New music! For free!

Coldplay are releasing a new album - how exciting. It's apparently going to be out on the 16th June, and I'll more than likely be purchasing it shortly after that...

Anyway, for anyone who were unaware of it, the first single of the new album, Violet Hill, is available for free download from the Coldplay website. Shall have to be enough to tide me by in the meantime...

Contemporary Bible Readings III

This is a series continued from a previous blog, which focused on finding a certain turn of phrase found while reading the bible, and as a side point showing how the text can seem to take a rather different tone and meaning if removed from context. Essentially though, it is somewhat tongue in cheek.

The latest offering finds it's amusement value in the context of my present vocation. It comes from the end of Mark 5:35, in the story of the Jairus' daughter. In the story, one of the members of Jairus' household comes with news that the daughter is dead, and then asks the question:

Why trouble the teacher any further?

I think I'm going to have that printed and posted at the back of my classes...

A'm still frae Belfast, ye knae...

Facebook assures me that I am indeed Norn Iron Born and Bred. Although there is no accounting for the accuracy of quiz in determining one's place of birth, it reassuring to know that the result of a 12 question quiz suggests that the effects of prolonged exile from the moarlan' are still limited.

I shall sleep easy this evening.

Constructive use of chaos (well, sort of...)

There are some bit of pupil mischief that you feel bad for clamping down on. Today, as you may have heard on the news was the NUT strike. I'm not going to say much about that beyond commenting that it makes the chances of my joining the NUT next year fairly slim. Anyhow, my new school was able to open for uppers school (that is years 10-13), but years 7, 8 and 9 weren't in. Hence a letter was sent to the parents of pupils in year 7, 8 and 9 to explain that due to Industrial Action, they wouldn't be able to come into school that day.

This letter was apparently published on the school website. The staff meeting this morning there were reports that some of the year 10 pupils has downloaded the letter, edited it to read "years 7, 8, 9 and 10" then handed it to their parents to their parents to get a question-free day off.

This is clearly truancy, but at the same time, there's an extent that you don't want to trample on the ingenuity. I almost want to give them some reward for their creativity...

Oops...

Hmmm, I think I may have turned down the BBC a little too rashly. Ah well, 'tis done now, and it's probably in the best interests of my credibility...

Dissertationing - Day three

And it's all over - I had a quick run over my first draft this morning over coffee at the Jericho Café, came back to my room to make a few changes, printed it all off and submitted it. All that and it's not even lunchtime yet!

As it is now, I have a few days of actual holiday. I think it's the first time since September that I haven't had anything looming that I should be doing, so I can legitimately take time off. This generally means I'll need to find things to stop me getting bored...

Dissertationing - Day two

First draft is done! It's not very good, but it's done...

This means I'm still on track for submitting the finished dissertation by the end of tomorrow. I would like people to note that if I do keep to schedule this will be two assignments that I'll have submitted ahead of schedule. Maybe I'm a changed man...

Dissertationing - Day one

For quite possibly the first time this year, I think I had a plan for my first day attempting to write an assignment and kept pretty close to what I'd planned. Literature Review, Introduction and Methodology sections all seem to be in place (well, the first drafts of those anyway...). I am beginning to feel bold enough to publish my plan for the next couple of days, we shall see how long this lasts. I'm hoping tomorrow morning to write the results analysis and conclusion sessions, then in the afternoon when I can't be bothered think to just sit and mindlessly compile the dissertation into one document, add a title page, contents and abstract, then print the whole thing and leave it. Then Wednesday I can do a review of that draft and make corrections, and assuming there's nothing major, print off final copies and submit on Wednesday afternoon.

If all that goes to plan, I might have a few days to sit back at the end of the week. At the moment, I don't have any of my schemes of work, so there's actually nothing else to do. Except get some rest I suppose. Craziness...

