Oh no....only the weekend left to do all the work I brought home!

[LuvMyBoyz]

I've had a great half term but since Tuesday I have felt guilty about not doing the work I need to do before Monday. Now I am going to have to get up early tomorrow and Sunday to get it done.

Will anyone else be working so I don't feel so lonely?

[AntiJamDidi]

I am still being rather rubbish about the amount of work I have to do I still haven't planned my observation lesson (yr 11 maths foundation, targets of c, about reading the longer problem-solving type questions if anyone fancies planning it for me). I still have a set of books to mark as well.

What am I doing right now? I'm about to take dd2 to a fireworks party and probably won't start work til at least 8. I am the world's worst procrastinator.

[petalpower]

How late will you have to work tonight AntiJamDidi?
I'm not going to be any help with your planning I'm afraid, primary here!

[stillenacht]

Have spent about 14 hours marking this hol and only just scratched the surface...argh!!

[petalpower]

What subject are you stillenacht?

[barebranches]

yup still on the sofa...

[ThisIsBULLSHIT]

petal that's a few years away from me but here goes!!

Assuming they have talk partners, could you hold up a variety of things and get them to whisper to each other how long they think it might be then choose the best sitter to come and actually measure it, then a house point/ sticker/ insert behaviour management reward in here to the partners who guessed carefully?

It's then semi active learning as all are involved, includes spkg and listng and you should be able to show differentiation if you hold two things up at once, 'x group here is your thing to guess and z group here is yours'.

Or could you challenge them in partners to go and find something that is 10cm long, and maybe give higher ability a harder one, ie 45 cm? Or even 1m 20cm!

As I said I teach waaaay younger chn!

[ThisIsBULLSHIT]

Ooh didi think we were on a thread last year together I have nc'd was checkpoint!

[stillenacht]

Petalpower music secondary and part time too!!! 3 yr 7 classes,3year 8s, GCSE yr 9 and 10 and 11 and AS and A2.

[stillenacht]

Composition homework takes 15 minutes per gcse pupil to mark. I have 72!

[petalpower]

Thank you ThisIsBULLLSHIT, all ideas welcomed!
Stillenacht, glad I don't teach secondary - the marking sounds horrendous. It was bad enough marking literacy when I was in Year 5/6.

[AntiJamDidi]

Yes bullshit I think we were. How are you doing?

I am just going to do what I can by 11 and then leave it. I have a free tomorrow so I can plan my lesson then or leave it til Tuesday night and I'll do more marking at lunchtime and after school tomorrow. I just can't get motivated in the holidays

[Ihatespiders]

Tomorrow is inset. I still have time ... don't I?

[barebranches]

2 days in and its like we never had a week off

[TawdryTatou]

Exhausted already.

So far in two days I have taught six lessons and an intervention session, attended two meetings and a joint planning session, marked two sets of books, marked three GCSE essays for standardisation, standardised two colleagues' marking, made a differentiated worksheet going through the PEED technique, marked five of the twenty five yr8 assessments that are waiting for me, had to reformat and print off data sheets for all classes (that took an inordinate amount of time), sat with a student through lunchtime while he finished his controlled assessment, printed off and photocopied thirty year 8 reading tests, done a bus duty and a break duty.

Not to mention replying to emails, supplying work for pupils in isolation, registration work and monitoring form members on report.

All for about £200. Bargain.

And I'm feeling guilty about stopping now...

[TawdryTatou]

That's not to say my workload is particularly heavier than any other teacher's...it just makes me feel better about stopping to see what I've actually achieved written down.

We do work hard, don't we?

[stillenacht]

I hate this. It's slave labour. Got to get out.

[petalpower]

I think I must have done about 6 hours prep, planning, making resources etc for my 1 hour lesson observation. It's just ridiculous. Feels like the half term break never happened. Reading Tawdry's list it makes you realise how much we all do when it's written down.

[AntiJamDidi]

I have finally planned my observation lesson . It only took 3 hours to plan one hour's lesson, and I bet the pupils won't actually learn any more than the lesson I taught them today that took approx 20 mins to plan . But we all have to play the game of trying to be outstanding (I think I will be good but don't think I'll make it into outstanding).

I'm absolutely knackered already. I missed break yesterday because I was out doing primary outreach so all of breaktime and part of lunch was taken up by travelling to and from the primary school. Then I had a meeting at lunch today (a full and busy day anyway) and a year 11 revision session after school tonight because their mocks are very soon. I definitely won't be able to keep up this pace for the next 34 years until I can retire.

[stillenacht]

Its ridiculous. I just can't carry on like this. Full day teaching, windband at lunchtime, home with autistic (low functioning) son and pick up other DS,9pm attempt to do marking,10.30pm give up.

[petalpower]

I just got RI on my lesson observation too (as did another colleague). Feels like there's a hidden agenda . I don't agree with their feedback about progress in the lesson and thought it was pitched correctly. They didn't listen (HT and another HT). Feel totally demoralised. What's it all for?

[stillenacht]

Oh petal its so shit Its everywhere atm. Sorry you are going through feeling like crap. Xxx

[petalpower]

Thank you stillenacht. I do feel really crap because I know the pressure will really be on for the next observation. I don't think I can keep jumping through these hoops for the next 20 years.

[stillenacht]

I know. Am seriously considering getting out of mainstream and going to SN education (as DS has severe autism and attends SLD school I am pretty au fait with many areas of SN).

[petalpower]

Will SN education be any better? Presumably Gove can still tell them which ever idea he has whilst eating breakfast too? SN ed seems to be very paperwork heavy from what I hear.
I'm sitting here now trying to muster up some enthusiasm for planning tomorrow's lessons now. Feel like putting my feet up on the sofa and necking a large quantity of wine instead.

[AntiJamDidi]

Aw petal that's tough. I had an RI last year and it really really sucks.

My observation seemed to go well, I think it was Good but I won't get my feedback til Friday because we just aren't free at the same time. She seemed quite happy as she left, and she did say that the kids were all very positive about me.

I truly despise observations. I end up almost paralyzed with anxiety when I'm planning, and even the kids noticed I was shaking at the start of today's lesson