My last post was three weeks ago and a busy three weeks it has been. The experience has been interesting on lots of levels. A week with G7 followed by a week teaching G5 and latterly three days with G4. First and foremost I am now confident that not all my teaching skills have been lost. Though I am well aware that my curriculum knowledge needs updating I find myself hankering for more. A week is long enough to begin to form some sort of relationship with students but not long enough to make any difference. But it is great to know that having my own class is something that I look forward to.
That’s not going to happen until my qualification is validated. Waiting for Alberta to recognize my qualifications from the UK takes on an urgency that wasn’t there before. Not only can’t I apply for positions which would see me once more in a classroom full time but every day I teach I am loosing $30, which, over the course of a month adds up quickly. Spring break is fast approaching and I will be following up with renewed vigour.
Working full time has has meant that after family admin, which involves picking up the little guy from day care, driving home, cooking supper and putting him to bed means I am not finished until 8pm. (My wife has started her flight attendant training, which is INTENSE, so I am getting a taste of being a single dad for the month.) So once I am done I am ready for some RNR rather than blogging. Blogging necessitates writing, which is challenging for me at the best of times and so not something I like to do when fatigued. That said I was reading a great post by Dean Shareski on his blog “Ideas and Thoughts“, which inspired me to make the effort this evening. In his latest post he articulates, amongst other things, why he blogs. (He also laments that he’s been too busy to blog lately.) I think for many educational bloggers it is the same. That is too say a place to reflect. For me my initial idea for getting this blog up and running was to create a place where teachers educated in other countries, who immigrated to Canada, could find useful information on how to go about getting certified. While that is still a goal my primary reason for blogging has changed. I now use it to reflect on what I have learned in the classroom as well as addressing questions related to that experience. Of course I realize now that isn’t going to happen in any meaningful way without a lot of effort. And so I need to make the effort. My intention is from here on in to blog once a week. Let’s see if I can make that happen.
