PGCE Final placement Week 4 of 9: Into the valley of death

I've just had the worst week so far. A crap observation impacted severely on my mood and led to a crap week. I have seldom felt so low. It brought back all of the horrible memories of my PGCE Secondary course (1st placement) which ultimately led to my jibbing the course. Please, God, the only way is up now. I can't express how much is tied up in this course for me and how desperately I need to succeed. The low point was midweek and admittedly it did improve before the end of the week. But I don't think I've ever felt so tired and added to this, the grief of losing Mum managed to surface - I'm having a little bit of difficulty putting that away again. Ever tried to get a tent back into its original container - then you'll get some kind of a handle on what I mean. As for the tiredness, I slept 12 hours on Friday night and 12 hours on Saturday night. I'm feeling a bit more human now.

Thankfully we have a week off now so I hope to get as much work done as I can to try to alleviate some of the stress over the final 5 weeks. As I missed 2 weeks from the Spain placement, I have to add these on to the end, which means I don't finish until 2 weeks after all my colleagues. I really don't understand how this will fit in to my infamous Profile of Professional Development. Am I supposed to meet the same standards as everyone else for the 3rd and 4th review points? And then slip back and only meet the standards for review point 2 at the end? It's all so messy!

Don't know if anyone else does this, I subconsciously sing songs which fit in with my mood at any given time. When I was going through my aborted attempt at secondary teacher training, my mantra was 'Gotta get thru this' by Daniel Bedingfield, which was a hit at the time. Last week I was apparently heard singing 'Every day is like survival' from Culture Club's Kharma Chameleon. This morning I was singing in the shower Labi Siffre's 'Somethin' inside so strong'. I'll try to harness the power of that one for the next few weeks. Will keep you updated as to any changes to the soundtrack of my life...

PGCE Final placement - Week 3 of 9

Well, 3 weeks down, now, 6 to go. I have never felt so tired in all my life and I'm not yet on full timetable. I ought to be job hunting but frankly I ain't got the time to fill in an application form! I am beginning to wonder if I want a post in September. If I were to get a job now it would mean spending virtually all summer planning and I'm not sure I want to do that! If I knew I could get some regular supply work for the first term, I might feel a bit more comfortable. Oh, I don't know...

The week did not have the most wonderful start. The school was under a bit of a cloud because a former pupil died in tragic circumstances at the weekend. I actually met the lad a few weeks back during my planning week. He and a couple of his mates were off, as their school had an INSET day, and they came in to help out at their old primary school. He struck me as a lovely lad, very bubbly, clever, likeable. It is quite unbelievable to think that a young chap so full of life and promise is no more. The staff in particular were very upset.

It's been a fab week weatherwise, really warm and sunny. Today, of course, it is peeing down! I am getting a bit cheesed off with the centre of town. It's like a building site. If anyone is considering coming to see what Liverpool has to offer as the city of culture, don't bother, it's a mess. I'd leave it for a year or two until the road works are finished and all of the 'regeneration ' is sorted. We are going to have more shops and apartments than we know what to do with. Personally, I can't see what shops have to do with culture. I would have flattened one of the big tatty areas and created a wonderful urban open space with snazzy fountains and benches. All the great cities have these spaces. As for 2008, I would have just cleaned up what we have, organised street entertainments, concerts and the like and done the building works next year. As for the organisation of the whole city of culture thing - well, the words 'p*ss up' and 'brewery' spring to mind...

PGCE final placement - Week 2 of 9.

Week 2 is over. Not without its ups and downs. It should have been a great week given that we had a bank holiday Monday but I had to still put a full teaching week in (full according to the requirements of my course so far, anyway). I had an observation on Wednesday which was not the most brilliant, I have to say. Not a good way to ease myself into my college tutor's observation on Thursday. The co-ordinating mentor at the school was fab. I had a bit of difficulty judging where I stood with her, as we hadn't had much contact. But she talked me through the shortcomings of my performance on Wednesday and gave me loads of great tips for how to improve things for Thursday. Thursday, as a result, went well.

The kids really take advantage when I am the only adult in the room, but there are a few who are clearly starting to get keen to please me. I am hoping that this will improve in the next few weeks. I do think they are lovely but I need to tame them a bit for me. They are fine with their class teacher. I am going to try to put a bit more order on morning routines. Every morning they are fighting to (a) give out the fruit, (b) collect the milk and (c) take the register back. I'm going to draw up a rota so that there is no fussing over these items and no charges of favouritism. I'm also going to abandon the traditional roll call type register in favour of going around the tables, chatting to the children and marking them in informally. At some point we will have some soft music to enhance the ambience. The next routines to tackle after that will be over drinking bottles and ad hoc toilet visits. But first things first.

PGCE Final placement - Week 1 of 9 Star of the Week!

