Maybe you’ve seen the London Underground boards with quotes on. Apparently it’s called All On Board(Instagram link) and there’s a book. In a similar spirit, I’ve been doing something similar at school. Once a week I’ve putting a quote or some quotes that I’ve found on a book outside our classroom. I do have a commonplace book to write them down, I have many notebooks actually but I rarely find the time to write them down. Instead I send themselves on Signal. Every Monday I scroll through and pick one. Trying to make it relevant for school and students. Which means no parenting ones. Just, something to make someone think…

Have many people mentioned it? No, not many but also, not 0. So I keep doing it. Affecting more than 0 people is worth it, I think. I should take photos.

Here’s a recent one, I need to get better at taking photos!

We had our ‘Learning Celebration’ yesterday. Which is where parents are invited in and the children show off some of their work. This time, students worked in groups to make a display about a community they are part of. This was simply a display of the work they’ve done. Also, we asked them to make an ‘activity’ for parents to do. Parents got a stamp for each activity and if they got all 7 they got a student designed sticker. The activities were interesting but entirely student led and all the better for it.

The parents seemed to enjoy it, the students enjoyed it too, and yet… These events always make me nervous. If I’m honest, and I’m trying to be, it’s that I don’t feel that I’m doing a good enough job as a teacher. That the parents will be angry, confrontational and unhappy with the education myself and my team are providing. Surprisingly, this has never happened but the anxiety persists.

Yet I do believe it’s an overall positive, for everyone, even me! Even if it’s some additional stress. We are also lucky that almost all our parents are able to make it to these events.

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 📚 - I did not realise it was romance in addition to fantasy but I’ve started now, and it’s the holidays so I plan to keep going。
• I have bought a new copy of House of Leaves and it’s sat there judging me for not starting but I need to be in the right frame of mind.📚
• Sultan and Shephard - Loving their music. This mix is a nice place to start. 💿
• I’ve enjoyed Teach Sleep Repeat for being very relatable about how I feel about teaching at the moment. It’s often too much. It’s that thing of there not being enough time and always feeling rushed about everything. That i am always thinking about work-life balance too. So ultimately feeling like I could be doing better (father, husband, teacher) but I’m not.
• Mannequin Pussy on KEXP Her voice. ❤️ 🎤
• KAOS on Netflix. Lyra and I really enjoyed this Greek Mythology in the present world show. We made time to watch it, which as two time-poor people tells you something. Funny but so dark in places. Jeff Goldblum as Zeus was great. 📺
• The Wild Robot - All 4 of us loved this tale of a robot washed up on an island, laugh out loud funny in places. I cried twice. They definitely said “On your left” at one point too, which tickled me. 🎬

Teaching Isn’t Rocket Science but It Is Surely Harder (Ryan Fuller)

When I solved engineering problems, I had to use my brain. When I solve teaching problems, I use my entire being—everything I have.

Yeah, I cut the end of that quote. Let’s not go there.

I think it does a good job of starting to get to what can make teaching ‘tricky’. Where ‘tricky’ means all-consuming.

One of my go-to thoughts is that it’s often just the volume of things you have to do and the accompanying stress of trying to do all of them, often simultaneously. If I just had one thing to do, to teach this one lesson I’d be fine, I could give that my focus.

But it’s not just one thing.
And yes, I should probably write things down.
And I have an ongoing, developing, evolving list somewhere in my head of things that need doing.
And important varies moment to moment.
And tasks vary from the simple to the complex.
And sometimes, I’m a frog in pan of water as starts to bubble.
And boil. And more heat is added and added…
And sometimes I’m right there, present.
And sometimes I’m a million miles away.
And it’s just a job?
And what of my own family?

My old biology teacher once said that revising was like spinning plates, you have to go back to it occasionally to keep it spinning. As it is with remembering stuff. It’s always stuck in my head.

I was thinking about it today. I feel that, as an primary teacher there’s a lot to be doing, that is, a whole lot of plates to keep spinning.

Except… I realised that it’s not the same, since each of the things is so different. If they were all plates, then they just need a push in the right direction to keep them spinning.

Except, they aren’t all plates.

