‘They need to read the classics.’

Do they? Really? I often wonder what would happen if we did free choice reading throughout school. I’ve lost count of the number of students who have admitted, sometimes sheepishly, that they completed an assignment without reading the assigned text, and I just want to say, me too, kid, me too… (never at uni, though (promise!))!

In 2016, I was involved in an Action Research Project where I reflected upon my effectiveness as an English teacher and engaged in research to better support my students with reading and writing in the classroom. It was in the initial stages of the project that I was introduced to the work of Nancie Atwell who writes on the power of reading workshop and student choice of reading material (2015). On this controversial topic Atwell has penned countless articles, published books, and in 1990 she actually started a school which focused on the explicit teaching of the skills of writing and reading, but the main tenant, underpinning the success of the students who attend the school, is student choice of what to write, and what to read (Center for Teaching and Learning [CTL], n.d., para. 4). The notion of reading for pleasure in the classroom fits so perfectly with the work of Fiske (2010, p. 44) and his discussion of the ‘everyday pleasure’ of popular culture, and Johnson’s (2005, p. 14) reiteration of the inherent value of popular culture.

Reading is a highly personal undertaking and crucial to the development of literacy skills, and yet, so often the preferred method of ‘reading’ at school is students borrowing a teacher-chosen-class-novel, reading a chapter at a time while completing comprehension questions, and then writing a literary essay. And we wonder why students don’t read for pleasure outside of school? It seems as if we pin our desperate hopes – for that single assigned novel, in its shining glory of literary value, textual integrity, and all those gosh darn beautiful metaphors, to suddenly metamorphize our non-reading students into the literati. Wilhelm (2016, p. 31) will attest, that ignoring the link between pleasure and motivation is, and this won’t come as a shock to anyone who has tried to force someone to read something, not very helpful in creating readers.

The common reality in schools is that students’ self-determinacy is very low on the list of priorities and there are many reasons for this, there is a  syllabus to teach, accountability measures, assessment for, of, and as learning, literacy targets, etc. etc. but it really is possible and I am with Wilhelm (2016, p. 32) here, imperative, to prioritise pleasure when it comes to reading (I would also argue the same for writing, but that’s an idea for another post!). I changed my perspective on the ‘class novel’ after reading In the Middle (Atwell, 2015) and realised there were other ways to do things, and so, where I could, I made changes and one of those changes was the ‘class novel’. Some students enjoy the practice of laboriously poring over a single text, and I also find it riveting, but when teaching I am always desperately hoping all 30-students, from wildly different backgrounds, with a range of convictions, hopes, and dreams I would likely never comprehend (as someone several decades older than them) will like the book I chose from the book room that was the best of the three options left, and, there were 30-copies, in reasonable condition.

This approach doesn’t inspire much joy, and it doesn’t create a culture of reading and this is where things start to fester – reading brings pleasure, sure, but it also counters social disadvantage, and offers a way to engage in the discourses of the wider world (Wilhelm, 2016, pp. 32-33). There is an idea that if students engage with the canon they will forever be changed by the power of literature and will acknowledge the immense possibilities offered by the written word and they will be readers henceforth, and that anything in the realm of popular culture is a waste (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 33).  It is perhaps like eating ice-cream for dinner—delicious but not something any self-respecting grown up would do (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 33). I would argue, though, that secretly we do sometimes want ice-cream for dinner and the abandoning of the rules and structures, to do something that is fun and pleasurable is a delight and important, but even this is a false equivalency as reading a young adult novel isn’t the ‘ice-cream’ of the literature food pyramid, reading is reading, and inherently valuable (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 37). If we stick with the ice-cream metaphor, we’ve missed the point, and we fall into the Arnoldian territory of placing a value judgement on stories that appeal to young people, diverse voices that might not otherwise be heard, an interaction between our students and the expression of our world’s cultures as they stand, today (Takacs, 2014, p. 2). Is it not a highly sophisticated undertaking, and therefore valuable, to read contemporary stories that innately, regardless of intention, offer some insight into society as it is (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 33)? 

The act of reading in school could be seen as a nudge to high culture and this is often cemented by the teacher’s choice of text, so many students therefore, rebel against the pressure to read as it is not a pursuit that provides them with value (Fiske, 2010, p. 46). So why do we take an ‘Eat your vegetables!’ stance on reading and glorify the classics when this practice does not foster a love of reading? We understand that reading is wildly beneficial – published texts have been written, edited, and revised but a little bit of that moral panic creeps in and those young adult texts go right out the window (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 33; Johnson, 2005, p. 14). An English writing lesson your student may have experienced or you may have taught is ‘write what you know’ which I take to mean that one’s experiences ground the writing and allow the exploration of the unknown, and I think this is a great way to think about reading – let students ‘read what they know’ and they will learn more and more and their reading world will open before them (Wilhelm, 2016, p. 37).

