Oooo-er, very cool eh? My Mum bought me this in Ireland after a recent trip. It arrived today. I think I'll get some wear out of it for sure. Just perfect for this chilly weather we're having. Thanks Mum!!!!!!! The BA loved her card too. :-)
Took our big, bad tempered cat to the vet today to make sure there was nothing more wrong with him than a bad case of stress and resentment of local feral cat interlopers. There wasn't. We've been given a spray to spray around the areas of the house where he normally lurks. It's supposed to calm him down. We shall see. Lately he's been hissing if you so much as look at him :-( Himself calls him The Anti-Pet.
The last few days of term are bearing down upon us. Year 10 exams have started and year 8 and 9's start on Thursday. I hate this 'revision' period. The lower ability groups have no interest in exams and no desire to revise or take any of it seriously so it turns into a recipe for challenging behaviour. The theory behind exams 'right down the grade levels' hinges on the idea that it gets them into practice for when exams really matter (year 11 and 12). The Boss gave a talk on revision practices in assembly on Monday and pointed out to the kids that efficient revision does not simply involve reading your notes through.
This is a big issue.
Do any of us remember being
taught revision techiques explicity in school? I do hope it happens. My revision used to consist of retyping my lecture notes and doing old exam papers, although never for English; I just used to rely on pretty good stream of consciousness for English :-)
What about you older folk? Did anyone teach you how to revise for exams or was it just hit and miss?
One of the girls in my Care Group today told me that she had 'revised' by doing an old exam. "How did you go?" I asked. "Notsure," was her response,"I didn't finish it!" Had she got it 'correct this far', I enquired. She didn't know. She hadn't marked it and she hadn't attempted the bits she didn't know.
*sigh*
The Nanny State strikes again. They will not 'try to find an answer' because they believe the only way you can get support is by 'asking a teacher'. So much for independence. Lord help them on the day that there is no teacher or alternate adult standing around to answer their questions.
In other excitement, I was working up for my next career as a security guard
again last Friday.
One of our young lads, with Aspergers, flew through the door of my classroom and launched himself at another pupil, putting him an incredibly effective headlock as I discovered when I tried to prise the two of them apart. The other pupil, realising I was not going to get him out of this predicament imminently, squirmed around in the other guy's arms and started laying into him in no uncertain terms! Somehow, and I don't know if I can claim credit for it, they separated and as I was sending the 'victim' to the other side of the room out of the way, the first boy spotted a 4 foot long
penshelf from the whiteboard, dislodged in the scuffle, lying on the floor. Before you could say 'Bedevere's your uncle', he had scooped it up and proceeded to charge across the room wielding it, lance like, at the other pupil!!! I don't know what he would have done if I hadn't leaped on him but suffice to say a number of students scattered wildly as he approached.
I ended up cuddling him from behind and pinning his arms while I tried to encourage him to calm down. When I eventually let him go he gathered up his things and allowed me to shepherd him down to the Office. It took some time afterwards to debrief the class which I
think we did successfully. There were some interesting comments amongst the predictable lack of empathy from many teenagers.
When a specific group of pupils complained that this lad shouldn't be in the school because he was 'unpredicatble' and could hurt people, another, gorgeous young kid spoke up. He has a non-English speaking background and with his 'practical' grasp of English announced to the class
"But he only attacks people who 'piss him off'." Out of the mouths of babes.
The 'specific group' who were complaining were the ones who deliberately wind this kid up, waiting for a reaction. Well, they certainly got it that day. I am happy to report that the 'victim' who of course turned out to be the perpetrator (he'd thrown something belonging to the Asperger's boy onto the top of a high locker) was
also suspended until this morning.
But sheesh. I'm not sure I signed up for this gig. My next professional development course had better be assault response training!!
Best go and write an exam. Why not?
