So - what is my role in education?
I have a B Ed (hons) English & Technology from University of Chester; and I have a TEFL Diploma from Bridge Online. I have been teaching mainstream primary for 12 years (with a few years out in between); and have been lucky enough to teach all year groups from KG up to Year 6 full-time. Last year as a Full-Time Supply teacher at a large K-12 school in Kuwait, I also gained experience teaching Science, Social Studies and Maths in KS3, and English in KS3&4.
I love teaching, but don't like the early hours - in Kuwait the bell rings at 7.30am! So why am I not teaching now? Well, an accident last summer landed me in ICU for three weeks, and bed-ridden for a further three. A few months later I had to have a kidney removed - so I was off school for a further five weeks. For a long time after I returned to school, I would come straight home and sleep. Hubby would wake me up at 7pm to eat dinner, then I'd be back to sleep.
That is the state I was in at 'contracts' time (we have annually renewable contracts here, which need signing in January, due to recruitment issues), so we decided I should take some time to relax. Consequently, I am taking a year out. I am using the opportunity to gain a certificate to move into special needs, as that is an area I love. Mainstream schools in Kuwait do very little to cater for special needs, and therefore accept very few such students into the system. By law you need a specialist certificate to move into a special needs school, which I'd like to do.
I have very little experience in special needs over the last dozen years - I can add them up on one hand! Zuhair (6) had limited hearing, and wore an aid in the classroom. He was not allowed to wear it outside, as his parents were afraid of the stigma attached. AbdulAziz M (7) was in the same class, and apparently suffered from dyslexia and ADHD. He had been held back a year due to poor academic progress and behaviour. Faisal (6) had testicular cancer. He missed a significant amount of time from school to unergo chemotherapy, and when he did attend his physique and his immune system were weakened. Martin (8) had Asperger's Syndrome, and was interested in very little other than dinosaurs. I found amazing ways to relate every single topic taught to dinosaurs! Abeer (10) had very limited vision, which was degenerative. Zainab (5) had limited mobility, she wore a brace on one leg and sometimes needed the aid of a wheelchair. Abdullah K had Tourette's Syndrome, which resulted in massive outbursts of disruptive behaviour. His parents took him to America to attend a special school. AbdulRahman (6) had Autism, with very limited recollection of facts.
Abdullah F was an adult with Down's Syndrome who I taught to dive. Very comfortable, but needed watching closely, as would sometimes forget to put his regulator in his mouth, and only remember it when he ran out of breath! AbdulAziz F, Abdullah's brother had diagnosed ADHD, which made reading and concentration an issue. Video and lots of practical sessions helped both boys progree.
Previously to that, I had some voluntary experience at a special needs school in Chester as a college student, and at a care respite home in Rugby as a school pupil. I used to look forward to these weekly visits as much as I looked forward to walking the dog! Sometimes, even, my labrador would come with and create enormous excitement and joy!
The last school I worked at prides itself on being an e-learning school, and I developed a large number of reasources for the primary department which were shared, on a wireless drive, with other staff. Interactive Whiteboards were introduced, boosting the amount of time staff spent using ICT in the classroom, and now I can't imagine how I'd teach without one!
In the secondary department, work set is published on Moodle; a large server hosting space for educational establishments. This could be accessed by students and staff via the internet at any time. Work was generally submitted via the student drive, but in cases of absence could be emailed to the tutor.
This is how modern mainstream education is moving forwards, and gaining experience of and certification in online education is clearly the way to go!
Our long term plans...
In two years, insh'allah [god-willing] we will be setting off to sail around the world. If I can gain profitable employment as an online tutor it could pay for us to have satellite internet access on the yacht, which is, for most cruisers, an expensive luxury...
Also, it is highly likely I will be seeking short term (annual) employment in various countries to help pay our way. Keeping current with e-learning is, I believe, a vital element of a CV!