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Original poster

Crepey wattle and daub

997 replies

herbaceous · 13/03/2015 10:30

At last! I get to use my thread title.

Over here, my hags.

OP posts:
MollyAir · 17/03/2015 19:32

Let me know if/when you find out, Herbs. I feel I have to steer clear of orthorexia. Even if it means being fat.

Stropperella · 17/03/2015 20:26

Am pretty sure the hardcore low-carbing "science" is a pile of old guff. And I am resolutely with Molly on the "avoiding orthorexia" bench. Sorry, but there are millions of people eating loads of white rice every day who are not overweight. I prefer the everything in moderation attitude and this is also the one I wish to foster in my dcs.
I am currently toasting my own success after getting some reassessment results at the end of teaching practice 1 and also drowning my sorrows as have now got details about TP2. I will be severely outside my comfort zone as will be working with a Y1. Would prefer a sulky 14 year old, quite frankly.
MI, I heartily applaud your rant and could have written the same. Except that I also get paid in Euros most of the time, which is currently a very bad thing indeed. Meh.

Stropperella · 17/03/2015 20:30

Pls excuse lack of fluency in previous post. Am a) on phone and b) vaguely inebriated.

Stropperella · 17/03/2015 20:35

ps: car engine was thankfully not knackered as dh realised his mistake and stopped after putting in 20L of petrol and didn't switch the engine on, thank goodness. One expensive tank drain later and the car got me to Surrey and back ok. Dh now signing his texts "Capt Alzheimer".

bigTillyMint · 17/03/2015 21:16

StroppsGrin @ capt Alzheimer! Well done on your success, and good luck with your Y1. They aren't really that scary - remember you had two in your house once upon a time!

Well, despite being told that he would be there till May, DS has been "released." He is mow happily watching the footy on TV with DH and says he's not bothered - will be training with his old team on Thursday.
Put that in contrast with DD who has gone into a decline over the overwhelming nature of 2 speaking MFL CA's, redoing a Biology ISA and now the English speaking CA which last year's teacher has spectacularly cocked up onConfused

Stropperella · 17/03/2015 21:44

BTM, well done to your ds on his resilience and hope your dd doesn't crumble under the pressure. Dd also had a prob last year with an ISA cocked-up by a useless teacher. Bummer.
I'm not scared of 6 year olds, just not entirely convinced by my ability to teach them. KS1 is the only age group I've never taught before. At various times have done KS2, 3, 4 and 5. Never taught EYFS, but I'm never going there ever

Stropperella · 17/03/2015 21:59

Pls wish me luck for tomorrow morning. Dd is supposed to be going on a school trip, has to leave at about 7.45. Early starts are not Dd's forte and none of her friends are going on this (frankly fantastic oceanography and on a boat Fgs) trip. This equals trouble. Youth of today, don't know they're born etc etc. Not looking forward to the shouting at 6am.

MrsSchadenfreude · 17/03/2015 22:58

Good luck, Stropps!

I was going to have an early night, but got sucked into re-watching the series about Claridges on Channel 4.

hattymattie · 18/03/2015 06:02

Stropps - Hope DD is up and on her way to school trip. It's a shame I can't send some sort of alarm down the internet as I'm one hour ahead of you and have been up since 6.30Smile.

MontserratCaballe · 18/03/2015 06:36

Hope things are calm, Stropps and that she is quietly getting dressed. I am providing a telephone alarm to a pal's son on Saturday whose parents are going away overnight. He needs to be up to row at 6.30am and his babysitter (a mutual pal) says she can't get up before 8.30Hmm

bigTillyMint · 18/03/2015 06:41

Hope she is up/getting up Stropps!

And your alarm-call-boy Monty!

Rosebag · 18/03/2015 07:14

Best of luck strops and hope that DD is up with the lark for a day of messing about on boats. I am on my way to an 8am meeting with DDs drama teacher where I will no double be told how rubbish she's doing and how no one wants to work in a group with her. How to get across the irony that she's been a member of a theatre company since she was five years old with no apparent problems.....

Any nuggets of advice and support gratefully received.

Rosebag · 18/03/2015 07:26

no doubt

bigTillyMint · 18/03/2015 07:51

Stropps, hope she went on time - DD has just gone into the shower. She needs to leave in 5 if she is not to be late

lalsy · 18/03/2015 08:08

MI, nah, good rant. Sounds a bit as if you are getting the bad bits of freelance life at the moment and not the good? Do you think you will stay freelance?

