How to end the hardest 14 weeks of my life? With a day off. Thanks, global warming! Or, rather: Thanks, acting head!
The last three days managed to merge into one long mess, so I'll sum up together.
Wednesday: I "taught" the last of my lessons for the week. I managed to get the year 9s to do the assessment they refused to do the day before, although one girl, sans TA, refused to do hers, even with my help. I pretty much switched off by the end of the day, which was pretty terrible, although not before enjoying watching my year 7s literally jump out of their seats when I showed them the Beowulf film. Oops. I ended the day helping out at an "exhibition" of art work in the atrium (costumes and huge Tim Burton-esque statues that appeared one day) by serving mulled wine, ignoring children, and then heading to the pub.
Thursday: Not starting till third period, and with only two lessons, and the staff do in the evening, meant that by this point there was very little teaching being done. I showed a film to year 9, who whined, and watched my year 10s do their coursework. Or ask me to read it and hand it back to them within the lesson. I left the place in a bit of a mess, as I had a Teachy Firsty meeting with my fellow Teachy Firsties and our professional mentor. It was quite nice - a bit of shop talk, but also crisps and sparkling wine, and the realisation that the end was nigh.
I then ran off with two English colleagues to get last minute things for the Staff do we would be having that evening. There was a quiz in the school's theatre, and the highlight of which, other than coming joint first in our English team, was the announcement from the acting head that, if the snow continued, we would have the last day of term called off.
Of course, after a rather boozy staff function, we were relieved to be rewarded.
Friday: Snow day. I spent half of it in bed, then made my way home to my family. I felt slightly robbed of my last day of term, although who am I to begrudge a lie-in?
So I suppose this is where I cast my reflections on the term, and on teaching in general. Perhaps writing this two days before I go back to school will have more influence on how I feel than is fair, but after two weeks of explaining to anyone who asked the impertinent question: "So, how is the teaching going?" I no longer feel the need to be polite.
Reader, I hate it.
I absolutely, positively HATE it.
I keep joking that "teaching would be great, if it weren't for the children" but really that's not what I hate. No, I could put up with the apathy, chat-back, teeth-kissing and such if for one thing: if I knew I was doing a good job otherwise. I actually quite like a lot of the kids. What I hate is being bad. And I am TERRIBLE. My lessons are too short or too long, the pace is crap, my moods are tempestuous, my passion for English (which exists somewhere) is often severely lacking when it comes to texts I don't like, my organisational skills are APPALLING which means my books are not marked, and my APP stuff is certainly not up to date. And that's just the teaching, that's not even scratching the surface on the Teachy Firsty half of the job.
I suppose this sounds like some sort of professional suicide note. If any of my superiors (and I suppose everyone is superior in some way or another) knew what a mess I'd left behind they'd be less than impressed. One of the reasons I decided not to quit over Christmas (and believe me, that was a conversation I'd had more than once) was that I was too ashamed to leave the classes and my paperwork in such a state. I have spent the past two weeks forgetting exactly how big a mess I'd left behind but now that I need to face up to it, I am terrified about actually going in and trying to sort it out.
Which brings me onto this: My New Year resolutions. One thing I know about myself is that I Do Not Quit. I ain't giving in this easy, especially when everyone tells me that it gets so much easier this side of Christmas (fuckers better not be lying or I will be PISSED.)
Ergo:
1. Be more positive.
I suppose this goes without saying; I rarely see the brighter side of things, and my glass is always half empty and cracked. If I want to be happier, in general, and in this career, I need to be positive. Be nice. Until it's time to not be nice. (Thanks, Dalton)
2. Be more organised.
When I go in on Monday, at the crack of dawn, no doubt, I will make myself a very, very long list of all the things I need to get done. And I will do them!
3. Stop swearing.
Not that I do, in front of the kids, but I know I need to watch what I'm saying most of the time. I will try to expand my vocabulary to no longer require swears. I do love a good swear, though.
