BLOG DAY and all is well

BlogDay2008

In honor of Blog Day, which I might just add I had never heard of until Vanessa let me know about, this post will be my reflection of why Australia is culturally very different to a lot of other nations. Remember, this is MY opinion so take what you want and discard the rest.

First and foremost I will deal with the accent. There are many, as in the USA and UK, depending on where you are from in the country. Many would say that this is a lie - but the differences are more subtle than you would find elsewhere.

The Australian accent is different as most vowels are flat. The mouth doesn't open that much. You would probably be looking at distance between the teeth being the same as width of your pinky finger. The sides of the mouth are wide for all vowels and pretty much don't move. Now if you force the sound you create across your soft palette you might have a chance of sounding 'Ocker'. You need to focus on your nose but is essentially not nasal. (confused yet?)

Try sounding all the vowels without moving the sides of your lips - in fact don't move your mouth at all when you speak. Lip reading is difficult here. Now you should be sounding rather rough in your vowel sounds.

BUT I come from Melbourne and we do move our mouths more than other parts of Australia. There is a Melbourne accent which is more rounded - depending on which parts of the city you come from.

Next on my list is the bronzed, muscular image. This has been severely dashed if you read this article. It seems that we have lost our lustre but never fear we will be back.....once we have finished that cake, sandwich etc. At first a lot of people thought it was a joke but then we were beaten by the poms in the Olympics in the medal tally. Apparently this is not good for the public image..........



Now to the idea that we have Kangaroos hopping around everywhere. No. We don't. Just possums who hang around. (see picture - my back door one night!)

Foods uniquely Australian (or foods I crave after I have been overseas for a while) - Vegemite (brand named I know!) which is made from the left over yeast from beer making I believe; Tim- Tams oh how I love their chocalty goodness; twistees - something about cheesy snacks that were a mistake in creativity; cheezels - a party without all fingers covered in the rings of cheesy goodness could never happen as a child; ANZAC biscuits which many of you might know as a butternut snap but oh so much better; Meat Pies - which is the idea of a square of pastry and apparently edible meat inside; Rissoles - something like a hamburger but nothing really with the HUGE CHUNKS of onion throughout; cherry ripes - very sweet cherries crushed down with a coconut mixture and covered in chocolate; and finally Chocolate covered teddy bear biscuit (great to try and drink hot chocolate through).

Sense of humour - generally a lot of sarcasm in Australian humour. Might be a touch or irony too.

Politics - head spinning stuff here. I don't know how you Americans do it! You've had MONTHS of pre selection campaigns BEFORE the real deal! Generally it's about 6 weeks official campaigning - although there is so much more niggling that takes place between elections (every 3 - 4 years, no set dates).

Our two major parties are Liberal (the conservative grouping) and Labour (the not conservative group). In Queensland the Nationals (country based conservatives) have a large stake in the pie. After the last Federal election (96% voting - but it is compulsory here. Democracy with compulsory voting.....lol) the Democrats lost all their seats in the Senate. Now the power is held by the Greens, a few Independents and a Family First politician. We might be lucky to have the government (Labour) pass anything .... Oh we don't vote for the Head of State, as you are now in the US, the party puts their best person forward and they get the job if their party wins.

Music - like the landscape, diverse. Arty farty in Melbourne and with a lot of global sounds. Great for a night of grooving. I could go into a lot more detail being a music teacher, but that would be another LONG blog and I feel I have said enough. happy blog day

Some things I have learnt

These are the things I have learnt about being sick and staying home.

1) Daytime telly is a crock. There are shows on the the television that make me laugh but most make me cry! Why was I watching? Well my concentration was almost nonexistent. I couldn't knit, nor could I read. I decided to watch a dvd but that was late in the day and the damage had been done.

2) Don't go shopping when you are unwell. There are a number of reasons for this.
First, you buy things that in a month of Sundays you wouldn't buy EVER! I have things on my shelf that I am now looking at with a cocked eyebrow and thinking 'HMM!'
Second you take about 3 times longer to shop. You move along look at the shelves and ponder. You might have a moment when you have a head spin, or a hacking cough and then recover and finally move on.
Third, there are mad women who have 2 -3 kids who do their shopping in the middle of the day. They don't make allowances for anyone else, sick or well. They push through. Why? Well they have to get the shopping done BEFORE whichever child cracks it. Be prepared to get pushed around and have major head spins again.
Fourth, there also those who don't work and want to spend some time with the world and the grocery shop is the time and place for that. I learnt not to make eye contact with the vast majority of the population.
Finally, even if you have a list don't expect to follow it! (Refer to the first point.)

3) Don't try to do much housework. Better still just learn to live in a mess. I am now sitting amongst so many half done things. I won't be doing much today. I might just sit and read instead - or knit.

4) Nap. I didn't. Should've! Suffering now.

