My teaching experience

Today, I had a new experience, which was teaching a lesson at St Albans Catholic Primary School in Cambridge.   It's the sort of thing I like to do - it helps to get a bottom up perspective and, as a result, improves decision-making.

In the end I really enjoyed it, albeit I was a bit nervous at the start.  I was helped by a great group of children, some of whom actually seemed to enjoy themselves.  For those that want to know, it was a lesson based on the poem "The Sound Collector" by Roger McGough where I got the children to write their own middle section. Some of the results were amazing.

What did I learn:

1. If every teacher spent as much time on a single lesson plan as I did, no teaching would get done.
2. Writing a lesson plan is one thing.  Converting it into a coherent lesson is a different and far more important talent.
3.   Don't cram too much into one lesson.

Later on this evening I then did an interview with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire - basically talking about my experience and linking it to better decision-making over cuts - a very valid point - the better informed, the better the decisions.

They also asked about the cuts agenda and I was able to make the point that opposing is one thing, but coming up with sensible alternatives that cut Europe's biggest deficit in the sort of timescales we need to is entirely another.

Overall, one of the good days.

I would just like to thank everyone at St Albans school and, in particular, their very patient, attentive and clever Year 6 students for putting up with me.