I wish I was a slacker - except I am when it comes to blogging, so sorry

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 06 July 2007 00:00:51

I have been told about days of yore when in schools all over the country now would be a time of relaxing, of joy, of laughter, of very little in the way of work going on. I am too young to have experienced this phenomenon myself - apart from the fact that in my first teaching job year 10 used to have work experience about now until the end of term (I think) so we only had 3 years in school, so that was about 310 pupils - we weren't a very popular school. So I suppose that we were doing a lot less. Now where I am we have nearly that amount in just one year group and I rather think we would be shot if we dared relax.

I am getting round to my 'last mark' of the year - teaching them once a week means that I can stop about now - except that I still have a year group to go, so I can't stop. I quite like doing things like group lists and find myself happily distracted onto that instead - oh the power.

"He must not be in the same group as him"
"That would be a disasterous combination"
"Is there any group you would dread teaching? If there is I need to make some changes because it isn't right."

I love it.

Meanwhile the timetable is in progress, I haven't seen it but have heard rumours about it - apparently it is a real mess. A friend who works part time requested two days - Wednesday and Friday, she has Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Someone is teaching 49 out of 50 lessons in a fortnight*, someone else, who is also part time, is timetabled for two frees on a Thursday - that's it - so she has to come in and possibly do a cover. The timetable isn't finished.

*This really doesn't happen in a Secondary School, and now, I believe, shouldn't happen in a Primary School, we are meant to have a certain amount of time for PPA - Planning, preparation and assessment.