I hope these help you out.

my review of the concert

I made it through the concert. I'm home today. Hacking cough, unbelievable sneezing but otherwise ok!

Actually I should tell you about getting through a concert with the above mentioned cold symptoms.

I had explained to the kids that a performance is like a duck swimming. On top (the stage) is all smooth and there is no idea that underneath (backstage) there is frenetic motion going on. Many of them watched as I held the wall and had a good spluttering cough and then pasted a smile on my face and walked onto the stage. I think they got the analogy....

There were two moments that I freaked out a little. Once getting onto the podium just before I conducted my year 8 babies and then getting off that podium again. I had major head spins. Was not looking elegant. (Actually I think that would've spun the kids out if I had collapsed/fallen as I got onto/off the podium.) Before I got onto the stage I had had a major head spin and a hacking cough. The kids were concerned.....I was concerned! I grabbed a lozenge and headed off to the stage.

I just want to say how impressive the kids working on the backstage were. These kids worked their little butts off all day and night! I hope that the people I work with who read this find their names and thank them. The kids were absolutely hammered by the end of it! I don't think we'll get them back again! What will happen next year? Bugger it....we'll work on that next year!

The kids rose to the occasion brilliantly! All the ensembles were fantastic. It wasn't as long as I thought it would be - we had one extra item the Rock Ed kids dancing and they were great, and still finished by 11pm! I got home just on 1am after packing and unpacking the truck.

My 3 groups were great. First Choir - they were shit on Tuesday at rehearsal and I was so worried about the first piece they sang. We had to practice singing with music and dealing with folders.......They were much better last night and I was very relieved and quite chuffed. Go team! Froggie's first born in this group.....

Year 8 band - fantastic kids inspite of my crazy head spinning moments. My conducting of the first piece was haphazard but they played in spite of me....... We had only looked at that particular piece 5 times, including last night. I am thrilled with them! Froggie's second born in this group and he played his solo well!

Finally the massed singing - 500 kids on stage singing. It is an ego rush when you control that many voices. The soloists were great - Frogdancer's (Froggie) eldest had a solo. I am pleased with his singing, being his singing teacher and all. He has this big quality to his voice!
The whole school were reasonably loud and I was pleased to let them all go so we could pack the truck etc.

I'm off to sleep, do some household shopping (severely out of food!) and generally rest until Monday!

sniff, conduct, sniff

Today is concert day/night.

To all those well wishers - thank you! My throat is fine now but I can't breath. It's all good really.

Why does a cold worry me so much? I can't take most cold/flu drugs. If there is a sniff (lol) of pseudoeffidryn then count me out. What I have at the moment is paracetamol, a menthol stick inhaler, Echinacea and lots of water.

I still can't breath and I have just packed 20 bribery packs for the backstage crew. I really love the way they do things - they are awesome! I am hanging out for the night to be over and I can actually take some time to recover.

On the way home I got some Hungry Jacks/Burger King and so I am rather full of not so great food!

I have a car full of 'unclaimed' instruments which is concerning......and I have had a few cherubs be quite ill already......it does not bode well.

Off to shower, makeup and maybe have a bit of din dins......Enjoy your night.

Tuesday night telly.....

I am watching this amazingly stupid TV show: "Wipeout!" WTF! I know we have stupid tv shows here but this is dumb as! Why would you throw yourself in front of, on top of and in the way of objects that knock you down? (and probably hurt you on the way)

I am sitting here watching the show and I feel like laughing but, having spent most of the day quiet - except for choir - I am mute with a stupid grin on my face. The commentators are trying to make it sound interesting........Keep at it fellas.

Now why was I at work? Had to be with a concert on Thursday - I have 3 LARGE ensembles. Year 8 band 78 kids, Choir 60+ kids and the Massed Choir at the end of the night with 500+ kids! I have had rehearsals everyday with all of my ensembles. It was fun today not speaking.....The kids were fantastic. My student teacher learnt lots about personality and presence.

Another early one tonight and see how we go......

An early one

I have come home early from work. I am not 100% that is the say the least. It feels like someone has skated down my throat with sandpaper shoes. I am gargling, sucking lozenges, lots of lemon and honey, taking paracetamol and drinking lots of water.

I missed a staff meeting to come home.

I am watching MASH. I will have an early dinner and be in bed early again. This is my routine at the moment - it has been for the last week! When I say early I am talking about 9.30pm at the latest! (Well Saturday night was 10.30 - I stayed up!!!!)

I think this is my cure - lots of rest, no talking, reading and generally taking it as easy as I can.

whos personality is this? It's mine......apparantly

So I read kitkats personality test and decided to do my own. Here are the results.....

Your personality tendencies in a nutshell...

You enjoy making plans and commitments but you sometimes don't follow through. You value different and aesthetic experiences more than the average person. You tend to be relaxed in most situations and can handle stress well. You are typically respectful toward others and dislike confrontation. You show some tendency toward being outgoing and sociable.