Week 1 in the new placement school is thankfully out of the way. The children are a delight, I am growing quite fond of them but naturally, while the cat is away, the mice will play and they do take advantage of the fact that their own teacher is not there. I had to give them a bit of a talking to last week as they really were taking the mickey. But I want really to cultivate the approach of a teacher we can have a bit of fun with but we know that there are boundaries that we mustn't cross. My mentor is encouraging me to go for the positive approach to behaviour management, ie praising good behaviour rather than nagging about bad behaviour. She says that it probably takes longer to win them over in this way but that ultimately the children want to please you.

The high note of this week was that I had to get up and give the merit awards to three children in our class at the assembly on Friday. All of the class teachers have to do this. I got a lot of praise for my first 'performance' in front of the school and before I sat down, the Head Teacher gave me a sticker! I wore it with pride all day Friday!

Paco Peña and Nishat Khan

Spent a very pleasant evening last night in the company of a friend at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool (affectionately known locally as 'the Phil'). We were there to see Flamenco guitar legend Paco Peña. I first saw Paco Peña in 1992 at an open air gala concert at the Kings Dock in Liverpool. He appeared with other luminaries, namely soprano Montserrat Caballe, tenor Alfredo Kraus and Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the presence of the King and Queen of Spain. It was a good night and thankfully the August weather was kind.

Last night was a less grand affair but very enjoyable nonetheless. I find the subculture thing quite amusing. There is definitely a Hispanic subculture in the Merseyside region. As we sat, we noticed prominent persons with involvement in the teaching of languages in Liverpool Authority, Wirral Authority and my Spanish tutor from college. You get the impression that anything with a vaguely Spanish theme attracts an audience of Spanish teachers, ex-patriot Spanish speakers and nobody else.

What I hadn't quite grasped about this concert is that it was a double header, Paco Peña and Nishat Khan, an Indian sitar player. I'm afraid my knowledge of music doesn't extend to the sitar with the exception of knowing that Ravi Shankar was much beloved of 60s pop/rock bands going through their mystical/psychadelic phases. Well, it seems Nishat Khan is no slouch either. He has worked with such big names as B.B.King, Pat Metheny and Carlos Santana. Initially the collaboration between Khan and Peña seemed a bit of an unholy marriage. But this particular brand of east/west fusion is not as unnatural as it at first seems. Apparently, Flamenco has its roots in the music of nomadic peoples of Rajasthan some of whom, in the 15th Century, found themselves in Spain. Apparently.

It was great to see two people who clearly are very passionate about their music yet are able to share a mutual respect. This was also evident in their respective ensembles. Their percussionists were each given the opportunity to shine in a friendly duel of the tabla vs the cajon. The cajon was interesting. At first I thought the player was just sitting on a speaker tapping casually, but apparently it is an instrument and boy could he play it!

A most pleasant evening!

Parting is such sweet sorrow - Part 4

Oh I do so hate goodbyes! Today, we finished the college component of our course and this is a photo of my curriculum studies buddies. There are six other similarly sized groups doing the PGCE. I started the course with no intention of connecting with anyone. After all, I wanted to get a teaching qualification, not make friends. But, well, I've kinda grown to love these guys. We've been through stuff together. There is nothing like a bit of solidarity in shared adversity to bond people. We've had so many laughs and now it is the end of an era. We will of course be in contact through Facebook/email and what have you, but it just ain't gonna be the same - boo-hoo!

On Monday, we're all off to school to start the final teaching block. God willing, we will all meet up again at the graduations in July, if not before for some celebratory night out.

(I'm the old, fat hag in the blue jacket. Diet tomorrow, defo!)

Treasures of Tudor England

I love music...anykind of music...so spake the O'Jays. And I do love virtually any kind of music. Some jazz is just a bit too inaccessible for me and I struggle greatly with a lot of country music, though BBC4 is helping me combat some of my more sweeping musical prejudices. I was brought up on the Beatles (no surprises there!). As a teen I was a big Queen fan and my big sis took me to see them live at the Liverpool Empire before they started playing aircraft hangars (which they always said they never would). Hormones took me into the realms of sweet soul music - which has little to do with the bland, thin gruel that they now call R&B. I shook my rump to the funk with the best of them in the 80s. If a butterfly's wings can cause a tidal wave on the other side of the world, I dread to think what shaking my 45 year old rump (46 next week) would do! I endured a lengthy desert period during the 90s when I was too busy bringing up family to listen to the radio and have more recently developed a penchant for what I believe they call 'indie' bands. In a lot of regards, this correlates with the musical journey of many of my contemporaries and does not surprise those who know me.

