To Be Titled Later

How to Motivate Students

2008-01-12T01:25:00.000Z

As prelims are only a month away, I thought I should take a moment to reflect on both my own current status and most of the seniors', and I realised that if I sat my exams today I'd be lucky if I scraped a pass in any of them. I haven't started revising properly - in fact, I'm still catching up with work I missed last month when I was off - and I can only name a handful of people I know who revise regularly.

Surely now, if ever, would be the turning point for those poor teachers: this is when the exams, according to my ever-faithful English teacher Mr Keery, are won or lost. What can the dutiful educators of Stranraer Academy and several similar* schools across the country do now, to ensure that we get our heads down and revise?

Some teachers don't seem to worry about this, and I can't blame them. Almost all Higher pupils are at least 16 at the moment, and if we can't take responsibility for our own actions at this age, when can we? If we don't do the work, it's our own fault. On the other end of the spectrum, you'll find teachers who go out of their way to give us revision material, who will expect every essay and homework to be handed in on time and will give punishments for lack of effort, just as we were treated in first or second year.

Most teachers, however, file somewhere in the middle, and use a variety of tricks to get us working... and competing. I'll use Mr Keery as an example again - not least for the fact that he's one of my few Higher teachers who anyone that's reading this will know - because he has a variety of motivational techniques, whether deliberate or not, that get his classes working. One example would be pitting classes against each other. The benefits of his having two Higher classes is that we compete, and we do it without noticing. He'll tell our class how far the other one is ahead, and we'll immediately try to catch up. What's more, people from different classes are often found arguing over whose is the best. The general consensus is that the other class - Jemma's - is better in terms of raw ability, but ours is more fun to be a part of, if not the most diligent. Damn option forms...

Another example would be Mr Smart, Mr Keery's next-door-neighbour in the wonderful world of the Second Year base, who has somehow managed to get formerly disruptive pupils arguing about the quadratic formula and synthetic division. Sample quote: "You've dropped a minus sign, you spong!" I don't know how or when this happened, but I suspect it's something to do with liberal dispensation of jelly beans.

I'm particularly interested in methods of pupil motivation because it's a big trouble for me. I'm easily distracted, I don't do as much work as I should; I know this is my own fault and I could change this easily if I wanted, but I don't. I'm scared of working.

So, I ask you, how do you motivate yourself? What examples of student motivation have you seen in classrooms (or indeed used)? I'm sorry if this has been a bit of a rambling post, but I haven't posted anything here for four months so this one may as well be substantial.

*similar, but not identical: Stranraer Academy is extremely unique.

My Uneventful Life

2007-09-21T20:42:00.000+01:00

As silly and self-pitying as it may sound, I usually consider my life quite uneventful. So it's rather a surprise that, as I reflected over the past month (oh, alright - three weeks) in desperate need for something to blog about, quite a lot has happened. Three events in particular stand out, personally.

Firstly: the 28th of August, my 16th birthday. After a bit of date-rearranging, everyone that was invited bar one person - James, if you need ask - managed to come out for a terrific meal at the Craiganelder, followed by a trip back to my house where we did what all teenagers do. We rolled an effigy down my stairs, annoyed my sister and added several thousand pounds to the phone bill. My favourite birthday yet, probably due to the fact that it's the one I can still remember.

The second event was High School Musical, the summer production of Stranraer Drama Club, which practically ruled my life from the 9th till the 16th of September. Although it went well, I'd rather not talk about it quite so much. It's over now; I'm free! I never have to hear "Getcha Head in the Game" again, let alone sing or dance to it.

The third event is comparatively minor, but I remember it nonetheless. I finally managed to sever contact with an addictive teenage internet forum I joined in March. Well, nearly. I haven't yet found a substitute.

In the meantime, everything seems to be going well for a change. Despite a few late homeworks here and there (and everywhere), I'm keeping up with Highers while juggling everything else: piano lessons, feeding my Scrubs and BBC sci-fi addiction, and keeping up with my incredibly geeky computer-based social life. Not to mention Mr Keery's new book club, which is great fun, surprisingly.

