16 Jul 2016 17 Comments
in Challenges, Poems Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, If/Then, Linda G Hill, poem, Pupils, School, Socs
Linda’s SoCS prompt today…
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “if/then.” Begin your post with the word “If.” For bonus points, end your post with a phrase containing the word “then.” Enjoy!
If I’ve done my job correctly
And my students are prepared
Then transition to their big school
Won’t leave them feeling scared.
A little ditty dedicated to my first ever class of children who are stepping up big time, from nursery to real school in September!
09 Jul 2016 20 Comments
in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Concentration, Ghetto, Joshua Sobol, Play, Socs
Thank you Linda for your Stream of Concentration prompt.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “concentration.” Use it any way you see fit. Have fun!
When I read the prompt, the first thing that came to mind was concentration camps.
As a university student, one of my degree subjects, alongside English, was Drama, and we had several performances that we acted in throughout the 4 years of our degree.
One which was the most poignant, and heart wrenching was a performance of Ghetto by Joshua Sobol. This was a play about a theatre group in the Vilna Ghetto, and the play included important figures from WW2, such as Jacob Gens, who was head of the Jewish police, and later head of the Ghetto.
I played one of the actors, and my most memorable scene was when we were forced to perform Swanee, by the Nazis, and as we sang, they slapped black paint across our faces.It made me feel humiliated, even though it was not real. What those people went through…
At our last performance, we had a special guest come to watch. He was an elderly Jewish gentleman. Someone who had lived in the ghettos and in a concentration camp, and lived to tell the tale. As he watched, he cried. Our performance had moved him to tears, awakening awful memories, and feelings within him. He was not upset at us for inviting him to the show, but touched that we felt it important to perform a play with such a tough subject.
The whole experience, the character building information gathering, the actual becoming the character I was, touched me. I thank God that I was not one to have lived in that time, to be subjected to the cruelties and racism that the Jewish community had to suffer.
The atrocities of the time are well documented, and we can all read about them, but to actually put yourself in their shoes, even for a performance… harrowing…
02 Jul 2016 18 Comments
in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Long, Socs
Linda’s prompt for #SoCS this week.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “long.” Use the word “long,” any definition. Enjoy!
It’s been a long day, no week, actually month, no, sod it, a LONG year, in school!
But has it? Seriously, I can’t quite believe that my first full year of teaching is due to come to an end.
At the beginning, as I got to know the children in my classes, I despaired. There was a class of angels in the morning, and a class of devils post lunchtime!
Literally!
Even my co-teacher said she felt for me, that this first year for me was like a baptism of fire!
I would end each day with my hair all over the place, like I had been dragged backwards through a hedge, and quite possibly, I had been, such were the kids, and their behaviours. This year was going to be LONG!
I had never been one to drink, but I found myself nursing a long drink or a glass of wine on several occasions during the first half of the year.
The first few weeks passed slowly, and in a haze. I was unable to believe the mix of children we had in one classroom, at the same time, and I despaired. The whole team did. This year seemed like it would never end. Most of my staff are older than me by 20 odd years. Full of experience, but at the ends of their tethers, dealing with this particular class. I was worried that I would come in one day, and be confronted by the news that one of them had handed in their notice
That was how bad it was.
It’s better now, marginally, but not perfect. They still aren’t where I would have hoped they would be, but still, it’s nearly time to say goodbye to them, and get ready to greet the new intake.
And now I am sat at the tail end of the year, and I look back, I realise that it wasn’t actually that long, really. In fact, the year has really sped by!
25 Jun 2016 27 Comments
in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Drink, Linda G Hill, Socs
For Linda Hill’s SoCS Challenge.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “drink.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun!
I’m not really a drinker. I’ve got older, and the pull to drink has pretty much disappeared.
I’m no angel, I’ve tried my fair share of alcoholic beverages. I have experienced the feeling of being drunk (sorry Pops and Mum!), being merry, tipsy in a giggly way, to possibly a little more!
And now I’m at this age, I always thought that I could be mature enough to enjoy a glass of wine to ease stresses, if need be. Well, to be honest, I have never really felt that need, and if I was to have a drink, it would probably just put me to sleep, rather than relax me! I am usually too tired to contemplate a drink of the intoxicating variety! If I was to drink, I would want to enjoy the feeling, not curl up in bed!
My drink of choice would be a hot chocolate with whippy cream to be honest!!! (No wonder I have put on weight!)
18 Jun 2016 30 Comments
in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Class, Socs
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “class.” Use any meaning of the word in your post. Enjoy!
Class – well it’s pretty obvious what I’ll end up rambling about when I hear the word class, being a teacher!
It’s nearing the year end, reports are being written, progress reports are being filled in, thoughts of next year are forming…
But what of the class?
If you remember, back in September, I was nearly bald with tearing my hair out!
This is my first full academic year if being a teacher. Yes I’ve worked I education longer, but I decided to take the plunge and actually use my degree properly last year.
My first ever class…it was described as a ‘baptism of fire’!
Then, I felt my mornings and afternoons were being lived in a parallel universe.
As a Nursery teacher in a school we operate on a morning and afternoon session method, so 20 kids in the morning and a different 20 in the afternoon.
It should be relatively simple, similar things happening in each session…. But oh no!
The morning class were what we expected, but the afternoon class…. OMG!
From language, to behavior, to Special Needs, to protected children, we had em all! Spoilt only children, unloved, neglected children….
4 adults in the room weren’t enough!
I can’t say I hated it, but the challenges were (and are) so great, I was exhausted. I’d been bitten, sworn at, accused of allsorts, amid the snotty hugs and “I love you Mrs Bhathal’s”.
Would we ever be able to do anything with this class apart from baby sit? It was doubtful…
Now we have 5 weeks left.
And even though I can’t say that developmentally, they are where we would want them to be, there is improvement.
And over the year, there has developed an attachment between me and them.
Yes I’ll be glad to see them move on, but I’ll miss this class. Crazy or not, they will always be my first class, and from them, I’ve learned a lot!
Next month I’ll be meeting our new intake, due to start in September… Heaven knows what class of children we’ll be blessed with this time?!
Buy my book on Amazon - Just click the cover image!
Thank you all so much for the votes!!! Click the image for my Winner's Post!
Follow me on Flipboard too! Click the icon to be whisked away to my Flipboard page!
But I Smile Anyway... 