I’m spinning plates - and to go with a circus theme - juggling, lion taming, keeping the audience happy, working on a new routine and am jumping between these tasks constantly. And if any of the things I’ve read about multi-tasking are true, it’s not great for getting things done well!

The few hours Lyra and I just had were just what I needed. A chance to reset my mindset and for me to start again.

I’ve found it difficult when I’m either with my own children before and after work and other people’s children between 6am and 9pm. Much as love my own children and I do enjoy my teaching other people’s.

It’s one of those things about teaching that, when you’re working, yes you’re in charge but your time is very much not your own. You can’t leave the room to go to the toilet or go speak to someone, you can’t sit and have a think. While we do get some ‘free’ time during the time, it’s incredibly difficult to switch off. When you’re teaching them there’s a million other things to do.

Anyway. I feel very much better for the evening off of parenting and teaching.

Best thing you can do for your children sometimes, is to be away from them!

When your job involves working with young children (I teach Year 1(kindergarten)) and you have small children of your own at home. So your life involves the associated testing of patience before, during and after work. It’s a little emotionally taxing.

In other news grass is green and water is wet.

This is also me thinking I should be a little kinder on myself.

The classroom is nearly as set up as it’s going to be. We have new students coming in tomorrow for a short while to meet us. Then we start in earnest on Monday. Most of our students will be in school, with a few not because they’re unable to get into the country.

It feels like this will be the last pause before everything becomes chaotic next week. Trying to take a moment to breathe before that all starts.

Welcome back for the 2020 school year! We are incredibly delighted to have our children and educators back in school again, particularly after such a challenging spring and summer. We couldn’t be more excited to see your kids’ smiling faces back in our classrooms!

As you know, some things will be different this fall. We wanted to share a few things for us all to think about over the next few months…

First, some of our children and families probably will become very ill.

Link

Students had their last day yesterday and teachers finished today. We did a little more packing up and that was that.

It’s always a strange day. In international teaching, there’s always staff leaving as contracts end. As well, this year, some teachers are still out of the country. Of whom some will return and others won’t. The last we saw of them was them was the end of January. Those who won’t return, we likely won’t ever see them again.

I’m trying to dampen the anxiety of next year. There’s going to be so many changes and I can’t help let the worries build, a little at least. How will I do this or that and how will things work out? I’m trying to let them go, for now at least.

Instead, to try and relax a little. To maybe reflect on the last 5 months. Of our the quarantine, e-learning programme, of going back to school again.

I’ve always been a little jealous of other’s morning routines. Since, these days, mine rarely involves, peace, quiet or stillness. Instead it involves 1 or 2 small children, argy-bargy, nappies, a rushed coffee and getting out the door with my head-not-right at 7am.

It wasn’t always like this, and I’m sure it won’t be like this forever but for now, it’s hard. Especially since work is especially is, how to put it - time-consuming at the moment. We continue to support out students not coming into school, while some students are in school.

With all that said. Every morning, either in the Didi (Uber) or sitting in the car park after driving to work, I’ve been putting a few words into my Day One journal. And it’s been good, actually. Not all of it has been positive but I’m hoping it’s a start of a habit…

I meant to start a list of things I was going to start doing in the coming school year. I just never got around to finding the time to do it. I had a thought that I might do it tomorrow but realistically, I’m just gonna dilly dally. I want to do overhead squats and burpees but I think the school gym is under construction still.

I was going to meditate more, stick to the strength programme that I’m now paying for, write more, practise my Chinese more (especially outside in the real world), to try and get my head around teaching Year 2 and the particular requirements that our school presents.

Maybe I should just do all of them.

My patience is worn thin.

I think it’s because of work. Just for a change I feel like I’m not completely in control of everything I wish to be in control of. Of my teaching and all the things related with it - assessment, planning, the actual teaching, all the little things that go with it. Nothing new I suppose. It’s just couple with having co-teaching issues and issues with other teachers and I just don’t know where to start.

I would like to feel more organised, focused. I don’t like this feeling simply all over the place. And while I appreciate I should make better use of my time I don’t really feel like I ever have enough of it. The students start to arrive at 7:45 and, at the moment, Lyra and I get the school bus which gets in at 7:45. Then suddenly it’s 3:30 and I’m done.