It has been give or take 11 months since I last made a post on this blog of mine. I really do not remember how many followers I had when I began invisible to all and sundry in the blogging world, and it matters not. Life is not about followers and in many respects it was not about blogposts either.
I have thought about blogging a number of times in the intervening period between the then and the now. It was not writer's block, it was not a lack of material, it was not even an ever-increasing workload at work, rather it was more about focusing on those things closer to home and trying to stay on top of things at home and at work.
Life is an interesting ride and one that I have thought greatly about over recent months. It is about perspective and losing perspective. I find that I lose perspective a lot more now than I did in the past. I guess there are arguments to be made for an against the relativity of perspective, but for me I find that I question a lot more why I do what I do and whether I am really happy doing what I do where I am doing it. Perhaps it is not a loss of perspective but a realisation that there is more than one way to go about achieving the outcome one so desperately desires.
This is not a particularly happy post, in fact it is way too dark and morbid for the first post back but, it is what it is, what is on my mind.
I have read a lot lately about bullying and cyber bullying, particularly the trauma that our youngsters suffer at the hands of others. However, it is not only children that suffer, there are plenty of adults that suffer too. I have found myself wondering what it must be like to be at the mercy of these monsters, some who hide behind the cloak of anonymity on the internet.
Yet, some bullies are much more overt than they ever are covert as there is no fear of repercussions. The whispers as one walks down the street in a small town, the rocking of one's roof, the constant rattling of windows, the scratching of cars, the throwing of rubbish into a backyard, throwing rocks at pets, and then the name up in lights on the internet. All these things no doubt culminate in high levels of stress and thoughts of escape from the constant barrage of hate and vitriol designed to wound to the core.
It is a hardy soul that can resist for an extended period of constant psychological, physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the hands of the bullies.
There are plenty of things to read on what is a tragic and disturbing trend of people, particularly young people, opting for the ultimate "out" of suicide as a means of ending their misery. This is a worldwide tale of tragedy that knows no borders or boundaries. It is also one that is not new, Megan Meier found herself in the tragic position of seeing no other alternative than to take the ultimate action to thwart the bullies. The beauty of the internet is that it makes the world a smaller place and allows us to learn of things more quickly and to communicate more freely. However, it also allows crazed stalkers and bullies the ability to harass and harangue one no matter where you move. The recent suicide of Amanda Todd is testament to this.
I always thought that suicide was a coward's way out. When times are good it is easy to get caught up in this self-belief that you are invincible and that no matter how hard it gets that you will always be a little bit stronger than the bullies who target you. However, I am much older and wiser now; I no longer believe that it is the coward's way. To the contrary, I feel that many, if not all, of those who take that ultimate and forever final step have thought long and hard about the decision they are making and make. The reality is more likely one that says the pain that I leave behind for my loved ones will never be as bad as the pain that I must endure every single day and that will cease when I cease to be.
This is the real tragedy. Victims, whether they be younger or older, reach a point where they feel not only worthless but they also reach a place where they feel they are doing more harm than good by staying, enduring, and fighting each and every day. It is at this point victims make a judgment call that the pain they are ending is far greater than any pain that they can ever possibly leave behind.
I just cannot understand the mindset of a bully, particularly a bully who drives others to self-harm.
Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts
13 November 2012
14 April 2011
Jozef Wadecki: Doing Poland Proud on the Gymnastics Front...
If you have not worked it out yet, it is school holiday time. I have a couple of weeks off, sort of. I am preparing a presentation abstract for a conference in August. It is also an opportunity to do some blogging. Although my personal blogging is for fun and to humour myself by ranting and railing on whatever takes my fancy or posting the weird and wonderful I discover while surfing the internet. Blogging is something that I am going to start doing with my students. The plan is to set up unit related blogs that the students contribute to and use to work through the unit of work.
Anyways, on my travels today, I came across this video of Jozef Wadecki doing a tumbling run. Awesome!
Anyways, on my travels today, I came across this video of Jozef Wadecki doing a tumbling run. Awesome!
22 February 2011
Teaching: 9 to 3, And Taking It Easy...
It is always with a chuckle that I listen to people saying how easy it is to teach and what a cushy gig it is. After all, as a teacher you only really work from 9am through to 3pm, and you get all these holidays as well. The chuckle is that these people have absolutely no idea what it is to be a teacher nor what is involved in getting the "job" done. I always encourage others to pick up the torch of education and come on board and illuminate the lives of our future leaders. My selling point is always, "where else does one get to shape the future of our world?"
Teaching is not a 9am through 3pm gig. It might be, give or take, the time that you are face-to-face with students. But these hours do not include the time one spends preparing lessons, researching material and content, working out ways to engage students, ongoing professional development and learning, behavioural management of students, and after-school activities whether they be staff meetings or sport and homework centre for the students. It really is a case of "only if". Only if teaching was a 9 to 3 gig how nice would that be?
