Does anybody else find that New Year’s Resolutions can be quite depressing by the middle of February whey they find that they’ve not managed to keep up their demanding list of Resolutions made on the 1st January? I think I remember last year hearing that some date in February is the most depressing day of the year for several reasons, one of which is that fact that by that date most people have usually given up on the New Year’s Resolutions.

This time last year, I remember writing a blog post about my resolutions for 2008 and feeling really positive about the fact that, having them written down here it would make it easier to keep…ha, ha, ha.

What were they? I can’t remember, something about weight no doubt, and something else about confidence, oh and a new job I believe. Well, I suppose I lost a bit of weight and gained a little more confidence and as for the job, well…let’s just I have a “new perspective” now.

What about this year? Well, I decided that, in order to avoid being too disappointed in myself by February, I’m not having any this year. I’m just going to take each new challenge as is comes, which is currently being able to to see properly with both eyes.

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions? Where will you be at the end of 2009? (Hopefully I’ll be lying on a beach somewhere not having to think about work, as I will have won the lottery…)

I appreciate and understand the need for filters on school computers, I really, really do BUT it still proves to be one of the most frustrating things about my job and winds me up no end. It’s not so much actual filters that bother me, it’s the “wise person” who, somewhere (probably in an office), has taken it upon themselves to decide what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable for me to use with my pupils and also the, apparent randomness with which this is done.
I’m writing this after a number of weeks discovering how randomly our blacklisted and none blacklisted seem to have been set. After the Isle of Wight Conference, I decided to rediscover my love of Voicethread. As I blogged about in a previous post, I used it earlier this year with a groups of Gifted and Talented pupils as an experiment, and I thought that after Jo Rhys-Jones‘ session at the Show and Tell I’d have another go at it. WRONG! Suddenly, with no warning, this site has been blacklisted! Why? How? Why is it so evil that it’s going to corrupt the minds of my pupils? (After is didn’t, previously!) It also seems that it’s been put on that list that the technicians seem unable to unblock (that’s the one labelled “numpty nonentity wants unblocking so unimportant”, in case anyone was unsure), as I’ve requested that it be unblocked several times to no avail (
It therefore seems unbelievable to me that Facebook is available (but then a member of SLT wanted that unblocking, so that went onto a different list entitled “important person wants unblocking so must do it immediately”).
In addition to this, the blocking seems to be done in such a haphazard way! Thinking about venturing more into video, I signed up for a 12 second TV and wondered about investigating Seesmic. Of course, I naturally pressumed that they too would be blacklisted (as they are in other schools I know of) but decided to try it out, just the same. Imagine my surprise when they weren’t!!! I just don’t get it!
Next I discovered the BBC Learning Zone Broadband Class Clips…great resource, ideal for use in a computer suite. Put the kids on, get them to watch and listen and answer questions, using it for Listening but a bit more interesting. Great idea but…WRONG. Kids could get onto the page where the video was BUT couldn’t view the evil, malicious video about a German day at school…heaven forbid that pupils learning MFL could do something that might stir up some enthusiasm for the subject.
How do “they” decided what is to be blacklisted and what isn’t? Why aren’t those awful translation websites blocked that they all go on and think will be their ticket to perfect French / German / Spanish etc…? Why can they still get onto music sites / game sites etc, etc…but I can’t let them use websites that are of real educational value?
As I said at the beginning of this post, I understand the need for filters, I really do but what I don’t understand is the haphazard way that websites are filtered. Is this a local phenomenan or is it more widespread? All I want to know is either that it’s going to be blocked because it’s a certain type of site or it’s not going to be blocked. I don’t want to feel that I’m playing some kind of guessing game trying to work out what to put my energy into investigating at home on an evening, before going into to work to try it and find I’ve wasted my time (with 44 teaching hrs out of 50 a fortnight, I don’t really ave the time to “play” at work). It’s the kind of thing which is beginning to sap my enthusiasm at the moment…but heyho, it’s nearly Christmas and maybe Santa will bring me a whole load of unblocked websites for Christmas this year.

