An interesting couple of weeks (Long, 2/2)
Physics: Two of my three exam-classes are well-prepared for the summer, and we're starting revision (always nice to get there before Easter). The other class will get there eventually, but it might require the terror of impending doom to kick-start them... I and a colleague took 25 sixth-formers down to London last weekend, and the trip went incredibly smoothly despite bursts of torrential rain. If there was any mischief, it was after lights-out at our hotel and no complaints were raised by anyone! I took a group to see a new production of "Proof" (one of my favourite modern plays) in a lovely little theatre in Southwark while the rest watched a film; we visited the Science Museum -- two good albeit small new exhibitions there, one temporary about Turing, one permanent about Alchemy; did a walking tour of the Embankment/Strand area; and generally had fun. Reassuring that students can be so pleasant and civilized!
Philosophy: I'm a bit nervous since this summer will see the first exam results based on what I've been teaching. I'm expecting great things from one group, and perhaps not so great from the other, but all of them are making good progress. I'm really pleased that every single one of them has acted on feedback and is now producing clearer, better-structured essays than at the start of the year (half of the battle).
Plans for next year: After a lot of negotiation, things have settled down very favourably. I am to be "Head of Philosophy and Religion" and my colleague Byte is to be, separately, "Head of PSHE." I am introducing a new, compulsory, subject for years 7-9 + 11 called, unsurprisingly, "Philosophy and Religion" which will include elements of both. I'll be teaching just one sixth-form physics set; the rest of my time will be spent doing Philosophy A-level, plus the Philosophy element of the P&R. The rest will be taught by a different colleague, whom I'll nickname Zypriot; she's taught RE in the past, although she's mainly a geographer (and will be splitting her time 1:2 between those departments). For the first year, I'll sit in on some of her World Religions lessons, and she'll sit in on my Philosophy lessons, so we're both up to speed on what the other is doing and can deliver the material in future years. We've been given the go-ahead to design a Scheme of Work completely from scratch, and are currently looking at textbooks etc (hoping to ditch the 'these are the parts of a church/mosque/synagogue' style books that have languished in a cupboard for years, in favour of a more modern 'this is how beliefs shape actions' approach).
The second part of my brief, which will be for next school year, is to plan all the logistics for introducing RS as a GCSE and A-level subject (which will need extra staffing); but one thing at a time!
Byte, Zypriot and I had a lovely evening out to celebrate and discuss plans. (Was it the Babylonians or the Sumerians who discussed everything twice, once while sober and once while drunk, to see if they still agreed?) I think I'll get on well with both of them. I'm very excited; it will all work very well. Hurrah!