But you have to know me pretty well to know that, in addition to the likes of Snow Patrol, the Kooks and the Killers, my iPod contains a goodly proportion of Sacred music from the Renaissance. This is my very private passion. So it was a particular treat for me to attend a concert of the Sixteen under the expert direction of Harry Christophers. It took place at the Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, a treat in itself and was part of their Choral Pilgrimage. This is the second year that I have been to a Choral Pilgrimage Concert - last year it was my favourite- the Music of the Sistine Chapel - which was an utterly sublime performance. This year the theme was the Treasures of Tudor England, showcasing the works of Parsons, White and Tye who wrote during the times of great religious turbulence between the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. As always the performance of the Sixteen was utterly captivating.

The Sixteen were involved in the recent excellent series on BBC4 called Sacred Music. During the interval, Harry Christophers was walking past us and Him Indoors went to compliment him on the series. Him Indoors can get away with that kind of stuff, he's such a lovely bloke. But I must say, Harry Christophers is a lovely, gracious chap, too. The thing I love about the Sixteen is the fact that they are not just performers, they are also part of a scholarly tradition. They are clearly passionate about what they do. I love passion in people. I don't care if it is about train spotting or music or football; passion is the key. I don't mean fanaticism, I think there is a subtle distinction to be drawn there. Passion has a transcendent quality that fanaticism doesn't.

During the interval, we went for a drink and I left my programme on the pew, " It'll be OK, we're in a Cathedral, no-one would take it". But of course, we returned and it was gone. Awful! OK it was only a 3 quid programme, but it was the principle of the thing. Him indoors, ever the attentive darling that he is, went and got another one and told me not to let it spoil the evening. But I could feel the ball of bitter gall in my stomach. "These snobby so-and-sos - all from Hoylake and Formby and the likes, but not above nicking someone else's programme to save £3! " Spotting the fact that the elderly chap that was in front of us wasn't there in the second half I had him down as the prime suspect in this heinous crime. Anyway, we settled down and enjoyed the rest of the concert. At the end, the lady next to me utters, "Oh, this isn't my programme, mine's here. I'm awfully sorry, I seem to have picked yours up by mistake." Gulp! I felt a bit small but I'm glad that my faith in human nature was restored.

I shall definitely be keeping my eye on the website to see what the Sixteen are doing in the future. They play in some fabulous cathedrals at home and abroad. A perfect excuse for an occasional weekend away, methinks...

Shift Happens

We were shown this video as part of a presentation in a Professional Studies lecture this morning on global citizenship. It was preceded by the question, "Why do you want to teach?"



Actually, after watching it I feel that the teaching qualification that I don't yet have is pretty well obsolete.

On the bright side, after scraping the lowest professional level pass that you can get in my first assignment, I found out that I got a B at Masters level in my second. WOO-HOO!!! Suppose I'd better get started on the third now since it is due in on Monday...

Hilbre Odyssey

We've lived on the Wirral Peninsula for 19 years now. In that time, we haven't once taken a walk out to Hilbre, the tidal island and nature reserve in the middle of the Dee Estuary. When his Lordship was opening mail for our eldest daughter who is currently 'studying' in Spain, he came across an invitation to celebrate the 25th anniversary of A Rocha, the Christian environmentalist organisation. The day was to consist of a walk to Hilbre followed by presentations in the afternoon. We decided to gatecrash! We wrapped up warm and drove the 10 minute journey to West Kirby. We bought sandwiches en route. I would normally make them but we had nothing in to make them with. I felt uneasy about opening a plastic sandwich pack amongst Christian environmentalists, so in order to not cause offence, I took a roll of tin foil with me. This way, on the car journey I could remove the sandwiches from the offending packs and wrap them in foil. The weather was overcast with rain forecast. Still, off we trudged across the sand, taking a turn at Little Eye. After about 50 mins we reached Hilbre. We saw some grey seals on a sandbank in the distance. We saw some Brent geese and some other purple something something or others. This I know because a very kind man let me look through his binoculars. We had stupidly forgotten to take ours. There were lots of wintering waders for those with eyes (or binoculars) to see and the knowledge to recognise them. I liked the wonderful sandstone which forms the base for the island. The wonderful rich red colour is not captured in the photo above. Finally the bad weather caught up with us and we had to head back. Walking towards Little Eye we found ourselves walking into a strong headwind and sand. As we turned in to the coast of West Kirby and the welcoming sight of Morrisons (?) the rain started in earnest. We got sopping wet, but only down one side. We decided to head home to dry clothes, warmth and food. We got so cosy that sadly we didn't make it back to the presentations. Sorry A Rocha!

Portraits, pole dancing and chocolate shredded wheat cakes.

Almost Easter. I can't believe it. We have only just handed the second assignment in and I've got the third one hovering over me like the Grim Reaper. The only one which has been marked was crap. I got a P2 for it which is like the lowest grade you can get. So God alone knows how I will do in the other two. I really can't be arsed with academic writing - I am too much of a creative (don't laugh, now!). I just hate the artificiality of academic writing and I can't stay awake long enough to do the academic reading. A girl on my course has just, in her mid twenties, had herself deemed dyslexic and is taking all the freebies going, including automatic extension rights. I asked her what her 'symptoms' were. She said she reads things but has forgotten the beginning of a sentence by the time she gets to the end. I'm seriously considering having myself assessed.