Here are some fabulous resources on reading:

‘Raising Readers’ by Megan Daley

‘How to Raise a Reader’ by Pamela Paul

Your Kid’s Next Read with Megan Daley and Allison Tait

Center for Teaching and Learning Reading List

Book Suggestions - Year 7/Year 8

Challenge Card (below)

Here are some questions you could ask to generate conversation about YA novels:

1. What is the last YA book that you read? What would you rate it out of 10 and who would you recommend it to?
2. Who is your favourite YA author?
3. What makes a novel suited for a young adult audience?
4. What is your favourite type of story to read within the overarching genre of YA?
5. Do you think YA is as important as say, classic literature? Why or why not?
6. Do you think YA is valued by peers/teachers/parents/society? Why/why not?
7. Where do you find out about new YA books?
8. Do you prefer one off titles or series?
9. Do you have an all-time favourite YA book? What would you rate it out of 10 and who would you recommend it to?
10. Where do you access most of your books?
11. Are you interested in trying books outside those aimed at a young adult audience?
12. Have you ever re-read a YA book?
13. Have you or would you ever consider listening to a YA audiobook? Why/why not?
14. If you were to write a YA book, what would it be about?
15. If you were to adapt your favourite YA book for the screen, which actors would play each of the characters?

Reference List

Atwell, N. (2015). In the Middle. Heinemann. 

Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). About CTL. http://c-t-l.org/about-ctl/ 

Fiske, J. (2010). Understanding Popular Culture. Routledge.

Johnson, S. (2005). Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. Riverhead Books.

Takacs, T. (2015). Interrogating Popular Culture: Key Questions. Routledge.

Wilhelm, J. D. (2016). Recognising the power of pleasure: What engaged adolescent readers get from their free-choice reading, and how teachers can leverage this for all. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 39(2), pp. 30-41.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Reading Challenge by Kira Bryant

Writing Workshops

I was so lucky today to attend three writing workshops and what a delight it was to hear from those who have made writing their life. Just brilliant. 

I participated in a poetry workshop with Ali Whitelock, a workshop on voice and The Sidekicks with Will Kostakis, and an author talk with Oliver Phommavanh. All three are successful in their various genres and contribute to the publishing landscape of Australia. 

This is one of Ali Whitelock's poetry prompts and my short poem (my Shitty Art for the day!).

Word association - write down the first thing you think of when you hear the following:

 

The colour red…

What does the colour red taste like…

What does the colour red look like…

What does the colour red feel like…

What does the colour red smell like…

What does the colour red sound like…

 

 The Colour Red

Strawberry

A sweet, cool, burst of sweetness on my tongue.

The kiss of the wall I smacked into, a red welt on my arm.

The sting of sunburn on my cheeks.

Red icy poles.

A siren echoing down the road.

Reflections on Term 3, 2020

Busy, busy, busy! 

I was fortunate to get called up for an interview early in Week 1 and I found out, several weeks later (due to several mix ups with staffing - even though I foresaw that there would be problems with my qualifications and called ahead to ask all of the questions!) that I was selected for the position of Teacher Librarian! All the study and thinking stopped being a 'one day' and became a reality - I was to start Week 2, Term 4. Initially the role was something I decided to pursue when I had some extra time while working a corporate position as I could get my work completed most days in the office and my take home work load was significantly reduced. I didn't want to squander such an opportunity so undertook further study. When I saw the TL position advertised it came after a few difficult interactions with colleagues that really made me question what I was doing and whether I had made the right decision to return to the Head Teacher role. I mulled over what to do for quite some time - going backwards and forwards until I simply had to make my mind up, inform my supervisor, and write the application. I got to the point where I felt okay to leave the decision in the hands of the universe - put my best foot forward and wait to see what happened. If it was the right door then it would open up and it did. 

After I accepted the position I really had to get serious about what needed to be completed on my faculty Head Teacher 'to do' list in what remained of the term. Many of the items were additions to the faculty and not necessarily things that someone else would like to take on so they came off the list straight away. I had three good terms of 'a poem a day' and writing workshop but I can't mandate things when I am no longer the Head Teacher so they came off the list. I ordered the last few things needed for the faculty - enough A6 notebooks for the incoming Year 12 cohort to complete the Writer's Notebook activity, a little bit more stationery, and some desk top drawers so I could recycle the cardboard shelves I bought years and years ago that became awful dust collectors and a filler of valuable real estate in the staffroom. Everything needed a tidy. My aim was to leave things in a nicer state than I found them and I think I succeeded in this small goal. 

Overall I returned all of the books to the Seminar Room, finished off updates to the Scope and Sequence filed assessment paperwork and faculty paperwork in a folder and popped it on the faculty shelf. I threw out superfluous junk sitting around the place, took lost property to the Front Office, bought a few more packets of biscuits for the faculty cookie jar, and scanned all of my resources (I still have about 10 folders to go but I will get to those a bit later in the term - hopefully I will have them completed by the end of the year). Early in the term I had some posters laminated to decorate my classroom so I spent a few hours putting it all together to leave as a temporal legacy. I put everything away in the Seminar Room and did a quick tidy of the Book Room. The Book Room really needed another 12+ hours but I just didn't have any extra time. It was workable when I left it - everything hanging around was returned to its place. The Book Boxes stared at me sadly during the clean - they will likely sit there indefinitely but there is nothing I can do about that now. That is one thing that is difficult about leaving - half completed projects or grand ideas that I didn't have time to implement.