Now I just have to find time to blog...

Schooooooooool's... in.

2007-08-23T19:07:00.000+01:00

As it's the first post of the new school year, I was planning to tell you all about my first day.

Planning, that is. It was excruciatingly boring. Fortuntely, the last two days have been fun, but I'm too lazy/tired (choose the excuse you prefer) to blog about them.

Instead, I'll just say congratulations to Mrs O'Neill, who has left Stranraer Academy along with its bad inspections and alleged student drugs problems, for sunny Minnesota! We all wish you the best of luck and happiness for your new job in America, not that you'll need it, and thanks for inspiring me to try blogging. Have fun Mrs O, you're sorely missed.

In that spirit, I'll leave you with the deservedly famous words of a famous Minnesotan and a musical hero of mine:

How does it feel?
Oh, how does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown?
Like a rolling stone?

Luckily, the lyrics have a much nicer meaning out of context, I think.

I write when I'm bored. Does it show?

2007-08-13T20:08:00.001+01:00

The following characters depicted in this piece of fiction are not intended to bear even the passing resemblance to real people, especially those who ever set foot in Stranraer Academy. Honestly!

Set - An English classroom, in the mid-00s. (Definitely not G5 in 2007. Really!)

(A teacher is standing at the front of a classroom with a tall, bearded man. Students are sat two to one desk in three columns. A lesson is underway.)

Teacher: Emm, this is a transferred epithet. Rosss, what's a transferred epithet? Oh, you don't know? Can anyone tell me what a transferred epithet is? No? Okay, learn from the pro. Hamish, tell them what a transferred epithet is.

Hamish: Eh, aye, well, I mean, I dinnae really ken. Is it that train service in Europe, aye? Ye ken, the one on that album by the German band.

Teacher: No, that's the Trans-Europe Express! Go on, I'm sure such a widely acclaimed poet like you would know what a transferred epithet is.

Hamish: Err, is it one of those robots that turn intae things? There's a film oot wi' them in it.

Teacher: NO! That's a transformer. Don't you even know what a simple poetic technique is?

Hamish: Ohh, a poetic technique! I dinnae bother wi' them, I just tell it like it is.

(There is a deadly silence in the classroom, broken only by muffled giggling coming from the tables near the bottom-left corner of the class.)

Teacher: YOU WHAT?!

Hamish: Aye, ah think the poem should speak fur itsel', regardless o' them poncy things.

Teacher: I'm sure what Mr McDyme is trying to say, class, is that he doesn't try to use poetic techniques, as they come naturally to him, so he writes them without thinking. Go on, look for poetic techniques in Hamish's poems.

(The teacher glares defiantly at Hamish. Unaware, he stumbles blindly on.)

Hamish: Och naw, I avoid using poetic techniques. mean, they're overrated, y'know. But I like the sound o' that transferred epithet thingy. Aye, it'd fit just right in a haiku.

Teacher: Oh yes, Hamish, do please write us one of your world-famous haikus. Emm, I'm sure the likes of Shakespeare and Yeats were wrong, poetic techniques have no place in poems.

Hamish: Aye okay, I'll see what I can come up with.

Poetic techniques
Aren't really that good, even
Transferred epithets.

Aye, well I mean aye, that sounds good. Oh, is that 12.30? I'll need to go, I've got my regular spot on Gaelic FM.

(Hamish leaves the now hysterically giggling class, glared at by the teacher.)

Teacher: Shut up you lot. I bloody well hope you didn't take notes.

The Obligatory Results Post

2007-08-08T00:52:00.001+01:00

I'll be brief, as I've had some surreptitious yeasty liquids, if you know what I mean.

...

My God that sounded bad. Sorry. I'll be even briefer. (Is that a word?)

After much deliberation, nagging and procrastination, I opened the envelope at 7.30 pm, and was incredibly surprised to find that... My predictions were WRONG. I passed everything, with As and 1s all round. How the hell did I manage that?