4. Try to enjoy it.
There's a Thai concept - Sanuk. No matter what the Thais do, they try to approach it with a sense of humour and find fun in it, be it working in a field, or no doubt, teaching ingrates. I'd like to try this myself.
5. Keep my personal life out of it.
I suppose I am no longer a teenager and should be able to go into my work without letting whatever shenanigans I got up to at the weekend upset me. So yeah, Be Professional.
Right. I have just over a day left of weekend, so I will make the most of it. I will try to get my journal in order, and prepare for my one lesson back on Monday. I will also take the time to chill out. I'm not looking forward to going back (that made be obvious) and cried a couple of days back at the mere prospect. However, I know I want to do this. I want to be good. I want to succeed, and I want to help the kids to do well, too. Lest I forget, this is all about the kids. Happy New Year, everyone. Here's to 2010.
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Day 67: Drag.
Considering how much I was dreading going in to work today, it wasn't actually too bad. That's not to say it was good, but still.
I started the day with my Year 7s. They were performing their speeches (funeral orations for Beowulf) and some were great. Behaviour was a little sketchy, exacerbated by my poor planning, but otherwise it was ok.
Year 11 came after break, and I have never been so disappointed in myself. The guys don't know how to do anything for themselves. It's painful. Some of them were really really trying, but I just don't know what to do with them. I'm terrified that I haven't prepared them properly for their mock exam. My colleague told me not to worry, that it wasn't my fault assuming I'd done everything I could. I'm not convinced I have.
Year 9 were after lunch, and were both lively and thin on the ground. Unfortunately, as it's the last week of term, trying to make them sit an assessment was never going to be easy, and I relented and let them watch Romeo and Juliet, which had been shown to them the day before in my absence. I got them to agree to do the assessment tomorrow instead, which I am SURE will happen. One of the boys, U, asked me to send an email to the head of punishing pupils, or whatever her title is, telling her what a good boy he was. Unlikely, kiddo!
Finally, I had to round the day off with the delightful Year 8. My plan for the lesson was to finish the play, and we did, and not much else. It was pretty appalling lesson, if I'm honest, but they read through it, and watched a film version, and all was well. Enough.
I left pretty early to go home to plan, but not a lot of that's happened so far. I am so frazzled. And that's with a day away from teaching yesterday.
Only three more days to go...
I started the day with my Year 7s. They were performing their speeches (funeral orations for Beowulf) and some were great. Behaviour was a little sketchy, exacerbated by my poor planning, but otherwise it was ok.
Year 11 came after break, and I have never been so disappointed in myself. The guys don't know how to do anything for themselves. It's painful. Some of them were really really trying, but I just don't know what to do with them. I'm terrified that I haven't prepared them properly for their mock exam. My colleague told me not to worry, that it wasn't my fault assuming I'd done everything I could. I'm not convinced I have.
Year 9 were after lunch, and were both lively and thin on the ground. Unfortunately, as it's the last week of term, trying to make them sit an assessment was never going to be easy, and I relented and let them watch Romeo and Juliet, which had been shown to them the day before in my absence. I got them to agree to do the assessment tomorrow instead, which I am SURE will happen. One of the boys, U, asked me to send an email to the head of punishing pupils, or whatever her title is, telling her what a good boy he was. Unlikely, kiddo!
Finally, I had to round the day off with the delightful Year 8. My plan for the lesson was to finish the play, and we did, and not much else. It was pretty appalling lesson, if I'm honest, but they read through it, and watched a film version, and all was well. Enough.
I left pretty early to go home to plan, but not a lot of that's happened so far. I am so frazzled. And that's with a day away from teaching yesterday.
Only three more days to go...
Monday 14 December 2009
Day 66: Sick Sick Sick
Today, I am sick. I can only remember taking two days off in the past 3 years for being ill, so I feel pretty terrible.
A day spent sleeping, eating, and building a little fort in my bed should do the trick, plus a trip to my new, and rather patronising, GP.
