Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 July 2008 21:46:36
When I first began teaching, the pivot point was a wonderful thing devised by my friend and I to help us make it through the term. You work out the pivot point. This is the day, nay, the hour, when you suddenly have more of the half term behind you than you have ahead. And this is the moment that you focus on, the moment you need to reach rather than the dim and distant target of the actual start of the half term holidays. Then the beauty of the system is that, having celebrated reaching it, you work out the next pivot point - precisely half way through the remaining time - and work your way towards that moment. And again, and again, until you've only two hours to go and you celebrate the hour, then the half hour, and the quarter hour... and suddenly it's the holidays and you're free :D
Today is a double pivot point. We have more time behind us with our visitors than ahead of us. They leave early next Tuesday morning. Now don't get me wrong, I am really enjoying having them here most of the time, and this evening they decided to stay home with us and we have had a really lovely evening together. They are really lovely boys, all three of them, and when one of the parents rang me this evening I was able honestly to say how great their son is. But it's an awkward time, tiring (not their fault, but they come in so late and leave so early) and taxing on our communication skills. It's also particularly stressful when their leader's forgotten to give them an activity list, so I'm stood at the stove making a cooked meal for 5.30 and they arrive home an hour earlier than usual and inform me that they have to be in Newport by 6pm instead of the usual 7 o'clock. Cooked meal consigned to the dustbin (it wouldn't keep), boys sent to get fish and chips, which they then were too busy talking to eat in time so that mostly went in the dustbin too. I had a few choice words to say to the EF organisers on that one!!! So here we are, at the pivot point, and I realise that it will be really quiet when they do go. I hope at least one of them keeps in touch.
I cannot say the same for the second pivot point, even though the people in question have been really quite nice so far on a personal level (not sure yet on a professional level). Praise God, the first day of inspections is over. I had one complete lesson observed - didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped as the kids simply froze, but I was fairly pleased with things and don't think it was bad at all. I have three lessons tomorrow and have heard a rumour that they may not still be doing observations by the third... so one I'm confident about and one I'm not.
Smudgelet, meanwhile, is planning to write to the Prime Minister. It's not right, he says, that his mother should have so much paperwork to do that she doesn't spend time with him. Too right, Smudgelet. You write your letter. You needed my attention these last few days - doing genetics in school isn't that easy when you're adopted and feel isolated within the lesson when everyone's discussing things they have in common with their parents - and I was almost too busy. I say almost - I ditched the planning in favour of my son. After all, what's more important. And what are they going to do to the school if we fail the inspection? Close it?