What type of “New Year resolutions” do you tend to make each new school year?
Mainly, that I will make a bigger effort to reach “everyone” in the classroom, fast-finishers, the ones who struggle a bit more, the ones who never raise their hands, etc. And that my classes should have more games or more interactive activities.
Is it easy to keep them?
Sometimes. Depending on what I have thought to be improved. To reach all the students in my class is very challenging in terms of how much time I have to prepare things, though, I think each year I get better because I have more ideas, more available material, and I have learnt to delegate a bit.
What practices would you like to see your institution adopt?
I wish they gave teachers more time for planning. That would solve a lot of things. It is not that we worked at school all day long, but most teachers must work at other places, or arrange private lessons to get by. Therefore if more planning hours were paid for, more time could be devoted to school.
Why do you think this article appears in a book of methodology?
Because it has to do with good teaching practices. What I mean, is that if a teacher ends up a year wanting to do things better on the next, that means he or she is a committed teacher, one who wants things to be as good as possible, one who wants to improve the way things have gone.