Till tomorrow, folks.
A day spent sleeping, eating, and building a little fort in my bed should do the trick, plus a trip to my new, and rather patronising, GP.
Till tomorrow, folks.
Saturday 12 December 2009
Day 65: Lessons Learned
To follow Thursday's blog: yes, I made it in to work on Friday. Tears at 7am melted my resolve to persevere briefly, but I pushed myself out the door, arriving late but in one piece.
As I look back now, with 24 hours' reflection, I realise there's a reason this week has been so hard. For once, I can't even blame the kids. I've allowed myself to fester in a pit of self-loathing and I don't know why. The observation I had made a couple of weeks ago that my Friday evenings were not good for my general well-being was somewhat more accurate than I realised. What I have noticed since then was, like the kids themselves, I've let my personal life into work, and affect my mood - and therefore my performance. It seemed to creep up on me without notice, until it had overtaken and overwhelmed me. Not terribly exceptional, I must say. Sorry, Teachy Firsty.
And so, I have made a pact with myself. Following some encouraging words from a friend, and some more from my mother, I've decided that I will stop being so negative. I will also stop talking about my social life in these blogs; these are supposed to be about teaching, not the poison that is my self-esteem.
Right. Friday. I had an observation (!) for the first lesson, year 10, and I was fairly worried about it, as I'd not done a great job in my lesson with year 10 the day before. Luckily I found my professional tutor, who was going to observe me, before the lesson and talked it through with her. With her advice, I went into the lesson feeling more confident, although when I started, I realised that the kids were not as together with the work as I thought they were, so I let them carry on with whatever they wanted. I tried going around and helping them out individually, taking a couple of girls aside to go through certain areas they'd missed, and explaining on the white board how betting works (to explain a news story!) The feedback from the lesson was mixed: although my relationship with the class is fantastic, I'd make a bit of a pig's ear of the coursework as I'd not asked for much guidance, or asked the wrong people, and therefore had made it up as I went along. The kids were all getting on with it, which was good, but in future I'd do a much better job. Oh well.
After my feedback I went for a cigarette. Yep, I fell off the wagon, one day short of 4 weeks, although I've only allowed myself the weekend. After break I had year 7, and I was basically preparing them for a speaking and listening task. I should have left this till the Monday, or, like my colleague, missed it out altogether, but either way, I went with it and they worked, eventually. I've realised one of the girls is turning into a bit of a handful, so I'm going to have to sit her very far away from everyone else in future lessons.
I finished after the lesson, and pretty much switched off. I can't remember what I did, other than go to the shop and walk through a music video being filmed there. I also had feedback from my year 10 lesson on Thursday from my professional mentor, who is currently acting head as well. She was pretty positive, although told me that I talked too much and did all the work for the kids. Oops. She suggested I have one of them time me every time I spoke, and warn me when I go over two minutes - great idea.
After work, I did a bit of paperwork, but then was persuaded (it didn't take much) to go to pub for a drink before the school production of Hairspray, for which I had a ticket. Half a pint turned into 2 1/2, and I giggled back to the school with my colleague, to take my seat at 7pm next to one of my most notorious pupils, M, who offered me a cookie but otherwise was fairly restrained.
The play itself was pretty entertaining. I was pleased to see my clock being used as a prop. What was especially sweet was seeing the kids (including two of my year 10s I teach) working so hard at something and doing so well at it. There was some excellent talent, although it was somewhat overshadowed by a kid in drag and another behind a giant moustache. I loved it, and went back to the pub after to celebrate my colleagues' success in the production. I actually had a fantastic time at the pub, singing karaoke and chatting to my favourite colleague (a fellow Teachy Firsty) and mingling with the locals.
And so it is the end of the week - and one week, 5 days, 15 lessons to go till Christmas break. If I make it through this week, I'll have made it to Christmas, and I'll be able to make it through anything. Fingers crossed.
