HOw I found Extra Lesson

2013 is the year I embarked on a personal and professional journey learning the art of "The Extra Lesson" (TEL).

The Extra Lesson (TEL) was created by Audrey McAllen to help children who had difficulties in writing, reading and arithmetic.  In today's world it is helping children with a wide range of learning and behavioural difficulties by enabling them to receive learning in the classroom more effectively.

Some teachers in mainstream education (and I was very much one of these once upon a time) may say that children do not "receive" learning, they are the very centre of learning!  They are involved in negotiating their own learning intentions, success criteria, and next learning steps.  If you are a teacher that manages this in a mainstream classroom - kudos to you!  I once strived to teach like this, but since discovering Waldorf Education my pedagogy has been flipped turned upside down (to borrow the words of Fresh Prince!)  This is a whole other discussion.....

My Background

I am a qualified and experienced primary teacher (5 year olds - 13 year olds), and spent six years in mainstream classrooms, mainly teaching years 4-6 (9 years - 11 years).

I had my first child, Cadell, who is now four, and when he was around 16 months old I found regular day relief at various and very good mainstream schools.  This meant finding regular childcare for Cadell.  A very good friend of mine who I met at the last mainstream school I worked at had become the manager of a brilliant Steiner based childcare.  I had visited the local Montessori childcare, but thought we had better check this one out too.  After one single visit it felt right and he was enrolled!  My interest in this educational approach created by Rudolph Steiner, increased and I attended many information evenings to learn more about what I had more or less stumbled upon.  At one of such evenings the Principal of Waikato Waldorf school offered me the opportunity to teach Maori language part time at the school.  I am a complete believer in things happening for a reason, and that certain people come into our lives for a purpose, if you are open to it.  So began my new teaching role, in a school with a philosophy I knew very little about, but that just felt right in every way!

I learned about TEL through a colleague who was studying it at the time and sharing her new learning with the staff.  From the few small experiences she put us through and the discussions we had I was completely intrigued.  But I had a lot to learn already and just let this sit with me for a while.

A few years on I finished my teaching role at the school because I was expecting our second baby.  My new found knowledge had already changed my approach to this pregnancy.  And as Cadell got into his fourth year he had a real rough patch, causing me to seek further information on parenting, child development and discipline.  And so grew my knowledge of the holistic approach to education founded by Steiner.

As our second baby, Mitchell, grew I found myself wanting to do something more, something more formal about my learning.  Cadell seemed to be growing more clumsy by the hour constantly falling over, hitting his head and walking into things.  I went to our chiropractor who told me about retained reflexes, and this twigged the memory I had of TEL discussions I had had at school.

After talking to my previous principal and then my colleague who was nearing the end of her study now, I enrolled to start my three years of part time study to become a qualified Extra Lesson Practitioner!