The beauty of teaching for me is a many-faceted thing. There is no denying that there is a lifestyle choice in that I can have a little bit more control of my out of school time. For example, from 8.00 through 16.00 I am pretty much in school for meetings, teaching,and more meetings. However, after those hours if I want to spend time with my wife and son, I can. If I do spend this quality time with them in the afternoon and early evenings, then it is in the full knowledge that any research and lesson planning or other preparation that needs to be done will be done so after that. When one asks around it is probably not going to be all that uncommon to find teachers still putting the polish on lesson plans or detailing with administrative stuff late into the evening.
All that aside, the motivating factor for me to get into formal teaching was a desire to make a difference. I have been in the school that I am in now for a very short period of time, but I already feel that I am starting to make a difference. Over time I am confident that this difference will become substantial. As I said, what other profession gives you the day-in, day-out opportunity to shape the future of the next and succeeding generations. Magic!
Oh well, time to go...there is lesson planning to be done and some polish to be applied based on "things" that have happened today. Always thinking, always adapting, always learning.
Ho hum...
Teaching is not a 9am through 3pm gig. It might be, give or take, the time that you are face-to-face with students. But these hours do not include the time one spends preparing lessons, researching material and content, working out ways to engage students, ongoing professional development and learning, behavioural management of students, and after-school activities whether they be staff meetings or sport and homework centre for the students. It really is a case of "only if". Only if teaching was a 9 to 3 gig how nice would that be?
The beauty of teaching for me is a many-faceted thing. There is no denying that there is a lifestyle choice in that I can have a little bit more control of my out of school time. For example, from 8.00 through 16.00 I am pretty much in school for meetings, teaching,and more meetings. However, after those hours if I want to spend time with my wife and son, I can. If I do spend this quality time with them in the afternoon and early evenings, then it is in the full knowledge that any research and lesson planning or other preparation that needs to be done will be done so after that. When one asks around it is probably not going to be all that uncommon to find teachers still putting the polish on lesson plans or detailing with administrative stuff late into the evening.
All that aside, the motivating factor for me to get into formal teaching was a desire to make a difference. I have been in the school that I am in now for a very short period of time, but I already feel that I am starting to make a difference. Over time I am confident that this difference will become substantial. As I said, what other profession gives you the day-in, day-out opportunity to shape the future of the next and succeeding generations. Magic!
Oh well, time to go...there is lesson planning to be done and some polish to be applied based on "things" that have happened today. Always thinking, always adapting, always learning.
Ho hum...
05 February 2011
Collarenebri Thoughts...
The big move took place starting on 25 January 2011 and culminated on 26 January 2011 with our arrival in Collarenebri. As poor excuses go, this is why there has been a dearth of blog posts, and the fact that it has been more than a week since we went into the local Telstra retailer to get a landline and internet connection set-up. The landline works, but we are still waiting for WiFi modems and the like before an internet connection starts to happen. Telstra if you are wondering is the only provider that has any service in Collarenebri so the choice is limited.
School starts tomorrow (4 Feb 2011). There are no students, it is a pupil free day. We actually are starting a week after everyone else. We get what is called “heat week”. Heat week is an extra week of holidays to compensate for the extreme temperatures this time of year. And, the temperatures are extreme. Each day since we have been here has topped out above 37 degrees Celsius. A couple of days were 44 and 42 degrees Celsius respectively.
So, it is pretty easy to see where heat week gets its name from. With electricity prices as high as they are, and talk of further increases, it is a scary proposition to be contemplating using the air conditioner. Unfortunately, the house is centrally cooled. So, turning on the aircon is not as simple as going to the one or two rooms with air conditioners. Although, I must confess, I do get a “climate allowance” as part of the conditions of employment at this particular school.
What we are thinking we might miss is the luxury of clean water. The water is pumped out of the local river. Because of the recent flooding in Queensland, and the movement of that water down through the river system to here, there is a lot of debris in the water and this gives it a nice brown tinge. We have tank water now. It required us to get a new pump as the previous one had gone missing. Unfortunately, the tank water only comes through one tap in the kitchen. So, we have invested in a water cooler / dispenser and buy drinking water. It seems a safer, albeit expensive, option considering Will.
The house that we are living in is pretty good. There are a few minor things that need fixing up but, considering we pay negligible rent as it is ‘teacher housing’, there are no complaints. Although, the front and backyards are a mess. There is next to no grass but there are plenty of bindies and weeds that look like they have monstered any grass that once existed right out of the place. I am not sure how long the process is going to be in order to get on top of the bindi problem, but let the battle begin!
