Yay!



Liz and I are excited!


(though I'm not sure we're excited for the same things... it's always nice to celebrate with others though)



Excited..why? I hear you ask...well because my pre-service rounds are now over!

Wheeeee!!!


My rounds were enjoyable the second time around as I had sorted out all those organisational issues that had plagued and hampered my first block.

The sad thing is though my mentor was never able to get over those first 4 weeks of bumbling mistakes and errors that I made. I tried hard to explain to her that this was my first time doing anything in regards to being involved within the educational world .... but unfortunatley for me she only perceived me as "4th year" so I should know what I'm doing. By the time she understood that I am still learning.... it was too late, the damage was done and I was left with the broken pieces of a relationship built on mis-information and poor communication.

It took a while and a lot of reflection on my part to finally admit that I was scared of her and the potential damage that could be caused with me missing a step within her presence. That damage arrived in the form of an mid and end of year report. My mentor had typed up on her own time which proceeded to shred e to pieces ......... it appears that first impressions evidently do last.

Even though my final 4 weeks were a blast and I had developed fantastic relationships with the students and I wasn't relying on my mentor for anything except for the key to the classroom door, I still could not erase the first 4 weeks....which only begs the question... can one work their guts out and still never be rewarded?

The only thing I found difficult in my placement was the "clickyness" of the PE staff. I think I needed a diamond drill to break into their good graces... and soon as I'm a uni student.. and therefor broke... I couldn't afford that diamond drill. It was hard to work with people who held you at arms length and only communicated through small bursts of generic phrases like.. "sure"... "uh huh... right... no worries"

The weird thing was if I asked for feedback on a class I taught the feedback was constructive and detailed... yet if I asked them how their weekend went ..the response was "fine".
Yet if I walked into the English staffroom where I wasn't "working"with any of the staff they greeted me with friendly conversation and geniunely wished to share thoughts and ideas and more importantly the conversation I was so starved for from the other end of the school.


So do I want to teach? Have I been hooked?

I think I'll vote a YES! for both of them!


My mentor through discussion made the comment that she had seen so many graduates burn out in 6 months and I couldn't help but feel that she meant me in that conversation.

There is a lesson to be learnt here.... never piss L.J off because she can become incredibly stubborn and determined particuarly if you tell her that she can't do something.

so this time next year I'll drop my mentor an email to let her know I'm still going strong and if I wanna burn out it will be after more than 6 months and it will be on my terms not on the terms of others.



Now I have the pleasure of trying to complete all these assignments before their due in...



So there you have it a posting with a little bit of everything... honesty, reflection, ranting and hope.



cheers for now


L.J


Insult of the week:

"Did the aliens forget to remove your anal probe?"