A colleague asked me this week how I first became interested in Talk. Here is the story of a key moment:
Year 6 class. Post-SATs. The day before their big trip to Alton Towers, for which they’d been working hard to raise the money. And I was on the verge of losing my voice.
Disaster loomed! I knew that if my voice went completely, I wouldn’t be able to manage 30 children on a school trip… and all their efforts would be wasted. I had to come up with a solution.
I decided to wear a sticker which said I have lost my voice, and try to get through my day’s teaching without saying a word. It was a good way to save my voice for tomorrow’s trip… but I guess I wasn’t really expecting my class to learn much.
It turned out to be one of the best day’s teaching I’ve ever done. I discovered the joy of written instructions and non-verbal communication. The children talked with each other productively and purposefully. They solved problems for themselves. Despite me not saying a single word out loud, they were still learning.
I realised it was time to think more about teacher talk.