Funnily enough, (or is it not funny at all?) one of the best way to get rid of the bindies is to water and the grass begins to re-establish itself and the bindies get bundled out of the way. However, Collarenebri is still under water restrictions. The “funny”, if it can be so, is t that one of the reasons we came so early was that the roads into Collarenebri are supposed to be cut by flood waters. However, this has not happened yet. So, the funny is that there is a lot of water in the rivers surrounding the town and there are water restrictions in effect. Yet, as I have been walking with Will as he peddles his trike around the block of an evening it is hard not to notice that some people have got some excellent lawns happening and they always seem to have the sprinklers running.
However, having spoken to the general assistant at school the other day, the only way to seemingly get good grass is to flood the area you want the grass to grow. It is so hot and dry out here that even if you flood the area you want the grass to grow, the area will be bone dry to touch on the surface with in a dozen hours. Nevertheless, there are plenty of good cotton and sorghum crops around...mental note on needing to plant hardy flowers, fruits, veges, and grass varieties.
Anyways, back off to reading a book...Jessica Watson’s “True Spirit”. The little solo sailor has gone on to become Young Australian of the Year. It is not a book that I would have seen myself picking up off the bookshelf in a bookstore and parting with my hard-earned cash for. But, I am enjoying it. It is an inspiring tale and well worth the read. It is a good thing that I am going to be teaching it. Because if it had not been thrust upon me this way I would not have read it. And, I can comfortable say I would have missed out on something special.
Gotta go...
School starts tomorrow (4 Feb 2011). There are no students, it is a pupil free day. We actually are starting a week after everyone else. We get what is called “heat week”. Heat week is an extra week of holidays to compensate for the extreme temperatures this time of year. And, the temperatures are extreme. Each day since we have been here has topped out above 37 degrees Celsius. A couple of days were 44 and 42 degrees Celsius respectively.
So, it is pretty easy to see where heat week gets its name from. With electricity prices as high as they are, and talk of further increases, it is a scary proposition to be contemplating using the air conditioner. Unfortunately, the house is centrally cooled. So, turning on the aircon is not as simple as going to the one or two rooms with air conditioners. Although, I must confess, I do get a “climate allowance” as part of the conditions of employment at this particular school.
What we are thinking we might miss is the luxury of clean water. The water is pumped out of the local river. Because of the recent flooding in Queensland, and the movement of that water down through the river system to here, there is a lot of debris in the water and this gives it a nice brown tinge. We have tank water now. It required us to get a new pump as the previous one had gone missing. Unfortunately, the tank water only comes through one tap in the kitchen. So, we have invested in a water cooler / dispenser and buy drinking water. It seems a safer, albeit expensive, option considering Will.
The house that we are living in is pretty good. There are a few minor things that need fixing up but, considering we pay negligible rent as it is ‘teacher housing’, there are no complaints. Although, the front and backyards are a mess. There is next to no grass but there are plenty of bindies and weeds that look like they have monstered any grass that once existed right out of the place. I am not sure how long the process is going to be in order to get on top of the bindi problem, but let the battle begin!
Funnily enough, (or is it not funny at all?) one of the best way to get rid of the bindies is to water and the grass begins to re-establish itself and the bindies get bundled out of the way. However, Collarenebri is still under water restrictions. The “funny”, if it can be so, is t that one of the reasons we came so early was that the roads into Collarenebri are supposed to be cut by flood waters. However, this has not happened yet. So, the funny is that there is a lot of water in the rivers surrounding the town and there are water restrictions in effect. Yet, as I have been walking with Will as he peddles his trike around the block of an evening it is hard not to notice that some people have got some excellent lawns happening and they always seem to have the sprinklers running.
However, having spoken to the general assistant at school the other day, the only way to seemingly get good grass is to flood the area you want the grass to grow. It is so hot and dry out here that even if you flood the area you want the grass to grow, the area will be bone dry to touch on the surface with in a dozen hours. Nevertheless, there are plenty of good cotton and sorghum crops around...mental note on needing to plant hardy flowers, fruits, veges, and grass varieties.
Anyways, back off to reading a book...Jessica Watson’s “True Spirit”. The little solo sailor has gone on to become Young Australian of the Year. It is not a book that I would have seen myself picking up off the bookshelf in a bookstore and parting with my hard-earned cash for. But, I am enjoying it. It is an inspiring tale and well worth the read. It is a good thing that I am going to be teaching it. Because if it had not been thrust upon me this way I would not have read it. And, I can comfortable say I would have missed out on something special.
Gotta go...
23 December 2010
I'm Back...
No apologies for the lack of posts over the past week and a half or so. I have been on holidays of a sort. The first day was spent driving some 650 kilometres from home to Moree for a couple of staff development days.
