A Backblog of Events

Day three after the April holidays and already I am on a five week long weekend- a wedding in Brisbane. Admittedly, this makes me very positive and optimistic as I write this blog. I have actually had a really good start to Term 2. I started off to school on Monday in a very grumpy mood, but by recess, realised that things weren't so bad and I might as well cheer up otherwise I was going to make them bad. Since then, I have really been enjoying my classes and the students. Three of the problematic (read here idiotic, patronising, attention-seeking) Year 8's have been moved out of my class and it is bliss. They really affected the dynamic of the other students. Not surprisingly, the students who once reared their ugly heads behind the defence of these other students are now passive and quiet and have proved the sheep that all the teachers knew them to be! Baaaa! to them! Some of the staff that were really annoying me last Term, just because of who they are and what they stand for, are become less and less of a problem as I leanr better tactics of ignoring them. Except it is kind of strange doing this when they are talking to me at morning briefing.... :) Emails from the VATE crew are keeping me motivated and I am looking forward to projects with them. I keep envisioning myself as en educational specialist or an education officer, rather than a classroom teacher for the rest of my career and I am quite liking this ideal.
Below is a very insightful piece of writing that I penned about half way through 2004 (FYO). It is very interesting reading it now, and highlights to me how entrenched teachers become in the politics (read here, negativity) of a school. I had vowed that I would not become negativite and whiney as a teacher and not get bogged down in such politics, but more and more, I feel this happening. And that is why I think I will keep my eyes open for a new school/setting for 2006. I also feel an article stemming from this, however, for someone who professes to being quite positive and optimisitic when it comes to my outlook on life, I feel that I have had some very negative things to say about the teaching profession. I hope that those who have been at the receiving end of my gripes recognise them as debriefs, more than actual beliefs or feelings!
So here it is.....
Bye for now,
M x

The 8:40pm bell chimes and my heart thuds. It's my first day of school. I'm wearing my new black shoes, still tight around the laces they're so new. My hair is freshly washed, my fingernails have been trimmed and my brand new bag sits high on my shoulder (yet to be worn down by a heavy load of books). Today I'm carrying something I've never carried at school before; keys and a class roll. It's my first day at school but today I am the teacher.

Passing staff under the breezeway I hear snippets of conversation.
"I told his mother he should move to another school", "Not Year eights again", "Where is all this litter coming from?", "I'm sick of all these changes each year". Our lecturers warned us about this. It's called the 24-7 staff debrief, where it seems that everything they say is negative, that they must hate their jobs, fellow staff and most of all the students. A few days later, once the students have returned and school is back in full swing, I know I'll peep into the classrooms as I pass by and see a big, smiling mouth, praising her rough-and-ready year nines for a great first week, or a teacher sitting amongst his students at recess comparing bruises from their cricket matches over the weekend. People don't stay in a job they hate for ten or twenty years- these teachers love what they do. They're happy here!

I've learnt two things this week that Uni could never have prepared me for. Two things that can make the difference between a good day and a horrible day. Don't wear heels higher than two inches (Even if it is the only way to make yourself taller than the students!) It results in tired feet and that irritating, attention attracting clip-clop sound as you cross the quadrangle. Not to mention the acoustically enhanced drum these shoes make walking under an empty breezeway. The second moment of vital learning occurred as I tried to open a classroom door for a year twelve class. With my keys strung around my neck (the image of a noose comes to mind!) this was mistake number two. There is no dignity in bending over, backside protruding as you thrust your bust and the ensuing key towards a low handled door. Similarly, the act of teetering on tip toes, back arched under, trying to lift the key to a high handled door serves as another chance for students to see VULNERABILITY in flashing lights above one's head!

(2004)