Primary specialist teachers really get a tough time at report writing time. All the general classroom teachers only have to write 30 comments each. And specialist teachers don't get any extra non-contact time to complete the extra reports either.
But I guess the opposite argument is that as a specialist teacher you get to repeat the same lesson multiple times (which has both advantages and disadvantages as you would know), so you don't have to spend as much time doing lesson prep during the term.
The whole report thing is a bit of a nightmare for everyone. I write about 100 words per kid. Half cut and paste, half custom. Most classroom teachers at our school write that much for English, Maths, SOSE, Science and a little bit for art and technology and health, then a general comment at the end.
I've got nothing to complain about, really, except that mine take me longer because I spend ages trying to remember which kid is which. And because I organise my assessment concert at the latest possible date so it doesn't stuff everyone around so much.
I don't miss writing all the reports. Although at my last school we got it pretty easy. Only had to write one general comment for 30 kids talking about their work ethic, general character and maybe mention one specific academic area if it was a real strength or weakness.
I agree in a primary specialist setting it can be tough remembering who each kid is when you only see them for 30 min a week and you so many different classes in a week - the general classroom teacher at least deals with only the same group of kids all day, everyday. It's even harder than secondary school, where you have more than one class, but at least you see them 3 times a week.
Primary specialist teachers really get a tough time at report writing time. All the general classroom teachers only have to write 30 comments each. And specialist teachers don't get any extra non-contact time to complete the extra reports either.
ReplyDeleteBut I guess the opposite argument is that as a specialist teacher you get to repeat the same lesson multiple times (which has both advantages and disadvantages as you would know), so you don't have to spend as much time doing lesson prep during the term.
The whole report thing is a bit of a nightmare for everyone. I write about 100 words per kid. Half cut and paste, half custom. Most classroom teachers at our school write that much for English, Maths, SOSE, Science and a little bit for art and technology and health, then a general comment at the end.
ReplyDeleteI've got nothing to complain about, really, except that mine take me longer because I spend ages trying to remember which kid is which. And because I organise my assessment concert at the latest possible date so it doesn't stuff everyone around so much.
Do you miss it?
I don't miss writing all the reports. Although at my last school we got it pretty easy. Only had to write one general comment for 30 kids talking about their work ethic, general character and maybe mention one specific academic area if it was a real strength or weakness.
ReplyDeleteI agree in a primary specialist setting it can be tough remembering who each kid is when you only see them for 30 min a week and you so many different classes in a week - the general classroom teacher at least deals with only the same group of kids all day, everyday. It's even harder than secondary school, where you have more than one class, but at least you see them 3 times a week.