I absolutely love my top set year 8 class. I get so much out of them, they respond well, talk beautifully and literally just blow my mind. We are just about to start a new unit of work and rather than start it last thing on a Thursday afternoon, I decided to do a one off lesson based on a poet called Taylor Mali. There were prompts provided but other than that, they had to fill the gaps. I wrote along with the kids and this is what I came up with.
Before I knew how to walk in heels, I used to find myself wandering aimlessly barefoot.
People think I am an extrovert but really I am safely hidden inside my warm cosy shell, peaking out at the merriment around me.
I'm the one who is a shoulder to cry on.
I'm the one who needs you to be there.
I'm the one who still cuddles a teddy at night.
In the circus of my family I am the first to reach the trapeze but everyone has to out their head in the lions mouth sometimes.
I wonder every day if I made the wrong decision all those years ago and if it will haunt me like the lingering scent of a favourite perfume.
At 2pm on a summers day I will haunt that place we fell in love. I'll sit beneath our favourite tree and quietly bask in the glow of your affection.
While this may not be prize winning stuff, it was certainly a cathartic experience and I think everyone got a lot out of it. Some of the things these 12 and 13 year olds wrote was absolutely jaw dropping.
Thursday 18 April 2013
Friday 12 April 2013
Who are you doing it for?
Sometimes in life we find ourselves doing everything for other people. We cook for others, we use products for others, we spend our lives enslaved to someone or something else in one way or another. So who are we living for?
I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way I live my life. I'm in a safe place, I can afford to live, I'm looked after. The only thing, so far, I'm missing is a partner. I think in the breakdown of my last relationship I realised that I was living too much for someone else. I was spending all my life wondering if what I did was meeting with his approval. Did he like what I was wearing? Was I loving him enough? In reality, I don't think he actually cared! I realise that now.
I think now, in terms of my job, I'm doing it for the 100+ children who are in and out of my classroom on a daily basis. I am living to change lives and you know what? I'm actually ok with it. Yes it can be stressful but each day there are changes and I honestly think the kids are ok with it. When I spot a little face light ip or a mouth form a question that usually wouldn't dare be asked, I know that I'm living for the right reason.
It's not exactly a stress free profession and when there are more bad days than good in a week, it causes you to question whether you are living for the right reasons. When you can't reach out and inspire a child, when the child throws every effort you make back in your face with inappropriate language and file behaviour you do wonder if you are living the wrong life. However, on the flip side, when a child says words like 'Miss you're one of the best teachers' or 'she's relaxed nit she will absolutely bullock you if you go too far', you know that somewhere amongst the shift, you are doing a good thing.
To me, I haven't just chosen a job, I've chosen a way of life. Even when I'm in holiday mode I am still on to a certain degree. I still spot opportunities for learning that must be embraced, memorised and the regurgitated at the appropriate point. I find myself picking up books that I think my children would love, looking at things from the eyes of those who haven't been lucky enough to have what I have. I became a kind of surrogate mother the day I stepped into my classroom. It's hard not to be a sort of parent when you are responsible for children 6 hours a day. I'd to change that for the world either.
This blog has become a bit of a ramble so I'm going to stop. I'll post it but I'm. To too bothered about proof reading. It's been a stream of consciousness more than anything. The gist? I'm living for my job and I've never been happier.
I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way I live my life. I'm in a safe place, I can afford to live, I'm looked after. The only thing, so far, I'm missing is a partner. I think in the breakdown of my last relationship I realised that I was living too much for someone else. I was spending all my life wondering if what I did was meeting with his approval. Did he like what I was wearing? Was I loving him enough? In reality, I don't think he actually cared! I realise that now.
I think now, in terms of my job, I'm doing it for the 100+ children who are in and out of my classroom on a daily basis. I am living to change lives and you know what? I'm actually ok with it. Yes it can be stressful but each day there are changes and I honestly think the kids are ok with it. When I spot a little face light ip or a mouth form a question that usually wouldn't dare be asked, I know that I'm living for the right reason.
It's not exactly a stress free profession and when there are more bad days than good in a week, it causes you to question whether you are living for the right reasons. When you can't reach out and inspire a child, when the child throws every effort you make back in your face with inappropriate language and file behaviour you do wonder if you are living the wrong life. However, on the flip side, when a child says words like 'Miss you're one of the best teachers' or 'she's relaxed nit she will absolutely bullock you if you go too far', you know that somewhere amongst the shift, you are doing a good thing.
To me, I haven't just chosen a job, I've chosen a way of life. Even when I'm in holiday mode I am still on to a certain degree. I still spot opportunities for learning that must be embraced, memorised and the regurgitated at the appropriate point. I find myself picking up books that I think my children would love, looking at things from the eyes of those who haven't been lucky enough to have what I have. I became a kind of surrogate mother the day I stepped into my classroom. It's hard not to be a sort of parent when you are responsible for children 6 hours a day. I'd to change that for the world either.
This blog has become a bit of a ramble so I'm going to stop. I'll post it but I'm. To too bothered about proof reading. It's been a stream of consciousness more than anything. The gist? I'm living for my job and I've never been happier.
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