Grupop Blog

The first week back at school after the summer holds a lot of different feelings, memories and emotions for teachers. It’s not something I’m necessarily proud of, but when I think of the first week back at school, I think of… ruling copies!

Not because I put it upon myself to rule every copy in advance! Not because I need to allow the class the time to rule every one of their copies in advance! There is a time element involved alright, but it is more along the lines of the time it takes to rule one single page of one single copy!

Generally, different teachers will have different ways of doing things, and ruling their page has been one of those that has frustrated me most down through the years! Because even though we have our own ideas of how we want our class to rule their pages, we forget that there is an awful lot that goes into ruling a page in your copy the first week back in school! I know I’d find it tough if I were in the same situation the pupils find themselves in every new iteration of a ruling copy bootcamp!

A full 12 months since I was last taught the ‘new’ way to rule… well this new way must be a better way, a more responsible way now that I am one year older and one year more responsibler… so let’s do this!

Right, to rule my copy firstly involves… finding my copy… finding a copy…

It involves figuring out if it is the correct copy… is it even my copy?

That, in turn, involves figuring out am I one of the members of the class who even put their names on their copies… or perhaps someone at home did it for me… it’s been so long that I can barely remember what a copy even looks like for Pete’s sake! …Pete, what a cool name that is! Pete! Pete! Pete Pete Pete Pete COPY! FOCUS!

Wait, do I even have copies here?! I don’t remember bringing in any…. Hold on and I’ll look in my bag… at least if there is a copy in here, it’ll probably have my name on it… nope nothing but a 20-euro note here… and that doesn’t even have my name on it. And I got in big trouble this one time I tried to write my name on one of those!

Oh wait, I remember being told at home that I should ask my teacher can I go to the school office and buy my copies for the year! I’ll go and ask the teacher… Teacher!

Right, back from the office and a lovely chat with the vice principal about my new shoes — the soles light up. Drives my pet cat nuts. Hey maybe I’ll name our next pet cat Pete! Petey the cat… Pete Pete Pete FOCUS!

Right, where was I? Copy, yes it looks like a copy… it smells like a copy… it tastes… eugh, ok, it’s a copy! Right, what are we doing again? Teacher!!

So I need a ruler and a red pen… aw biscuits, I was supposed to buy a ruler and pens in the school office too! Teacher!!! (I have spent minutes going around the house looking for my car keys that were in my hand all along, so all of these behaviours would be right on par for a primary school aged me trying to get my desk organised for the first time since before the World Cup and Mayo winning Sam and the new Despicable Me party we had with my cousins and…)

Right, ruler, red pen, copy, no taste test required this time… wait, where’s my copy? I left it right here before I went to the office! Teacher!!!!

Oh, it was here all along under the comic I brought for Show and Tell, thanks Teacher! My friends are gonna think this comic is awesome! I showed it to Jenny during the holidays when I met her at the playground after I bought…. FOCUS! I’m a year older now! A year more focussed! This is the year I shine!

Right, I need to rule the page… but I can’t even remember how to do that? I’ll ask the person next to me… nope, they shrug their shoulders at me in a manner that suggests “I don’t know, pal, just wing it!” (I’ve always wished I could be the wing it type but alas, it doesn’t seem to be in my makeup! Especially not in the makeup of a primary school-aged version of me on the first week back in school! Winging it would NOT be part of the plan!)

Right, pen and ruler, here we go… wait, what? Oh, pal beside me has decided they know what’s going on after all and directs me towards using a red pen instead of a blue pen. That sounds familiar come to think of it. Aaah, it’s all coming back now! I remember! Red pen, ruler, 2 lines; muscle memory is taking over at this stage!

Done! Teacher, I’m done! Teacher!!!!!…wait, why does pal beside me have 3 lines? Teacher!!!!!!

Thank you Teacher… something about horizontal and vertical. Again, all sounds vaguely familiar, reminiscent of last September, wow I really am a full year older than last September, that’s pretty awesome! Just imagine what I’ll be like next… FOCUS!

Teacher is still trying to explain to me what I’m supposed to be doing, horizontal stuff still, I just smile as if I know what Teacher is talking about but they can see right through me… not necessarily a good sign for the year ahead, but anyway, focus! Teacher is showing me how it’s done now. Makes sense, actually! I kinda like doing it this way! I think I’ll rule the next page just the same while I’m waiting for Teacher to help pal next to me. Turns out his 3 lines were on the wrong side of the page… poor guy!

