Technological white elephants

I had a recent request during a MirandaNet discussion thread, in response to Michael Gove’s speech to the Schools Network (1/12/2011), to re-post on a blog for future reference. Here goes…

“Where things have gone wrong, I usually find at the heart of the matter a very good sales team of technology-driven developments getting in front of a senior leadership team member or headteacher without good advice, i.e. interactive whiteboards without pedagogy, video-conferencing without clear purpose, virtual learning environments without the belief that what goes on is different than paper-based learning...”

Running for my life

Just over four miles on the road, training for a half-marathon in Sheffield, tonight, I realised that I am not only running for health, but running toward as bright a future as I can have. The men in my father's line have not had the best run of it (pardon the pun), given their drinking and smoking and eating habits. I have long considered myself lucky to have steered clear of going all out to destroy my health.

Now, I have decided to continue running for as long as my legs will carry me, cycling swimming - health for the future and of being around for as long as possible on the earth.

Exhilarating - life.

Reflections on the year

My one resolution comes down to this – not to take to heart too much what I witness around me. This is both a sad and happy revelation at the same time.

Sad because initially I view this as a degradation of my humanity putting me less in touch with the world around me. Sad because I shouldn’t be feeling as though my heightened awareness and empathy with others, fictional or real, should be in free flow.

Happy because I really do need to build a survival instinct that allows me to be more selfish and concentrate on being seen to succeed in the world in which I live. My OOMPH, i.e. 1”00mph” speed, needs to be brought back into the picture. I wish to recapture my initial pace of over 10 years ago when I started teaching and couple it with the wisdom gathered during the past years of two careers.

2011 will for me be a year of strife – in a good sense – striving for the fountain of youth that is within us all. It will be hard work, but worth every minute. Here we go.

PS This was actually 00:49 local time on New Year’s Eve!

Far too cold!

I’m not one to complain too much about the weather, but this arctic wind is really getting me down now. I just started bicycling nine miles to work and back again, as the snows hit.

What I find really fascinating is the way that such a blip can affect the spirit so quickly and so deeply. It is no longer a mind set, but a deep-seeded feeling that I should succumb to nature. Perhaps that is as it should be – respecting Mother Nature for who she is and, almost in an animal sense, hibernating during winter months.

Still, life must go on beyond winter weather and the preparation we go through should allow us to enjoy rebirth of greenery and new life more generally. Even more enjoyable will be the bike rides into work with fresh air (warmer air?) all around me come March.

Addendum to October 29, 2007, "Job Interview"

On reflection, what a lucky escape I had...Michael Gove has cut the university budget by 80%, mistakenly in my humble opinion. Schools do not have the infrastructure or the interest in training the entire next generation of teachers. (He has also confused the discipline of the students with attainment - putting soldiers in the classroom to instill discipline, without thinking through whether they might or might not be called ("vocation") to develop our future generations.)

I didn't get the job then. With patience, I have seen the back of my previous headteacher and a more human head has taken his place. Decency has prevailed and, short of the issues over budget with an uncertain future in secondary, I will continue to have a job that I enjoy in a place I enjoy working.

So, a lucky escape and a foundation for renewed vigour.

Renewing vigour

Having been unsuccessful at getting a deputy headship at a nearby school yesterday, I awakened at 3.12 this morning and wasn't able to get back to sleep with the lack of success running through my mind.

I suppose I shouldn't be too disappointed...it was my first deputy interview (last time this happened, it was for the assistant headship I currently hold). Maybe the next interview will bode well. For now, I hold a job that has seen success at school.

One thing that did occur to me was, rather than my previous head robbing me of five and a half years of career development time, it is down to me to ensure that I renew my own sense of purpose and enjoyment of the job of teaching that I entered more than a decade ago.

As such, I'm returning to where I was so long ago when I entered - enthusiastically - it is down to me to get the job done - successfully.

Time at home

Spending time with my daughter at home while she's ill has seen my mind rest from the daily energy put in at work. It's not what I intended to do - I brought a lot of work home when I realised that this would be the case. However, the interrupted sessions has allowed me to take the time to answer e-mails, look at files on a variety of subjects and do some research. This is unusual.

I look forward to getting back to work on Monday, with the rest to help me in that week.