We have changed our foundation subject courses in the curriculum studies part of the course. I now do PE, Art and Music instead of Geography, History and RE. I have to grudgingly say that PE isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The PE tutor is off his head, which is fine by me, though I do still find myself doing what I did at school, ie find a corner to stand in and try to look invisible. Sadly, you can't sneak off to the loos for a smoke these days! I wasn't in last week, but the week before I fell over and really hurt my knee playing 'tiger tag'. You shouldn't have to undergo such indignities at my age! I had to sit all evening with a veritable plethora of ice packs on my knee, courtesy of his Lordship, which helped a lot. But the following week, I bent down to clean Alice the hamster's cage and felt a burning sensation go right up the front of my thigh. The next day the same thing happened to my other leg when I was bending down to put my nose in a hula hoop on the floor...don't ask...it was cross curricular Spanish in PE. I could barely walk afterwards!

In Art we have been doing portraits of our classmates. The picture here is the lovely Sarah's interpretation of me. I don't think it is bad for a first attempt. My one of her was OK, too. We also did abstract collage portraits of each other. She was off for an interview in her hometown yesterday. Everyone is panicking and applying for jobs at the moment but I just don't feel ready at all. I wonder whether a short stint doing supply would be a bad thing. I refuse to get caught up in the hysteria.


I've just done my third attachment Wednesday at my new school. Another student was doing a session on healthy lifestyles with our Year 2 class today. She was doing a brainstorm of types of exercise (yeah, I know the PC brigade don't like the term 'brainstorm' but who cares what they think?) We had all the usual suggestions. Then this little boy puts his hand up and says, "pole dancing". From the mouths of babes, eh? She looked surprised but they do actually do pole dance exercise classes in some places now so it went up on the board. Apparently another of our 7 year-olds (another boy) was able to enlighten the ignorant that, "that's when you swing around a pole in your knickers and bra." I wondered if we were all a bit confused. Just a few minutes before a boy had asked me if there was any such thing as Polish dancing. I said yes and he asked what it was like. I said I didn't know and he'd have to ask a Polish person. At this he seemed less than enthusiastic, saying that all the Polish people in his school could only say one word of English, that being 'Lewis'. Minutes later, we had the pole dancing suggestion. Surreal.

I decided to stay behind for the healthy club after school. There was a slight oversight on the healthy front in that we were making chocolate shredded wheat nests with mini eggs. Well, they do say that a little of what you fancy does you good!

Long time no write...

Such a long time since writing. Well, a lot has happened since my last posting. Then I was in the middle of my Seville adventure (well, adventure my my standards, anyway!) Halfway through I was called home. My dear old Mum's health had taken a sharp downturn and it was thought best that I cut my Spanish sojourn short. At 83, Mum wasn't in the best of health, though being of good strong stock, she stoically carried on as best as she could. She is pictured at our house on Christmas Day 2007, a month before she died. I arrived home around midnight on the Friday and was able to be with Mum when she breathed her last on the Sunday evening. There were nine of us around her bed when she died, and a tenth , a tangible presence called Love, was there too. In spite of our sadness, there has been a subtle joy to be had, too. A family, too long busy with their own lives, has been rediscovered. We have been learning how to love each other all over again. Not that we didn't love each other, but it is so easy to take each other for granted. Mum has brought us all closer.

So, a rather surreal few weeks and, of course, I have the problem of my course. College has been very supportive. Indeed, I cannot speak highly enough of my tutors both here and in Seville. I will be able to make up my lost days at the end of the course and, God willing, I will be able to graduate with my friends. I have been deeply touched by the support from friends and colleagues.

With an eye to the future, I start the attachment days at my new school. I am looking forward to it, as it is a contrasting experience. It is in the city centre, it has a high representation of children from minority ethnic groups. It received an outstanding report from its last OFSTED inspection and it comes highly recommended. I hope and pray that I can do it justice. I have a Year 2 class which, I hope, will be a lot of fun.

That's me, caught up...