Ruuuuling the next paaaage… aaaand done! 2 lines, just like I’m used to, thank you, muscle memory!

Looking around, it seems like I’m one of the first to have finished ruling my copy, actually. This year is going to be a breeze!

I pity the teacher who would have to deal with a class full of pupils like me who despite our best intentions are still scratching our sunburn, bodies readjusting to transitioning from a summer of ice-cream to lunchboxes filled with corned beef sandwiches, seething over the latest Ronaldo vs Messi argument in the yard at break time — I mean, did you WATCH the World Cup people?! — and on top of it all, there’s a teacher here who I’ve barely ever spoken to before trying to explain why everything I learned this time last year was all a bunch of nonsense!

Yes September (and ruling copies in my case) can be stressful and frustrating for teachers but it’s a big deal for the pupils too. Down through my years as a teacher, I tried to develop different strategies to help with this early-September dust off. I tried different things such as making sure everyone listened carefully to the instructions. I upgraded that technique to waiting for absolute silence until giving the instructions. I further upgraded to all arms folded, no distractions while I was giving the instructions. Not quite an upgrade, but I also sprinkled in a few different motivational speeches involving the immense benefits of learning to do this correctly from Day 1… anyway, back to the upgrades — I made sure one of the class was able to repeat the instructions to me. I upgraded again to scribbling down the instructions in writing as well as giving them verbally. Further upgrades involved typing it on the whiteboard and showing an example on the class visualiser. Yet as much as I may have tried, ruling copies continued to be the bain of my teaching life in many ways every September!

When creating the suite of Teacher Resources on Grupop, I wanted to develop resources that helped teachers in all aspects of their teaching, including aspects that can prove frustrating over time. The Pop Pal Prompts resource enables teachers to provide prompts and examples in text or image that can perhaps dilute some of the confusion that everyone in the classroom, the teacher included, can feel on the first week back. The Group Checklist resource takes this one step further in that it not only shows the prompts for an activity but also places the pupils in groups where they check with each other to confirm they are all following the instructions together as best they can. The What If? Board resource enables teachers to provide prompts to resolve common predicaments while the class is working independently. And all presented in the consistent Grupop style which over time, I believe, greatly helps when compared with different instructions being scribbled frantically in different coloured markers on different whiteboards on different days. It is my hope that once pupils become familiar with the Grupop system of prompting, the consistency it provides will help ease the anxiety they may feel when unsure of what they are to do.

I hope these and all the other teacher resources help you along your way. I will be adding more over time, so if there are any you wish to suggest or any feedback on those that are already there, please don’t hesitate to reach out on the Suggestions Board on the Community Page.

In the meantime, stay awesome and best of luck out there! …right, I need to use the bathroom! Teacher!!!!!!!

The Grupop Guy

It’s that time of year again when many teachers have the nagging thought something along the lines of “Oh Lord it’s probably getting close to the deadline for completing my EPV courses… I may check that some day and get the ball rolling.”

The ball will get rolling, don’t worry! You’ll get it sorted and you’ll get your EPV days. But will you get much else? Are you even looking to get much else?

While this attitude might not sit well with some, it is an honest perspective I have gained after nearly 2 decades of summer courses. Perception decides everything and unfortunately it has got to the stage where my perception is that my expecting to get anything out of my summer courses outside of the EPV days would just lead to disappointment!

Over the years I have engaged in countless informative CPD courses but have curbed my expectations with regard to the summer courses. Much of it may be because of the manner in which summer courses must try to hit a wider audience than many of the courses you might find in a cosy education centre on a winter night. Much of what is on offer during summer months is perhaps diluted to generic rather than addressing a very specific need. So I had over time become satisfied when signing up for summer courses, to expect at best some generic resources or teaching ideas that might not fill a burning need right now but might perhaps end up being useful at some point in the future.