As some may be aware, I have been appointed to a permanent teaching position at Collarenebri Central School. If you are wondering, it is about 140 kilometres to the west of Moree. I had never been to Collarenebri, so Dyah, Will and I made a point of driving out there last Friday to see what we were in for when we moved there sometime in January 2011.
To say that Collarenebri is a small town does not really provide those with no experience living in a small town an accurate idea of what it looks like. Collarenebri, despite town signs to the contrary, is a town of about 250 people. The town and the surrounding areas allow the school to have an enrolment of somewhere between 80 and 100 students. Nevertheless, it is a really small town. Yet, it seems a logical progression in the “scaling-down” that we have been doing of late; Jakarta, Sydney, and now Collarenebri.
I guess the point of emphasising small town is that the main street has a pub, a supermarket, a newsagent, and a post office on one side and a service station on the other. That is pretty much the main street. Oh, the post office also doubles as a bank, the Commonwealth, and a few other services as well.
Some of the things that we have learned during our recent visit have been interesting to say the least, but have not dented our enthusiasm to pull up stumps and move there. Apparently there is no mail delivery in Collarenebri. Everyone has a post box at the post office and collect their mail from there. As we were walking up the main street we learned from a poster in the community health / welfare shopfront that it is also necessary to boil one’s water before drinking it. Hmmm, I wonder where we have had to do that before?
Anyways, the staff development days were an excellent opportunity for me to meet all my new colleagues and to learn a little about what is in store for 2011. I am pleased that I was invited and glad that I made the effort to get there. I learned quite a bit about where the school is with regard to things like Naplan and how the school is working to improve outcomes for all students. The staff are a dedicated bunch, and I am looking forward to getting out there and into the classroom and doing my bit.
In the ‘what goes up, must come down’ category, getting to Moree was only half the story. Once the staff development days were done and dusted it was time to make that 280+ kilometre round trip to Collarenebri. The following day, we were off on “holiday”. This required another short trip of some 550 kilometres from Moree to Fingal Bay.
As some may be aware, I have been appointed to a permanent teaching position at Collarenebri Central School. If you are wondering, it is about 140 kilometres to the west of Moree. I had never been to Collarenebri, so Dyah, Will and I made a point of driving out there last Friday to see what we were in for when we moved there sometime in January 2011.
To say that Collarenebri is a small town does not really provide those with no experience living in a small town an accurate idea of what it looks like. Collarenebri, despite town signs to the contrary, is a town of about 250 people. The town and the surrounding areas allow the school to have an enrolment of somewhere between 80 and 100 students. Nevertheless, it is a really small town. Yet, it seems a logical progression in the “scaling-down” that we have been doing of late; Jakarta, Sydney, and now Collarenebri.
I guess the point of emphasising small town is that the main street has a pub, a supermarket, a newsagent, and a post office on one side and a service station on the other. That is pretty much the main street. Oh, the post office also doubles as a bank, the Commonwealth, and a few other services as well.
Some of the things that we have learned during our recent visit have been interesting to say the least, but have not dented our enthusiasm to pull up stumps and move there. Apparently there is no mail delivery in Collarenebri. Everyone has a post box at the post office and collect their mail from there. As we were walking up the main street we learned from a poster in the community health / welfare shopfront that it is also necessary to boil one’s water before drinking it. Hmmm, I wonder where we have had to do that before?
Anyways, the staff development days were an excellent opportunity for me to meet all my new colleagues and to learn a little about what is in store for 2011. I am pleased that I was invited and glad that I made the effort to get there. I learned quite a bit about where the school is with regard to things like Naplan and how the school is working to improve outcomes for all students. The staff are a dedicated bunch, and I am looking forward to getting out there and into the classroom and doing my bit.
In the ‘what goes up, must come down’ category, getting to Moree was only half the story. Once the staff development days were done and dusted it was time to make that 280+ kilometre round trip to Collarenebri. The following day, we were off on “holiday”. This required another short trip of some 550 kilometres from Moree to Fingal Bay.
And, now a further short jaunt of 220 kilmetricos has seen us arrive home. Now, the wait for Santa begins in earnest.
10 December 2010
Jesus: Wine-Guzzling Vagrant and Precocious Socialist?
Jesus Christ is a "wine-guzzling vagrant precocious socialist"!
Is this one of those things where your first reaction is to smile and have a little chuckle to yourself while thinking "hmmm, this is certainly going to ruffle a few feathers!"?
Perhaps the more pertinent question is "would this insult on Jesus be enough for you to pull your child out of school?" In the US state of New Hampshire, it is and was. Aimee Taylor pulled her son, Jordan Henderson, out of school because he was assigned 'Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America' by his teacher at Bedford High School.
