Interesting Day

This was an interesting day. We had a visit from the MYP co-ordination peson she was very nice and visited while my grade 8 kids were working hard on their model projects. Teaching is a strange career some days the kids produce work that shows little in the way of effort and imagination and other days like today they produce outstanding work. Its difficult to guage what to expect each day and this week I am losing classes left right and centre through visits to the Theatre and also to the Sports and Leisure facility on the outskirts of Bogota. Its frustrating when you look at the timetable as a teacher I feel I need every period possible and I am losing so many. This interrupts the pupils continuity and in a technology environment continuity in a new subject is so needed.

The MYP visit went well but since the school are not implimenting the MYP properly in Technology (Its a 5 year program but the school are only running 4 years) they will not get the accreditation they want. Again it all comes down to money.

New subject - Comments on the blog... I get left the odd comment however I rarely publish them as they are mostly family orientated comments and to avoid misuse and abuse by anyone else all comments are moderated. The reason for stating this is that on the odd occassion that I get a comment that has not got a positive bias, unless it has some solid basis or factual information to support it, it will be deleted. It doesn't happen often but does occassionally, however I would like to thank all those who take the time to comment whether you agree with my world or not, after all no one is forcing you to read about my time in Colombia and the fact that you have taken the time to read even just a small part of it and comment is appreciated, though if its negative sadly it wont appear. However thank you once again for the time taken.

My final point for tonight is with regard to a comment that was left, it questioned my teaching which I feel is a little unfair when the person who posted doesn't know me and is basing everything on what is in truth a small part of a daily diary. Everybody has their ups and downs, frustrations and annoyances, when you are dealing with 120 pupils a day, some days I admit my enthusiasm wilts a little, but then each day I go back in I recharge and refresh and enjoy most of the classes, most of the pupils and a lot of the work. It would be foolish to say its perfect no school is perfect and in technology 28 pupils in a class is crazy if only from the safety view point.

So to the person who commented they were glad I was going to Amman and not coming to their school area from a previous post, can I just say "So Am I" because if you have made what is an informed decision on the words here then perhaps you are as mistaken as you seem to think I am, and you should take off your rose tinted glasses.

Having said that I love my pupils education with a passion and the work they do, and the only reason some days I am "hard" on them, is to stress the need for quality not quantity, of effort not laziness and that technology can be fun not boring. If I set high standards its because I believe in my pupils abilities and I want to push them to achieve the best they can. If that is wrong, If that makes me a bad teacher then I am in the wrong profession. On the other hand if a teacher is there to inspire to excite and in the process provide the opportunity for pupils to learn and acquire new experiences and skills making them a better person and adding to their ability to analyse and react to their future then I believe I am in the right profession.

Thank you for the comment, all comments are moderated to avoid misuse or abuse..

Steve