Everyone wants a piece of me but I just want some peace!

After 3 weeks, it feels like I’ve been at my new school forever. So as promised, the silver lining has worn off and here’s some moans about this much better school. This tends to be the case once you’ve settled in somewhere. There also tends to be 2 common moans, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing: Time and Money.

So what do you think of school clubs? I’ve always thought they were great until... they asked me which one I wanted to do? Eeermm none! - My unspoken response. Why would I want to spend my mornings, evenings and lunchtimes doing a club out of the goodness of my heart when I could be spending my time gossiping and drinking coffee in the staffroom? Well, that’s not strictly true but it is my breakfast, lunch and tea time. ‘So can we sign you up for running club?’ I thought about it and thought I might as well use it as my twice weekly exercise sessions...until they told me it’s at lunchtime- suddenly images of kids running around puking up their lunch crossed my mind. Then some papers appeared on my desk ‘these are for your 11+ club.’ Oh dear! I’m all for making 11+ tuition available as I think some bright little buttons fail the test because the poor little sods haven’t been given tutoring. But my main concern is always teachers’ wellbeing. I’ve got enough work doing the normal teach, plan, mark and assess etc etc. Well, some clubs are paid- perhaps there is a bright side after all. Somehow clubs don’t seem so bad if you’re getting paid for them. It’s a case of not enough time...isn’t it? Yet more time suddenly comes available if you’re getting paid for your time. If I’m not, I’ll skill myself up ready to say ‘NO!’ by half term. If I am, I’ll put the money towards a relaxing holiday by half term.

And what do you think of teachers buying their own resources? I also don’t believe in teachers spending their own money on resources – we’re not Avon ladies after all. Today I asked where I could get hold of some folders – Tescos was the answer. Hmmphh!!

So I’ve got a couple of options: 1) Request being paid for clubs and request resources to be ordered 2) Don’t do it and stop moaning about it ;-P

Btw, there’s something I read, I think it was in one of Frank Chalk’s books- about children in rough schools being far uglier than in other schools. Whilst I realise it is completely against political correctness, I chuckled to myself when my good looking 11+ class arrived, remembering the vacant-faced uglies of my previous rough school. I actually enjoyed doing the clubs ...ssshhh!! Don’t tell anyone!

Xxx

Work/Life Balance - welcome back holidays, weekends and evenings I've missed u xx

I’m so glad to be at my new school and can only reinforce the importance of getting into a good school although in true human form I'm sure it won't be long before I find something to moan about. Right now, there’s a few reasons why my new schools great:

1)      The boss is calm and knows his stuff. Having worked for incompetent nutters in the past; this was a relief to discover. The only problem with him knowing his stuff is he knows when you’re stuffing up; and even though he might not say anything, you know he knows. We have observations coming up and the teachers are shitting themselves. I don’t know a teacher who isn’t shit scared of observations. For a while, I chilled out. I knew I’d get a satisfactory grading for even my worse lessons. Trouble is, now, satisfactory is not satisfactory. Is it possible to be graded ‘outstanding’ without working your butt off? I once got an ‘outstanding’ grading for my lesson; needless to say I’d worked my ass off.

2)      The school is technically advanced. The children have just had their thumbs scanned for ordering their lunch – god knows how that works. The register is electronic as is the reward system. The parents can then log on at home and see the positive comments left by the teacher every day. Check it out at http://www.vivomiles.com/. You can access everything at home (when you know how) the only problem, after a hard day’s work, is switching off – literally. Technology is great – as long as you know how to use it. I’m just waiting for an electronic robot teacher who I can program to teach all my lessons whilst I put my feet up and drink tea, oil it once in a while and get paid for it.

3)      Some of the children work at a really high level so I am never bored. I was beaten at a maths challenge for the first time in 5 years. One of my extension tasks is often: ‘think of a question related to the LO which you can answer but you think the teacher can’t.’ More often than not I can answer it; I’ve had years of practice at this game. This time, I was beaten on Monday in a sequencing lesson when a 10 year old boy came up with a sequence I couldn’t crack in the time available. I’ve cracked it now but see how long it takes you:

0, 7, 26, 63, ?, ?

4)      Its well organised.

The boss also stresses the importance of a work/life balance...so on that note, I’ll bid you goodnight as I am off to bed at a reasonable hour.

Miss Phitt xx

I guess it really makes a difference which school you choose.

Back at work already. Our first day back was Friday. After one hard day’s work, I was absolutely knackered. Its gonna take something to get back in the swing of working Mon-Fri again. So I’m at a new school – what a different ball game! So strange yet so much better. We had a range of team building games – including a blindfolded assault course. This would never have happened at my old school. I guess it really makes a difference which school you choose.
xx

ICEBREAKERS TO GET TO KNOW YOUR CLASS

Of course these can also be altered for adult party games and I have used them for fun at a charity event I organised. You can even use them when you’re bored at home with your family.

• If you could be anybody for the day, who would it be, and why?
• If you were an animal which animal would you be?
• If you were in a book what kind of book would it be?
• If you could have a superhero power – what would it be?
• If you had a magic wand, what would you do with it?
• If you could preserve a piece of land forever what would it be?
• What’s your favourite quotation?
• What’s your favourite song?
• If you had a magic carpet, where would you go on it?
• If you had an invisible cloak, how would you use it?
• Who would you like to turn into a frog and why?
• What would you do if you shrunk to the size of a thumb?

Hmm now I'm going to think what my answers would be - the kids always ask! xxx

Born to teach?