Stropps good luck on all counts today and well done!

ds gone off to school looking very white and feeling groggy.....

motherinferior · 18/03/2015 08:23

Rose, repeat that fact and ask with sweet smiles what tactics school could employ to make this happen again? Commiserations.

Lalsy, I do think I will stay freelance -I've done inhouse and it's not a barrel of laughs either.

Ladyjog conducted. About to hit desk and hack 500 words of lesbertarianism out of the cliff-face Grin.

Stropperella · 18/03/2015 08:33

Mission accomplished. There was a fair bit of bad temper at 6am and I had to pack the bag and provide a taxi service Hmm but at least she was there 5 mins before the coach was due to leave, albeit still grumbling about how none of her friends are on the trip. It's an Oceanography taster day at Southampton University, but there's also a bunch of littlies from one of the local first schools who are sharing the coach and going on the boat, I think. I bet their parents had less hassle getting them out the door this morning. Grin

Stropperella · 18/03/2015 08:34

Good luck with tricky teacher, Rose!

hattymattie · 18/03/2015 08:36

Well done Stropps and DD.
I seem to remember the Oceanography course at Southampton getting very positive reviews on the Higher Education threads.

hattymattie · 18/03/2015 08:38

... and Rose - repeating Stropps - Good Luck with tricky teacher.Smile

MrsSchadenfreude · 18/03/2015 09:06

Today is obviously the day for School Trauma. Grin

I have just emailed DD2's Head of French (not her actual teacher) to say to him that as DD2 has now had six (6, vi) years of French teaching, including four years actually living in France, where she managed to get herself around and did some activities in French that she needs not to be learning how to say "My name is..." and "Please can you tell me the way to the station?" but doing something that will a) engage her and b) stretch her. Apparently the class is not streamed, so she (and others who have done lots of French, including one girl who is, err, French) is in a class with complete beginners.

Then I emailed DD1's maths teacher, to tell her that the reason DD1 had not handed in her homework, was that she was off sick when it was set...

And now about to email DD2's house parent to tell her of DD2's "pets" as DD2 doesn't want to...

Hope the meeting with Stroppy Teacher went well, Rose. I do get tired of teachers who also patronise parents and address them as if they were the duller witted members of the class.

And looking forward to the next exciting instalment of hot lesbetarian action, MI.

MrsSchadenfreude · 18/03/2015 09:09

Am supposed to be working from home today, but "computer says no" so I think I am going to have to drag myself in...

Rosebag · 18/03/2015 09:34

I have more sympathy with teachers than you might imagine…I think it's a very difficult job these days…genuinely.

However…apparently, the other kids are "tearing their hair out" over DD in drama….and have I got any ideas about what to do. I was very calm (although very upset inside) and explained that my job as a parent was to support homework, provide nourishing meals and a loving home. That I didn't know how to influence what went on in the lesson as I wasn't there in any capacity, parental, professional or otherwise. That it was really late in the day to communicate about a problem and it would have been really helpful to have nipped it in the bud. That it was deeply unfair to make us responsible for other kids doing badly in assessed units because of DD. That there were no real shades of grey between carrying on as we are, and excluding her from the subject entirely, although providing some support where needed might have been good (looking pointedly at the LSA).

I think that taking what the teacher did say about DD being "very polite and well behaved…not disruptive in any way," she was indirectly telling me that DD was no good at the tasks and because it was group work, she was dragging down the grades of the other students and what was I going to do about it. So it's been left that the LSA will try to provide more support, and I now have to endure a weekly email from the teacher telling me how it's going Hmm Angry Sad

Right I am now going to a similarly joyful meeting about some problems with our new teaching contract !

hattymattie · 18/03/2015 09:47

God Mrs S - how frustrating re French. I do feel some teachers treat the parents the same as the students which the result that I often feel I'm back in the lower fourth when I go to parents evenings.

motherinferior · 18/03/2015 09:49

Influenced by Poldark, I have written a character (a fleeting bit part) who is a dead ringer for the divine Mr Turner. No action so far, MrsS, is merely repressed yearning. Possibly I got rather distracted by the Poldarkalike.

Rose, that teacher sounds spectacularly pants. You held your position very well. I bloody hate it when stuff gets raised only at a point where it's all got completely out of hand.

Talking of patronising, you should have seen Mr Inferior's Quiet Rage when the Inferiorettes' HT started lecturing him about the importance of students understanding multicultural families Grin Grin.