About those "Casual" and "Disciplined" bubbles...

Conscientiousness is not one of your defining traits, meaning that you are neither anal retentive nor anal expulsive. What does that mean? In a nutshell, you keep it together fairly well, but you do not suffer too much if you let things fall through the cracks every once in a while. If you make plans with a friend, chances are good that you will show up at the designated time. Then again, something better may come up or you just might forget. Either way, you're good. Another possibility is that you are very conscientious about some things, but more relaxed about other things. For example, you might demand the utmost rigor and discipline in your scholarly/work life, but keep your home looking like a garage sale gone terribly awry, with various articles of clothing and personal belonging strewn about. Where's Fido? Hopefully he hasn't been eaten by the alien life that has developed since the last cleaning.


About that "Alternative" bubble...

Your scores indicate that while you are clearly a non-traditionalist, there are some aspects of your personality that are rooted in the comforts of the mundane. You may value artistic expression to the extent that walking through museums full of antiquities is your favorite thing to do. Perhaps you revel in the abstract and the unknown. Yet, you also shake your head in wonderment as to why some people choose to live their lives or decorate their bodies so non-traditionally. At times, you may also find yourself fixed in certain ideas, even though you pride yourself in being open to novelty and creative thinking. In the end, all this suggests is that you take a pinch of convention along with a scoopful of whimsy in your drink of choice.


About that "Unemotional" bubble...

Some people consistently react emotionally to their environment and freak out over little things. You, my friend, are not among those people - at least not usually. Worrying and stressing are not your typical style. Even faced with absurd circumstances, you are calm and may pride yourself in your ability to use logic and reason. As a consequence of your Dalai Lama-like persona, you seldom experience the highs and lows of more emotionally reactive folks. Rather, your moods could be graphed like the flat-line of an ER patient. That analogy may seem grim, but *really*, who is more placid than the person who ceases to be? Anyhoo, if you're annoyed with my analogy right now, it's probably because you only scored medium high in the emotional stability trait and have some tendencies to be easily disturbed and offended.


About that "Cooperative" bubble...

Your scores would suggest that you tend to be more agreeable than you are competitive. What does that mean? For starters, it means that you have a fairly strong tendency to believe in social harmony and cooperation. You are a nice person. You want people to get along and do the right thing - for each other, for the greater humanity. That's not to say that you are a total pushover, but that you believe in the niceties of life. This is probably why you are very popular with people and have many friends. The difference between you and someone who is very high in agreeableness is that you have a bit of an edge. Maybe you laugh when people fall down and hurt themselves, maybe you secretly occasionally think people suck. Whatever it is that's holding you back from winning Ms. or Mr. Congeniality, that's also what makes you more interesting.


About that "Extroverted" bubble...

I have a friend who can strike up a conversation with anyone: Nobel Peace prize nominees and winners, muppets, sanitation workers, perfect strangers, my crazy uncle Harry. My friend is a bona-fide extrovert. Your scores indicate that while you tend to be extroverted, you also have some degree of reserve. Perhaps in some situations, you prefer to say less or maybe you have duct tape over your mouth. Either way, you may save your high energy for the situations when you have a need or desire to be "on" and your quiet moments for those with whom you feel most comfortable.


What I am concerned about is the fact that I could be unemotional - although I might over react......I do care, really I do. It must be the teaching thing......

I love the idea that I am 'a nice person'. Something about that word "nice". It really doesn't mean that much anything - not nasty, not brilliantly lovely but 'nice'. But it does tell me that I have a bit of edginess. How cool! This is my favourite "Maybe you laugh when people fall down and hurt themselves, maybe you secretly occasionally think people suck" all of which is true!

Being ever so slightly alternative - I like! I believe in the conventional but I love the slightly out there! This makes my students think I am ever so slightly over the top........

I was tagged.....

So Ms Frogdancer tagged me in this meme. It is VERY HARD as she said that I had to tell her things that she might not know. Do you know how hard that is when I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired? (Did I tell you that I am tired?)

So here goes....

1. I refused to do freestyle for years. Backstroke was the only way to go. Something about putting my face into the water, I was a little scared that I might drown – at least that might have been one reason.
2. My favourite sandwich combination is Vegemite and crushed walnuts. Don’t have it that often but when I do it needs to have butter on the bread too. For all of those non-Australians, and for that matter Australians, who don’t like Vegemite, you are missing out! [Just thinking about fresh bread, butter, vegemite and walnut sandwich……YUM!]
3. I am not particularly fond of the potato. Don’t mind the occasional one but I really don’t understand how people make it a staple of their diet. I will eat any other form of carb with a meal to stay away from the potato. To me, a potato promises so much but then can sometimes deliver a much lower level.
4. I have flaky nails. Well probably better to describe them as nails that peel back like layers on an onion. It is very bizarre and off putting. I have changed diet – not really a reason, and I have painted with those special formulas – also not a complete success.
5. While I love pinks and purples in my doona covers I MUST have blue in my sheets. It offsets the pink and purple a great deal…….I keep telling myself that!
6. I belong to two bookclubs. No, I don’t get confused over the books – one is reading classics and the other anything that is new on the shelf.

