to be honest

Tags

breakfast, food, honesty, poppy-seed honesty, smiles, stuck between my teeth, teaching

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day, it gives you energy for the day and kick-starts your metabolism into gear, helping you break down those mean calories. Because of this I always make sure to start my day with a large cup of tea and a bite to eat. Normally it’s a slice of toast, a bowl of muesli or now, with the cold season knocking on the door I mostly opt for porridge.

But yesterday I had a poppy-seed bagel, lightly toasted and with some lovely chocolate spread to sweeten the deal. I thoroughly enjoy it and had a happy smile on my face as I left for work. I hurried to the bus, grinned at the bus-driver and flashed my teeth at the handsome chap on my right.

Then I stood in front of my students and tried to impart wisdom in a lively and interesting fashion, smiling, grinning and talking all the time. But when the students left and I went to wash my hands I caught a glimpse at myself in the mirror. I was horrified, right there for the whole world to see was a big, black poppy-seed stuck in between the gap right next to my two front teeth.

Suddenly my whole morning flashed before my eyes, the many smiles, grins and teeth-flashing making me cringe with embarrassment. But then I got angry with all those people I had met, strangers and students alike, after all WHY had no one told me? Where was the poppy-seed honesty that I thought was an unspoken rule of life?

I started thinking about how we always uphold honesty as a pillar of society and hate it when people lie to us. But funnily enough the only time I ever hear “to be honest” it is always followed with some sort of critic or negative statement. But simple honest interaction seems to be not the done thing, sadly and it leaves us all running around with seeds stuck in our teeth, our skirts tucked into our pants, tomato sauce stains on our shirts and toilet paper stuck to our shoes. Not a pretty sight!

So please the next time you see me with a bugger in my nose, something stuck in my hair or lipstick on my tooth please tell me and I promise I will practice poppy-seed honesty when ever I can too!

 

red pens and grading

Tags

grading, photography, photos, red pens, students, teaching, writing

As a lecturer I go through quite a few red pens, and this year is no different. Over the years I have discovered that my preference are gel pens, they seem to just slide over the page and allow for quicker marking, but when stuck (or when I run out of ink) I switch over to my trusty red Stabilo.

But this year, while I sit grading my students work and slash red all over their pages I can’t help but wonder how much red will be on my own pages this year. After all I am currently in the unique position to be both a student and lecturer, the grader and the gradee.

Knowing that your work will be scrutinized and compared to a grading scale is somewhat disconcerting, and not very inspiring. And while I understand the need for unification of grades I am discovering I am not really too found of being on the receiving end.

Maybe that is why I am  being a little more generous this year when it comes to giving a grade, when stuck between two I tend to go up, when working out percentages I round up. I just hope that my lecturers will do the same – after all  don’t they say, what goes around comes around?

red pens and grading scale

 

preparation is key

Tags

busy, classes, cycling, Dublin, plans, preparation, schedule, teaching, work

The next two weeks are going to be extremely busy for me. I have a packed schedule and my friends will only see flashes of me as I cycle from one job to the next and climb the stairs to my master classes. I have everything carefully timed and planned out and only hope that rain will stay away – drying off periods are not included in my schedule, nor or flat tyres, so fingers crossed.

But to be able to manage my frantic schedule I will have to pre-prepare – pack my bag in advance and make sure I have lunches tucked away in my saddlebags (I have big red saddle bags that embrace my bike in an eternal hug of practicality).

So yesterday I prepared today’s and tomorrow’s classes, photocopied up a storm (there was actually whirling and twirling of paper as I flicked through pages as fast as I could). And last night (before I had my shower and washed my hair – yes, even personal hygiene has to be scheduled) I packed my bag with all essential paperwork, pens and electronic devices. I even soaked my oats in milk over night to streamline the porridge-making process this morning.

So, yes – preparation is going to be key over the next few weeks and hopefully all will work out as planned. And if any surprises present themselves I just hope they’ll be pleasant ones, ones I’ll love to be interrupted by!

 

 

roadside knitting in the sun

Tags

crafts, knitting, knitting needles, photography, photos, teaching

busy hands last year at Mud Island Community Garden

Yesterday a gentle knock on my door interrupted an afternoon at my desk. My nine-year-old neighbour was standing outside holding a ball of wool and some knitting needles in her hand and asked me if I could teach her how to knit.

