Testing Testing.....

Christina over at Momology was having trouble uploading videos so I just thought I'd try the new blogger upload facility to see how it works. This is a very old video taken in the first house we lived at when we came back to Australia. (circa 2003). The Baby Angel is 7 and a half and we had just got a new kitten. The camera was brand new too! A whole 3.2 megapixels. I felt so 'with it'. AND it took video!!!!!! Gotta love that.


Now it's taking a LooooooooonG time to load so I might as well have a small chat while I'm here. Now that I am focusing on the BA's memory walk I haven't posted much about what's happening in the rest of life lately.
So. School. Whew. Challenging as ever. The Year 11s FINALLY handed up some work. I am teaching a compulsory subject entitled 'Australian Studies' which is actually quite interesting and can be fun but the kids don't engage because they are 'made' to do it. I love my little group of 9. There are some real characters in there. None of them like work too much, well, written work at least, but they all have interesting opinions and wonderfully developing minds and we have had some great discussions. I just wish they could organise their arguments on paper. They have been getting right into the story of white settlement in Australia and the dreadful atrocities committed upon the Aboriginal people. They are amazed when they hear how the population of indigenous people may have been as high as 750,000 when white man arrived in 1788 but by federation in 1901, only 40,000 full blood Aboriginals survived. Massacres were commonplace and the law did not protect the indigenous people from indiscriminate slaughter by white settlers although it was quick to bring them to trial if they retaliated.

The kids here have such entrenched, stereotypical racist views of the Aboriginal people. According to them they get 'too much money' from the Govt and spend it on alcohol and drugs and ought to go out and get a job!!! Watching a few films about life as an Aboriginal person in white Australia has caused many of them to rethink their stereotypes. Finding a job is not that easy when no one wants to employ you because of your cultural heritage.

Anyway, it was encouraging to get some assignments off them yesterday.

Year 9 continue to be boisterous and to contain some of my most worrying pupils. We are doing Australian history there too and covering some similar ground to the Y11s. They are amazed by the injustices perpetrated by the Govt of the time. Aboriginal people could be tried in a court of law but could not give evidence if they where accusing someone else because as non Christians they could not be 'sworn in' on the Bible!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW. The video has finally loaded. It was 34MB and the limit is 100MB but that upload time (and we have ADSL 2!!!!) was about 10 minutes.

OK better stop rambling. Baby Angel and I had a swim in the pool this evening. It was gorgeous...except for all that water...nasty wet stuff, gets in my eyes.............BUT...very refreshing after our 34C day.

This heat is due to last until at least Tuesday.
OK, now to check and see if the video works.........

Well, I've checked and it does! The garden is a sight to behold. When we moved in (about a month or so before the film was taken) the garden had been neglected for some time. The 'soil' was this awful 'hydrophobic' sand which repelled water!!!! Dad and I worked very hard to get grass to grow and spread 'wetta soil' everywhere to improve, sorry, initiate the water retaining capacity of the the sandy dust. It was hard work. But I must say when we sold it in 2005/6, we had worked miracles in the garden. There were very few sandy patches left and the terrace that you can see, newly dug out, in the video, was well established with gardens and steps. There was still a long way to go but....you know. These kind of jobs are rarely if ever, finished!! :-D