So there they are – 6 unspectacular facts about me. Hope I have told you things that you didn’t know Froggie……

Now who to tag….

Dragged kicking and screaming to paradise – love to see her answers….

Vanessa – just coz she is a good blog friend in USA

Kitkat – she is a new blog friend in USA so would love to know her thoughts.

Laura – I love her blog

Joh – has great insights

Isabelle – she lives in the UK and has two black cats.

Now here are the rules........


1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

I was fine until number 3! Enjoy the day.

tgif

Friday afternoon and I am LOOKING forward to a quiet night. Have to go out for an appointment. Thinking what to have for dinner - might be something very easy but home cooked.

Student teacher - had a good lesson today with the 11s. Her plan, as described yesterday, was quite good but she was nervous when presenting this. We discussed it and looked for better ways of standing etc. Sometimes, as I said to her, you have to believe that you can even though you think you might not be able to.

Tomorrow is a babe's head wetting which should be fun. We have the staff function tomorrow night. Some of my favourites will be there but a few wont be. I am not sure if I REALLY want to go. I might put my head in there for a short time and then go off to something else.

Sunday is lunch out in the Dandenong Ranges. Beautiful!

I contemplated taking work home to correct etc but realised that I am too jiggered to do anything and it will just be a 'bag of guilt' that is transported from one venue to another. I will get the work done on Monday and Tuesday.

Frogdancer has tagged me so be prepared for some facts about me.......and you might get tagged.

catching up is good.......

I am so pleased I am catching up on my reading because

Take the Quiz here!

I've always thought that I was her.......

it does get better.

Thank you to all of you for your comments about my student teacher yesterday. I really appreciated knowing that there are many of you out there who feel the pain.

Today she improved greatly.

As I said yesterday, with the kids she is really good. She knows her content and she has a great rapport with the kids. She is very different to me as a teacher - and I have pointed out that this is a brilliant thing. Her teaching style is a subdued, confident approach. I told that I saw this - she was unaware of her style and then was worried that it was wrong. I assured her it was not and that it was beautiful.

Where the problem is is the fact that she doesn't trust that she 1) knows the information and 2) is concerned what the kids/teachers think of her.

It is hard going.

Compared to my last student teacher she is a delight as she knows her content but is wanting to find more. There is none of the arrogance that he demonstrated in his first few days. I realise that both of them have demonstrated behaviour that shows insecurity. Both have shown that they are very young. Both have demonstrated that they are capable. Each has their own journey - I just wish I had the manual on their behaviour BEFORE they got here. That way I could be prepared.

Gorgeous did tell me in an email that 'there is a reason' that I am getting these particular teachers. I know this but when you are so busy (MASSIVE CONCERT NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT AND I AM IN CHARGE OF THREE ENSEMBLES - I am whispering that to you as loudly as I can!) it is hard to remember that I have things to teach them and they things to teach me.

Student teachers provide me with the opportunity for reflection - on my own teaching and my own development. They keep me in focused on what my journey is and has been.

So to the positives of the day. Her rap class (made up of my own lesson plan) went well with the other supervising teacher. Her single period with me went really went well too! The year 11s were being challenged in their analysis work. She quietly reprimanded a child for not doing the homework and then told him that he could take notes from what the others were discussing but would have to report on another aspect next lesson. The look on his face was priceless.

I think the best thing for her today was to SEE how busy we are at the moment and that you do have to constantly work at things. The first time she and I sat down to talk properly was after school. She said "I haven't seen you all day." I think she was going to follow with some other comment which could have been something about yesterday and my reaction so I jumped in with what I was doing all day.

Here is today's timetable for me for today.......not usual but necessary for this time of year with THE MASSIVE CONCERT NEXT WEEK!

8am before school theory.

8.30 Meeting with singing teacher to finalise solos for last item of concert.

8.50 (although I was late as I was photocopying but raced over to let in and came back) taught first class - Year 11 Performance. During this lesson I spoke to the kids who had solos etc and pointing out that some are going to be disappointed as they haven't got what they might think they need etc. We have something like 16 senior singers to consider here!

9.40 English Skills with two diametrically opposed kids. One a ratbag but highly entertaining and will do what I ask once he has had the chance to flex his rebellious muscle; the other a kid who is striving to do the best he can in everything - just wants the opportunity to have his voice heard. Reading, spelling and grammar (my weak link is grammar!) with laughter thrown in.

