Public secondary high school design tech teacher

6.30–7am (at home): Clearing emails, preparing lessons, recording data.

8.15am: Arrive at school. Set and run laser-cutter machine to prepare student work for class.

Period 1: Non-teaching period, a chance to prepare more lasercut designs for students, plan lesson, mark student work and record notes on student files.

Period 2: Year 11s. Teaching a new subject so developing, setting curriculum goals myself, on top of normal lessons. time-consuming.

Recess: Discussion with a student about a homework task and packing up and organising work samples from year 11 class.

Periods 3 and 4: Double session with year 10s (Systems Technology) and it’s back to the 1980s.

The classroom is small, no overhead projector or screen or other technology. Class is restless and needs constant monitoring to keep on task.

Lunchtime: Poor behaviour from two year 10 boys means I’m spending a large chunk of my break in the classroom supervising detention. Lunch on the run.

Periods 5 and 6: Double year 7s

(Materials Technology). Great, enthusiastic young kids. Still establishing routine and expectations for the new year which requires an additional layer of organisation.

3.15-4.30pm: End of school day, followed by staff meeting on interpreting student results data. Not in headspace for numbers.

4.30pm: Respond to parent and colleague emails and clean up. Would be great if there was a support staff member to help!

4.45pm: Battle traffic on way home, then dinner and a down time. bit of

8.30-10pm: Work through emails, data and assessment recording and preparing classes for new year 11 class.