Reign in Spain 3

Well week 1 is out of the way now. On Friday at 2.00pm, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and took the bus into the heart of Seville. The weather definitely took a significant turn for the better temperature-wise on Friday. I trudged on foot to the Plaza de España, around the beautiful Parque de María Luisa and on over to the Cathedral Quarter. The cathedral has the world famous Giralda bell tower. This is an interesting relic of the Moorish period in Spain's history. The main part of the Giralda and the Patio de los Naranjos (the orange tree patio) are all that remains of Seville's mosque. I went up the Giralda. I normally steer clear of towers in cathedrals because I have a bit of a fear of stairs/heights and claustrophobia. I don't like flights of winding stairs. It's not so much the climbing up but the coming down. I remember going to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Gaudi's great unfinished masterpiece. Being a modern cathedral, you can go up most of the way in a lift. Feeling confident in the newness of the building I thought I was able to go down using the stairs. I was OK until I reached a point where the stairs just became a basic spiral and very little to hang on to. His Lordship tried to coax me down but I was having nothing of it. I RAN back up as fast as my little legs could carry me and took the lift. Well on Friday I thought I would give the Giralda a go and discovered to my surprise that it is ramps all the way up. I wouldn't describe it as accessible to the disabled but it was a darn sight easier than stairs. Seems legend has it that the Moors rode up there on horseback. Once up on the balcony, you have wonderful panoramic views of Seville.

Back at the Colegio Mayor, we have developed something of a tradition, coming together for tea most afternoons. Thankfully, one smart cookie thought to bring a cheapo kettle with her - well, I don't think the Spanish know what a kettle is! The Colegio is a wonderful house. On Sunday we discovered that off the main patio is a door which leads out to a beautiful garden. Well, I say garden, it is really a fully fledged park. Seems the house was the ancestral seat of the Conde de Guzman.

Back into school today and I discover that, not only is the teacher off again but there is another student from the University of Seville who has been placed in my class. Not wildly impressed by that. Especially since she insisted on yapping to me all the way through the morning, even though the teacher was trying to take the lesson. This afternoon in English, it was a laugh. There was the teacher, the language assistant, me, the new student and my buddy in the one class. Mad...

Seville photo set.

Reign in Spain 2

Well, things have settled down here a little bit now. After the initial excitement, we are mostly tucked up in bed by 11pm. Being outside of Seville, we generally have to get a bus into town and another to our schools. So this means departure by 7.30am for most of us. This is a big deal for a lot, but it is actually a bit easier for me, since I was getting a bus at 7.10 when I was on my first placement. Monday was a university day - well we had a presentation on Seville University and refreshments. We met our compañeros again and mine was recovered from her illness. Lovely girl, but insisted on speaking English to me the whole time. Not sure what I get from the deal, really. But it was a buddy task to accompany us to the school. We were walking along this road in the town to our bus stop when I became aware of a terrible smell. I looked down to my feet to see what I rather suspect was raw sewage running down the pavement. A woman in a shop was brushing what seemed like gallons of the stuff out of her shop door onto the pavement. I felt for her but I felt for myself more. Suffice it to say my trousers were put into soak when I got back in case they had trailed through the stuff. Only in Spain! Thank God it wasn't the height of the Andalucian summer! Anyway, my buddy and I made our initial visits to the school and found out what bus I needed to get in to school. I won't see her again until Monday when she starts her placement at the school - she only does three weeks and then comes to the UK for a month

The lingo is so difficult to understand. The Andaluz accent drops 's' sounds all over the place and also the odd consonant when it feels like. I'd really love to know which bright spark with a warped sense of humour decided to partner up Andalucia with Merseyside in this project. Still, at least the challenge is equally weighted! I find myself nodding and saying "Sí, sí, vale.." all the time when I haven't got a clue what people are on about. It is bound to get me into trouble at some point! Mind you, my tongue is completely tied, too. One rather quaint thing which I remember from my time in Málaga is the tendency to add the diminutive ending 'ito/ita' to everything, so whatever you talk about translates as a 'little something'. So I am nurturing the habit of foregoing a cervecita (a little beer) in favour of a cafelito (a little coffee) and taking my toast golden brown with the butter blandita (a little bit soft - just like me!).

I haven't met my teacher yet as she is off with the flu. My school is a bilingual school. This means that certain lessons are delivered in English. I have yet to see how this works in practice. I saw an English lesson when the exercise was all about saying "I am going to do something". The class had to think up an example. One rather confused lad questioned why he had to do this, "Por qué? Es mas facile en español!" (Why? It's easier in Spanish!) Nice to know the Spanish come out with the same stuff as our, eh? I caught two boys throwing a ball to each other while the teacher's back was turned. Being a bit reticent to do anything and really not sure of what language to use, I looked at one of the boys and shook my head disapprovingly. The cheeky little bugger looked at me and put his finger on his lips, signalling to me to not let on to the teacher as if I was complicit in his little game! When they did it again, I confiscated the ball from the other boy (having rehearsed the Spanish for 'give it to me' in my head!) This has been an amazing culture shock for all of us. Our combined findings are that nobody really does dynamic and interesting lessons here. Everything is done from the book, to the extent that some teachers just read straight from the book. We haven't seen any evidence of stating lesson objectives. We have to fill in a log book during our visit including lesson observations. These ask things like, what sort of transitions do you see from one part of the lesson to another?, how does the teacher start the lesson?, how does the teacher end the lesson? The short answer is dunno. Does standing up and looking authoritative count as a lesson starter? Does the bell going and the children just putting their books away and going out count? It is all very laid back. I'm tempted to say that I don't think that is all bad. See, they don't sweat the small stuff - the kind of stuff that we in the UK can get embroiled in the name of discipline and end up blowing up out of proportion. The children call the teachers by their first name (saves them playing guessing games). They may or may not ask if they can hacer pis when they need the loo. There is always a toilet roll at the front of the class which they randomly just come out and use if they have a snotty nose. I haven't seen anyone told off yet. They certainly don't seem to fuss as much as our children. It is generally agreed that the schools are not as bright and colourful as our schools. There are displays but there is not as much effort put into making the environment look pretty. They're clean but spartan. They are years behind British schools in terms of investment in technology and mostly use good old fashioned blackboards. I think they spend money on books instead - perhaps we can learn from them in this! For all that the lessons are a little lacklustre in comparison to what we are used to, the general consensus was that the children still seem to learn. But unlike our kids they are not expecting to be entertained.