10.30 set up band room for later rehearsal - this was while I was on yard duty

10.55 supervise student teacher while working with my year 12 student in styles.

11.40 Band rehearsal. Sound ok but need to concentrate (who doesn't?)

12.30 lunchtime - shortened - meeting with solo singers, backstage crew, compares. Discussion with kids "should I do year 12 music next year?" Quick planning with head of department about how to 'teach' three year 9 music classes with only 2 of the regular teachers present........still thinking through that! Was I meant to have eaten? That didn't happen!

1.15 Year 9 class (you know the one we just planned!!!!!) I had two classes together doing one task while he had the other. I had another teacher with me but we only have about 9 more classes with these kids and we want to make it worthwhile......they're composing. [We planned that there will be some team teaching going on when other teacher comes back and rotational stuff going on. The other teacher needs to be in room with only one class as he is doing the 'recording' unit and needs the kids on computers.......Then I go to that one in 3 weeks time and he does a unit with the teacher absent today......it is confusing still but it will work out...I will put a diagram up if you REALLY NEED and when I work it out but now I am just rambling!]

2.05 rehearse with year 9 band. not my group. I was sight reading. They did ok but not brilliant - it'll all work out when they have either of their directors. Both absent today.

2.55 early finish - more students asking me lots of questions

3.15 meeting with student teacher while eating my lunch.

4.00 debrief with a few staff - needed to today!

Her mouth fell open in disbelief as I told her this while I ate my lunch. I then told her about the need to look after yourself at these times as a music teacher. I said that it is often easy to forget about yourself and that you might let diet and exercise go out the window. I was eating homemade soup that I had in the freezer. I said that planning is the GREATEST need of the music teacher. She took notes! (bless her!)

We planned her lesson - it looks fantastic! I then dealt with how I think she has changed since yesterday. I said that there is only one way to go but up. There was a moment when she gave herself permission! To do what? She needs to allow herself room to grow and develop. She needs to experience - it's all process and she needs to give herself permission to play.

Long post but cathartic. If you're still here.....thank you and love to you all. I'm off to sing.

HELP!

Hmmmmm.

Sitting here contemplating a lot at the moment. 

My student teacher - is good with the kids in the classroom but like many student teachers, she is so lacking in confidence it is appalling.  

We have set her a challenge - create your own curriculum.  Yes, we will help her but the idea is that she is meant to have a go at developing something.  

So far I have very little from her.  I have pumped her with lots of ideas.  Any idea that she puts out there I play with, "yes, that could work.  Try looking at it from this angle.  What about doing this the same way you suggested?"  Mostly I get a blank look from her.  

She hasn't smiled that much.

Today she cried.  For 3 periods!  She thinks she is failing!

I have tried to let her know that she is fine - but she doesn't believe me!  Her rapport with the kids is good.  Maybe her knowledge of the subject area (she has a classical focus which is great but we have a jazz/pop focus here) needs some work.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions?  I am worn out from the emotional angst that goes with tears.

I totally understand where she is at.  Gorgeous, my sister, helped me through one of my rounds.  I cried each and every night for, I think, three weeks.  She told me that I was crying because I cared about the teaching aspect.  I see that now.  I couldn't then.

I have asked a few direct questions such as "Do you want me to talk to the other supervising teacher about the issues you are feeling?"  Her response - "I don't know."  This happened a few times today.  I know that it is hard when you are so focused on your own limitations but it is now starting to annoy me....

Please - please - please.  If you have any ideas on what to do send them to me.  I have 3 1/2 more weeks to go.

Now I have a new motherboard.

I have finally had the opportunity to write again! I wrote so long ago - last week in fact. Let me tell you the woes of this laptop.

Having complained about my day of PD I took my baby laptop (must speak nicely about the darling....) to the technicians at work. All I wanted was to change the balance of storage in my dual platformed macbook. I wanted to have less on the pc side and more on the mac side - this was all so I could load Logic (needing to teach with it and all!).

The technicians - lovely young men - took my baby and said they would do just that and even load up the program for me (5 hours worth of loading). Great.

I went back at the end of the day and they said they found an issue. My baby had network issues. She loads up the network but then after a while she drops out. So to solve this problem they decided to install the latest operating system.

Next day the problem go BIGGER. Main issue? Technicians had NO IDEA. Not great!

They took my hard drive, having changed the balance of memory and loaded all the programs, and put it into a 'loaner' while they tried to "sort" out what the go was with my baby.

I had this loaner and try as I might, I couldn't get on the internet at home. I think this was a user error and not the laptop.

Went back and the technicians first wanted to know what the powder was that I had in the body of my laptop. HUH? I did reply with a quick quip that I am a musician after all........ We all laughed heartily at my wit but they still had NO IDEA about the issue facing the baby.

When these particular guys haven't got a clue it does not bode well.