As I look back now, with 24 hours' reflection, I realise there's a reason this week has been so hard. For once, I can't even blame the kids. I've allowed myself to fester in a pit of self-loathing and I don't know why. The observation I had made a couple of weeks ago that my Friday evenings were not good for my general well-being was somewhat more accurate than I realised. What I have noticed since then was, like the kids themselves, I've let my personal life into work, and affect my mood - and therefore my performance. It seemed to creep up on me without notice, until it had overtaken and overwhelmed me. Not terribly exceptional, I must say. Sorry, Teachy Firsty.
And so, I have made a pact with myself. Following some encouraging words from a friend, and some more from my mother, I've decided that I will stop being so negative. I will also stop talking about my social life in these blogs; these are supposed to be about teaching, not the poison that is my self-esteem.
Right. Friday. I had an observation (!) for the first lesson, year 10, and I was fairly worried about it, as I'd not done a great job in my lesson with year 10 the day before. Luckily I found my professional tutor, who was going to observe me, before the lesson and talked it through with her. With her advice, I went into the lesson feeling more confident, although when I started, I realised that the kids were not as together with the work as I thought they were, so I let them carry on with whatever they wanted. I tried going around and helping them out individually, taking a couple of girls aside to go through certain areas they'd missed, and explaining on the white board how betting works (to explain a news story!) The feedback from the lesson was mixed: although my relationship with the class is fantastic, I'd make a bit of a pig's ear of the coursework as I'd not asked for much guidance, or asked the wrong people, and therefore had made it up as I went along. The kids were all getting on with it, which was good, but in future I'd do a much better job. Oh well.
After my feedback I went for a cigarette. Yep, I fell off the wagon, one day short of 4 weeks, although I've only allowed myself the weekend. After break I had year 7, and I was basically preparing them for a speaking and listening task. I should have left this till the Monday, or, like my colleague, missed it out altogether, but either way, I went with it and they worked, eventually. I've realised one of the girls is turning into a bit of a handful, so I'm going to have to sit her very far away from everyone else in future lessons.
I finished after the lesson, and pretty much switched off. I can't remember what I did, other than go to the shop and walk through a music video being filmed there. I also had feedback from my year 10 lesson on Thursday from my professional mentor, who is currently acting head as well. She was pretty positive, although told me that I talked too much and did all the work for the kids. Oops. She suggested I have one of them time me every time I spoke, and warn me when I go over two minutes - great idea.
After work, I did a bit of paperwork, but then was persuaded (it didn't take much) to go to pub for a drink before the school production of Hairspray, for which I had a ticket. Half a pint turned into 2 1/2, and I giggled back to the school with my colleague, to take my seat at 7pm next to one of my most notorious pupils, M, who offered me a cookie but otherwise was fairly restrained.
The play itself was pretty entertaining. I was pleased to see my clock being used as a prop. What was especially sweet was seeing the kids (including two of my year 10s I teach) working so hard at something and doing so well at it. There was some excellent talent, although it was somewhat overshadowed by a kid in drag and another behind a giant moustache. I loved it, and went back to the pub after to celebrate my colleagues' success in the production. I actually had a fantastic time at the pub, singing karaoke and chatting to my favourite colleague (a fellow Teachy Firsty) and mingling with the locals.
And so it is the end of the week - and one week, 5 days, 15 lessons to go till Christmas break. If I make it through this week, I'll have made it to Christmas, and I'll be able to make it through anything. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Day 62-64: Satisfactory
Tuesday:
The time is 22.45. I have spent little over 4 hours on one task.
Planning a lesson?
No.
Prepping resources?
No.
Marking?
No.
I spent last 4 hours (plus) on sewing together one skirt. Just one. Ridiculous.
It's now midnight so I am officially giving up. Tragic.
Reflections on the day: Well, I started off by noticing, 15 minutes into my year 11 lesson, that my jumper was inside out. Glorious. The lesson was... ok. It was interesting to see how little they understand the poems, so I'm going to have to doubly work on them tomorrow because I'm worried the guys (girl still isn't turning up) will just not get it. Behaviour was.. ok. K was being a moody little so and so. I expect nothing less.
