[SENco-forum] Re: More crazy jargon

Oh! and BTW Phillip -- I agree -- there are the most brilliant people in the Higher Education field -- positively inspiring and changing the lives of their students -- and are a real force in changing society.

And there are some real nutters I'm afraid -- and twill always be so. Unfortuanately it oftens happens (as in politics) that the real nutters get into power and the really effective hard workers remain at the lower levels of influence. Brendan

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip.Garner at northampton.Ac.Uk
To: SEN at tringham.net; june_marriott at yahoo.co.uk; senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 8.35PM
Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] Re: More crazy jargon

Hi

I share your concern, although I think you need to recognise (as I'm sure you 
do) that there are many experienced tutors working as 'lecturers' in our 
university system who have got both feet in the real world and who don't buy in 
to the guru-style, image-conscious superficiality that you highlight. 

What's also very apparent to me is the extent to which 'new' ideas, parcelled up 
as the latest policy initiative, are in fact repetitions of stuff that's been 
implemented 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. When I re-read some of my older books & 
journals I'm left thinking why were these ideas not persevered with. The simple 
reason is that innovations have a lifespan & when they're politically no longer 
useful they're disregarded.

Maybe I've been involved for too long in this work. Cynicism and SEN/Inclusion 
are not good bedfellows!

Best wishes

Philip Garner

________________________________

From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk on behalf of SEN at tringham.net
Sent: Tue 3/13/2007 3:59 PM
To: June Marriott; Becta Senco
Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] Re: More crazy jargon

The latest book I am reading is on 'Reflective Practice', directed at new
teachers and is asking me 'Are you feeling part of the classroom?' It is
telling me to 'get in touch with my valid emotions - anxiety, bewilderment
or a feeling of being overwhelmed.'

What is overwhelming me at the moment is the sheer level of touchy feely new
age jargon being thrown at me by management consultants masquerading as
lecturers/teachers.

Excuse me while I pop off to deal with Exercise 1 -use words that convey
deep feelings (eager/frustrated/and all the earlier examples!) to describe a
single incident that moved or challenged you regarding your new
responsibilities or role as a teacher.

That would be the defining moment when I realised that the very deep
breathing and slow counting I am now employing is a valid learning strategy
allowing me to acknowledge and validate my feelings whilst resisting my
initial impulse to strangle the author, or become embittered by the very
deep and real hatred she/ he has awakened in me.

I can now say that I am able to: participate alongside a wide ability range
of students, engineering and coordinating learning opportunities to maximise
alternative learning styles to individualise and accommodate a diversity of
learners in a way that enables the learner population to both embrace our
share time together whilst positively affecting learning outcomes.....and I
thought that was what a good teacher did without having to spell it out in
words of ONLY 3 or more syllables.  No wonder I get A for practical and C-
for self evaluation.

I feel like a dinosaur (and that is not as a result of wanting to expand my
learning in a Multi-Intelligence Naturalist sort of way!)

Sharon

PS  Is there a special educational thesaurus I am missing?

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