This week has been a rollercoaster ride. I have been all over the place emotionally and mentally.
My daughter had her graduation this week and because she was school captain, had to give a speech. I was so proud of her and in awe of her speaking abilities. She has such a presence when she speaks in public and I am always bursting with pride when I hear her. I also feel a little nostalgic about her finishing school.
My son has had a bit of a health issue that we’re still not sure about. I am worried yet hopeful it will all be ok at the same time. So therefore quite up and down about that.
Naturally it is report writing week!
I managed to squeeze in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, with the school and it lived up to it’s name because it was inconvenient. When you live in a regional area though, you have to support these films with small niche audiences,or they don’t come back! Also there was a group organised from school/work, so I didn’t want to miss it either.
I read weblogg-ed: “Is Reading Dead” this morning and remembered a lovely moment this week, I might have forgotten in the big action of this week. One of my year 7s who at the beginning of the year hated reading came to tell me she had finished the book I recommended for her last week. As I was so busy and self absorbed, I nearly brushed her off with a nod and a ‘well done’ smile, but she wouldn’t accept that. She said “Tell me, did you cry?”. I had to have a look then and really remember the book. It was Painted Love Letters by Catherine Bateson
These are the peak moments for me as a teacher. I nearly lost that moment in the rush of the week, so my answer to the question ‘Is reading dead?’, is no way. This happens quite regularly enough for me to keep going to school every day, correcting, writing reports, doing yard duty and all the other parts of being a teacher that I find less inspiring and enjoyable.
For everything there is a Season
It’s November already! I have been on camp at Tamboritha for the past three days and missed the start of the month. I took some videos whilst I was there which if you are interested, you can see here. Some of them are from the previous camp I went on last week. I’ll probably post more later about camp.
Last night in my weary state, I realised I was three days of writing behind in the Nanowrimo writing frenzy I managed to complete last year. I attempted to start, because I have honestly been giving it some thought, but was really too tired to get much more than a thousand words out of myself. This morning I had a big think and decided, I can’t do it. I have to let it go this year. I felt a bit of disappointment to be honest, as it felt great last year and I really enjoyed the challenge of it. I realised though, it is not the time of the year for me to be doing this.
Living in Australia, as I do, I have become annoyed with doing things at the wrong time of the year. If it were May and the days were getting shorter, I know I could nestle in to do some serious daily writing, but November is not realistic for me.
Last week, in my year 7 class, we discussed Halloween. Some of the kids are really into it and I can understand why. Some students said it is an American custom to trick or treat, and we shouldn’t take it on here. I agree, but not because it is American or because it isn’t a relevant thing to do. It is just not relevant in spring, as summer draws near, to be behaving like we are heading towards winter. We have just started daylight savings for goodness sake!
It is the same issue that I have with Nanowrimo. It’s not the right season for me here. We should be celebrating spring, spending time outdoors, not holing up with our writing and not embracing darkness and symbolic death. It’s all wrong. Perhaps I can start a Southern Hemisphere, May writing month! I’d have to come up with a better title!
I have been barely keeping up with writing blog posts lately. It’s been a busy year I guess. I feel a restructuring of my life coming on, partnered with a major spring clean!
VCE Time
I am proud of my daughters journey through the schools I have sent her to. She has always strived to do her best and has worked well at learning and building positive relationships with her peers and teachers. I haven’t given her much assistance with her work and have never believed in motivating my children to study. ‘Education is it’s own reward.’ is what I have chanted to them over the years. There have been no prizes or monetary values placed on doing well at school. There are no threats about doing poorly. It is after all, their own adventure into the world, they need to make mistakes so they can learn.
The imput I have had with both my children has been the occasional conversation when the frustration has built and they have fortunately chosen to discuss it with me rather than take extreme measures. The frustrations have usually come from teachers who don’t care or don’t know, or the typical dilema’s with other students. There have been tough times and joyful times. I teach at the school they attended in junior secondary so it has been challenging for all of us at times. I do know the characters they are grappling with and not much could be hidden about actions they take.
Now she is doing her VCE exams and has prepared herself very well, throughout the year and now at the main event, she is taking responsibility to be the best she can be. I don’t need the results to come in. I know she is a great success, and I am proud of her.