Wednesday:
To be honest, I can't remember. All I can remember was staying late to prep for my observations on Thursday, and then having to cancel dinner plans as a result. Depressing.
Thursday:
Today has to go down as the worst day. Nothing too bad at school, other than the stress of two observations. I even went for drinks after.
However, I walked home (or rather stumbled) in floods of tears. I was bawling. I must have looked nuts. Why so sad? I guess the stress, fatigue and disappointment of 13 weeks' hard graft finally caught up with me and being told I'd ruined the departmental secret Santa pushed me over the edge.
Not good. I think it's time for a sick day.
The time is 22.45. I have spent little over 4 hours on one task.
Planning a lesson?
No.
Prepping resources?
No.
Marking?
No.
I spent last 4 hours (plus) on sewing together one skirt. Just one. Ridiculous.
It's now midnight so I am officially giving up. Tragic.
Reflections on the day: Well, I started off by noticing, 15 minutes into my year 11 lesson, that my jumper was inside out. Glorious. The lesson was... ok. It was interesting to see how little they understand the poems, so I'm going to have to doubly work on them tomorrow because I'm worried the guys (girl still isn't turning up) will just not get it. Behaviour was.. ok. K was being a moody little so and so. I expect nothing less.
Wednesday:
To be honest, I can't remember. All I can remember was staying late to prep for my observations on Thursday, and then having to cancel dinner plans as a result. Depressing.
Thursday:
Today has to go down as the worst day. Nothing too bad at school, other than the stress of two observations. I even went for drinks after.
However, I walked home (or rather stumbled) in floods of tears. I was bawling. I must have looked nuts. Why so sad? I guess the stress, fatigue and disappointment of 13 weeks' hard graft finally caught up with me and being told I'd ruined the departmental secret Santa pushed me over the edge.
Not good. I think it's time for a sick day.
Monday 7 December 2009
Day 61: No, Miss Lee, 2 hours' sleep is not enough
The title says it all. I stayed up until exactly 4.30am to get my Reflective Journal Assignment finished (and no, don't ask how long I'd had to do it) so when my alarm went off at 6.30am I was feeling a little less than refreshed, let's say.
I survived the day on red bull, diet coke and hysteria, lapsing into miserable pits of despair whenever my blood sugar ran low. Fortunately I only had two lessons ("Why did you even come in?" someone asked) and they weren't particularly difficult, so I wasn't too concerned about the day itself being taxing.
I'm going to cut this short as my eyes are drooping as I type, and it's definitely time for me to sleep. Year 7 were fine, if a little spirited, and then year 11 were boisterous, especially since there were only 8 of them, and we just orally recapped the short stories, then watched Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer. A bit of a waste of a lesson, in hindsight, but there you go.
I nearly fell asleep on the wrong bus, then walked around Morrisons in circles trying to pick some fruit up, as I've not been having my five-a-day and it's beginning to show in my skin (a year 7 asked what was wrong with my face. That felt nice.) I gorged myself of blueberries and spinach and called it an early-ish night at 9pm.
This does mean that I'll have to plan tomorrow morning but, for the sake of sleep, it's worth it right now. Bon nuit.
I survived the day on red bull, diet coke and hysteria, lapsing into miserable pits of despair whenever my blood sugar ran low. Fortunately I only had two lessons ("Why did you even come in?" someone asked) and they weren't particularly difficult, so I wasn't too concerned about the day itself being taxing.
I'm going to cut this short as my eyes are drooping as I type, and it's definitely time for me to sleep. Year 7 were fine, if a little spirited, and then year 11 were boisterous, especially since there were only 8 of them, and we just orally recapped the short stories, then watched Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer. A bit of a waste of a lesson, in hindsight, but there you go.
