Michelle Sterricks leads the social subjects, business and religious and moral education (RME) faculty at Jedburgh Grammar in the Scottish Borders.
For the next 16 months, however, she will also be seconded three days a week to the Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels as its education officer.
Sterricks will be designing complex, subject-spanning educational resources, as well as getting to grips with the role the metaverse - and virtual reality - can play in immersing students in the 420 million years of Scottish history, heritage, innovations and culture the tapestry charts.
She says: “Being a teacher does not start and stop at the beginning and end of a lesson. Teaching is a privilege and a big responsibility - you are in charge of shaping young people’s lives and making a difference.”
1. What I wish I’d known when I started teaching is…
That teaching is not just standing up in front of a class and teaching a topic you love. It is way more than that. It is many jobs rolled into one. Being a teacher does not start and stop at the beginning and end of a lesson. Teaching is a privilege and a big responsibility - you are in charge of shaping young people’s lives and making a difference. Teaching is about good relationships, engaging with pupils, finding out what makes them shine and motivating them to help them learn.
2. The most important qualities a teacher needs are…
To be enthusiastic about their subject and share that passion with their pupils. My favourite teacher from Peebles High School, Peter Waller, certainly did that. If I can be a fraction as good a teacher as he was, I will be delighted. He made history come alive. Teaching should be infectious and fun. I love it when pupils have fun and learn at the same time.
3. The most important lessons I’ve learned from doing this job are…
That you always need to be a reflective practitioner and constantly seek to improve learning and teaching for pupils. The day a teacher says “I have done all my work” is the day when it is time to leave the profession. I have also learned that teaching can be a lonely job at times and that support from colleagues is vital.
4. The best change I ever made in my practice was…
Embracing technology and learning how to use the iPad and various apps for teaching. It is an important tool for innovative lessons and ensures that we are one step ahead of our pupils in an ever-evolving technological world that now includes concepts like the metaverse.
We will be creating an app specific to the Great Tapestry of Scotland that incorporates the metaverse - the next stage on from the internet. It’s the future and it involves going into a virtual world. It can have a bad reputation but it has huge potential especially for education, allowing students to create avatars and travel and visit galleries and see the world - visit the Moon even - all through virtual reality.
So, students could be able to visit the tapestry virtually, but also by taking part in learning activities we hope that they will be able to earn things like, for instance, a virtual sword or a suit of armour that comes from one of the panels of the tapestry. The idea is that they will then be able to take these items and use them in the other places they visit online.
5. If I could change something about Scottish education, it would be…
Address the disparity between academic and vocational awards. Achievement should be measured not just as exam results alone but also as the variety of transferable skills gained, values and effort of a pupil. For me, a pupil who walks out of school with, say, six National 4s and is going on to college or the wider world of work is just as important as a pupil who achieves five As at Higher. Skills enable pupils to achieve the next level and should be valued as much as academic scores.
6. My most memorable moment as a teacher was…
Standing in a giant red clog with my favourite teaching colleagues on a school trip to the Netherlands back in 2018. Our pupils thought this hilarious and many photos were taken. The best memories are when you can laugh with your pupils.
7. The worst mistake I ever made was…
Teaching an entire lesson to the wrong class - year and topic. Not one pupil let on until the end when they left and said, “Miss, that was random today”.
8. My top tip for aspiring teachers is…
To speak to and learn from other teachers. Their advice and experience are invaluable. Go and see what they do in their classrooms to see best practice, learn from them and question them. Every day in school, I still learn from my teaching colleagues. In turn, also ask others to observe your teaching regularly. Also, don’t be afraid of trying new techniques, but be resilient enough to know that they might not work. Reflect at the end of every lesson and think how it could be improved - ask your pupils, too.
9. When dealing with challenging pupils, my go-to strategy is…
I always try to put myself in that pupil’s shoes. I need to understand why the pupil is being challenging. Is the pupil preoccupied? Are materials for the pupil not at the right level? Is school not a good experience for them? What outside challenges does the pupil have? I try to look at the bigger picture. Relationships are the key to dealing with challenging pupils - I like to get to know all my pupils and build their confidence by giving them praise and responsibility. Difficult conversations with challenging pupils are easier where trust and respect is in place.
10. The best CPD I ever did was…
Undoubtedly visiting Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust remembrance centre, in Jerusalem, with the Holocaust Educational Trust. The visit had a profound impact on me, both professionally and personally. I learned so much about the Holocaust. It totally changed the way I deliver my lessons, as it made me appreciate that, as a key influencer in a young person’s life, it is up to us as teachers to ensure that history and legacies are not lost.
Michelle Sterricks shared her answers with Emma Seith