Unable to say no to the little girl in a ponytail I put on my red clogs and sat down on my blue bench. My young protegee watched as I showed her how to make a stitch and soon she was in deep concentration as she “went in through the bunny hole, around the tree, up she come as and off she goes”, creating one pearl after the other.

In no time a gaggle of kids was gathered around us, wondering what we were up to, big eyes, dirty faces and lots of questions. And a few minutes later a second little girl was perched on my blue bench, head bent over some knitting needles and wool.

And while it will take a lot of patience and practice for these two beginners to move on from pearl to plain,  I am sure I will never forget our impromptu roadside knitting in the sun.

one down … a whole year to go

Tags

college, cycling, Dublin, education, quotes, teaching

After a week of teaching I have been playing catch-up on myself again. Somehow, over the long summer, I have managed to forget how much time things actually take and although I have spent the last few weeks preparing and getting all my files in order I am already struggling to keep up. But I am sure after a week or so, when the overwhelming sensation of new students, new names, new courses, new data inputting system and new everything has past, I will be back on track,

One thing I do have to say is that cycling in and out of town has been good, well nearly good. After just three days of pedaling round town I got a flat and since I had to teach all I could do was wait for a short break and wheel my disabled bike to a fixer-upper. So now I hope that this is not going to be a common occurrence as otherwise it will be more expensive than taking the bus, even if it does save me some time.

But overall the first week back has been good, a promise of  a wonderful year to come.

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. – C.S. Lewis

teaching tribulations

Tags

miscellaneous, quotes, random, student, teaching, William Aurthur Ward

The semester is back in full swing and  my lecturers hat is perched atop my head. And while I love seeing all the students scurrying along the halls and stare at me in wide eyed confusion,  I am still struggling to find my rhythm.

At the moment the beat I am skipping to is still a little like experimental Jazz, but I am hoping that in a  week or two it will have settled down into a more melodic blues. So as I struggle to memorize my students names and keep my time-table in balance I embrace the daily challenges of this new semester, stretching myself, growing as a teacher.

I can only hope that I do my job well, no matter what trails and tribulations are put before me, and that the students get something out of my lessons. After all when I look back on my time as a student I remember some of my own teachers and lecturers with fondness, knowing that for some I was more than just a number, and they influenced me, the way I think and who I am.

So with that in mind I aspire to inspire, as American author William Aurthur Ward put it so well:

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

So a shout out to all the teachers out there, I tip my lecturer hat at you, in awe of what you do daily and help thousands achieve.

sticky eyes, jam and more hours

Tags

feelings, food, hands and fingers, inner contentment, miscellaneous, psycology, quotes, teaching, thoughts, work

Today has been a good day so far, even if it started out a little bit wobbly. When I woke up this morning my eyes had been taken captive by my summer companion hay-fever. But since my appointment wasn’t until noon I took my time in prying them open and getting rid of the stickiness.

Then I went into the college I lecture at, dreading it a little as I wasn’t sure what awaited me but to my surprise it was good, they offered me a few more hours. This means that I only have to survive the summer and from late October my account can take a deep breath and window shopping could turn into bulging bags again.

Then on my way home I saw good old Dunnes Stores selling fruit for cents and I decided that I will spend the afternoon making jam. All I have to do is put on my apron, chop up plums, peaches and nectarines and get cooking.  Hopefully I can fill enough jars to give some away, after all doesn’t everyone love homemade gifts?

Being a girl who likes making and creating things I am really looking forward to a few hours of kitchen time, dancing to some happy music and end up with delicious treats for my toast. There really is just something very satisfying about using your own two hands to make a product, it gives you a feeling of contentment and yes even pride.

I read an article called Creativity, Happiness and Your Own Two Hands a little while ago which said that making something is good for our physical and psychological well-being. By moving our hands and fingers to knit, chop, plant and create we reduce stress in our bodies and our mind gets a chance to relax. And in these moments, when we potter around our minds has time to ponder and daydream, giving us great ideas and a senses of inner contentment.

So maybe once I’ve brought the jam to the boil and filled up all the little glass jars I’ve collected I will take my hands and tackle the shelf in my study that really needs a bit of TLC and organizing. After all it doesn’t seem to matter what you do with your hands, as long as you keep them busy your mind may just give you that hoped for Eureka moment.

 

It is better to busy  one’s self about the smallest thing in the world than to treat a half hour as worthless

Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe