Working Girl

Well, it's been quite a while since writing a post! This post is remedying that.


First things first, my camera and this computer do not like each other, so no photos sorry. :(


I have been fairly busy working (YAAAAAAY!!!) this year. Since the start of the school year I've worked about 20 days... oh wait, just checked my diary (now I'm grown up I have a diary) and I've worked exactly 20 days. Though two of those were half days.


So far, I have worked in four schools (one public, the rest private Christian schools) and I have taught each grade from kindergarten to grade 10 at least once. 


I have taught high-school maths, SOSE, Indonesian (a language I do NOT speak), MDT (Metal, Design and Technology) and Music (I do not play an instrument). Considering I am Primary-trained it's a fun ride!


I've had several early morning call ins (6:30-7am) but I've been blessed that a lot of the relief work has been pre-organised to cover things like paternity leave, camps and Professional Development (PD) days.


I have definitely started to notice an improvement in myself as a teacher: my behaviour management has improved, which makes a HUGE amount of difference. I also have far more resources now than at the start of the year and many more teaching ideas up my sleeve, which has improved my ability to quickly plan and implement lessons and cohesive teaching for one or more days.


All in all, I'm happy with how this year is going. I also appreciate weekends and public holidays about a 100 times more than I used to!

It's been a while...

Hello!


I thought I should finally post something, seeing as it's been well over a month since my last post. (I don't think I'll ever quite succeed at this blogging game.)


Some catch-up:
- This year is going way too fast!
- I'm behind on my 'finish crochet/knit 52 projects in 2012' challenge
- I'm on track with my 'read 50 books in 2012' challenge (are you on Goodreads? Friend me!)


And most importantly of all, I'VE HAD WORK! Seven days to be precise! Relief teaching is at once more fun and infinitely more challenging than I ever could have imagined. I've already semi-lost my voice (happily now recovered). I haven't got any more days lined up the moment, so I'm enjoying my time off while I have it.


Also, the new Sherlock Holmes series is quite good - I am very pleased! And I've started reading Charles Dicken's Great Expectations (because I saw the first episode of it on iview the other night) and I like the book but the writing is so old fashioned I sort of feel like I'm reading by "squinting". Do you ever read like that? Where you sort of just read and let the writing wash over you so you get the general impression, and not letting yourself get caught up in the old-fashioned language and writing. It makes it a whole lot easier. I have just reached "The End Of The First Stage Of Pip's Expectations".


Lastly, I still need to either commandeer Julian's laptop or install the camera software on the desktop... until then photos are stuck on my camera. When I finally do either of those two things, I'll finally be able to do a crochet/knitting update post.


Until then!

It's FINISHED! (plus two snails)

Well hello!

It's gotten back to me that certain people (Beka) are mourning by blogging absence, even though we see each other a lot. As in, the only other person I see more is my husband (who is totally freaked out about how similar we are haha). 

I admit that I have been putting off writing a post, because I feel like there are so many other things I want to say, so this is going to be a sort of summary post. You will, however, have to visit my other *ahem* healthy living blog to see me with a giant box of chocolates.

Okay, let me get you up to speed, from least to most important:

1. I took lots of photos of a cute snail which I was going to blog about, but didn't. Here's one of them:

2. I've added a "Follow me on Pinterest" button on the sidebar. If you're on Pinterest and you like the sort of things I pin, start following me, and I'll follow you in return! I am just a little bit addicted...

3. I've decided not to take part in NaNoWriMo this year. I already have enough going on without trying to write 50,000 words in one month. My author-friend Lissa, however, is taking part, and will be sharing her progress throughout the month (she also has some of her stories available FREE until the end of October!).

4. I've begun a 21 Day Organisation Challenge (thanks to Beka, who's also doing it). I'll post more about it in the next couple of days. If you want to join in feel free; I'm only up to day two.

5. This is the MOST important update of all...

I've finished my degree!!!*^

*so long as I've passed everything!

^if I passed, I'm qualified to teach anywhere in the world!

As you can probably guess, I am over the moon about this! I started going to uni SEVEN years ago with the intention of becoming a primary school teacher, and now here I am on the other side! If you are newer here, you can read about some of the struggles of this journey here.


Incidentally, here's another snail, made in class while completing my Master of Teacher course:

more pics

And there you are, all up to date!


I'll be back soon with a post about the 21 Days Organising Challenge (warning: there will very likely be lots of pictures).

Chicken

Today on my teaching prac, during a science lesson on heat, this completely serious question was asked:

"Why does my mum say, 'don't look at the chicken'?"

The person who correctly guesses the answer gets a blogpost dedicated to them.

 

I'm Smiling Today

I had so many reponses to my last post, many via facebook and ravelry: it turns out people appreciate honesty... who knew? (That was tongue in cheek, just so you know!)

Blogs which are always happy and full of success can actually negatively affect readers' feelings of adequacy - even though they can be inspiring (and I'm not saying there shouldn't be blogs like this). Everyone hates feeling like a failure. 

On the other hand, there's something really encouraging about someone being honest with what they're finding hard, and everyone needs encouragement. 

Even monsters with saggy butts need encouragement.