The BIG apple technicians were coming!!!!

I tried again with the internet at home and could not get it to work so no blogging and no email......I have never felt so isolated. Isn't it amazing how reliant we become on these things!

I went back to the technicians and asked one if he could explain why I couldn't get on the internet - he sorted it out. I then asked when the BIG guy was coming. "don't hold your breath" was the reply. The other technician (they happen to be brothers) got of the phone and laughed at us both that the technician was coming RIGHT now.

I now have my laptop back with a NEW motherboard! ALL the technicians had no idea what was wrong with baby but she is working.

Now to say thank you to all who commented on my last post - and welcome Gorgeous, my sister.

In the last week it has been crazy pick up the rehearsing for MASSIVE concert next week, attend excursion to the circus with my Styles class on Friday night, supervision of interstate school rehearsal at work on Saturday while teaching Frogdancer's son, and then attend percussion Eisteddfod on Sunday (8 hours of drumming!!!!).

It wasn't that exciting really so you haven't missed anything much. Teaching Frogdancer's son to sound like David Lee Roth singing "Just a Gigolo" was probably a highlight.........

Now to catch up on all the reading of other peoples' blogs.

and our next slide

Today I went to Day 2 of becoming a mentor for my graduate teacher.....

I just want to say this: My god! There are some BORING presenters out there.

While I understand the difficulty in creating an exciting, interesting and creative programme for Primary, Secondary, Special Needs, Government, Independent and Catholic school teachers, BUT the presenters of today's programme need to be revitalised!

Seriously!

We spent 2 hours (30 minutes should have been enough!) reflecting on the process of what we had learnt on Day 1! WTF! I tried to wipe day one from my brain and we had some monotonic male droning on about how we should have implemented the thinking processes from the first day with our mentoree. If I spoke in that same way to my mentoree she would run away and I would not blame her!

I had dutifully filled in the feedback sheet on day 1 and I got stuck into the programme as presented to us. This man spent a good 15 minutes defending the professional development and how 'most of the participants had found the day and process worthwhile'. He commented about the principals and provisionally registered teachers.

Now for my unbiased (I jest) opinion. Most provisionally registered teachers LOVE everything. They are new and everything is new to them. Most principals say "it's good," when they know better. They know that if they comment about how it really is, they will be asked to find a better way. They often take the 'easier' option as there are more pressing matters for them to contend with, like running a school.

The better part of the day was the afternoon when we found out the real nuts and bolts of recommending someone for full registration. It took 1 hour! The woman who was running this session was reasonably good and had at least re written the power point slides to suit her personality.

Another thing - what is it with power points? Why do professional development situations rely on them? If I see another power point presentation at a PD I will explode and then the audience will have something to view. I mean they give you a hand out with all the slides on it as well, then you get documents that they are reading from which is all power point driven. There is no personality in the presentation. In fact I find it difficult to comprehend that a teaching organisation presents Professional Development in such a poor way. It is an insult to the profession I am a part of.

I have run my own PD session (within my faculty at work) and it is hard to make it totally relevant for all. I had the overhead going with the interactive whiteboard, I had handouts and I spent no more than 20 minutes delivering the information. A question and answer session and off we go. I know that this is small compared to what I witnessed today but I had gained some understanding of what was wanted BEFORE I began.

Today we were told. We were not developed. Our expertise was not encouraged dramatically. That was why were there. We had been chosen by our schools to mentor new graduates as we are seen as leaders at various stages of development.

There were some who found the day valuable. For some it was an eye opener. I am lucky I work in a school where we are given this information - often in bucketloads, but at least we are aware. For me, today was about racking up 6 hours of Professional Development towards my 100 hours needed in 5 years time. I am disappointed that I see it this way. I am disappointed that I was not presented with best practice as a reference point to refer to when reflecting on my own teaching.

Tomorrow, thankfully, I am back in the classroom.

ceremonies

On Friday night I had a sleep - which was quite by accident - and was awoken at 9.50pm as I was meant to be on the other side of Melbourne watching the opening of the Olympics. In my hazy state I said I would leave then. (WTF?) I drove 55 mins to the other side of Melbourne - missing all of the good bits of the opening ceremony but listening to it on the radio. I might just say it is NOT THE SAME!

When I got to the house they were all in the dark watching a projection on the wall - a good 90inches!!!!! I got to see the Parade of Athletes. Wow! We made random comments about outfits, lack of unified dancing with the girls on the edge of the circle etc. We felt that we could make these comments as we had all been in the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth games together. (Our precision was almost to the military standard of the whole Beijing thing......)

This is the section we were involved in. If you look carefully you might see me.....if you know what I look like! I will tell you I am not in red/pink! (you will need a magnifying glass and an amazing imagination to find me. - I am carrying a white illuminated orb and I am in front of the guy with a really bad blonde die with his hair, bottom left corner.....lol)


Thank you to spitfirelas at farm1.static.flickr.com.