In terms of the teachers, they really do not arrive until dead on 9.00am and they are shooing you out of the door at home time. My school day, like many of the others, is from 9.00am until 2.00pm with a half hour break at midday. Other schools go on until 1.00 and have a 2-hour break, returning at 3.oopm for another couple of hours. The staff room, oddly enough, has the same motley collection of education journals, notices for staff training and union notices as the average UK staffroom. BUT NO KETTLE!!! Sorry, the kettle is the heart of community in a staff room. We haven't seen much marking done and nobody seems to take work home. I find the 3 hour morning a long time to go without a break but at least the work is over early and you can still do something with the day.

The reign in Spain

I had quite forgotten just how dull Sundays were. I mean real Sundays, the kind that busy people hanker nostalgically after. The Sundays we used to have when I was a child before 24-7 became the byword that we all live our lives by. Well I'm having a taste of that now. Castelleja de Guzman is a small village on the other side of the River Guadalquivir from Seville. It has been quite an overcast day, threatening rain for some time. This is a place where the Sabbath is still kept holy - at least the shops do not open, anyway. My group has been rattling around the Colegio Mayor Santa Maria del Buen Aire wondering what to do with themselves. Well, that is not strictly true, since most of them didn't see their beds until about 5am! Most made it for lunch at 2pm and many have taken themselves off to Seville. Two days in and a combination of hangover, lack of sleep and boredom has caused an outbreak of homesickness. "What's the matter with you?" I said, " I was hoping you seasoned travellers would be well used to this. I was hoping you could teach me a thing or two about survival away from home?" I am, nevertheless, enjoying being able to fulfil the function of team mum, providing a shoulder to cry on and hugs on demand. Well, most are barely older than my eldest.

So, the story so far. We arrived ahead of time on Friday. We had a cold dinner ready for us when we arrived. Then we went straight out into the village to a local bar, which was very nice. I just went along for one and was back by midnight. Some others arrived back about 1.30 and the hardened drinkers came in about 4am and woke the whole place up. Apparently they were reprimanded for it! Good start, but at least Babe, my cuddly pig companion and I were tucked up in bed. Saturday we were up early in the morning as we had to be showered, dressed, breakfasted and out by 9.30. We went to the Fine Arts Museum and were given a talk by some professor of Art History from the university. Sadly we couldn't enthuse too wildly as everyone was knackered. We then had to walk across town to the Real Alcazar. That was a bit like the Alhambra. Actually, I think the Alhambra has it won in terms of its location; the views of the city of Granada are breathtaking but I would say that the interior of the Alcazar is more impressive than the Alhambra.

Then it was off to meet your buddy. Except mi compañera couldn't come because she was sick - or had the idea of an old biddy buddy frightened her off? Anyway it was all a very convivial al freso affair but there wasn't quite enough warmth to take the edge off the temperature! Lovely and sunny but really quite chilly. I was glad of my scarf and gloves. Coming home was a faff and a half. We got on this bus, which was a circular bus route. There were two we could have chosen from - same route, circular but opposite directions. Suffice it to say we took the one which must have been furthest from our stop as it took forever to get there. We had been told to get off at a certain stop where we would be able to get our second bus. But no-one had told us we had to catch it from the indoor bus station just behind the stop we'd just got off at. There were three of us , including one recovering from a broken leg and walking with the aid of crutches . She had done brilliantly with all the walking but was feeling it by now. My head was pounding and when we finally got back I slept (as did most others!) After dinner the others went out on the town but I stayed here. Clubbing in Seville city centre is not for me! Two of us stayed behind and we watched an episode of Curb your Enthusiasm and one from the Office. My laptop is going to be a real lifeline and it was worth making room for it in my suitcase (although those thieving bar stewards, Ryanair charged me £11 for the benefit of carrying 2.7 kilos over the measly 15kg limit!).