There's a student in my class at the moment who thinks that he is stupid - that he "can't". So I have to push and push him to try, even resorting to the "it's now or at lunch time outside the principal's office" line because he is so so so so so so so stubborn. But eventually he gives in, and with even more pushing, he eventually does some work. And when he does, I make a MASSIVE deal over it. "You did it! Well done! I am SO proud of you!" And you see him start to glow a little. He does some more work, writing another sentence. More encouragement and praise is given. Now he's engaged and eager to write another sentence that uses a contraction. He's standing straighter and looking happier, because he did it. 

Yeah, he wasn't doing the work the other students were doing, and yeah, he did three sentences instead of the six done by others, but he went from thinking he "couldn't" to knowing that he "could" because he did! And I was (and am) so pleased with him and for him.

And that's one success story from today. Yay! =D

(On a related note, the teaching prac is going well, I'm enjoying it, I'm exhausted, I'm happy, I'm a little braindead at the end of each day, and I'm glad this is my chosen profession.)

Hello!

Hi everyone!

Well, I just wanted to pop in and tell you what's happening at the moment in Kathy's world.

University assignments are over for the semester, and now I am on a 4-week teaching prac in a grade 3/4 classroom. I've done one week, so three more to go. By the third week I'll be teaching every lesson except the ones they go out for (like Art and Indonesian).

It's exciting and scary, tiring but rewarding, and completely different to being a uni student.

Uni students: sleep in, minimal contact hours, little responsibility, late nights, and bad time management (half an hour is too short and amount of time to bother doing anything...), terrible eating habits. The following graphic perfectly represents what I go through every uni semester:

Teachers: get up early, non-stop busy for 7-8 hours a day (plus marking and planning later on), duty of care for students and a moral responsiblity to teach them to the best of your ability, time is precious (10 minutes in which to do some marking, organising or notetaking is fully taken advantage of), eating is regular and necessary to get through the day.

Needless to say, my lifestyle at the moment is completely different to what it is usually!

I'll be back soon with some more stuff about books - I'm determined to finish the 30 Day Challenge list!

Hello Out There!

Well I nearly managed to make it a month since my last post, but was getting itchy to pop in a say hello! I was going to do a post on my favourite underwear, but wasn't sure how that would go down with the husband...

Since the 13th of August several things have happened:
 - Tasmania had its first real taste of winter. (Read: snow!!!! About 3mm of it. Though there was a lot on Mt Wellington.)
 - Spring is very much here - blossoms everywhere and sunshine and daffodils. I love spring.
 - My potted Rosemary has sweet purple flowers

 - I had a 3 week teaching practicum, which was great and I passed! Woohoo!!! This is why I'm so happy about passing.

 - I did the dishes. Twice.
 - I finished knitting this scarf: 

 - And all these slippers: 

- I started this scarf (only 40% to go!)

 -  I received the wool to make another scarf exactly the same as the above scarves... but business is business and I've already been paid, so scarf making has got to happen.
 - Found out I that I weigh more than I thought I did. If only it were trim muscle and not blubbery blubber cushioning.
 - I read Little Lord Fauntleroy. I loved it. I never wanted it to end. And the grandfather's dog? His name is Dougal. Just like my 8kg cat!

 - I found out how uncooperative my cat can be when it comes to taking photos. (Just look at the camera sensibly!!!)

Yeah, so that is my super exciting life. I know, don't you wish you were me?

Never Never Never Give Up

In April 2009 I went on my first practical experience in a school, as part of the teaching degree I was doing. I thought it went beautifully: I had good feedback throughout and the lessons I had done went well. 

Nearly two weeks after finishing and being thrilled, I was told that actually I had failed - completely and irrevocably.

I cried. For about 3 months.

I have almost always wanted to be a teacher, even playing 'schools' with my siblings. It seemed as though my dreams had been shattered... my confidence was completely broken and I had lost direction... how could I fail my teaching prac? Everyone had always said I would be a great teacher.

The university did not do anything to revoke the unfair assessment (yes, it was unfair). I found out that my degree would take an extra year, all because I failed a 2 week prac.

I tried to continue in my course, but could not function for trying not to burst into tears. I decided to defer for a semester, and thought seriously about quitting entirely.

I could not shake the feeling that I needed to go back, even though I did not want to because I had been so adversely affected by what had happened. It took almost 8 months before I finally handed in my application for acceptance into the new Master of Teaching course. After submitting the application I cried because it was so emotionally difficult for me to do.

I remember thinking, "God, if you want me to do teaching, you need to give me the desire to do this or I will fail again." 

God heard my prayer. One day, towards the end of January, I realised I was starting to get excited about returning to university and studying teaching again.

Today, I completed my first practical experience for the course. I passed with great marks. 

I am so happy, so pleased with myself and so thankful!

When I failed the prac last year, I could not cope with the thought of returning to try again, but I did, and I succeeded. It was hard won, and others would have given up, just as I nearly did.

There might be other negative experiences while I do this course, but I believe I am meant to be a teacher, and by God's grace I will persevere and I will complete what I have set out to do. 

God does not give us dreams or desires for no reason.

Never, never, EVER give up!