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Inspiration for teachers and support staff

Posted by Eteach Blogger on Mar 9, 2009 in Education Career Advice and Information, Independent

Have you ever heard someone you thought was truly inspirational and what they said kept coming back to you over and over again?

Eteach had the wonderful opportunity to listen to such a person at the SHMIS Annual Conference in Brigg North Lincolnshire earlier this week.

The person in question was Carrie Herbert the founder of Red Balloon Learner Centres. Every teacher training college should have this lady to speak to their students about the work she does. Her words would stay with them the whole of their careers.

Carrie’s Red Balloon Learner Centres provide support and one to one teaching for pupils who have been bullied out of schools and can no longer attend regular schools. She provides ‘safe houses’ that have been converted into learning centres where pupils receive crucial emotional support to help give them back their self esteem. Through this and individual learning programmes she enables students to have belief in themselves and their abilities and in turn gives them strategies that reintegrates them back into regular full time education, apprenticeships or work.

Her understanding of the complex issues surrounding the victim in bullying was fascinating and enlightening. The way she conveyed all of this made each and everyone us want to go out of that room and champion her cause.

Have you had anyone who has inspired you in your career? At Eteach we fill many job vacancies for teachers and support staff from all spectrum’s. A number of us hunt for the next job, whether it is in teaching or any other career, because someone has provided inspiration to find that next step. We’d love to hear whether someone’s inspiration has helped you land a successful job in education?

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Newsnight “School Swap-” Did it reflect education in good light?

Posted by Eteach Blogger on Jan 15, 2009 in In the News

Like Colin, I also watched the “School Swap” project on Newsnight, Tuesday evening. It was an interesting social experiment, and I’m sure those who saw the programme had an opinion by the end of it. Three under-privileged teenagers from Burnley swapping places with pupils from one of the country’s top public schools, Wellington College. It was intended as a way of raising the expectations of the three kids from Burnley.

I’m not sure that happened, the pupils come from opposite ends of our education sector, neither being truly representative of the schools and colleges in the UK that most children go to. To me it simply distinguished the difference between the “rich” and “poor” the have’s and the have nots and was unrelated to real Education. Approximately 93% of children go to a state maintained schools so only a tiny percentage actually go to elite independent schools anyway. In this instance the Wellington pupils will have a problem with the exchange as the Burnley Kids don’t even go to school.

I would have liked to see a school swap in a more realistic light, how would average scholars from Wellington fare at a “Bog Standard” Comprehensive School and visa versa.

Though it did stir up a lot of emotive thoughts and somehow reminded me of the “Two Ronnies” sketch “he looks down at me yet I look down at him whilst he looks up to me” etc…..
On Wednesday morning, it was a hot topic of conversation at home and at work.

If you’ve not seen it, you can view the video online.

We’d like to know what your thoughts were on the programme?

Did it raise the expectations of the Burnley pupils?
More later, Paul
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