MY NETWORKING

Relationships at school

• Time with Head teacher 

 
 University tutor

• Making time to talk
• Taking notes and listening to advice

 
Communicating with friends

• Acknowledging their ideas for your work placement

 
 

Work within school

• Learning from other teachers around you
• Being sensible and firm with the children
• Journal

 

University friends

• Blogs

 
Work with The Drama Gym

• Organisation with the boss
• Journal

 
Chickenshed work

• Being a group leader
• Relationships with children
• Managing performances with everything else
• Journal

Talking to Teachers and Teaching Assistants

• Gaining a bond
• Understanding their way of teaching
• Attending staff meetings
• Being proactive with Head of department

Working in the professional way

When involved in the Christmas performances this year, I have been given the opportunity to be group leader of seventeen children. This means that you have to take care of your group and make sure they are prepared every time they go for a standby. This year I have been able to get to know my group quite well and they have grown to trust me throughout the whole of the Christmas period.
At one time I was told a secret which I didn't know how to deal with and I have found it quite difficult. I had to dig deep to find the correct way to deal with this.

'In Britain, we are going backwards'

Another article that I found from The Daily Telegraph was by Alex Hope saying "Today's computing classes teach passive software usage, not essential programming skills. " So what are we trying to about this? He goes on to say
"Britain has a heritage of technological ingenuity and creative flair, which goes hand in hand with our innate skill with computers. Which in turn, depends on knowing how computers work."

There is so much more that could be seen being done at school just like Alex Hope says
"First to engage young people with the excitement and potential of computer programming. One hopeful sign is the development by David Braben and his colleagues of Raspberry Pi, a whole computer on a tiny circuit board that its makers intend will be simple and cheap enough for schoolchildren to break and fix for themselves."

Computers offer a vast range of exciting possibilities, both to individuals, especially to the next generation, and to this country. There is so much room for growth, if only we can get the right people.

I really enjoy working with the children who are involved with The Drama Gym and working with a range of ages around seven - twelve is very interesting; watching the different development stages between them can be very worthwhile

Professional CV

 Alice Chambers graduated from Middlesex University last year, having completed her Foundation Degree in Inclusive Theatre at Chickenshed Theatre Company. Alice has always loved going to the theatre, being involved in plays, and in general the atmosphere of stage life. However Alice's passion for drama and performance really started when she completed her Drama GCSE in 1 year; she then went on to do ALevel Performance Studies, expanding her knowledge and experience throughout the 2 years. 
Since then Alice has been at Chickenshed doing her Foundation Degree and working with children some of whom are disabled, which she has found to have been a life changing experience and has been the reason why she is working with children in school and thinking of a career as a drama teacher. 


Whilst being at Chickenshed she has performed in many shows including Gameism, the End of term show that her year devised themselves, 'Pinocchio', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Badjelly's Bad Christmas', 'The King's Web' and 'Cinderella'. She has also been involved in the Gala at The Royal Albert Hall to celebrate 35 years of Chickenshed and she has performed at 'The Hard Rock Cafe' in London to fundraise for the charity.


In her free time Alice really enjoys tennis, skiing, squash and often finds this the best way for her to relax but she also loves to work for an organisation called The Drama Gym leading workshops and acting sessions for children starting to gain an interest in the theatre; she loves watching them face the challenge of working towards a play each term!

Alice has been really enthusiatic with her work as a Teaching Assistant and finds it interesting working in a school  known for its work with special needs. She finds it really fascinating seeing the progression of the children, some of which have speech and language deficits and for whom reading is a real struggle. She really enjoys being around the students. Alice looks forward to widening her experience whilst working at this school so that she might be able to fulfil her ambition of becoming a teacher.  

Recent article about "Social Networking"

This next blog is just a quick few words about an article that I found in The Daily Telegraph on October 19th written by Susan Greenfield about Social Networking. I think these words relate very much to my last blog so I hope you will find it interesting. These are just a few paragraphs from her article.
"The reason that mankind is so successful is that our brains have evolved to adapt to our environment. So it follows that if you use a computer for many hours a day and develop an obsessional cyber- life, then the brain will obligingly adapt, too".

"Evidence of a link between spending too much time staring at computer screens and physical changes in the brain that lead to attention and behaviour problems is accumulating. As with cancer and smoking in the 1950s, you start off by seeing a trend, and that is what makes you suspect that there might be a casual link".

The thing is, harmful evidence is growing of prolonged computer use causing behaviour problems which can't be concluded yet, as just one study is not enough to end this problem. However can we wait 10, or even 20 years?

Baroness Greenfield is professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford.


I'd find it very interesting to hear any of your comments.

The First Blog

So I'm finally going ahead with ‘my first blog’!

All I want to say is how I really enjoyed the first lecture yesterday 4/10 and how interesting it was to listen and debate about remixing data. I feel that getting the balance right with our technological world is an important issue. It’s a question that I myself cannot answer so if anyone thinks they have any comments then fire away! The point is technology can be so useful at times and yet so harmful at others.

Do we as a country use it too much to the point where our children will be going to nursery at the age of 4 and being asked to look at a computer, when they could be outside learning games and drawing pictures?

Are we destroying our social atmosphere by chatting on Facebook instead of having a coffee with a friend?

Have a great week!