The book was assigned in a class on personal finances. This seems like a pretty good choice considering the book is a first-hand account of how the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, tries to get through life working on the minimum wage. The book is one that seems appropriate for the American context. It would not work in the Australian context nearly as well seeing the concept of minimum wage in Australia is one where an award is set and this is generally significantly higher in comparison to that of the US.
The story seems "tailor-made for Fox News Channel", no pun intended. Fox enjoys the opportunity to "bang on" and bash anything that does not fall within the strict parameters of conservative politics. A school assigning this book to a 16-year-old student is sure to be indicative of a declining America. Ho hum...
To be sure, this is not a book review. I have not read the book. I might look for it next time I am at the book store. This post is merely commentary on the value of "banning" books. There are reasons for reading books that we might find to be "junk" or even offensive. There is nothing stopping this young man writing critically about the content and exploring how the author got it so wrong or how the use of the "offensive" does not add to the tome in any substantial or significant manner.
For all I know, the book may be total crap. Yet, the point was one of critical literacy and to encourage students to explore points of view, even offensive ones, as a means of increasing there awareness of issues and allow them to cast a critical eye over the views of others. This is not a bad thing. I encourage my students to be critical, and critically aware as this allows them to bring their own prior knowledge and experiences into the overall learning experience. Once again, this is not a bad thing.
Admittedly, I am a little green to the world of organised education where there are departmental policies to be considered and followed. That said, it would seem that the relevant school authorities were clued in on this book choice.
In the end, criticism of the American Dream is not something that is out of bounds, is it?
If you are interested, then Amazon has a copy or two.
Is this one of those things where your first reaction is to smile and have a little chuckle to yourself while thinking "hmmm, this is certainly going to ruffle a few feathers!"?
The book was assigned in a class on personal finances. This seems like a pretty good choice considering the book is a first-hand account of how the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, tries to get through life working on the minimum wage. The book is one that seems appropriate for the American context. It would not work in the Australian context nearly as well seeing the concept of minimum wage in Australia is one where an award is set and this is generally significantly higher in comparison to that of the US.
The story seems "tailor-made for Fox News Channel", no pun intended. Fox enjoys the opportunity to "bang on" and bash anything that does not fall within the strict parameters of conservative politics. A school assigning this book to a 16-year-old student is sure to be indicative of a declining America. Ho hum...
To be sure, this is not a book review. I have not read the book. I might look for it next time I am at the book store. This post is merely commentary on the value of "banning" books. There are reasons for reading books that we might find to be "junk" or even offensive. There is nothing stopping this young man writing critically about the content and exploring how the author got it so wrong or how the use of the "offensive" does not add to the tome in any substantial or significant manner.
For all I know, the book may be total crap. Yet, the point was one of critical literacy and to encourage students to explore points of view, even offensive ones, as a means of increasing there awareness of issues and allow them to cast a critical eye over the views of others. This is not a bad thing. I encourage my students to be critical, and critically aware as this allows them to bring their own prior knowledge and experiences into the overall learning experience. Once again, this is not a bad thing.
Admittedly, I am a little green to the world of organised education where there are departmental policies to be considered and followed. That said, it would seem that the relevant school authorities were clued in on this book choice.
In the end, criticism of the American Dream is not something that is out of bounds, is it?
If you are interested, then Amazon has a copy or two.
06 December 2010
Hurlstone Agricultural High School...
The HAHS Class of 1987 get together every now and then for a social gathering and a few drinks. This follows on from a reunion that was held a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the reunion as Will was deciding whether or not he wanted to come early.
But, I did manage to get to the most recent one at the Sussex Hotel. I must confess to never having been to the Sussex Hotel before. It was a pleasant little place on the Darling Harbour end of Sussex street. It is probably not a place for those looking to kick on as it does last drinks at 11.00pm. Anyways, back to the gathering, the latest gathering was a small affair in comparison to those of the past. Nevertheless, it was interesting to catch up with the few that did make it. With a bit of luck more will happen in the future and more people will be able to make it.
05 August 2010
School Discos -- A Real Eye Opener...
Another image uncovered on my daily travels. I obviously went to the wrong school when I was growing up! Most, no all, of the school events that I can recall were really tame affairs.The chance of going to a school function where there were girls with short skirts was not going to happen. Going to one where the skirt was up around her waist was a dream not ever going to happen.
How times have changed!
The funniest part of this photo is the kid in the center of the screen with the jaw drop happening and the mobile phone camera out! Times, and technology, have certainly changed from when I was in High School.
How times have changed!
The funniest part of this photo is the kid in the center of the screen with the jaw drop happening and the mobile phone camera out! Times, and technology, have certainly changed from when I was in High School.
17 July 2010
Do Selective High Schools Have the Best Teachers?