Seville is a very beautiful city with lots of open spaces. But it is cold in the shade though it does warm up as the day progresses. The thing that has struck me so far? The oranges. Everywhere you go, walking through little squares or even just along the road, there are orange trees and occasionally lemon trees laden with well ripened fruit. I think I will stay in tonight and get my head around the paperwork for tomorrow.

Click here for flickr photos.

Back to school...

Well, technically not back to school but at least back to college for me. I didn't want to go. I have thoroughly enjoyed my sloth-like status of the past few weeks. Now it is time to think about all of the stuff I should have been doing, but haven't. The hols were good. Managed to find time to catch up with a few friends which I really enjoyed. Once you get into the throws of a new term, it is impossible to stay up to date with what everyone is up to.

So, back to the grind, back to the 6am starts (nearer 6.20 when I'm at college). But, to make things a little more bearable, his Lordship bought me an iPod for Christmas. Both our girls were getting the new iPod nano but I am a practical sort, so I instructed him to seek out the old iPod nano which would be cheaper now. This he dutifully did, so after years of my constant whining on about those pains in the butt who sit on buses irritating the hell out of you with the "tss tss tss" from their personal music, I have decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Last night I got on the bus, spent 5 minutes trying to fix the earplugs in my ears in such a position that they would (a) stay in, (b) would direct the sound into my ear and (c) wouldn't cause me excruciating pain around my delicate little shell-likes. Now to the important business of listening to a bit of classic rock from Pink Floyd. My peace didn't last long though. Some brainless wonder with a GNVQ in 'Applied Prat Studies' decided that personal music playing actually means any method by which you can blast the creative output from some talentless hip-hop 'artist' into the eardrums of a bus load of commuters. Still, being very British, we sat motionless and put up with it!

Spain on Friday...I'm feeling a bit nauseous...

Gut feelings...

I have this intermittent problem with my digestion. Everything functions OK most of the time but from time to time I get this discomfort in my upper digestive tract. I woke up early this morning and was unable to get back to sleep. After eating, I get the old indigestion - bloating, acid reflux, heartburn. But I also get like a throbbing discomfort in the centre of my back. It is difficult to describe but it feels a bit like the pain you get from a raw open sore. That doesn't really describe it but it is the closest I get. My appetite is not affected - in fact sometimes eating gives me some relief. The discomfort comes and goes - I might be troubled for about a week or more and then it just goes for a few months. I am carrying an excess of weight at the moment and this seems to make it worse, leading me to think it might be a hiatus hernia or something. I suppose I ought to go to the doctor but I have difficulty motivating myself. You have to phone up at 8.00am on the dot to get an appointment that day, if you don't get through, tough. You can't make an appointment for a later date under this new system. They'd probably only send me to hospital to get tubes stuck down my throat and I don't fancy that. And if I am going to be looking for a job soon, the last thing I want is an active medical record. All things considered, I'll try to lose a bit of weight and put up with the discomfort.

9 shopping days to go...

It's almost that time of year again. The season really starts with the purchase of the Christmas tree. We spent the evening 'trimming the tree'. This year 'L' took charge of the bauble arrangements and overall artistic design. Of course, a glass of sherry is de rigeur during this annual ritual, followed by at least one mince pie, whether you feel like it or not. This year the mince pies were Mr Kipling - a hurried and ill-advised purchase. The mincemeat lacked a certain moist fruitiness and took up residence in the roof of my mouth, being about as difficult to shift as Swampy the tree dweller. I shall be following up my festive feast with a couple of Tums and a milky drink. Still, worth it in the end...

PGCE Day 70 - Parting is such sweet sorrow Part 3...But WOO-HOO I'm finished for Christmas!!

Well, tis done. My first placement is over now. I felt quite sad at the end. The kids had made this lovely card for me. There were flowers and choccies as well. Yesterday was my last numeracy lesson with them and we had been looking at 3D figures. I wanted it to be a bit of an easy ride for them (and for me!) so I had printed out some nets of 3D shapes. This kept them entertained in every spare moment yesterday and today. But the thing is they were all wanting to give them to me as presents. I have more little cardboard boxes than I know what to do with, now! It's a shame I won't be seeing the children again. It is a super school and not only were the children a delight, the staff were superb, really helpful, supportive and friendly. Another one I would work at, given a chance. This has been a far cry from my Secondary PGCE first placement. This school has clearly been my nice school - what will they have in store for me next? I shudder to think! Well there is Seville to think about first.

Just a quick posting - I am off out this evening. My uni curriculum group are meeting for a Christmas meal/end of placement celebration. Should be good to compare notes.

PGCE Day 65 - It's almost over - so soon ????

Yeah, I know, I've been moaning about this placement and now that I'm a week away from finishing I'm getting ever so slightly sentimental about it. To be fair, it has been the most knackering time I can remember. But the kids are great, I fit in really well with the staff and it is a shame to be leaving that behind never to return.