To be fair, most summer courses at the very least deliver on that expectation. But that approach was not proving successful for me either in recent years because once it came to the crunch of actually getting back to the classroom, those resources and ideas quickly became long-forgotten folders on my laptop or bookmarks in my browser never to be visited again. And this here might give an insight into why so many of us do not feel we are getting the most out of our summer courses — when sitting alone at a laptop in the middle of summer (or the middle of August!), the hypothetical notion of using this new resource or strategy some time in the future seems altogether very possible and practical! But upon returning to the classroom and facing everything that comes with that, the shiny new toy that you stored safely on your laptop a month ago no longer seems a priority. It is rare that teachers get a chance to come up for air — as discussed in my previous blog post — let alone take the extra time out of a school day or a lesson to try something new… and try it again… and again until you feel like it might actually be working towards something. The crunch of being back in the classroom suddenly makes all your hypothetical ambitions seem dwarfed by the reality of your situation.

Whether you’re reading this rolling your eyes, thinking this guy is an idiot or pointing at the screen thinking this guy gets it doesn’t really matter… because at the very least you’re still reading!

But seriously, if you are at a point where it feels like the work you put in this time of year is not producing many results from the point of actually helping you come the end of this month, I can empathise with that. Grupop does not specialise in CPD. But it does prioritise resources that can help ease the stress of that crunch of being back in the classroom. Rather than providing a list of hypothetical brainwave ideas that you might some day have the time to apply in your teaching, Grupop instead has prebuilt resources that align with your account. So there is no sophisticated setup involved, no laborious lesson planning involved; just click on the link and in seconds have a resource that can save you time and stress instead of demanding even more time and stress to implement!

It takes seconds to set up your class in Grupop. And once that is done, your resources await, unpacked, ready to go at the tap of a button. There are currently 13 resources available with more to come! Try the free trial to give them a go!

If you end up using them, good for you! If you don’t, please leave feedback on the Community page so that I can make the necessary improvements going forward. Either way, thank you for your input, much appreciated!

And returning to the topic of summer courses; if you are in the rush before the crunch and wondering which course to pick, my suggestion would be to choose whichever one seems most interesting to the unprofessional side of you. Because the crunch is gonna crunch! You just gotta try to enjoy it as much as you can!

Thanks and take care until next time!

The Grupop Guy

The utter uniqueness of everybody’s own personal experiences within their role or position or job is astoundingly beautiful, so I will not try to compare one with the other or compare teaching with another profession. I will, however, tell you that I do understand the demanding nature of the work teachers do and the responsibilities teachers are entrusted with. We have all had our different experiences and will process those experiences differently. But we will probably agree that teaching is a difficult job. I completely understand how difficult it is for you because I reached a point where I was no longer physically able to meet the demands of the job after working for over 17 years as a teacher.

Something I will always remember that in my opinion illustrates the often overwhelming nature of the job, happened when I was in my early 20s. Both my parents were teachers, and I always assumed I would follow in their footsteps. However, I decided instead to study computer software in college and worked in IT for about 6 years before eventually making the move to teaching. I was working in a software support role in Dublin and would come home to Kilkenny at weekends. One Friday evening, I arrived home just as my mother was also returning from work. A short conversation about our day finished with me laughing, saying something along the lines of “Mam, EVERYBODY is tired after work! We all have jobs, we all work hard, we’re all tired!”

Yes, I was speaking the truth in many ways, but it wasn’t until I switched to teaching that I realised how incomplete my understanding was of the tiredness my mother would feel after a day at work!

Working in IT was busy, challenging, enjoyable and sociable. If after spending 40 minutes solving some company’s software problem and saving them countless dollars or whatever their currency may have been, I could reward myself with a lean back in my chair, close my eyes for a few seconds, take a few deep breaths and go again. I might hit the bathroom, often more to stretch my legs and get a bit of headspace than actually use the facilities. I could use those few minutes to contemplate taking up smoking again so that I could go down and have the craic with many of my colleagues who could wrack up quite an amount of time in the smokers’ corner over the space of a week’s work! And then I’d be back at it, back at my desk ready for another customer wanting help with a crashed piece of software or the likes. It was busy. It was challenging. It was often high-pressure and intense, requiring 100% focus for long periods of time. But I could take my few seconds or minutes of respite here and there over the course of any given day.