Do Selective High Schools Have the Best Teachers?
I am going to go out on a limb here and say, No!
I went to a selective high school for some of my schooling and a non-selective high school for the rest of it. The idea that selective high schools have the best teachers is a myth. It is a myth that could be easily busted wide open. However, the data that could bust that myth is not released by the NSW Department of Education and Training. In an era of openness and transparency where parents prefer to make informed decisions about where they send their children to schools, then this data would help parents identify which schools have teachers making a significant difference in the educational lives of the students under their care.
The myth is premised on the idea that because it is a selective high school, then not only are the students selected but so are the teachers. This is clearly not the case. Even by the Department's own admission, schools can request, perhaps even demand, certain teachers with specific skills, but generally vacancies appear and they are filled. In any event, the competitive nature of a selective school drives successful outcomes for students more than extraordinary teachers.
That is not to say that extraordinary teachers do not exist in the selective school system, for they surely do, but this is to say that these schools are likely to achieve results with teachers going through the motions because the students themselves are driven to succeed.
The reality is that you are just as likely to come across an exceptional teacher working in Bingara or Moree or Deniliquin as you are at James Ruse or Sydney Boys or Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Similarly, you are just as likely to come across a teacher going through the motions of teaching in anyone of these schools or teachers who are struggling with the profession and their educational responsibilities.
As a prospective teacher I am committed to being successful. Success comes in many forms, but paramount among these is seeing the students that I work with achieve and exceed their learning expectations.
This little rant was inspired by this article.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say, No!
I went to a selective high school for some of my schooling and a non-selective high school for the rest of it. The idea that selective high schools have the best teachers is a myth. It is a myth that could be easily busted wide open. However, the data that could bust that myth is not released by the NSW Department of Education and Training. In an era of openness and transparency where parents prefer to make informed decisions about where they send their children to schools, then this data would help parents identify which schools have teachers making a significant difference in the educational lives of the students under their care.
The myth is premised on the idea that because it is a selective high school, then not only are the students selected but so are the teachers. This is clearly not the case. Even by the Department's own admission, schools can request, perhaps even demand, certain teachers with specific skills, but generally vacancies appear and they are filled. In any event, the competitive nature of a selective school drives successful outcomes for students more than extraordinary teachers.
That is not to say that extraordinary teachers do not exist in the selective school system, for they surely do, but this is to say that these schools are likely to achieve results with teachers going through the motions because the students themselves are driven to succeed.
The reality is that you are just as likely to come across an exceptional teacher working in Bingara or Moree or Deniliquin as you are at James Ruse or Sydney Boys or Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Similarly, you are just as likely to come across a teacher going through the motions of teaching in anyone of these schools or teachers who are struggling with the profession and their educational responsibilities.
As a prospective teacher I am committed to being successful. Success comes in many forms, but paramount among these is seeing the students that I work with achieve and exceed their learning expectations.
This little rant was inspired by this article.
26 October 2009
Killara High School -- A School Close to Home...
The students of Killara High School have a tradition of making an end-of-year video. This particular one, 2009, has made it onto YouTube. It is exceptional. Even though it is a spoof of the Qantas ad campaign of "I Still Call Australia Home", it says some pretty important things about the way schools are funded along with the conditions that our children have to endure as students in some schools.
The video is excellent, and it shows that, at least to me, the future is bright. There are a lot of talented students out there doing their thing. This can only be a good thing when people have the courage to explore their creativity and fulfill their potential to do, and by doing, wonderful things. To the students of Killara High School, congratulations on a job well done!
The video is available on YouTube, and I have attached it below. The first couple of minutes are the Qantas spoof. The rest of the video probably has much more relevance to the students that made it than it would to the rest of us.
The 2009 version of the "I Still Call Australia Home" Qantas video. This is an excellent version of the campaign song. It also includes the Kala Lagaw Ya dialect of the (Western) Torres Strait Islands, as sung by Tyus Arndt (just 13 years old and of the Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir).
Enjoy!
The video is excellent, and it shows that, at least to me, the future is bright. There are a lot of talented students out there doing their thing. This can only be a good thing when people have the courage to explore their creativity and fulfill their potential to do, and by doing, wonderful things. To the students of Killara High School, congratulations on a job well done!
The video is available on YouTube, and I have attached it below. The first couple of minutes are the Qantas spoof. The rest of the video probably has much more relevance to the students that made it than it would to the rest of us.
The 2009 version of the "I Still Call Australia Home" Qantas video. This is an excellent version of the campaign song. It also includes the Kala Lagaw Ya dialect of the (Western) Torres Strait Islands, as sung by Tyus Arndt (just 13 years old and of the Gondwana National Indigenous Children's Choir).
Enjoy!
