Resources...to ICT or not to ICT...

Resources, resources, resources...endless, limitless, infinite resources. How nany resources can a teacher have and can a teacher have too many resources?

The thing I admit to struggling with the most are most definitely resources. The first question is Which one? Then How many? Then In what order....the list never ends. But the biggie is for sure...How many ICT resources do I use?

ICT resources can be split into two categries...one being the resources we get from the Internet, the other being the ICT resources we produce or use with the students.

I like to browse the net for ideas on what I can do with the children as an activity but I seem to spend to much time on actually looking and browsing than actually planning. This is a problem with the WWW. It can give us too much to look on and when one idea is better than the next!

Teachers spend a lot of time planning as well as assessing and marking and all the lovely time spent outside of the classroom. It`s not to say that tine is a waste of time, on the contrary we need that time to know what were doing inside the classroom but people often forget what work we drag home and God help the spouse and children of the teacher!

I think we should search for a limited amount of time and spend more time on the content of the lesson. We should also be able to define what we are looking for in the first place. Teachers look for resources to save time then spend hours googling the topic itself! We need to look for specific tags on Google rather than trawl through thousands of pages.

ICT is a necessity in the classroom in this day of age where technology is the source of our lifestyles. So how much needs to be used in the classroom???

We have a wide range of Smartboards, projectors, laptops, media and internet access in schools today yet some teachers never seem to be able to use them or don`t want to use them. The answer to this lies in the teacher. Some go with the old school manner, which is not to use ICT too much probably stemming from the lack of knowledge and ability to handle it themselves.

Other overuse ICT (if thats possible!) and do every songle thing on technology.

Personally I try to take a mix of old school, good old pen and paper, and ICT resources. I would like to use ICT more than I do at present but with all the paperwork needed I cant spend my entire life planning when not in the classroom!

So how do I achieve ICT based lessons in short and simple planning sessions?

Ive yet to find the answer myself so if you know, let me know!

Behavioural problems

Is the term "behavioural problems" politically correct? These days we worry so much about what the correct term for things are that we have lost sight of what the actual issue is!

Behaviour is a concern at all ages in all countries around the world...however some issues I have been facing are not at all in the norm. I can`t see how a child throwing bins all over the place and shouting abuse at all and sundry, including the teacher can be a typical behavioural issue.

Clearly in the home life of this one particular student, things are not as they should be and the upbringing of the child is far from healthy. We worry about what children eat, whether or not they can read or write and if they can count up to ten, but we are missing the `big picture`. The one that tells us regardless of the capabilites of this child, what kind of a person will they grow up to be if they are behaving in this way.

If he can count to ten, will he be counting the number of people he has hurt in the past week?
If he can read, will he be reading the statement the police want him to sign after committing a crime?
If he can write, will he emailing loved ones from the inside of a prison?

Our job as teachers have countless aspects and the one that concerns me here, is what will this child be doing when hes older? I look at the 10 year old face that can grin from cheek to cheek with dimples and look so happy at times. But then does a Jekyll and Hyde and turns into this monster who throws chairs at his friends?

~More should be done to resolve the anger and frustration he has inside him. A teacher needs back up in this situation and it cannot be handled alone. Heaven knows how much I`ve tried! The numerous reward systems, target setting, extra attention, planned ignoring, detentions, certificates, phone calls home, exclusions and praise.

What more can be done? What other ideas can I try? I spend a lot of time searching for the answer to this child but sometimes stop and feel helpless. No matter what is done, it is never enough. Just when you think you have him in the palm of your hand, a bin goes flying.

You could judge me...you could say I don`t do enough...but that would not be true...I could you write you a very long list of all the methods and approaches that have been trialled.

But believe me, I am not the only one who has tried or is trying with this child...
The parents cannot be bothered to keep an important appointment with the school to help their child be a better learner and to become a better person...

Yet I refuse to stand down. To be defeaten. To be crushed by a bin...a little humour goes a long way in our line of work.

Is the government so busy focusing on the initial educational matters such as points, levels and grades that they have forgotten these children are little people tghat will one day be the future of the city, the country and the world.

And who knows how many of you there are in the world who has a child in their class like mine!