Online Teaching in Alternative Provision

Posted byRead with JuliaPosted inMake a mark, My journey..., picturebooks, Shared Reading, TeachingTags:, , ,

I am currently working for an Alternative Provision agency on a zero hour contract. I teach children and young people who are unable to manage the demands of mainstream schools.

Most of the sessions are online, some of the children and young people have received funding from their local authority for 5 hours of online teaching, Monday to Friday. My assignments have included supporting a teenage student with funding for online provision for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. There are challenges, but I am determined to do what I can.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have found picturebooks groundbreaking in building relationships with disaffected children and young people.

The Legacy of ‘Owl Babies’

I continue to be encouraged as countenances relax, moods soften and conversations open through the pages of my picturebooks. Time and time again, the shared reading of Shaun Tan’s ‘The Red Tree’ has proved to be a gentle, yet effective, way to build bridges into these young lives.

‘sometimes you wait and wait and wait…’ Shaun Tan ‘The Red Tree’

A few weeks ago, as I waited… and waited… and waited for my student to join me in the online tutor room, I wrote a poem (as you do)…

Digging for Treasure

(An ode to teaching online in Alternative Provision)

Absent

Here I am

I show up

day

after

day

after

day

I sit alone

hour

after

hour

after

hour

I am not

giving

up.

Present

Sullen stony silence

Icy defiance

Shrugs, scowls and snarls

Scribbles and insults

Swears and curses

I am not

giving

up.

Potential

I know there is treasure

I have seen it

I have rolled up my sleeves

And I am

digging

digging

digging

I am not

giving

up.

‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds, ‘Polar Bear in the Snow’ by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, ‘Imagine’ by Norman Messenger, ‘Lily takes a Walk’ by Satoshi Kitamura, ‘Snow White in New York’ by Fiona French, ‘The Snowy Day’ by Ezra Jack Keats

(I have just closed the tutor room for the day, after receiving permission from the office to do so. I have been here by myself for hours, sitting in front of my laptop, thoroughly prepared, visualiser all set up and ready to go, wonderful picturebooks at hand – but not a soul to share them with. The temptation to give up is real…)

Published by Read with Julia

Julia is a qualified and experienced Every Child a Reader teacher, who is passionate about bringing families and communities together through shared reading. She is seeking clarity of direction for a future where young and old bond through books, where relationships are strengthened, where obstacles to literacy are removed, and where reading becomes irresistible. Julia lives in Ledbury, Herefordshire with her husband, Sean. Their 3 children have all grown up and left home.

3 thoughts on “Online Teaching in Alternative Provision”

  1. You’re an amazing teacher, Julia. I know you won’t give up as your poem is beautifully descriptive of the reasons you find not to. All your teaching friends know you’re a wonderful teacher, and we’re with you as you sit alone waiting for your student. One day, they will realise how much they can learn from you and regret all those wasted moments.

    Reply
  2. Pingback: ‘The Whales’ Song’ by Dyan Sheldon and Gary Blythe – Read with Julia

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