11 August 2009
Logical Fallacies...
1. The best place for a child to live is with his or her biological parents.
2. Unless gays are banned from the military, no heterosexual military personnel will be safe.
3. Making condoms available in high school is like giving a thief a license to steal.
4. His repeated failure to find a job indicates that he lacks ambition.
5. Either you support anti-abortion legislation, or you're not Christian.
Just a few logical fallacies as thought provokers. Adapted from the Prentice Hall Handbook for Writers (1995).
2. Unless gays are banned from the military, no heterosexual military personnel will be safe.
3. Making condoms available in high school is like giving a thief a license to steal.
4. His repeated failure to find a job indicates that he lacks ambition.
5. Either you support anti-abortion legislation, or you're not Christian.
Just a few logical fallacies as thought provokers. Adapted from the Prentice Hall Handbook for Writers (1995).
31 October 2008
(Mis)guided Youth?
Am I a good-looking young fella or what?
On not so youthful matters.
Today's check up at the hospital revealed the kid to be about 3kgs and there are still 5 weeks to go!
28 October 2008
Stupid is as Stupid Does!
If this report turns out to be true, then some people are just too stupid for words. I do not know Wulan Guritno other than from the gossip columns and from her appearances on TV and film.The times I have seen her on the idiot box (AKA television) she seemed to be well-spoken and smart. Now, looks can be deceiving and perhaps we have all been deceived.
Guritno is now suspected of forging her high school certificate. Why would she want to do this? It seems that she intended to run for a parliamentary seat on behalf of the National Mandate Party (PAN). Simply, any prospective candidate must have at least a high school qualification before they can qualify to stand in the election.
It seems the actress forged her qualification. The qualification was allegedly issued by an Italian based academy. The forgery mistake was supposedly to basic for words, the qualification was in the wrong name, specifically it was in the name of someone else (supposedly her sister).
It seems that the Indonesian Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum / KPU) is set to strike her off the list of candidates unless she can come up with something that is able to stand the scrutiny of a validity check.
This is certainly a potentially embarrassing moment and one that begs the question, "if you had a high school qualification then why would you need to fake one?"
Oh well!
20 October 2008
29 September 2008
Manorexia
I have always wondered why the fellas never seemed to suffer from anorexia. Body image issues perhaps are not as important to men as they are for women. However, I did not matter whether you were a boy or a girl when you were at school the overweight kids always got plenty of stick for being fat. I was a fat kid and I am a fat adult.
So, I can speak with relative authority about getting plenty of stick at school for being overweight.
I was also pretty sporty and played lots of sports. So, I guess this kept the weight in check a little.
That said, I wonder whether I go to the gym now because I have body issues or just because I want to keep a little fit so that I can live long enough to see the Kid grow into a man. I think it is because I wanna see the Kid grow into a man. If it was a body issue thing then I would be eating to a different pattern. I eat fairly clean.
Anyways, I was scanning through the Sydney Morning Herald the other day and came across this article on "manorexia" which is a term coined to describe anorexia in men. It is estimated that more than 7 million Australians are overweight or obese. Yes, this is somewhere around one-third of the population is heavier than it should be according to current guidelines.
In NSW it is estimated that 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 4 children that are suffering from anorexia are male. This means that the vast majority of those suffering from anorexia remain women, at least in cases that are being reported. Apparently, photos like the one above encourage eating disorders in boys as they strive to look like a male model.
Postscript:
This post has been modified slightly from the original post. The figures regarding anorexia in the original post were mistyped. This has been rectified.
14 September 2008
Me in 1984
I think the only difference is that I have more hair in 1984 than I do now. I have the shorts somewhere at home in Australia. Maybe one day it will be a Harley.Remembering the Past...
This photo relates to an earlier post that you can find here. I promised to post the photo and then forgot about it. So here it is...14 July 2008
The Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Thanks to katadia, I have been tagged to write about the age that I wish to go back to, thanks I think! I quite enjoy reading her blog posts and I guess she enjoys reading mine hence the desire to see what I might post now that I have been tagged.
The rules are:
Title: Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
1st - You list 5 bloggers you want to tag and link their blogs
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog.
Now, I am happy to write the entry on the age. But, I am rule breaker and I am not going to tag five others. It sounds too much like multi-level marketing to me and an attempt to attract attention to my blog and the blogs of others...sorry people for being such a spoil sport (besides everyone I might have been inclined to tag has been tagged).
I really would like to write about an age that I would like to go forward to. My better half is pregnant and is due in November. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical technology we can already see the youngster (affectionately known as "The Kid") in 2 or 3 dimensions. The hospital offers 4D, I always thought the 4th D was time in space, so I am trying to work out why I might want to pay to see The Kid in 4D. However, I think what the doc was trying to explain related to spissitude (look it up if you really want to know).