I was drifting off after another hard day watching Jeremy Kyle and 60 Minute Makeover when a  programme came on about student drs. They were at a university hospital, one which I had been to when a student doctor sent me to the Oncologist after misdiagnosing my tonsillitis. Well, the student drs in this series tended to be the children of drs. This made me think ... do most teachers have parents who are teachers? Was I destined to be a teacher even before I was a glint in my dad’s eye? My mum was a teacher and my granddad did some form of teaching. Which also made me think – Oh no!! I’m turning into my mum...a future of bad hairstyles (helmet hair) and being bossy (bless her xx)... I didn’t really know about any other careers apart from; Drs (too much studying involved), nurses (don’t like blood), secretaries (tried it for a bit) or engineering (nasty experience with the Physics syllabus)...so teaching it had to be. It happened unconsciously. After thorough researching, i.e chatting to my teacher friends, I found out many teachers have teacher parents; or parents in education but many don’t too, so that was an end to my theory. But there is definitely more likelihood...

So I am now researching another theory: Are teachers’ kids ever cool? My old photos are evidence that this teacher definitely was not cool but luckily nobody recognises me. Who is the strange looking boy? That would be me but I’m making up for it now!

Have all teachers’ kids had the same experiences? Walk into any classroom and you will be able to guess which ones are the kids of teachers - just look for the joker with a pudding bowl hair cut. A past of shit hairstyles, jigsaws, educational holidays, awful clothes, participating in every extra-curricular activity going- ever single night – tuition, brownies, hockey club, violin lessons, scrabble club...One thing teachers’ kids tend to be is funny, well, you have to be to compensate for being so uncool. BUT guess what? You really appreciate it as adult and I’m a secret scrabble fiend on the sly. I love it. Nowadays I just tend to play it in my high heels rather than in my brown lace ups and lopsided NHS glasses.
xx

Riots in London

So...who's to blame for these riots? It must be the teachers!! ;-p
xxx

Good Jake Bad Jake

Some bedtime reading....?

I meant to put this on a while ago, but typically, I was ill as soon as the holidays began and then distracted....by books, magazines, alcohol, tidying cupboards.
This is our class story with ideas bounced off Willy the Wizard in shared writing sessions. The kids really felt for poor old Jake even though they knew I'd just made him up. Check out Pie Corbett's Talk for Writing. The 5 year old kids wrote some fantasic stories from it, which I would be proud to have written as a (kind of) grown up. I would add their stories too but feel I would be taking advantage of their lack of knowledge of copyright.

GOOD JAKE BAD JAKE

Jake was late for school again because he wouldn’t get up. Within minutes of arriving, Jake was sent to the back corner again. He wanted to be good but he was always bad. He tried to be good. But he never was. ‘I just can’t do it!’ he said to himself. Everyone called him Bad Jake but all he wanted in the world was to be good.

At school, he wanted to get a sticker BUT he kept chatting. He wanted to get a certificate in assembly BUT he kept fidgeting. He wanted to be Star of the Day BUT he never got picked.  ‘I just can’t do it!’ he said to himself and nobody wanted to play with him.

At home, he wanted pocket money BUT his room was too messy. He wanted his mum to read him stories BUT he wouldn’t go to bed when he was asked. He wanted sweets BUT he wouldn’t brush his teeth. ‘I just can’t do it!’ he said to himself and then he thought, ‘But I really want to be good. I’m just not’

That night Jake had a wonderful dream imagining he was good.

The next morning, he woke up smiling and leapt out of bed. When he arrived at school, there was a new boy sat in his seat. The new boy was smartly dressed and already had a sticker on his jumper. ‘He must be good,’ thought Jake. ‘I wish I was like him.’ The new boy said that his name was Good Jake and he wanted to be friends with Bad Jake. Bad Jake couldn’t believe it! He was so excited to have a friend. Good Jake told Bad Jake that he was going to teach him how to be good. Bad Jake told Good Jake that he couldn’t be good. ‘You can do it!’ said Good Jake.

That day, Bad Jake didn’t chat or fidget and he got a sticker, then a certificate and then a merit point. He was getting better and better. When he got home, he couldn’t wait to tell his parents about his new friend. His mum and dad winked at each other. ‘I used to have a friend called Clever Jean,’ said his mum.

‘And I had a friend called Sporty John,’ said his dad. They grinned.

That night Jake fell asleep whilst his mum read him one of his favourite stories.

The next morning, he was excited to get to school and see his new friend. But when he got there, Good Jake wasn’t there. He cried, and cried and cried... ‘What’s wrong, Jake?’ asked Mr Spook, his teacher.

‘W, w, where’s Good Jake? I can’t be good without him,’ Jake whimpered.

‘You can do it!’ said Mr Spook and smiled.

And to Jake’s greatest amazement he could! He got sticker after sticker...until it was almost impossible to see the colour of his jumper. Then something terrible happened....

Jake got caught chatting.

‘I just can’t be good! I am so sorry!’ wept Jake.

‘Don’t be,’ said Mr Spook ‘Give up trying to be perfect. You can do it!’

‘I can!’ said Jake.

Jake got sticker after sticker, day after day, until it was the end of the week.  Jake didn’t get Star of the Day like he wanted....BUT he was picked for Star of the Week! Jake smiled. Mr Spook smiled. Jake’s mum and dad smiled. Everybody smiled.

That night, as Jake was brushing his teeth, he looked in the mirror, Good Jake smiled back and winked at him.

Laters xx