens and those who have no wish to be in school, to learn, to even cooperate and give themselves and myself a chance means that any hopes of recreating such a situation in school is doomed before it starts. However, it’s made me remember why I came into teaching, the pleasure it used to give me, and the occasional glimmer of success that can be seen in amongst the ‘policing’ and dealing with attitudes/defiance/refusals/uncooperativeness/belligerence/aggressiveness.
Sadly, I fear the glimmers are becoming too far and few between.
Angela Porter 