I'm a teacher and I'm striking

I want to write this post.  I really want to write this post.  But you see, I'm a Maths teacher, not an English teacher so I can't put it as eloquently as I feel I should.  I'm scared of saying the wrong thing and letting down my profession.  I've been thinking about what to write for the past week now.  I know that the press is going to be full of anti-teacher comments tomorrow.  So will Facebook and Twitter. 

Firstly, I know the country is short of money and cuts need to happen.  I am not saying that education is any more or less important then the NHS, policing, fire service etc and I do hate it when the public sectors turn on each other but that's another story.

There are many perks of being a teacher and if I start to say what the government are trying to do, and why we want to defend it I know there will be many that say we have had it too good for too long and we should try the 'real world'.  Perhaps they are right, not for me to say.

I'm not taking this strike action for my own benefit.  I'm currently working as a supply teacher so the pay and conditions I am fighting for don't actually apply to me.  I am currently working 3 days a week so I am loosing a third of my pay this week.

I  have taken this strike action for Little Owl.  I want her and all the other toddlers I know, to have good education and for that you need good teachers.

There is one thing that Mr Gove and I agree on.  The children of this country deserve the best teachers.  Mr Gove thinks that having a first class degree makes a good teacher.  I disagree but that doesn't matter.  The only way you are going to get the best teachers be it those with first class degrees or not is to make teaching a desirable profession.

It currently isn't.

I'm not going to spout facts and figures that may or not be true, but I would like to share what I have seen happen as a maths teacher.  I have been lucky to have had a job in a good school which as a result attracts good teachers.  Even so, finding maths teachers isn't easy.  You don't get hundreds applying for each job but if you are lucky you might get two or three, often less. 

I know of young adults who went through their entire secondary education without having a specialised math teacher.  And I'm not talking Mr Gove's standards of having a first class maths degree because the truth be known the majority of maths teachers I know haven't got maths degrees.  They are however highly committed individuals with degrees and specialist teacher training in Mathematics (in my case this meant my teacher training was two years instead of one).  But these teachers are hard to come by which is perhaps why Mr Gove is making it possible for your children to be taught by adults with no teacher training (which kinda contradicts himself....).

Its not just pay and conditions that teachers are striking about.  This is where I wish I was more eloquent in the written form.  Its the crap that they are placing upon us, the extra work that we are being expected to do that we as a profession do not believe is necessary (or even helpful) to the education of our children. This is why many teachers are voting with their feet and leaving.  I know, I have one foot out of the door...

I received an email from my employment agency last week.  They are seeking maths teachers for various posts.  Full time, part time,  long term, permanent, short term and day to day.  I think that says a lot.

What I'm trying to say is that there is a real crisis happening in schools already, its not just maths. Once a teacher has left the profession it is very unlikely that they will return.  Training new teachers takes time and with so many leaving will people still be willing to join?  In the meantime the children in the schools are not getting the education they deserve. 

Will striking help?  I don't know, one day won't make a difference I am sure but what else is there to do?  For Little Owl's sake I have to do something.

I hope you understand.  I hope you don't think I am work shy or greedy.  I hope you realise that I am making a stand for what I believe is best for all the children in this country not just my own. 

Thank you for reading.

Dinner Alfresco

Tonight Little Owl and I had dinner sat on our doorstep.  It was great fun - Little Owl waved at every car and person who passed saying "bubbye"!  We shared a bowl and fed each other - well, I tried to feed Little Owl with my fork and she accepted everything as she couldn't see what I was offering in the half light but if she didn't like the taste she took it out of her mouth and put in mine - as I said, we shared food and had fun right?

So what led us to be sat on our doorstep at dusk in October?  A scary flying thing!!!  It entered the kitchen and refused to leave!  Now I know I'm meant to be a brave outdoor type but my feelings about the great outdoors is that it should stay outdoors and NOT be in my kitchen.

I turned out all the lights shut the kitchen door, opened the back door into the utility room and switch on that light in the hope it would follow it.  It didn't.  I left it as long as I could but dinner needed cooking.  In the dark.  Scary flying thing was on the window.

Have you ever tried cooking in the dark in your own kitchen?  You should!

Dinner cooked and scary flying thing was still at the window.

I had a choice - dinner in the living room with sticky fingers all over the carpet and furniture or dinner on the doorstep - which would you choose?

Sangam Cup 2013

Yesterday I took part in a competition called the Sangam Cup hosted by Sangam which is a World Centre belonging to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

The first challenge was to get a team together and choose a 3 hour time slot in which to compete in the Sangam Cup.  Sounds easy but when I put a call out on Facebook asking for people to join me I had a team from all over the world!