This week has been a good week. I had two formal observations. The first was on Monday and it was Spanish. It went well. I am getting my pace sorted out and I am organising the lesson better (even if it does always take me an eternity to plan it out!) but the fact that it was the class teacher observing helped. He is a really sound, laid back guy and makes you feel as relaxed as you can, under the circumstances. I think he is also very kind and lenient!

The second observation was the biggie. It took place on Wednesday and was observed by the SBT (School based Tutor) and the CBT (a tutor from college). It is a bit weird because I had never met my college tutor. We had spoken on the phone briefly to arrange the date but that's all. Anyway, I was getting off the train on Wednesday morning and I spotted a woman getting off further down. I glanced at her and noticed she was wearing a badge which looked like my college logo. Sure enough it was. I thought "I bet you that's her." A closer inspection confirmed my suspicion so I just said to her as we walked down the platform, "Hello Barbara, I'm Carole!" So I got a chance to break the ice as we walked down to the school. She was lovely so that made me feel a bit better. Anyway, my SBT and CBT both waxed lyrical about my lesson, a poetry lesson about surprising, amusing and surreal imagery. Acting on the target to include more ICT in the lesson (we have to entertain children these days) I had a PowerPoint of surreal art - I figured Magritte had good strong images which the children would find easier to appreciate. I was running through what I was doing with Mr B. the class teacher. I was bemoaning the fact that I'd wanted to use the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to run with it for the surreal feel to the lyrics but I don't have that on CD and that it is unavailable for download (unless you include cover versions by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy?!!!). MR B., bless him, reaches for his iPod and lo and behold rummages through for Sgt Pepper and promptly comes up with the goods! The previous evening His Lordship was cutting up lists of random nouns and adjectives for me and sticking them in envelopes - the idea being that the kids would randomly match up nouns and adjectives as a stimulus to write their own surreal poems. The kids were superb, I was so proud of them. Both observers were highly complimentary generally, so I've been on a bit of a high since.

PGCE Day 60 - School placement halfway mark

Two weeks into the first block placement. It has felt like the longest two weeks of my life. Getting up at 6:10 and going to bed at midight or beyond is beginning to take its toll. The past two Fridays have consisted of me having a relax on the sofa in front of the TV but before the opening credits of Eastenders, I've been giving it Zs.

School is great. The kids are a delight and already I'm very fond of them. I've found Spanish (my 'specialism', you remember) a nightmare. This school is a centre of excellence for the teaching of Spanish and the specialist teacher who teaches them and the native speaker are superb. But the style is very much rapid fire questioning, games and songs. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't do rapid fire - in any language. The cogs of my brain need time to grind around if I am so much as making a cup of tea. I can't do games, 'cos I always forget who had the last go, who scored the points etc. But I like the songs. I am getting there but it is heavy weather. The whole lesson is in target language and it is difficult knowing what Spanish they know in order to communicate with them. It is very much a a matter of learning the cues. The key is that it should be fun and not stressful for them in any way (it is allowed to be stressful for the teacher, though!)

One thing I have discovered is that you never get a proper lesson in primary. There are always kids going out for their peripatetic music lessons, choir, ad-hoc assemblies, hymn practice or transporting Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to the hall. On Wednesday I was supposed to be doing English and Maths but the 'Legs Akimbo Theatre Company' were in doing a Macbeth workshop. I was supposed to be getting observed doing Spanish yesterday but then I was told that the Fire Brigade were visiting so Year 6 would not be doing lessons before break and after break they were helping move Christmas Fair goods. Part of me was relieved because it took the pressure off. But part of me wanted it over, since it now means I have to do two observations next week and the week after. Also I had spent until 1:00am Friday preparing my Spanish lesson. I could have had an early night! Next Wednesday my tutor from college is coming in to observe me doing literacy.

I find it is best not to be phased by anything and to expect the unexpected. I have been in Facebook contact with a lot of my colleagues and we are all finding it enormously stressful. I think tiredness has a lot to do with it. Many have been in tears at some point. Thankfully I have not been that low. The worst thing is the lack of resources. The thing about teacher training is that you have not built up a bank of resources and lesson plans. There is an expectaction that you spend hours creating your own worksheets/PowerPoints/card games/whatever. There is actually a wealth of stuff on the internet but it takes hours trawling through and invariably it is crap or doesn't do exactly what you want it to. I am also required to do two displays before I finish on 7th December. It matters not that this is one of the 24 tasks that teachers are no longer required to do, we have to put our stamp on the classroom environment.

I feel a bit bad about wishing this time away, since there are actually so many positives regarding the school, the staff and the children, but I'm finding the whole experience so draining.

His Lordship is being an absolute tower of strength and has removed so much from my shoulders to enable me to concentrate on this. I cannot praise him highly enough.

Roll on 3:20 on 7th December.