As we approach the final 3 days of this academic year at our school, I’m thinking about the successes (and failures) of my first year back at work full-time.
Back in September I set out on my first full year of work in 3 1/2 years after a maternity leave of 8 months, followed by 2 years of working 2 days a week. It must be said that I was starting with very little confidence in my abilities as a teacher due to a number of things that had happened in the previous 3 years. However, I had high hopes and high expectations with blogging and eTwinning projects to work on and trips to organise.
On reflection – and I’ve said this to several people along the way – this has been the hardest year of my teaching career! I think I had forgotten how little time main-scale teachers get for preparation having been on management points since 1998, therefore I took on too many other things to do at the same time as get back into teaching. My “wonderful” timetable also didn’t help matters it must be said, however really I want to focus mainly on the positives rather than the negatives.
The year began well, with a Yr 9 class who couldn’t remain in their seats for longer that 3 minutes without fighting / shouting etc… Now this might make our school sound a bit like a zoo, I’d like to poing out that it most certainly is not, this class had just had a very poor experience the previous year due to staff absence and therefore had become extremely disaffected (not surprisingly). Things didn’t get much better, when in October it was announced that OfSted were coming and I seem to remember going home in tears that night, telling my husband that I might as well give up there and then, if they came to see this particular class!!! However, I persevered, only complaining a little bit about them and never demanding extra help (in fact I lost the classroom assistant when one boy left to go to another school) and trying to make my lessons as kinaesthetic and interactive as possible (also having happy and sad faces on the board to put names under…sad= detention, happy= merit) and I think I emerged victorious. The class can now talk about what they’re going to do on holiday and where they’re going to go…even better they listen to me in silence and I can even allow myself to let my guard down a little and have a bit of “banter”. I think they have actually become my favourite class (but, sshh don’t tell anyone…specially not them!)
OfSted did arrive and (fortunately) didn’t come to see my Yr 9 class, the lovely man came to see me with my lovely Yr 7 class. I’d planned something quite normal really and the class fussed as only Yr 7s could. He stayed for 30 mins and left telling that it was excellent. I was amazed and even more astounded when my Headteacher told me the next day that he’d heard that my lesson was “exemplary” (unheard of in Langwitch land). Suddenly I began to wonder whether I could really teach after all!
In addition I ran a workshop on a CPD Day on Podcasting that staff enjoyed and also went to my husband’s school to do the same thing and they loved it too. I never believed I could have done that in September!
I made it to Christmas and, after a disasterous Christmas party where everyone I arranged to go with didn’t turn up and I was left with a goup of people I hardly knew, the first term was over.
The New Year arrived with no dramas, except we did get a new Head of Area which was a big change and it took us all (or maybe just me) a while to get used to a new regime. In February we had our LEA CPD Day where I was enthused by plans for the new KS3 Curriculum. In additition I ran a workshop on eTwinning which was received well. Our eTwinning project with France went from strength to strength with use gaining National Quality Awards in France and the UK and our History Project loomed upon the horizon with concerns of a lack of interest from certain quarters! It was around this time I had my “melt-down” and since then things have generally gone up hill.
Easter came and went and the Dutch finally arrived. I think it was actually one of the high points of the year. It was exhausting but fantastic to see how much the pupils got out of it. We can’t wait to go there in October! I think the time from the middle of April until 3 weeks ago has bee the busiest time at work I’ve had with even weekends taken up with school stuff. I did, however get a lovely trip to the Netherlands minus pupils to plan for the Dutch leg of the project that we’re doing. Orals came and went then of course the IWB challenge that really stretched my abilities with the ActivStudio but really developped my skills and contributed to making my lessons better.
Next came the Cologne trip which, despite several reservations, went well and I think all thoroughly enjoyed it. I know I certainly get to know some colleagues much better and that’s always nice on a trip. Of course we were also short-listed for the National eTwinning Award, which me being me, wasn’t enough but I am trying to feel proud of the achievement.
Well, there we are that just about covers it. I’m going to gloss over the last 5 weeks because to be perfectly honest I’ve been having a nightmare! I think the adrenalin drop and sheer exhaustion of the end of the school year have just got to me and I’ve been on an all time low. I think my colleagues (and friends) think I’ve gone mad! All I’ve done for the whole time is whinge and moan, complain and cry (at work and at home). Nothing anyone has said or done has help improve my state of mind and I feel like a right misery guts. All, I am sure down to lack of energy! I know that I am ususally a valued member of the MFL Area…but try telling me that at the moment and I would laugh loudly and tell you not to be so stupid! I look forward to a good rest a great holiday and starting all over in September with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.
Challenges for next year? Plenty: developing blogs in French and German to be (hopefully) administered by Heads of those Languages, working on eTwinning Projects with Germany (and Poland and Hungary) and with another Polish school (and French and Swedish) to hopefully lead to a Comenius Project plus something in the pipeline in French too. In addition, doing some digital video, video-conferencing and developing the MFL area of our VLE…and of course doing some Primary Spanish plus a much improved timetable.
I didn’t know one could pack so much into a year of work but there we go. I do have much more confidence in my teaching abilities and I’m still standing (just) but don’t know how many friends I still have after my 5 weeks of tantrums!