Introduction to BAPP (Arts): Defining my role...

Although now the introductory session to BAPP does seem a million moons ago (Just over 6 weeks ago in fact!) I would like to share my initial feelings towards the opening module of our BAPP Arts course, particularly looking at it from the perspective of somebody who has deferred the module from September.

Going into the course the second time around has given me a clearer perspective than I previously had in terms of how much I am able to get out of this course, despite the fact that 6 weeks removed from this session I am still finding difficulty in juggling time between my commitments, I have a very clear direction that I am beginning to follow in my pursuit of completing this first module. Over the course of the campus session I began to identify long term objectives that I hope to meet by the time I complete this module:

• What is my job role?
• To what extent can it be developed?

The first question may seem to border on the absurd. Surely having been in my job for over 5 years I should have a very clear idea of what my job role entails? However I feel that in my role as Performing Arts Technician the expectations across five curriculum areas often differ and in regards to expectations in a whole school capacity the goal posts are often moved, depending on who within the school you are dealing with. As a result of which if I am able to develop this role as my second question asks then I must first define what it is I am being asked to develop. Even to this date, these are not the easiest questions to answer, if there are any readers who have experience of a Performing Arts Technician role please feel free to give me your perspective on either of those questions.

Finally, I also found one particular exercise from the introductory session of great use for myself, mainly in terms of working out where I am in terms of prioritising. Paula asked us to draw out a diagram of a head and within it write down everything that is currently going on within our thought processes on a day to day basis. I found this exercise useful as it got my mind thinking and reflecting on all that is going on in my life and how I am balancing each aspect. I have used a resource from school to share these thoughts with you (Mainly because I am not too fond of my diagrams!)

*Blog reposted after accidentally being deleted via misuse of iphone app*

Task 1c: Youtube Video
In order to complete this task I allowed my creative juices and resources of the Media department to aid me in making the following video. Hopefully you find it fun and informative, I intended for it to give an insight into my day to day activities within the school as well as collect some of my personal thoughts regarding the BAPP (Arts) course and the journey on which I will embark on over the next 15 months. Must apologise for it being a tad longer than the intended 45 seconds but felt that by exceeding the suggested time I could make the task more worthwhile for me and hopefully you...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPEWGiPkq_w

Task 1a: Personal Profile


My intentions beyond this course have been quite closely linked to education, which has been aided by working in a secondary school for a substantial period of time. However, documenting this in the form of a traditional CV was a task that initially seemed quite daunting, particularly as the last CV that I had written was when I was in my late teens! However, a conversation with my head teacher proved to be very informative. He informed me that when applying for both teacher training courses and further on from that teaching jobs a traditional CV was not something of a necessity in order for applications to be considered. In fact I would be asked to write more of a personal statement similar to the UCAS process. As a result I have created the a brief statement, although I must confess  I found it a major struggle to balance between it being too long or not very informative. However, I will be attending a training session at my school today for beginner teachers that we have on placement which is designed around applying for jobs. Hopefully this will lead to some improvements being made to my profile!