The sense of ecstasy I felt after this has only just worn off now, five hours later, and for a change I may actually go to bed before 3am. Goodnight!

Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' awake.

2007-08-07T01:14:00.000+01:00

Please excuse the terrible post title - it's currently 1.22 am and my main objective right now is to avoid falling asleep for another nine hours.

Why? No, I'm not trying to get myself certified. It's because I need to get a certain envelope before anyone else. From the previous post, I think you can guess why this envelope is significant. My mum has decided that, with or without my approval, she's going to find out my exam results today. Equally stubborn, I've decided this isn't going to happen.

Why does everyone want to open results except me? It's incredibly irritating. They're my bloody exams, and I'll decide when my grades are made public.

How will I stay awake? Coffee, and lots of it. It worked the last time I tried, when I stayed up till 5.30 am writing an English essay. (Sad, I know. But it was already due in late.) Otherwise, to fill the time, I've dug out my old GameBoy Advance, and I'm blogging. My skepticism was ill-founded - this thing really is useful!

Song of the week: Fakin' It - Simon and Garfunkel.

Urgh. Results Day.

2007-08-01T23:41:00.000+01:00

Well, results day is nearly upon us now, and I have absolutely nothing else to blog about. Five things are on my mind at the moment, and I presume whoever actually reads this doesn't want to hear about rehearsals for High School Musical, my vague largely internet-based social life, the sort of music I'm listening to at the moment, or why the first season of The West Wing is top-class, marvellous television drama. (Jesus, that was a long sentence! I'm going to get coffee before writing any more. That generally increases my coherency.)

Unfortunately, I've been avoiding results day. I've become irritable whenever my friends mention it, and refused to talk until they changed the subject. This is because I'm quite sure I'm going to fail everything.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Everyone says they're going to fail, even those with top grades in everything. So I'll confess: I squandered my study leave. I didn't revise. Well, that's a lie. I went over chord change questions for Music (which didn't even turn up in the final exam, thus pissing me off greatly), I did the occasional Past Papers for Biology, Chemistry and French, I looked over some of my notes for most subjects, and I frequented Bitesize.

But real work? None. I can't remember writing a full timed essay, or doing a single close reading. I don't remember doing anything for Modern Studies. For most of my Biology Past Papers, I guessed one question at a time then looked up the answer to see if it was correct. My French and Music revision was lacklustre. And SVS? Don't make me laugh.

What's worse, I can't remember what I did instead of revising. I left all the internet forums I posted on for the exams, except for Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of May, for a brief break after the first 'wave' of exams. I don't remember spending too much time watching TV or 'talking' on MSN. I may as well have slept through the whole four weeks.

Anyway, to the actual point of this post. (Yes, it does have one!) I've decided to risk tempting fate and predict my grades. So, to the exams, in order:

French - 1. I'm being risky here and giving myself the top grade. You are graded for four things in Standard Grade French - Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. Your grades for Reading and Speaking are double-weighted. Luckily, these two were always my strengths, and I think I've safely achieved the top score in each. I'll probably get a '2' for Writing. My Listening score is harder to judge, as the exam was one of the hardest. However, I'm sure I've passed, and based on my other grades it doesn't matter if I get a 1 or 2, as I'll still get an overall '1'. So woo!

Chemistry - 1/2. I honestly can't remember much about the Chemistry exam. I can't remember finding it difficult, but I know I've dropped marks in the last question at least, and I doubt I'll get the 42/60 at least required for a '1'. I'll either get a near-borderline 1 or a good 2. Doesn't matter much anyway, as I want to study Law at university and I'm not taking any sciences.

English - A. Ah, English, the one I was always going to dread. Hence it was a wonderful surprise that I didn't struggle with the exam much at all. Close Readings are my strength here and comprise 50% of the marks, and I'm quite sure I did well on the one in the exam. I even did well on the Critical Essay section. I don't think my essays were long, but at worst I'm sure to have written at least one fairly strong essay and one mediocre effort. My prelim mark was an A, and I'm sure I've improved since.

