Classroom Life – Once More into the Classroom

The Words of Wiglaf: Stories, Struggle, and the Power of a Voice

One of my earliest memories is listening to stories on BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service), the station that accompanied British Forces families posted overseas. For fifteen minutes, a kid who couldn’t sit still for anything was absolutely glued to it. No fidgeting. No wandering off. Just me, completely spellbound, going wherever that voice was taking me.

I think that’s why audiobooks still hold such a special place in my heart. And it’s why, when I also struggled to learn to read, those moments meant even more. The radio opened the door to a world of possibility the written word was, at that point in my life, keeping shut.

Enter Beowulf

Our latest resource at Primary Topic Shop is built around Beowulf but with a twist. Rather than a straightforward retelling, I’ve created an original story told from the perspective of Wiglaf, the young warrior who stands beside Beowulf in his final battle and carries his legacy forward. Adapted from the original translation, but very much its own thing: an intimate story about loyalty, loss, and what it means to witness greatness. Paired with illustrations, comprehension activities, and art tasks, it gives children a way into one of the oldest stories in the English language through fresh, compelling eyes.

And this time, it comes with audio. I narrated it. I’m not a professional; no studio, no vocal training, just a genuine love of the story and the memory of a kid glued to a radio. I’ve enjoyed the process enormously.

*(A note on the adaptation: I used AI as a writing aid in shaping this text, something I’m increasingly exploring both in my own practice and in thinking about how we introduce it to children.)

The Boy on the Radio

I had no idea, sitting in front of that radio, that I’d one day end up narrating ancient epics into a microphone in Aberdeenshire. But I think that boy would have approved.

Listening to stories is about as old as being human. Long before books, before writing, there was a voice and an audience gathered around it. Maybe that’s why it resonates so deeply; it isn’t a new way of learning at all. It’s the oldest one we have.

The Beowulf resource is available now at primarytopicshop.com. I hope it opens a door for someone.

What’s with teachers and all the time they get off?

It’s often said that one of the perks of being a teacher in the amount of time off we get. Can’t really deny it, to the non-teachers I can see how it seems bonkers how much time we get off. But… of course, there’s a but… it’s not the whole story. Holidays are not holidays in the way most people think of them. In the same way that teachers weekends aren’t the same as an ordinary weekend.

I’ve tried the whole gamut of working experiences. Worked for someone, have been self-employed and have been and currently am a teacher. So I can comment with some authority on this subject.

As an employed person, your weekends are yours. You don’t have to think about anything except the weekend, family and perhaps how much you don’t want to go back to work on Monday, but that’s another story. As a teacher, you may get one day of that but then the other will be taken up in part, at least, preparing for the week ahead. So that’s one whole day a week to yourself or for your family. Added to that the fact you are completely knackered from 5 days with 30 students who are these days more and more demanding. (Now I have to hold my hand up here and say things here at the British School in Alexandria are much, much better than that…) Now, of course, teachers are better off than the self-employed but again that’s another story.

So when holidays do come around as they do they are a necessary part of R&R in order for teachers to be able to do what they do. In fact, it’s a pretty good indication of the state of the teaching profession at the moment, that the length of holidays is not a significant enough incentive to keep people from leaving in droves. Long holidays should be a real incentive but they are not.

Anyway, what I am trying to say in a round about way, is that I am on half term. My plans are as follows; relax; spend time with my family; learn a few things; spend time on my blogs; plan for next half term; get my energy levels back up to where they need to be for the next seven weeks.

A new platform for an old blog

Blogging is something I would really like to be good at. I’m not and the chances of gaining an audience beyond my friends, family, and a few lost souls are slim. But I do enjoy it and so continue on with my amateur efforts.

Since 2013 I have been using Squarespace for my blog. It’s a fabulous platform for someone who wants to create a good looking blog and not be worried about pesky code. It’s an intuitive delight to use and their customer service, in my experience, was always fantastic. That said I wasn’t using it enough to justify the cost, which although not prohibitive is more than this new platform. Not only that but for the price of my Squarespace blog I could put up three blogs by hosting them myself and using WordPress. The problem is I don’t know what I am doing with WordPress beyond the basics so everything takes twice as long as looks half as nice. I am hoping that the more I use it the easier it will become and the better it will look.

So it’s my intention to try and blog here once a week about goings on in my Classroom, or something that has occurred to me while teaching. Blogging does have excellent potential for helping with professional development. There are myriad educational blogs out there that do just that, some of my favourite of which I will be sharing here.