I have been reflective this morning. We are in the stage of term four when everyone is desperately scrambling for their last credits before they go to externals. This is also the time where most schools (well, all two that I have taught in, so I assume it is a bit of a trend) track their students to ensure no opportunity is missed to be successful at either the subject, or the year level, they are studying.I am HOD which means I am accountable for all the students in my programme getting 14+ credits in Drama. I was thinking this morning on my way to school about those who are at risk of not getting these credits. These students are those who have missed assessment opportunities - more often than not this is for self-chosen absence reasons. These missed opportunities result in either them not sitting the standard at all, or being so poorly prepared that they do not achieve.
Drama is collaborative right? So 8 times out of ten these students are also letting the others in their group down. It is so frustrating - and I am beginning to take it really personally. I can acknowledge that I am at the end of a long year with many new challenges and succeeding at them all is impossible. However - I am really struggling to separate the emotion from this process. The next step is investing a lot of extra time in these students to attempt to fill the gap so that they can achieve these standards.
I am assessing my last standard today. I look forward to seeing good work. Work that revitalizes my sense of purpose as at the moment I am feeling rather emotional and grumpy about it. If some don't achieve this standard - then the problem becomes worse and the obstacle feels even bigger. I don't want to be the teacher who gives up.
