Skip to main content

Last Official Day In School

Today is my last official day in school.  As in the last day that I'll be teaching and the last day that I'll be in school full-time.

It is very different from my last day in the Academic Management Sector.  There are benefits to working in the education offices but the major pull in school is the people, students and teachers.  In the office, everyone is busy handling his or her own work.  Most of the time, the work doesn't overlap.  So you get used to being on your own from 8 to 5.  But in school, EVERYTHING overlaps; from the teaching to the canteen doings to the field activities.  I can walk from my office to the canteen and take half an hour because every room or every person I pass has something to say or discuss.  Sometimes I never even get to the canteen.  But in the office, I can walk around the office, ACTIVELY looking for people and they are all in their cubicles, on the phone or deep in files. 

Sigh...

Perhaps I'll be online most of the time then...

Robbie Burns would be apt now.

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
(The best laid schemes of Mice and Men
oft go awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!)

So I'll just leave it all up to God.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition 2009

Another great opportunity for our young people to show what they can do! The Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition has four different age bands, 'Classes'. Each Class offers five topics, plus the Commonwealth Question and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust Question. As we hope to reach a diverse student body across the Commonwealth, there are options for both academic and creative minds.  The Competition deadline is 1st March 2009   CLASS A - Born 1990-1992  1400-1750 words  All questions can be answered by writing an essay or a story which explores the topic in an interesting and relevant way.   Can I help you?  Bullying is an issue which concerns young people throughout the Commonwealth. Why does it matter and what can be done about it?   It is 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and 150 years since the publication of "On the origin of Species". In your view, what evolutionary developments are neede...

I've Survived the PTK3 DG44 Course!

I've just returned from my PTK3 DG44 course and my first priority was sleep. But now I'm okay and ready to share info. First off, whoever tells you you don't need to memorize info for the PTK3 level of exam either has never sat for the exam or has photographic memory. I had to memorize the Twelve Pillars (Tonggak12), 16 moral values (nilai2 murni), civil servant ethics code, education ministry ethics code, steps in TQM, and ALL the govt vision aims objectives policies ... (hint: acronyms help). I only wish I'd done this BEFORE I went for the exam course. Second, the key word for this course is APPLICATION. They don't want to hear about the latest discoveries, theories or how long your bibliography pages are. They want to know how you translate govt policy into a plan of action. Third, don't take the assignment (15-25 pages) lightly. First thing to do is understand the question. Next is prepare an answer that fulfils all requirements. I'd advise you t...

Why It Is Frightening To Be A Teacher

Frightening to be a teacher?  Sounds laughable, right?  But I do feel fear when I am in school as a teacher or an administrator.  Some people would call me paranoid but I think it is better to be paranoid than to be in a dock in some courtroom or at a hospital bedside some place. Let me twist a Robbie Burns poem How do I fear thee (O' burden of a teacher)? Let me count the ways... 1. In Loco Parentis In English, that means 'in the place of a parent'.  In legal terms, that means a teacher is expected to be as responsible as a parent for the safety of his or her students while they are within the school grounds or under his or her care.  And they may be liable in the same way a parent would be, where the law is concerned. I attended a course by an IAB lecturer way back in 2000 and listened in horror as she detailed the many different ways I could've been in trouble with regard to the way I dealt with students.  If a rock falls on a student within ...