Eventually we decided that 1pm UK time would suit everyone best and as the time go nearer, I began to get quite excited!  It was an odd feeling though, getting ready for a team challenge when I was home alone.

Then it was time... Ping... An email from India landed in my inbox and I quickly forwarded it on to my team - the Bandar-logs before I opened the document to have a read.

The challenge was a mixture of a scavenger hunt and a quiz.  It was split into four sections, Sangam, India, WAGGGS and Silver to Gold (Sangam is preparing for its golden anniversary in a few years time and this challenge is part of Sangam's birthday celebrations this week).

OK this was do-able but where was my team? Quick check of Facebook, there was Tina in Essex - she had her nephews with her but they soon got into the spirit of it creating a warli art birthday card and playing musical chairs (one of the tasks). Silver to Gold became Tina's section.

Within 5 minutes Hilary came through on Facebook.  Hilary was in Texas and was going to work through the WAGGGS section and set to work on recording herself singing the various songs we were challenged to perform.

Next a text came in from Canada.  Rachel had a busy day ahead but had got up early to help out. She took the lead in the India section and had great fun creating more warli art, making chai and counting to 10 in Hindi.

Then there was Suzanne sat in a hotel room in Columbia with only her phone available.  Not much help for surfing the internet and little in the way of resources but she did manage to find 47 hair grips in her handbag for another challenge.

An hour in and Lizzie joined us, she was just down the road from me in Sussex but when the internet let her down at home she took herself out to a local café!  Not able to sing or dance in the café, she set about helping Hilary with the WAGGGS questions.

By half time I had completed the Sangam section and set to work compiling the other sections - a much bigger job than I had imagined!

There was constant chat happening on Facebook, some sections involved everyone in the team doing something like signing up for a webinar (my first) or following Sangam on Twitter. Other tasks involved us making contact with Sangam through Skype and Facebook.

It was frantic but fun!

As the end of our 3 hours was coming to a close the pace stepped up another notch - everyone desperately sending their last minute tasks through while I tried to compile them into one document - the team started giving me a count down on Facebook - 14 minutes - can anyone do a yoga pose? - 10 minutes - photos posted to Facebook and Sangam Skyped about the videos - 6 minutes -  more warli art - 4 minutes - an answer for Silver and Gold #8 - 1 minute - "I've done the world survey" then SEND.

That was it, game over.

As quickly as it had begun it ended.

We hung around on Facebook, chatting for a while, congratulating each other on a job well done saying how we'll be better organised next year then said our goodbyes and got back to our lives where ever they may be.

In Sanskrit Sangam means "coming together".  The Sangam Cup did just that, for 3 hours I chatted laughed and worked with friends that I don't get to see all that often, but the Spirit of Sangam brought us together.

Thank you Sangam!

I appear to have booked a flight to India...

I've  been weighing up the pros and cons for over a year now... and in the end I just booked the flight!  Its been over 5 years since my last trip to India and the pro's won!  These included the fact Little Owl can fly for free and that I haven't got a permanent job at the moment.  Teaching does give you lots of holiday but not necessarily when you want it - Easter would be too hot, Summer too wet and I wouldn't want to miss a Christmas at home for Little Owl.

Now I have a flight booked, I have so much more to do:

Insurance - I'm always careful who I go with as many insurance companies get upset when you don't have a 'tour operator' to report things too, even companies who claim to be for backpackers...

Visas - both our passports are up to date but we will need tourist visas.  I used to enjoy going up to India House on The Strand to get my visa but it has now been sourced out to an agency, and you can't get it back on the same day so I will do this by post now.

Injections - feel a bit bad that I will be giving Little Owl injections that she wouldn't otherwise need but I wouldn't dream of taking her without them.  I'm hoping that we won't need malaria tablets, the part of India we are going to is usually considered low risk, which is the same as marsh areas of the South East of England and I don't take malaria tablets in the UK!

Luggage - as its just me and Little Owl, I want to be able to carry/pull all my luggage as well as having hold of Little Owl.  I am thinking of buying Little Owl a Trunki as she can ride on that which would only require one hand for me to pull, leaving another hand available to pull a case and my back free for another bag.  It is also the right size to be her carry on bag.

Flying with a toddler My main worry at the moment is how to get a supply of milk.  Lufthansa have some good information on their website so I will read that again and get in contact with them.  I need to order a child meal for Little Owl.  I am also a bit worried as I had hoped to get one of those seats at the front with a cot but they were all taken!  I selected a seat right at the back as I figured we could get up and about without disturbing too many people... this could be fun....