I nearly fell asleep on the wrong bus, then walked around Morrisons in circles trying to pick some fruit up, as I've not been having my five-a-day and it's beginning to show in my skin (a year 7 asked what was wrong with my face. That felt nice.) I gorged myself of blueberries and spinach and called it an early-ish night at 9pm.
This does mean that I'll have to plan tomorrow morning but, for the sake of sleep, it's worth it right now. Bon nuit.
Saturday 5 December 2009
Day 60: Reflect this!
Day 60. Sounds rather grand, doesn't it? I can't believe there are only 10 days left of term. I honestly cannot wait until this is over and I get two weeks off. I think I've probably said that before, but still - the feeling is building with every day I spend in the school.
First things first: the observant among you may be able to tell by the time this entry was written that I did not do too well at not going out after work on Friday. I did avoid spending 12 hours in the pub, I also managed to get some work done after school finished. Unfortunately that's all I've accomplished so far. Maybe try again next week.
Righty ho. Today I was looking forward to having a lesson covered as I FINALLY managed to sort out a physio appointment for my knee at the hospital across the road from the school (long story short - fell on knee, damaged the underside of my kneecap, can't play rugby anymore.) So I got into school early and, having been out all yesterday for training, sorted out my classroom and my cover for my year 10s. I wasn't sure how long I'd be at the hospital, so was only going to ask them to finish off what they *should* have been writing the day before.
I was asked to help out a colleague by covering her VT, so I went in there to see a year 11 boy sat at the computer. I wasn't entirely convinced that he should be doing the register himself, so decided to interrupt his conversation with a girl (who as it turned out, was not even in the form) so that I could take over.
"Excuse me."
*boy continues to chat*
"Excuse me."
*chat*
"Ahem. EXCUSE ME."
"WHAT? I'm signing in the form!!!"
"Er - don't talk to me like that. I've been asked to do it. Please sit down." Little shit.
I sat down in his vacated seat and watched the kids. I'm glad I don't have a form. The problem with being new, and less than confident in oneself, is that the kids just ignore you. I was a little embarrassed when the head of year 9 came in to check up on the group, as requested by my colleague, and she was able to make them remove hats and coats and even sit in their seats without fuss. I think "undermined" should be my middle name in this place.
I was so fed up with the boy who was rude to me, when he started annoying the girls with a rather irritating story about farting in a girl's face, that I went to get my HoD to cover them so I could leave for my appointment.
As it turned out, the physio appointment only took 15 minutes so I was able to get back in time for my year 10s. They were a little disappointed when the cover teacher turned up and I sent him away, as he's the school heartthrob, it would seem. Gutted. Year 10 were pretty good; we talked about Britishness as a starter, and some of them came up with some interesting ideas. I keep launching into politics, which is amusing in as much as you can actually *see* their eyes glaze over, but having read some of the work, it was clear that a lot understood what I was trying to say. I had spoken at length about why everyone hates Gordon Brown/Tony Blair which they took a bit literally, but never mind.
After year 10 I had year 7, and I had thrown together some Simpsons-related video to talk about characterisation. I was a little lost with the original lesson plan, but I think the kids got what I wanted out of it. I also showed them a clip from Shrek because, well, why not? It was almost relevant. We got through the lesson and they did the plenary, which makes a nice change, and the bell went and I was free for the day.
After lunch I sorted through paperwork, tidied my desk, finished my book, and went down to The Bin but *DIDN'T* smoke. Win. I feel under a lot of pressure at the moment because I'm behind with my marking and I have a written assignment due on Monday which I am yet to write. It's also 5am and I can't sleep, so you can see my predicament. Anyway, all in all, it was a rather nice day, and I just CANNOT wait for this term to be over. Roll on Day 61; let's be having you.
First things first: the observant among you may be able to tell by the time this entry was written that I did not do too well at not going out after work on Friday. I did avoid spending 12 hours in the pub, I also managed to get some work done after school finished. Unfortunately that's all I've accomplished so far. Maybe try again next week.
