Beyond the Classroom – Once More into the Classroom

Why I Don’t Blog More and Why I’m Done Beating Myself Up About It

Why I'm Done Beating Myself Up About It — hand-lettered watercolor header — The tangle in my head, before I write it down.

I like blogging, and I’ve always fancied myself a blogger, which I realise is so yesterday, and dates me terribly. I’m not particularly good at it, and definitely not consistent enough. For a long time, that meant beating myself up over how little I post.

But I’ve come to a realisation recently: it doesn’t really matter.

Here’s the truth of it. A full-time teacher with a side of Principal Teacher is a lot of work. There simply isn’t time for everything: blogging, creating content to help my wife, woodworking, gaming, time with my family. During term time, the job consumes me, and it consumes my time. This isn’t a complaint. It’s the deal we make as teachers, and I’m at peace with that.

But back to the blog and that said (about time being the enemy), I’m about to start two series. One on what it means to be human and how we can prepare our children for the future, and another on how parents can help their children become better readers. I want people to see these, of course I do. But in the past, my metric of success would have been how many people read it. I’m not sure that’s the only metric that matters any more.

Here’s what I’ve realised: I do try to write about things I’m interested in, and that I think people will find worthwhile or useful. But more than that, I use my blog to think things out. Writing them down helps clarify my thinking in a way that thinking alone never does. That clarity alone is reason enough to keep me writing, though it’s taken me a while to see it that way. In the past, I’d have liked big numbers, lots of people reading my posts. That never happened, and looking at it now, I can see it for what it was: vanity. Marcus Aurelius spent a lot of time writing to himself about how quickly praise fades and how meaningless external applause is. I’d rather have the clarity than the applause.

So if people read it, great. If nobody does, that’s fine too. The value is in the process. At the very least, it gives me a clear space to think. Everything else is just a bonus: the archives, the record of my own growth, and any readers along the way.

Another New Chapter

At the end of June, another chapter in the adventures of the Galloway’s will come to an end, that being our adventure in Egypt. At the beginning of the month we decided not to renew our contract here at The British School Alexandria. It was a somewhat difficult decision in that we have made some very good friends here, we’re saving money and working in the Prep School has been a very enjoyable and for the most part, a rewarding experience. But there are several issues that, on balance, meant we didn’t want to spend another here.

One of the main reasons for this decision was the lack of access to high quality CPD. This is often an issue at international schools, especially small one’s like BSA. Returning to the UK will, hopefully, budget cuts aside, allow me to satisfy this particular urge, which will help me become a better teacher.

It wasn’t the only reason. The other main factor was that with a small family it is very hard to find things to do with out little guy. Funnily enough, our friends who have recently arrived from the Falkland Islands assure us that there is SO much to do here in comparison to where they have just come from. But still, for us, the difficulty just getting somewhere to do an activity is a hurdle we no longer want to overcome. The idea of being able to find an activity that doesn’t take 45m to get to and then 90m to get back from is very exciting. And don’t get me started on the quality of the provision…

Finally, and we knew this coming here, we’re not city people. We love the outdoors, fresh air and open spaces. Alexandria is not that. In fact, without travelling for at least an hour it’s difficult to escape the noise and pollution of the city.

These were the major drivers behind our decision to leave BSA at the end of the year. There’s still five months to go, but in the life of international schools notice has to be given early so that replacements can be found. Once January is over, (what is with January always seemingly an endless month, doesn’t matter where you are…) the time will fly by and we’ll be once again on the road looking for a place to call home. And that depends on a job.