Clothes - during the day the weather will be warm.  I've put to a side Little Owl's summer clothes that still look roomy in the hope some might fit her in January.  I'm looking forward to buying her some clothes out there too!  Meanwhile, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, its not that my shorts are short, but they do show my knees and I wouldn't chose to do that when out and about.  If I'm not successful then I guess I will be having a quick trip to the tailors when we arrive too!

Toddler stuff - I've already decided that I am not taking a pram, I actually can't remember the last time I used one and it would be a nightmare getting one in and out of a rickshaw!  I will probably take Papa Owl's Babyhawk Oh Snap! as it is the simplest and easiest sling to get Little Owl on my back. I'm not going to take a car seat as its less then 5km from the airport and the rest of our journies will be made by rickshaw.  But do I take a travel cot?  I know you can get some lightweight ones - I have had my eye on the LittleLife travel cot or do I try Little Owl in a bed?  That would then mean I need a stair gate. We have borrowed one from a friend to try out and we're planning on getting one of our own to use at home. I think I will take the monitor so I can put her to bed in the evenings when we aren't going out.    Nappies - how many to take?  I will use disposables for the trip mainly as that will give me space in my bags for bringing stuff home but also I won't have access to a washing machine and while the dhobi man will happily wash and iron our clothes, I'm not sure he'll feel the same about nappies...

Also on my thoughts are:

• cloth highchair
• toilet seat
• potty
• toys
• books
• and the list goes on!

I'm sure there is plenty more that I haven't thought of yet - like how we're going to get home from Heathrow as Papa Owl will be at work when we land - but I think this is enough to be getting one with!

Knitting Fridays - The Big Knit

With this years bonfire costume complete, my hands have felt restless in the evenings so I was delighted when heard about The Big Knit, run by Innocent drinks to raise money and awareness for AgeUK.  

The idea is simple - in the words of AgeUK "The Big Knit is a joint campaign between Age UK and innocent drinks to help vulnerable older people. You knit the hats, innocent drinks wear them and 25p of every drink sold will go to Age UK".

If you can't knit you can still be involved by designing your owl little virtual hat and sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.  This is mine - cute eh?

This project has been really well thought out with 12 patterns available for either knitting or crochet for a range of abilities.  I decided on the 'doddle' patter so I could getting going quickly and soon had completed my first hat.  Feeling inspired I soon followed this with a bonfire hat!

These hats really are simple to knit and very quick too!  I was that impressed that I asked my Rangers if they would like to make them too!  They were keen having seen the hats for sale in previous years.  About half of them know how to knit although most of those can't cast on so I'll have to have the needles fully loaded before hand!  I have also had a go at making hats that only involve knitting, not purling for those who are complete novices. 

I think these will make great starter projects.  They are simple to make and very quick to do.  I can make one in about 20 minutes which means there's a real chance of a beginner completing one in a two hour meeting.

Meanwhile, the wool has arrived for my next project - I can't wait!

Water baby

Little Owl loves swimming! I started taking her when she was just 4 months old to weekly classes at the local swimming pool.  We took a break over last winter as between us, one of us always seemed to be ill but started up again in the spring and I'm so glad we did!

Little Owl just loves being in the water, she can barely wait until the end of the song before she throws herself off of the side into the pool, and is impatient when waiting for her turn to be pushed under the water by the teacher!

Little Owl started wearing a float belt a couple of months ago and has been growing more confident in its ability to keep her afloat and consequently less needy of my arms.  This morning I went hands free! It  was amazing! Ok - so it was more treading water then swimming but its a huge leap forward!

Little Owl is now happy to be in the water without me holding her and I get the feeling progress is going to be quick over the next few weeks - Little Owl is great at kicking but at the moment if she kicks, she goes onto her front and then rolls over.  Once she realises she can use her hands to stabilise herself, those kicking legs are going to take her far!

I was worried that as the weather turns cold, my motivation to take Little Owl swimming would fade, but I'm so excited by her progress that I can't wait to go again!

Eastbourne Bonfire

Bonfire Season is finally here!!!  Ok so it started a while ago but Eastbourne Bonfire is the earliest one I have ever done.  A friend reminded me that at Eastbourne two years ago I was just telling people that I was pregnant.  Last year was Little Owl's first bonfire and so it seems right that Eastbourne is also the first bonfire this year too.



All striped and snuggled up

Little Owl had had a busy day at her cousin's birthday party and so was asleep when we arrived, she woke just before we found all the bonfire boyes and was a little overwhelmed at first.  However, she loves to watch all the people and the flames.




What's going on?

It was a new route this year, quite a bit longer but with the added bonus of a pub stop in the middle where Little Owl enjoyed watching the Morris sides dance.  By the time we got to the fire site, Little Owl was wide awake and loved every second of the fireworks!