Seeing, this will be the first born in my family, I am really looking forward at the moment as opposed to backwards. By the way, The Kid is a boy!
But, seeing you all want to learn something of my past, then the age I would want to get back to is probably years 8, 9, and 10 in high school (so 13, 14, and 15 years of age). Why? They were fun times, care free times, the best of times. I had started playing rugby and I was good. I was immediately selected in representative teams and got lots of free stuff like footy jumpers, socks, shorts, trousers, ties, and all sorts of other stuff.
The memories that stick out in my mind though relate not to competitive rugby but slush rugby. Slush rugby could only be played during the rain or immediately after the rain -- simply no rain meant no slush! The best of these slush rugby memories occurred on a school camp, I think it was Year 9, out near Goulburn somewhere. It was winter, so it was cold! Cold enough as a matter of fact to freeze the balls of a brass monkey. Even better was that it was pissing down with rain! And the best part was that the showers were all cold water!
In the middle of the campground was this big open space that looked like a mudpit after all the rain. In other words the perfect venue.
Not to be deterred, we stripped down into our slush rugby gear which consisted of shorts and a jersey, divided up into sides, and went at it hell for leather for the next our or so! There were some dislocated fingers, a couple of bloody noses, a lost tooth or two, and a few concussions, although I am not sure anyone is counting. I have a photo which I will scan and add later.
I cannot recall who won and it doesn't really matter.
In reality I cannot choose one age that I would really like to go back to. My childhood was excellent, I have the greatest parents that I can imagine having, my teenage years were some of the best I can recall, my early adulthood was a series of superb experiences, and right at this moment in time I am fairly content. The only thing that I miss from childhood is the absence of responsibility. I would enjoy not being responsible for so many people's livelihoods (this does not include my own family as that responsibility is one I enjoy)...
But such is life.
I hope those that read understand a little more about me and feel that you know me a little better.
BTW...high school was Hurlstone Agricultural High School (HAHS) in Glenfield (NSW)!
The rules are:
Title: Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
1st - You list 5 bloggers you want to tag and link their blogs
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog.
Now, I am happy to write the entry on the age. But, I am rule breaker and I am not going to tag five others. It sounds too much like multi-level marketing to me and an attempt to attract attention to my blog and the blogs of others...sorry people for being such a spoil sport (besides everyone I might have been inclined to tag has been tagged).
I really would like to write about an age that I would like to go forward to. My better half is pregnant and is due in November. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical technology we can already see the youngster (affectionately known as "The Kid") in 2 or 3 dimensions. The hospital offers 4D, I always thought the 4th D was time in space, so I am trying to work out why I might want to pay to see The Kid in 4D. However, I think what the doc was trying to explain related to spissitude (look it up if you really want to know).
Seeing, this will be the first born in my family, I am really looking forward at the moment as opposed to backwards. By the way, The Kid is a boy!
But, seeing you all want to learn something of my past, then the age I would want to get back to is probably years 8, 9, and 10 in high school (so 13, 14, and 15 years of age). Why? They were fun times, care free times, the best of times. I had started playing rugby and I was good. I was immediately selected in representative teams and got lots of free stuff like footy jumpers, socks, shorts, trousers, ties, and all sorts of other stuff.
The memories that stick out in my mind though relate not to competitive rugby but slush rugby. Slush rugby could only be played during the rain or immediately after the rain -- simply no rain meant no slush! The best of these slush rugby memories occurred on a school camp, I think it was Year 9, out near Goulburn somewhere. It was winter, so it was cold! Cold enough as a matter of fact to freeze the balls of a brass monkey. Even better was that it was pissing down with rain! And the best part was that the showers were all cold water!
In the middle of the campground was this big open space that looked like a mudpit after all the rain. In other words the perfect venue.
Not to be deterred, we stripped down into our slush rugby gear which consisted of shorts and a jersey, divided up into sides, and went at it hell for leather for the next our or so! There were some dislocated fingers, a couple of bloody noses, a lost tooth or two, and a few concussions, although I am not sure anyone is counting. I have a photo which I will scan and add later.
I cannot recall who won and it doesn't really matter.
In reality I cannot choose one age that I would really like to go back to. My childhood was excellent, I have the greatest parents that I can imagine having, my teenage years were some of the best I can recall, my early adulthood was a series of superb experiences, and right at this moment in time I am fairly content. The only thing that I miss from childhood is the absence of responsibility. I would enjoy not being responsible for so many people's livelihoods (this does not include my own family as that responsibility is one I enjoy)...
But such is life.
I hope those that read understand a little more about me and feel that you know me a little better.
BTW...high school was Hurlstone Agricultural High School (HAHS) in Glenfield (NSW)!
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