Righty ho. Today I was looking forward to having a lesson covered as I FINALLY managed to sort out a physio appointment for my knee at the hospital across the road from the school (long story short - fell on knee, damaged the underside of my kneecap, can't play rugby anymore.) So I got into school early and, having been out all yesterday for training, sorted out my classroom and my cover for my year 10s. I wasn't sure how long I'd be at the hospital, so was only going to ask them to finish off what they *should* have been writing the day before.
I was asked to help out a colleague by covering her VT, so I went in there to see a year 11 boy sat at the computer. I wasn't entirely convinced that he should be doing the register himself, so decided to interrupt his conversation with a girl (who as it turned out, was not even in the form) so that I could take over.
"Excuse me."
*boy continues to chat*
"Excuse me."
*chat*
"Ahem. EXCUSE ME."
"WHAT? I'm signing in the form!!!"
"Er - don't talk to me like that. I've been asked to do it. Please sit down." Little shit.
I sat down in his vacated seat and watched the kids. I'm glad I don't have a form. The problem with being new, and less than confident in oneself, is that the kids just ignore you. I was a little embarrassed when the head of year 9 came in to check up on the group, as requested by my colleague, and she was able to make them remove hats and coats and even sit in their seats without fuss. I think "undermined" should be my middle name in this place.
I was so fed up with the boy who was rude to me, when he started annoying the girls with a rather irritating story about farting in a girl's face, that I went to get my HoD to cover them so I could leave for my appointment.
As it turned out, the physio appointment only took 15 minutes so I was able to get back in time for my year 10s. They were a little disappointed when the cover teacher turned up and I sent him away, as he's the school heartthrob, it would seem. Gutted. Year 10 were pretty good; we talked about Britishness as a starter, and some of them came up with some interesting ideas. I keep launching into politics, which is amusing in as much as you can actually *see* their eyes glaze over, but having read some of the work, it was clear that a lot understood what I was trying to say. I had spoken at length about why everyone hates Gordon Brown/Tony Blair which they took a bit literally, but never mind.
After year 10 I had year 7, and I had thrown together some Simpsons-related video to talk about characterisation. I was a little lost with the original lesson plan, but I think the kids got what I wanted out of it. I also showed them a clip from Shrek because, well, why not? It was almost relevant. We got through the lesson and they did the plenary, which makes a nice change, and the bell went and I was free for the day.
After lunch I sorted through paperwork, tidied my desk, finished my book, and went down to The Bin but *DIDN'T* smoke. Win. I feel under a lot of pressure at the moment because I'm behind with my marking and I have a written assignment due on Monday which I am yet to write. It's also 5am and I can't sleep, so you can see my predicament. Anyway, all in all, it was a rather nice day, and I just CANNOT wait for this term to be over. Roll on Day 61; let's be having you.
Wednesday 2 December 2009
Day 58 and 59: Cream Crackered
Wednesday felt exceedingly long. I hadn't had a 12 hour day at school in quite some time. Unfortunately I'm writing this the next day and already I've forgotten what I did, but suffice to say there were four periods (again) and I was very very tired by the end of it.
Today (Thursday) I had a bit of a treat - Teachy Firsty training. I had hated the training day back in September, or whenever it was, but this was actually enjoyable. Other than having a written assessment due on Monday which I am yet to write, I came away feeling pretty positive about the whole thing. Plus I got to see my mum and brother afterwards, and had some friends over for dinner. What a nice day.
Today (Thursday) I had a bit of a treat - Teachy Firsty training. I had hated the training day back in September, or whenever it was, but this was actually enjoyable. Other than having a written assessment due on Monday which I am yet to write, I came away feeling pretty positive about the whole thing. Plus I got to see my mum and brother afterwards, and had some friends over for dinner. What a nice day.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Day 57: Fire Drill
Long day. 4 periods. Tired. Best part: fire drill. Kids got to go home 15 minutes early, and I went out on a week night for the first time this term.
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