Eastbourne is one of the newer societies in Sussex having only reformed in 2001.  I can remember a couple of years ago, no one in Eastbourne appeared to know it was happening, guests and staff in the seafront hotels were staring out of their windows in amazement, confusion and possibly a little bit of fear at the costumes and flames.  This year was definitely their best procession, bonfire and fireworks to date with a large crowd turning out!



Well done Eastbourne for a great night - we're looking forward to the rest of the 2013 Bonfire Season!



TinyTalk Baby Signing

I've always had an interest in Sign Language ever since the Comic Relief fundraising pack in 1989 included a guide to some basic signs and a joke of course - what's white and goes up?   Stupid Snow!

I started going to TinyTalk with Little Owl when she was just 4 months old.  It was September last year and with the new term I was trying out several different classes to see what would suit us.

There was many reasons why I loved the TinyTalk classes so much, here are just a few:

• Lisa - the amazing teacher who can sing beautifully, entertain the babies and really knows her stuff!
• It gave me something to think about.  It is true that maternity leave can turn your brain to mush.  It wasn't much but I challenged myself to learn the signs each week, Lisa gave us 'homework' which was a reminder of the signs we had learnt that week.  I would make sure I knew them before I left each week, then would practise them at home!
• You get a cup of tea!  This is always a winner with Mums!  When the singing and signing part of the class is over, Lisa would make everyone a cuppa and then play with the babies so the Mum's could drink it in peace - perfect!
• Little Owl just loves the classes!  From the singing to the shakers, Little Owl just took everything in - but mainly it was her love of Lisa.  Little Owl would often do 'firsts' at TinyTalk, most notably was the first time she sat without support.

We made some great friends and decided that even if Little Owl never used sign language to communicate with us, that the classes were well worth going to!  The babies even got to dress up at Christmas!



Christmas Friends

It was over the Christmas break, aged 8 months, that Little Owl made her first sign - "more".  This was of course to do with food, once she realised she could request more there was no stopping her! 





First Signs

As well as learning signs, TinyTalk helped me focus on my conversations with Little Owl.  Sure I would natter away to her all day and she enjoyed to hear me talk, but as I tried to fit the signs that I had learnt into my nattering I found it gave me focus.  I would no longer say something like "its lunch time, what shall we have?" as that didn't include any signs I knew, so instead I would say "its lunch time, what food shall we have to eat?".  I found that Little Owl would respond better if I signed as well, for instanced if I signed and said that I was going to the toilet, she wouldn't mind me leaving the room.

Since Little Owl turned one, there has been an explosion of signs!  Some are really useful - milk, food and nappy for starters!  Others are instructions for us to sing certain songs - rabbit for Peter Rabbit, swimming for 3 Little Ducks and hat for Dingle Dangle Scarecrow. Little Owl can be very demanding too - its hard so say no when she asks so clearly for cheese!  And then there are the Mummy pleasing signs - please, thank you and sorry. 

I love that Little Owl can now communicate with me but it also makes things easier when she is with Grandma and Granddad as she can tell them when she is hungry or needs her nappy changing.

I was very proud of my little signer last week when she received her certificate for knowing 25 signs!

25 Signs

WE LOVE TINYTALK





Knitting Fridays

Leg warmers

 So here are the legwarmers nearly finished!  I have tried a couple of different things with these.  First I knitted both at the same time which I think I prefer.  There is nothing like completing something and then having to start all over again with exactly the same thing!  The second thing was to not break the wool off at the end of each stripe.  This is going to save me loads of effort when it comes to sewing them up as I won't have too many loose ends to deal with.  It did mean I was juggling 6 balls of wool with the help of Bonnie Cat!

Loose ends

 I haven't dealt with the loose ends on the jumper yet... I'm thinking I might cheat here... I figure as I have already sewn up the jumper I could just tie a reef knot in each pair of loose ends, then chop off the remaining wool.  Little Owl will be wearing this jumper tomorrow night (as well as the leg warmers),  so this sounds like an ace idea to me!

With the jumper complete and the leg warmers to be finished tonight, my needles will soon be empty.  Knitting has rather taken over my life for the last couple of weeks meaning I haven't had as much time to blog, hopefully I can slow down for a bit now.  I am trying to source the wool for a great jumper for Little Owl but I'm not sure how long that will take. 

I bought this pattern yesterday to make some funky hats... only trouble is, I've never crocheted before but how hard can it be?!! 

One of those days...

You know how they say things happen in threes...

First thing this morning I went to turn on the light in the bathroom and the cord came away in my hand...

Next I was opening the curtains in the living room and the pole came apart leaving the curtain hanging...

Later I left my mobile on the beach...  luckily it was still there when I went back!

Just one of those days eh?  Lets hope tomorrow its the good things that come in threes!