The First Month

Well one month down and things are going better than last year. At least that's what I think. I thought they were going better last year but it turned out they weren't. I think they are though. I have had a really positive experience at the new place.

It's all about the management there. They're very supportive and, when I have a problem, they offer solutions. It's great! I have a tiny class which makes my marking workload manageable. I've been able to come home on many nights and not work until 11:00 pm on planning. I've had a some good times with the students and even one profound moment where the class actually came together and started to bond. That fell apart in a day or two but we'll keep working on them. They just don't get along very well and a lot of the problems go back years.

On the other hand...I'm starting to wonder if I'm not being TOO hard on them. There's that point where you have to insist they do what you want but if you come down like a ton of bricks all the time it starts to wear thin. Not sure how to balance that at the moment. It's something I'm working on.

Also had a parents night in which one parent (whose child is brilliant - and I mean really amazing at English) tore into me. It was a bit of a shock as I figured she'd be happy her child is doing well. Apparently I'm boring her daughter. Not pushing her enough. Oh well. The rest seemed happy.

I planned and executed my first class trip. We went and did a survey of pedestrians and shop owners on the High street (read: main street) to determine if there was support for the high street being closed to cars. That went really well. You have no idea how much insanity goes into planning these things. I'm talking writing and collecting letters to parents, filling out about 8 forms to do with health and safety, gathering medical information, making badges for the students with the school name, address and telephone number on them to stick on each child in case they get lost, bringing a first aid kit...the works. I managed to do it and not forget a single thing! Miraculous! The trip went really well too!



I learned a lot from my mistakes of the past. The biggest difference is that I spent the better part of a week looking at every weekly teaching objective and then making a schedule for what week I would be teaching it. Most importantly I went though all the books we had and recorded what page numbers and what books I would be teaching each week. This cut my planning during the term down by easily 200%. I used to spend most of my time trying to find the actual text that I would base my next lesson upon. I could spend an hour or more per lesson just trying to figure outh what I was going to look at. Now I go...what am I teaching this week? Look at the schedule and go. It's awesome. -It's like the schedule on the left. Cause it keeps me on track! Get it?! - My planning and objective setting abilities are growing exponentially. Probably because I'm actually taking the idea of planning more seriously as I see the benefits. I've also cut down on "bells and whistles" lessons through the first term. I wanted to go in and do all the exciting interactive stuff right away last year but I've discovered that students need to sit down, focus, and do work before you can do those things. The routine is important. Even if it doesn't seem exciting.

I am feeling upbeat at the moment as I made it through the toughest week so far of the year. I had that trip and the parent meetings within two days of each other. Also - babagenouche's mother and her new man came to visit last week and stayed with us. We had a GREAT time. it was really fun having them around (and thanks to my new found orginisational prowness I was able to hang out with them at night). We even went to Hampton court with them last Saturday. I had no idea it was an enormous castle. It was Henry the VIII's party palace apparently. Amazing. The upshot of all that though was I hit this week tired and literally had to work until 9 - 11 at night from Monday to Thursday to keep on top of everything.

Finally:

I met with a psychiatrist again after doing tons of testing to do with ADD. Actually I did a huge range of tests from intelligence to emotional. He finally had all the results together and it turns out I'm pretty bright! Apparently in the top 2% for Verbal and Language abilities. I came out reasonably well in other areas as well. I'm one not to put too much stock in these kinds of things but, now that I've done well, maybe I'll take them a little more seriously. ;) Anyway looks like I do have problems with attention deficit but not with hyperactivity. I knew that but there you go. Next step is 2 weeks to discuss strategies as to what to do.

So there you go. One big update. I'll try to keep posting regularly it's just the hectic business of my life that makes sitting at a computer and typing seem painful at then end of the day.