Elchat

In the resources section under ‘reading for module 1′ there are a couple of reading lists.  If people could suggest which titles would be most useful I’d be happy to look at investing some of the staff development money on these resources to be kept within the Professional Development Library (formerly known as the SQH library!) in Prestonpans Education Centre.

If I could have some suggestions before the summer that would be great.

I was emailed a copy of the Strathclyde University newsletter today. It has some useful articles and also dates of up and coming Chartered Teacher modules running at Strathcyde. I notice these are during term time, weekend and also holidays. I thought this might be of interest to some Click on the link ch-teach-newsletter.pdf

As part of my current CT module we have been debating online the concept of collegiality. The stimulus for our discussion has been reading an article Walter Humes( Paisley Uni) wrote in the TESS. Humes has written many interesting articles on how we define collegiatlity within schools.
It can be argued that collegiality is a philosophy which some teachers class or management based either subscribe to or do not. I wonder how we as reflective teachers become part of that collegiality if our thoughts seem in the minortiy and to be rejected?

 Colleagues

I’ve been wondering how present or potential CT’s are using their skills in their schools or establishments over and above the work they do anyway.  There is a debate on these issues on John Connell’s blog. Let’s start one here!

 Here’s the remit (from TP21) which pertains to all teachers including CT’s - it’s all a question of degree perhaps:

1. teaching assigned classes together with associated preparation and correction;
2. developing the school curriculum;
3. assessing, recording and reporting on the work of pupils;
4. preparing pupils for examinations and assisting with their administration;
5. providing advice and guidance to pupils on issues related to their education;
6. promoting and safeguarding the health, welfare and safety of pupils;
7. working in partnership with parents, support staff and other professionals;
8. undertaking appropriate and agreed continuing professional development;
9. participating in issues related to school planning, raising achievement and individual review;
10. contributing towards good order and the wider needs of the school.

The key distinction made between CT’s and PT’s is the fact that the former don’t take on management of other staff.

CT’s in East Lothian, as well as other unpromoted staff, can take opportunities to mentor NQT’s, become Glow mentors, (and, of course mentor colleagues informally), facilitate inservice courses, liaise with other professionals, participate in working parties both within school and across the region…

What else are we all up to? What is the cross-over between management and leadership? Are there circumstances in which we feel unappreciated and vulnerable because of our ’status’?

Hilery

The GTC are currently looking for Chartered Teachers to take part in workshops at the annual conference. If you are interested please follow the link on the GTC web site. The conference is to take place in Edinburgh on Saturday June 2. No details on how to register yet.

It would be great to get some feedback from Chartered Teachers on their experiences studying at the various providers. While it is easy to examine the costs of each provider I am curious for instance how much support people have received. I have been extremely lucky at Paisley, despite being completely online I have received very good support when needed.

Hi There

We - Lynne and Hilery - have spent 2 days getting this blog started. We are both at different stages: Lynne is completing Module 5  at Paisley; Hilery gained CT status last year through the full accreditation route.

Most of the information at this stage is collated from the GTCS and other websites. We hope it is helpful. However, for this to be a real blog we now need you to make contributions in the form of comments to what others have written or, ideally, your own posts.

Each of you has editor privileges which means that the site belongs to all of us. We have included 22 categories and (with apologies to experienced bloggers) if your posts fit into one or more of these, then it’s helpful to others if you check the box. If you want to make your own category then of course that’s fine.

 If you know of any others who are embarking - or who have already embarked - on the CT process, then please let us know so we can include them too.

We will look forward to watching how this develops. Over to you …

Welcome to Elchat, somewhere to discover, learn and discuss issues relating to the Chartered Teacher standard in East Lothian.