When teaching, however, there was no such respite. When teaching, I needed to be clued in of the time. And trust me when I say, I understand the toll that can take. I believe I am in the minority of teachers in that I am very aware of the effect that has. I believe most teachers go through their day-to-day responsibilities not even realising the immense focus and concentration they are putting in. Most teachers have been teachers their whole career; they know no different! But clued in of the time you are with your class is not easy.

Grupop would not have happened if I had been able to withstand these physical demands of the job. But once I decided to develop Grupop, I did want to make it a tool that can help teachers as much as possible, and one of the primary focuses was to work in ways that I can perhaps enable teachers to get a few seconds of respite here and there. Instead of answering multiple questions when a class is working on a reading comprehension exercise, have them take their reminders from the Grupop display on the board. Then you can take those 5 seconds to stare out the window at the (hopefully) blue sky or lean back in your chair (but let’s be honest, we never really even sit in it in the first place! One of the clearest realisations I had that my time teaching might be coming to an end was when I found myself having to actually use that lonely chair!) or take a deep breath to take in your surroundings; embrace your role in this ecosystem rather than just surviving within it.

• Use Grupop’s Quiet Countdown to prompt the pupils rather than feeling like you’re repeating yourself over and over again.
• Grupop enables you not only to use the Grupop resources but also to save your own instances of many of the resources so you can have them ready to go for the next day or even add them to the Grupop Class Scheduler to be used on a specific date or range of dates.
• The Grupop Team Builder, Turn Taking and Random Order resources offer quicker ways of organising your class for specific activities.

These are just some of the ways that I hope Grupop can take the pressure off over the course of any given week in school so that you can take those few seconds from time to time to remember why you’re even doing this wonderfully rewarding job with these fascinating people around you.

Burn bright, but don’t toast yourself.

The Grupop Guy

One of the core concepts of Grupop is the customisation options it offers pupils. The opportunity to make something their own, put their stamp on it, and then seeing it in action are all aspects of the inspiration to create that engages not only children but adults alike.

One of the most interesting aspects for me when developing this rewards system was the quality vs quantity predicament. The multitude of ways I could go with customisation meant some difficult decisions along the way. These decisions became easier over time, however, as I realised the appeal to pupils was not in how polished their avatars were, rather in how much it spoke to their preferences and personalities. In creating Grupop’s Pop Pal avatar, I could have spent months designing the most intricately wonderful specimen of hero imaginable to the youth of Ireland! A towering figure of inspiration whose eyes glinted magically in the sunlight atop a mountain made of gold. This specimen would be so fantastic that nobody would dare to question their beauty and majesty. So overwhelming would be this figure that pupils should nay be allowed customise it! How dare you suggest such a thing! Or perhaps they could maybe customise… the colour… of the hero’s… boots?! If this gleaming example of utter perfection should wish to allow it?!

Would you be reading this today if that is the route I had taken? Most definitely not! A single hero will engage a pupil but for a certain amount of time, and then the different colours of footwear will engage them for another short period. And despite the immense prowess of this hero, glinting eye, atop a mountain of gold, well, atop that mountain is where they will stand… alone once the pupils have had their temporary fix!

HOWEVER! Replace this mighty, beautiful, spectacular hero with some green bubbly character that is constantly referred to as “the alien” by my son, and everything changes! Because the avatar now can speak the language of the pupil customising it. Rather than remaining locked in a prison of perfection, the children would instead revel in no longer having to settle for the smug smile of their hero and instead could decide if their green goo mould might laugh out loud or relax or, well, whatever the pupil wishes! Rather than standing proudly with perfect posture as a hero always should, they could have their green avatar jump for joy or sit and meditate or, well again, whatever the pupil feels at the time! Rather than the intimidating untouchable signature supersuit of the hero, their Pop Pal avatar would welcome regular wardrobe changes! Rather than standing atop a mountain of gold, their green Pop Pal avatar could instead stand atop a mountain of… ok, perhaps that is one customisation option too many considering the target audience!

This all speaks to the multitude of personalities within each classroom. While I can only speak for myself, I assume I have many teachers agreeing with me when I say that we do not expect perfection of anybody in our care. We as educators put far more weight in pupil exploration and their finding happiness in their own skin, in their own way, in their own time. Grupop can provide some window into that for pupils who wish to explore and celebrate their own preferences and personalities.

Carve your own path and support those around you in carving theirs. Thank you.

The Grupop Guy