Erina and I work with Emma who takes us around to work with several teachers and school staff. We decided to ask her our mentor questions, as she was the closest thing we had to a mentor. We prompted her with these questions:
She answered with the following (some paraphrasing):
"My job title is Director of Learning and New Technologies, and the main duties and responsibilities for me are to lead the school strategy for the improvement of teaching and learning. What that means is that my responsibility is to work with the students to get the learning and schooling that we want and to work with the teachers to make sure they well equipped and supported to be able to deliver that learning.
She also monitors standardization of the school.
"I've been here my entire career, this being my eighth year at Walbottle... I wanted to work with the younger and older students, and this school gave me that opportunity."
"A typical work day is busy"
Some days she teaches students, some days she has meetings with teachers, and some days she has coaching sessions with teachers. She has lunch duty, break duty, and bus duty and manages art, textiles, and technology. And on days she doesn't have teaching, she does admin work.
"It depends on what you want to make of the job... Someone taking on my role would have to think differently and innovatively. There'd have to be a willingness to work hard and have long hours; be passionate. Some students just need a little cuddle because they don't get it at home."
"I think I wish that I'd realize that anything is possible if you work hard... It took me a while to mature into wanting to learn. And I think back then I thought 'Oh, maybe I'm not bright enough,' but what is brightness?... The key for me is that whatever background you're from, anything is possible if you put the work into it."
- What is your job title, and what are you main responsibilities and duties?
- Why did you choose to work here/What led you to work here?
- What is a typical work day like for you?
- What personality traits, skills, or knowledge are important for your job?
- Is there anything you wish you realized about the world of work when you were my age?
She answered with the following (some paraphrasing):
"My job title is Director of Learning and New Technologies, and the main duties and responsibilities for me are to lead the school strategy for the improvement of teaching and learning. What that means is that my responsibility is to work with the students to get the learning and schooling that we want and to work with the teachers to make sure they well equipped and supported to be able to deliver that learning.
She also monitors standardization of the school.
"I've been here my entire career, this being my eighth year at Walbottle... I wanted to work with the younger and older students, and this school gave me that opportunity."
"A typical work day is busy"
Some days she teaches students, some days she has meetings with teachers, and some days she has coaching sessions with teachers. She has lunch duty, break duty, and bus duty and manages art, textiles, and technology. And on days she doesn't have teaching, she does admin work.
"It depends on what you want to make of the job... Someone taking on my role would have to think differently and innovatively. There'd have to be a willingness to work hard and have long hours; be passionate. Some students just need a little cuddle because they don't get it at home."
"I think I wish that I'd realize that anything is possible if you work hard... It took me a while to mature into wanting to learn. And I think back then I thought 'Oh, maybe I'm not bright enough,' but what is brightness?... The key for me is that whatever background you're from, anything is possible if you put the work into it."