I left at 2.15 am, listening to talk back and laughing at the comments about the Australian uniform. I was thinking to myself "did you see the some of the other countries?" Sure we could have had a better outfit but we went with something very casual and not green and gold. Some other countries could/should have done the same.

That's about all I will mention about the games as I am 1) not interested in the sports, and 2) I have political opinions that vary from the government hosting country about a Buddhist nation........(actually I am pleased that I have not been requested to teach about them!)

I got home at 3.15 and was asleep, I think, by 3.30. The cat woke me at 9am and would not leave me alone. She was desperate for food and to get outside.........It was a relatively early night last night after going out for dinner. I was in bed by 11.30!

pretty fly marching

Last year when I was in Malaysia I read a newspaper report about the marching band competitions.

I take an 80 piece band of beginners - we are lucky to just sit in the right places. Forget marching. The marching band thing is also quite an interesting thought from the point of view that you have musicians playing and then going into formations....... It is amazing to watch but an absolute nightmare to coordinate.

In Australia it is not something that is undertaken with any flair. It is along the same sort of lines as cheer leading etc. Australians in the crowd are known more for the lack of coordinated effort then anything else - but this is a whole other topic.

What I wanted to find out was how busy the guys who won the regional marching band competition were when performing. The report said they practised 6 hours a day since November (we were in July)! Apparently they were running etc from place to place to Pretty Fly for a White Guy. This alone had me in hysterics.

Finally I found a video........now there is a close up of TUBA players - not sousaphone as I would expect but TUBAs. The most awkward instrument to play and dance with.

Enjoy - notice the RUNNING WHILE PLAYING!!!!! And it sounds pretty good too! I am in awe - these are high school kids.

catch up

I went shopping last night - by accident. I didn't buy much - I spent about 1 1/2 hours in Borders and most of that time was around the music book section. Music books, when imported to Australia, are VERY expensive. It frustrates me! I purchased a book called "new woman jazz". What is a new woman? Are they meaning it in the sense of New Age? I assume not.

After spending all that time in Borders I quickly moved over to the travel agency. I have decided that I want to spend a little bit of time in New Zealand - particularly Milford Sound. I have been there previously but I didn't get to Milford Sound. I have always been fascinated when I look at pictures of the area and I would love to spend some time there. I am a little disappointed by the fact that there is only an overnight cruise that I have found out about. I was hoping for a longer voyage than that..... I will keep investigating.

I went to my singing teacher and sang something new from my new book. I was a little frustrated as I think he played the piece faster than it should be - and I couldn't keep up! Oh well.

Once home, I cooked dinner by the light of my neighbours flood lights. Then I watched 'The Party' - a Peter Sellers classic, which I think I will get the year 11s to watch today. This is again to do with the Music in Film component. Henry Mancini wrote the music for The Party so that gives us a starting point. The music is not that vital in the telling of the story -but it does set the time in history for us. Very 1960s.

Next week I am taking the kids on an excursion - to the circus! Well it is the mid semester performance of the University circus school. I am going sight unseen and I hope that music is being used in it! Otherwise it should be a good night.

It sounds good so far .......

My blog is worth $2,258.16.
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Just thought that I would share - Vanessa has had a better "turnover"

Styles

My year 11 and 12 styles class are composing.

My year 12 boy is meant to be composing some serious Classical music. He is having a good time with the technology; it won't let him save his work. He also thinks that if he smiles sweetly enough and plays it fast enough I won't know that he is wasting my time! I am his growling captor - "have you done anything today?" is my usual cry to him......

He has a few Classical thoughts in the music - dynamic use, form, instrumentation etc but he is much more of your Baroque inspired chickens. He likes scalic runs in his music. He also likes to free compose. When I then tried to introduce some Twentieth Century composing ideas to him he freaked out completely. Who knew that the boy actually despises dissonance! He also can't cope with very jagged melodies with pounding accompaniment.

I am trying get him to move his description of music from "it's nice" to something that is quite objective and uses language well. He didn't do this subject last year! AARGH! This subject is like Literature is to English. It is assumed that you have a foundation in language before you begin! When he writes me something it is so subjective with no objective foundation it makes it almost impossible for me to write any coherent responses for him!
enough about him.

The year 11's on the other hand are composing music for a group of Television commercials. They have each picked an age group and a style that they want to compose in. From this they are then making their composition appropriate to their selection and the chain store they are 'working' for. As a group, they came up with the chain store. It was based on the stage bands tour last year. When they told me about it, I laughed and laughed. We are using Garage band to complete it! You should hear the talking/singing that they are recording!

I love this part of my job - working with the kids on their creative development. They get to play with so many options and I get to bounce some ideas with them!

