All that you have is your soul (Tracy Chapman).

Thursday 1 September 2005

Monday Looms

It’s official – I’m walking up the bloody wall.

I went into school today for the first “official” day back. As Monday looms, when the kids come in, I am getting more and more anxious. Thank G-d, my Head of Department has offered to write up the first lesson plans for Years 7-10, which means that I only have to work on Year 13’s lesson(s) over the weekend.

We were treated to a lot of first day speeches which, though meant to inspire us, only made me feel more apprehensive. They say that a teacher who smiles before Christmas is very foolish and I’m really starting to believe it.

Saying that, my greatest ally is Dana, the teacher par excellence. She’s giving me all kinds of ideas to put into my lessons. We have been told that “Monday is crucial” and that if we get it wrong, we’re basically screwed for the rest of the year. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t care. I’ll be glad when I get through next week. You’ll all be thinking about me won’t you.

I’m quite looking forward to being a form tutor. I think it will be interesting to interact with the students (if they bother to turn up for registration) and maybe get some good discussions going. I will act as moderator, rather than active participant and will not be launching a Middle East debate! The object of the exercise will lie in getting them to develop their debating and (more importantly) listening skills.

Ok, moving on, can any of you think of good ways I can use to remember my kids’ names? I’ll be teaching classes of nearly 30 and I’m terrible with names. Dana has a good idea which I’m going to use, but I’m open to any other suggestions.
Teachers out there, please share your ideas!

I am awaiting your comments with bated breath.

1 comment:

The Scribbler said...

Thanks Alvinu...with words like that, I can't fail!