Tesla

Ever since I played Command and Conquer, I've always been fasinated with Tesla Coils. Here is one neat example...

The Ultimate Car Protection


Funky Transporter Effect


"Eye of Sauron"


Images from: Tesla Coil Sparks

Steps

I got a pedometer today... from around 2 to 10pm, I took 6923 steps.

Keeping Positive

In keeping with the ideas of "The Secret", I'm focusing on the good points that I've learned rather than harping on what I didn't like. This is hard work, when you want to bitch about something...

No Fun

We have these assemblies called "Silent Assemblies" at school. The idea is that you walk silently down to the gym and sit silently while a presentation is happening. It's a great management tool. However, this past Tuesday, a group that came to the school to present gave me a shocking reminder that children need to have fun.

At the start of the production (a bunch of skits about bullying) the actors tried to hype up the students, by getting them to respond. All the students sat in complete silence. Not sure how they were to react. After all, they were told explicitly that it was a serious presentation and there will be "NO LAUGHING".

How embarrassing to be working in a school where students feel fearful to cheer and respond how they think it is appropriate.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to see how these rules affect children's learning and how I would NOT run a place of learning.

Super Hero Dating Quiz

My super hero date...



Do the test at: http://www.comicvine.com/dating/

Early Start

I've been trying this new thing this week. Wake up early, start work early, end day early.
So far my feelings about it...

1. Great to get into work before everyone else. No one to disturb me.
2. I'm productive for about 30 minutes and then it all slows down again
3. I'm dead tired by the end of the day.
4. I need to sleep by 9:30pm to wake up for 6am
5. I need to do it for a few weeks to see the over all effect.

I think its a great idea, its just the matter of actually doing it that will stop me maybe. I'll keep trying!

Totally Pissed Off In Sleep

I couldn't believe the fact that I woke up because I was dreaming about work.

As a new teacher, we were offered a workshop on a new assessment tool. Usually you go to these workshops to gain something for yourself to use in the classroom. Things are simply not quite like that at my school. The night before the workshop, we got an email saying that we will be the first group of people to be in-serviced on this new tool, we will be expected to share our learning with the entire staff at a staff meeting.

1st problem:

As a new teacher, we have a lot on our plates, just trying to everything working and prepared in the class. Who has time to go prepare a presentation for the staff?!?

2^nd Problem:

We were TOLD the day of the workshop that we will be presenting to the entire staff. It’s one thing to be asked, or volunteer to present to the staff. It’s a totally different thing to have a presentation thrust upon you.

So the one who told us about this task is part of the admin team, and she is on an admin track, meaning she’s trying get into an admin position in the near future. Here in lies the problem. It is my belief that the admin actually didn’t ask us to do this presentation. It is this career driven person who decided it was a good idea to do this and told the admin this is what she wants to do. This little stunt is suppose to give the current admin a sense that she takes initiative. This woman decided the week of the meeting to say, we are going to plan for this presentation. Fine. A good idea since we hadn’t met up since the workshop.

3^rd Problem:

She decided she was going to run our planning meeting. We gave some ideas on what might be good to include, and then IT started. She took over. She decided for us that it would take this long to do this part, we can’t do that part, we need to have this and that, but keep that other part out. She neatly typed up our tasks and emailed it to use on the spot. Efficient, YES. Our presentation, NO.

4^th Problem:

We were told at this planning meeting that it was not just a little presentation. The new teachers were to RUN the entire staff meeting! Teachers like to actually EAT their lunch at lunch time, so typically, staff meetings are sit and listen type events, but participate when needed. This one is going to be a “working meeting”. The rest of the staff will need to read through parts of this new tool and report on what they learned/gathered from it.

I had no idea I felt so bitter about this whole thing until it woke me up from my sleep.

The root of the problem lies in a few things:

-Staff at this school is just expected to do things.

-No one is asked nicely or suggested to volunteer to do anything, we are just told.

-The feeling that admin thinks, Staff are unwilling to go beyond their call of duty.

-You can’t get out of something, for fear of backlash.

I really feel like saying in front of the staff:

“Welcome to ’s staff meeting. Since we were not asked, but TOLD we were running this entire meeting, we are up here doing it. I know it is your lunch time to eat but we will be giving something to read and do while you eat so that you can have indigestion. We did not in any way want to run your staff meeting and we also didn’t want to make you work over your lunch time. Enjoy the show”

SO PISSED OFF!