Ooooh, And The Storm Is Threatening...

Last night I watched storms race across our night sky.  For several hours lightning lit the clouds - about once every thirty seconds.  It was beautiful.

My dogs had a bit of a bark every time the thunder rolled.  One of them because she doesn't like thunder, the other because the first one barked. They kept this up for an hour or two, even after I went to bed.  Fortunately I was so tired that it really didn't matter.

You see, last night the real storm that was brewing was at work.  We had parent-teacher interviews, and although I managed to miss the really bad weather, I went into it wearing all the waterproof gear I could.  I certainly expected a downfall from a couple of parents.

Some of my colleagues were hit full on.  Apparently these days it's the teacher's fault if the student decides not to do any work in class. The child is no longer responsible for his/her own actions (or inactions).  The teacher, however, is fully to blame if the kid fails.

It's interesting how karma always comes around to bite you on the bum.

I teach English - a more interpretive kind of a subject.  I mean, with maths and so on there is usually a right or a wrong answer.  With English, it's more about stating a contention and then having to prove it.

But here's a little clue for you all. There's a science to English that can be expressed in a simple formula.

Not paying attention in class + doing no work = fail.

Hmmm - now that wasn't so hard, was it?

You want to pass - then do the work.  And stop blaming others for your lack of effort.

Tell Me More, Tell Me More.

I'm always concerned when a guest speaker commences with the line, "Well, I'm actually here under false pretenses and you possibly know more about this than I do."

Happened to me on Friday at a seminar I attended in my role as a teacher.  I went along to this particular session hoping to gain an insight into a particular area of study I teach - instead I realised I'm doing fine with it, and that the presenter (who shouldn't have been presenting) is so outside my own experience that she wouldn't cope at my school.  Or while she may, at least her strategies wouldn't.

But one of the other sessions was worth the entry price.  The speaker knew his stuff, was deeply passionate about his work, and offered us valuable techniques and resources that I can certainly adapt and utilise in my own teaching.

Overall these training days that we attend seem mostly to be held for the sake of holding them.  And they aren't cheap either. But the VIT require us to attend a certain number of hours so we can be registered as teachers.  It's a shame that much money and time is wasted.

The muffins and lunch were good though.