Yikes!
I'll be the first one to admit I have an issue with second-hand embarrassment - it's something I absolutely hate seeing as a plot-line in TV or movies and will happily turn off a show if it goes down that route - so how much worse when it's working out right in front of you at work?
I've had a student teacher with me one morning a week for the last few weeks. She's nearly at the end of her course and has been spending time with myself and a couple of other teachers, getting an idea of different levels of learners and also some of the subjects we teach adults. As part of this placement she had to do some actual teaching and, since she seemed keen to do it, I agreed she could take the lesson this week - I'd suggested a subject area my learners haven't tackled yet (namely, how we talk about future plans) and said I'd be more than happy to see anything she prepared, give her feedback and so on.
My first hint that this was going to be a bit of a train-wreck should have been when she emailed me last week and seemed to say she was going to teach something else, so I replied and reminded her what I'd asked her to cover. She didn't, however, send me anything more about what she was planning. Probably because she didn't really have anything planned and was hoping to kind of 'wing it', which is a tactic that rarely works all that well unless you are massively knowledgeable about your subject, have a bundle of confidence and learners who'll go along with what you're doing because they understand what you're talking about. Today was a perfect storm of none of the above. *headdesk*
Anyway, that happened. At one point, after my manager had left (since she was observing the lesson as well in an official capacity) I had to point out that what this person was teaching was actually wrong and the example she was giving didn't use the tense she was trying to illustrate. Bad enough that I'm going to have to do a lesson next week on the same area, to deal with this and try and restore some confidence on the part of the learners (not tomorrow, that'll be too soon, the dust needs to settle!), but then she asked me at the end of the lesson if I was teaching the one next week! Fortunately I was in the middle of a conversation with someone and managed to bite back my almost-instinctive response that she'd done enough... she'll be having a conversation with my manager on Friday so I guess I'll see if she even comes back next week!
In other news, also work-related, I've been offered a place at college from September to get my teaching qualification. Yep, the course I couldn't start last year because the sky had fallen will be starting this year instead. Back to academia for the 4th (and last!) time, because I still have a good chunk of my working life ahead of me (alas) and need the options this qualification will give me. I've already asked my boss to keep reminding me of this when I inevitably start grumbling and, at least, I would have to work very hard to make any observed lesson I might have could match the one I cringed my way through this morning! ;)
Also posted at my Dreamwidth account - happy to receive comments on either post.
I've had a student teacher with me one morning a week for the last few weeks. She's nearly at the end of her course and has been spending time with myself and a couple of other teachers, getting an idea of different levels of learners and also some of the subjects we teach adults. As part of this placement she had to do some actual teaching and, since she seemed keen to do it, I agreed she could take the lesson this week - I'd suggested a subject area my learners haven't tackled yet (namely, how we talk about future plans) and said I'd be more than happy to see anything she prepared, give her feedback and so on.
My first hint that this was going to be a bit of a train-wreck should have been when she emailed me last week and seemed to say she was going to teach something else, so I replied and reminded her what I'd asked her to cover. She didn't, however, send me anything more about what she was planning. Probably because she didn't really have anything planned and was hoping to kind of 'wing it', which is a tactic that rarely works all that well unless you are massively knowledgeable about your subject, have a bundle of confidence and learners who'll go along with what you're doing because they understand what you're talking about. Today was a perfect storm of none of the above. *headdesk*
Anyway, that happened. At one point, after my manager had left (since she was observing the lesson as well in an official capacity) I had to point out that what this person was teaching was actually wrong and the example she was giving didn't use the tense she was trying to illustrate. Bad enough that I'm going to have to do a lesson next week on the same area, to deal with this and try and restore some confidence on the part of the learners (not tomorrow, that'll be too soon, the dust needs to settle!), but then she asked me at the end of the lesson if I was teaching the one next week! Fortunately I was in the middle of a conversation with someone and managed to bite back my almost-instinctive response that she'd done enough... she'll be having a conversation with my manager on Friday so I guess I'll see if she even comes back next week!
In other news, also work-related, I've been offered a place at college from September to get my teaching qualification. Yep, the course I couldn't start last year because the sky had fallen will be starting this year instead. Back to academia for the 4th (and last!) time, because I still have a good chunk of my working life ahead of me (alas) and need the options this qualification will give me. I've already asked my boss to keep reminding me of this when I inevitably start grumbling and, at least, I would have to work very hard to make any observed lesson I might have could match the one I cringed my way through this morning! ;)
Also posted at my Dreamwidth account - happy to receive comments on either post.