Back to broadcasting from within the bubble

I've been off the blogsphere for a week, so here's a quick recap of the last week:

• I've just got back from Pwllheli after a week at New Word Alive (hence the absence). The teaching was fantastic - I shall possibly give some musing from the wisdom of John Piper (2 talks on Romans 8), Don Carson (4 talks on 1 John), Terry Virgo (1 talk on Romans 5) and Mike Ovey (3 talks on the Doctrine of Humanity). I've been sold and would like to go back, but...
• Next year they are doing two tracks, encouraging all the young people and students to go to the first week. The second week is a family focus. In the choice of the two, I think I fit in the first. Unfortunately, I don't - the first week falls before the end of term so that's not an option. I shall have to check what exactly is meant by "family focus", but at the moment my first reaction is not enthusiastic. I shall see...
• In other news, I've been accepted for Mastermind. Unfortunately, my job is not noted for its flexibility with vacation (see above), and I don't think I'll be able to make it. This is probably just as well, as I don't really know anything about the specialist subject that has been negotiated (Cryptography in the 20th Century for anyone interested). I think I'll wait to respond to the BBC until I get to my new school and then I can see how responsive they'll be to me taking a day off to record it. On the positive side, I will almost certainly only be required for one day - the chances of reaching the second round is minimal...

So that's what's happened last week. This week I need to do some work - my dissertation is due next Monday and hasn't been started in any meaningful way... I shall be therefore camping out in the RSL bunker for most of the week. Distraction will be very much appreciated if anyone wishes to join me down there. Hopefully I'll be able to arrange some lunch and dinner dates to keep me sane...

When the end comes

Today was my last day at The Henry Box School. I have to say, I'm rather sad to leave, I've been very lucky to have a very good and supportive department for my first placement school, and I've made a number of good friendships there, not to mention some degree of rapport with some of the classes.

The other thing is that I have that weird feeling of anticlimax that comes from straining towards finishing something. It doesn't really feel like I've achieved anything, I've just got there, survived. It doesn't really feel like there's anything worth celebrating. Instead, I now drift into the purposeless limbo that comes from being in transition. I've become slightly aware of how much my identity and purpose comes from what I'm doing, and the classes that I'm teaching. Although it is nice not to have to worry about lesson planning for a couple of weeks (and possibly longer than that by the time induction finishes in my next school), not having any to do makes me feel a little useless. It's a bit depressing really.

Anyway, I've got my dissertation to keep me amused. In addition, there's a trip to Chippy tomorrow to see if I can locate my new school and then I'm off to North Wales. Let's hope that's enough to keep at bay potential despair at my teaching...

Unlocking the door and glimpsing a new world

I had one of these nice moments when I was able to engage in some mathematical enrichment with a student while killing time at the end of study group today. He was waiting around for a friend to finish getting help from his class teacher, and he just asks me what I thought was the "best thing invented in mathematics" was. Cue half an hour bringing him through internet cryptography in the 20th Century, which he did seem to grasp and enjoy. I love the little bits of random mathematics that you can talk about at times, it's a real opportunity to get excited about what you do in between trying to summon the motivation to talk about bar charts and negative numbers. Again...

I did something amazing...

I gave blood today. And unlike my previous attempt, I managed to stay conscious through the whole thing. This was mainly due to not rushing to the refreshment area to get coffee...

I even manage to maintain enough energy to finish off my year 8 reports. I feel I'm having a virtuous evening, so don't feel at all guilty about lazing back and watching The West Wing for a substantial part of it!

The State of Education, Easter assessment...

Well, I've met my mentor from Chipping Norton, and it seems that I should be able to do much of what I'd like to do for S2. This includes more A-level teaching, which makes me happy. My mentor seemed to be very happy when I mentioned that I'm a mechanics specialist...

Additionally, I've also got my result for CA2, which was the essay on my lessons with year 10 last term. I've passed at Master Level, so it appears I'm still on for my masters credits, which I shall not complain about. It seems the examiners quite liked my lesson evaluation, particularly when I discussed its weaknesses, well, there wasn't much to write about if I'd left out the weaknesses... It all appears that I remain on course to qualify as a teacher. At some point they're going to figure out how silly it is to put me in the care of a group of childrens' education...