Yesterday I told this class that I was going to hand them over to my next student teacher. I will be in the classroom working closely with my Year 12 student while she teaches my Year 11s. One classroom and two different courses....

I really hope she is better than my last one!

today's irrelevant thought

I have too much chocolate in my house and it is distracting me.

Just thought that I would share that with you.

empowerment

I'm pimping a post.....this one by Vanessa - I'm entering her competition about empowerment.

She has posed two questions.

What does empowerment mean to you?

Empowerment covers so many things and it is fair to say that it is difficult to define into one single definition.

In the classroom empowerment is learning itself. Not the rote learning that many of us were educated under but rather the ability to answer the current questions placed before you and questions that might arise in the future in any area. I love watching the faces of kids as they realise that they can apply what they learnt to SO many situations. It is fantastic.

In my own life empowerment is the ability to be totally and whole-heartedly in charge of ME. What I earn and how I earn it. The bills I pay. The men I choose to date or not. The friends I have, the family I love.

To be empowered is be whole-heartedly in love and like with me and what I can offer.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

You've got a choice of two things..........

ONE

I am going to sound like someone on the Miss World Pageant competition with my answer.

I would, knowing that I would not fail, demand world peace. I realise that demanding world peace is a tautology but sometimes you need to have a strong belief in something.

I would be unscrupulous in my pursuit of it.

I would demand a recognition of all religions and acceptance that all people are allowed to be different. There would be a realisation that the world is made up of all different people and that each person has something to contribute to society.

I would pursue this at both personal level and also at a governmental level. Some people might struggle with it!

Might actually be interesting..........

TWO

If the above is not an acceptable answer and you are looking for something less Miss World Pageant- ish then....

Knowing I would not fail - I would enter the Tour de France....... Now this should be an interesting pursuit for a number of reasons.

1) I am woman - hear me roar. Tour de France - men only. Could be fun watching all those mens bottoms in front of me and then going past them to win....(and seeing their faces as I look down at them from the podium!)

2) I actually can't ride a push bike - let alone a road racer! My father decided that I, along with others in my family, should not ride bikes as he wasn't there to supervise and we lived on busy roads. I have a bike in my laundry but I haven't been on it much. Again, knowing that I can't fail, I will be learning how to ride and it be brilliant.

3) I'm not THAT competitive. I have played in many sporting teams but I just love the idea of playing rather than winning at all costs so entering the Tour de France would be a change in my psyche.

Why, I hear you ask, did I decide on the Tour de France? Well, it has something to do with the "ooh la la" factor and the race finishes in Paris. Along the way I would have a good sight seeing tour of France and I would experience adulation along the way. What a beautiful thought!

I think also Cadel Evans has inspired me that an Aussie could do it! And my response is - why not a woman?

pondering

I have some questions that need to be answered.

How did the people on "Fantasy Island" know what everyones, who arrived there, fantasy was? Did they fill in forms? Was it by some form of perception?

Why do people refer to "the long and the short" of it when they are talking about a confusing topic?

Why does a cat have nine lives? And how did someone come up with the number? Was he/she some sadistic bastard?

What exactly do we mean by "chick flick" seeing they are generally written by men, about men who are the love interest, and produced by men.......

Why does someone who is about to inflict pain (think dentist or doctor) always comment "This is only going to hurt a little bit"? How do they know what my pain threshold is before they start?

Why do people always comment that they found something in the last place they looked? And for that matter would you consider looking further if you found what you were looking for?

Why do you say you have two left feet if you can't dance? What's wrong with left feet? I find mine invaluable when walking.....

Why would you refer to someone you haven't seen for a while as a 'sight for sore eyes'? Wouldn't medication be better for sore eyes?

And, along these lines, why do we refer to laughter as the best medicine? If it is the best medicine why isn't it bottled?

Just a few things that annoy me.

If you know the answers please let me know.

bend and stretch

Thank you all - those who wrote and those who told me in person - I am feeling lots better. My back was spoken to quite severely. Not by my normal osteopath but by his employee. My osteopath is on paternity leave - not sure if to a girl or boy.

The offsider gave me some "great" stretches to do as my back is tighter than stretched elastic! They hurt - but in a great way!!!! (who am I trying to kid - they HURT!) You sit on a chair (good so far) put your right ankle on your left knee (that's a thought provoking action) and with a straight spine lean forward slightly. If you are doing this, you should feel this in your buttock of the right side.

You then lean, ever so slightly, on your right knee and do the same leaning action. You should now feel on the side of your buttock. Once more do the stretch but this time lift your knee ever so slightly. (This one doesn't hurt that much.)

Repeat on the other side of your body. - this is the FUN part. I can't actually get my left ankle to my right knee easily. This is the thing I am now working on! I am flexible in other ways - can place my palms on the ground leaning forward! I can twist really well.

Off to stretch some more. Maybe a glass of wine will help relax the muscles to stretch further.