SVS - who cares? Next!

Music - B. The first of my pessimistic predictions. This one is perhaps the hardest to predict, as your grades for actual performances are determined by only one person - the examiner. I was nervous during my performances, but I've been equally nervous during Associated Board examinations and never received less than a pass with merit - at least 80%. I hope that I made up for note slips with decent expression and dynamics. The less said about my Listening Paper, the better. It was awful. So I'm predicting a B here. It's not bad - I'm not taking Music this year (not through my own choice, but that's another story), but a B is good enough to let me take Higher Music next year.

Biology - 2/Fail. Biology is nearly as hard to predict as Music. I've just searched through all my forums, through my major chatlogs, and I can't find a single I wrote at the time about how I found the Biology exam. That's not a good sign. Anyway, I can't remember it that well except that I found it difficult, which is no surprise as it always was my worst subject. I'm sure I don't have a '1', anyway, but a fail wouldn't bother me as I definitely won't pick it up in Sixth Year and don't really need it.

Modern Studies - Fail. I missed out a whole 8 mark question, and I incorrectly answered another one. I struggled badly with this, and due to the mindnumbing exam questions I don't think revision would've helped me with this. A fail will worry me, though, as I've taken Modern Studies Higher and may want to do Advanced Higher. Nonetheless, what's done is done.

I have been skeptical about blogs in the past - and I still don't think I'd read one if it didn't belong to someone I knew - but this has really helped me now. By forcing myself to predict results, even if I'm probably underestimating to avoid disappointment, I'll still be in a better position when that dreaded envelope does arrive.

Thanks for reading all of this, and I hope I haven't wasted your last three hours.

The Catch-22 of Blogging

2007-07-11T21:38:00.000+01:00

Right. Before I post any of this, you should probably know one thing.

(Hell, if you're reading this, you'll probably know it already. But it cannot possibly be stressed too vigourously.)

I'm lazy. Lazy to the extent that I know I should try and change this character flaw, but I can't be bothered.

So when Mrs O'Neill, my registration teacher, came and asked me to try and write a blog in the summer, I was hesitant. I have tried blogging before, but I'm, quite frankly, hopeless at it. I'd make one incoherent post to begin with, and then lose interest.

For there is one major problem that causes blogs and I to be mutually incompatible - I'm either too busy or not busy enough.

During term time, I actually have quite a lot to keep up with. Apart from the daily grind of school (only joking, Mrs O'Neill, I love it really), there's homework, piano lessons, drama club, and finally leisure time. To add my own laziness to this proverbial stew causes another imbalance, as I spend far too much time enjoying myself and end up doing all homework on Monday morning till 3am. Isn't coffee useful?

In short, I don't have much time to blog, whether I want to or try to force myself to.

The holidays are, however, worse. I have no school. Of homework I have next-to-none, piano lessons are over and my friends are so lovably disorganised that only half the people invited to any proposed meet turn up. The drama club soldiers on, but I only go there four hours a week and I'm certainly not going to learn my lines for the whole of the holidays.

What does this leave? Haha, leisure. Unfortunately, one of the ways I wind down is to have a nice long chat to my friends (some of whom I've met online) on MSN. The holidays even steal this from me: if people aren't away somewhere, they're barely online.

My normal day in the summer consists of getting up at 3pm, listening to music, reading, and trailing MSN in the hope that someone, somewhere, is up for a chat.

Basically, I have nothing to blog about. So you see my conundrum. I can only write something interesting if my life is interesting, and if my life is interesting I shouldn't have time to blog.

How to solve this? I haven't a clue. But I'll try anyway!

My Life

2007-06-22T20:54:00.000+01:00

Jesus. How to describe my life to someone that may well have never met me? Gah. I don't want to. You'll figure out yourself if I can be arsed to post on this thing. Ambiguity is good.