With a new position in a workplace outside the suburb I live I knew the routines on the home front would have to change. This was nearly the clincher for me. I am 35-minutes further away from my child and not being there to get him ready in the morning and to drop him off is something I have had to grapple with - do I miss these little moments to have more time generally? It of course it seems like a no-brainer but I am still anxious about daycare and not being able to be there immediately if I am needed. If I am honest, though, the times I was needed I still had a class of 30-students so couldn't leave school for 30-45 minutes anyway so I am likely in a better position now with a reduced face to face teaching load. 

So a week and a half into the role I am driving for a lot longer each day - I have to leave around 7am and I get home at about 4.05pm so my partner is doing daycare drop off and I pick baby up in the afternoon. Overall, because I have less managerial responsibility I can get my work done during the work day and I tinker for a little bit in the afternoon and leave at 3.30pm. Even with the travel, though, I am getting to daycare for pick up earlier than I have all year. I have gained some time because I am not required to attend Executive Meetings and I am not preparing for Faculty Meetings or composing Faculty Memos in lieu of Faculty Meetings. I have some space in my work day now to get things completed because I am not part of the hierarchical structure that I once was - I am no longer instructing staff on how to respond to classroom management issues nor am I collecting students who are misbehaving. I don't have to patrol areas of the school. There are so many things that I am no longer responsible for and to be quite honest, it is such a relief. Some people really enjoy these parts of the role or can be indifferent to the process to a point because there are many other parts of the role they enjoy. I found the managerial elements so very wearing. Establishing myself as an 'authority' whose instructions must be followed or else? Well, I can say, it isn't for me, I don't want to expend energy that way. My days of being a big stick are over. 

Having 'extra' time takes a bit of adjustment. Without the pressure of due dates and letting people down the things I want to do—hobbies just don't get done. I almost need to schedule my 'want to do' list like I would do work tasks - is that a bad thing? Do other people need to do this? I am not sure. I just get so distracted and I lose focus and it is only upon reflection that I realise it has been a year since I have picked up a paintbrush, that my watercolours have been sitting for four months, I haven't been for a walk since before the school holidays, I have read only seven books this whole year and I haven't opened my writer's notebook since I don't know when. I know that I have been doing a lot but the realisation that things that fill me with joy are not completed with any regularity is sobering. I do have a few health things to sort and I have to bear a nightmare from my childhood that is lingering in the wings but I need to make some organisational changes to honour the time I have clawed back. It is sometimes a bit tough to start a new gig in Term 4 but what is great is that I am getting used to how everything works and by the time the new year rolls around I am going to be raring to go.

Reflections on Term 2, 2020

Just a short one for a reflection on Term 2 - telling really. I didn't get a chance to finish because the term was such a nightmare - school at home and from Week 3 we returned back to school.

Here are some of things that characterised Term 2:

- Zoom meetings

- Hand sanitiser and students at first complying but gradually becoming more difficult

- Buckets of wipes and wipes in every single place except the bin

- Continual change

- Preparing for gradual return from Week 3

- Online learning records moved from 7-12 to 11-12 because we now have a master document

What a year!

ETA Early Career Teachers' Big Day 2020 - Teaching Creative Writing

Here is my presentation from the ETA Early Career Teachers' Big Day professional learning held on Saturday 19 September 2020. Thanks to those who came along! It was definitely a different experience presenting via Zoom but it is always great to develop new skills.

Teaching Creative Writing

A Writerly Life - A Publishing Idea 4/4

I attended a teacher writer's retreat at the Q Station in Manly some time ago and as a way to publish writing from the event we were asked to put together some pages for a zine. These are the two pages I created with my photograph, illustrations, and four short poems.

I love the concept of zines and have purchased many from the Sticky Institute (currently running a 'Quarantine Zine Club' while Covid 19 restrictions are in place) and I treasure them. Zines remind me of my high school art teacher's worksheets - images cut and pasted, titles printed from Word, bubble writing, handwritten notes. There is something about the handwriting that I especially love. Maybe I should dig out some of the worksheets I created in my first few years of teaching and turn them into a zine...

A zine can be as simple or complex as the maker wishes. It provides an opportunity for a piece of writing to have some finality and seek an audience. The Sticky Institute accepts zines and will sell them on your behalf if you would like to take that route or perhaps you could leave a copy on a train seat or at a bus stop with a pebble on top.

Here is a great guide on creating a zine from The Creative Independent and a guide from Vice. If you would like to embark on zines in the classroom there is a peer reviewed article available via JSTOR - Zines in the Classroom: Reading Culture.

A Writerly Life - Generating Ideas for the Writer's Notebook 2/4

Writer's Notebook by KB

References

Fletcher, R. (2001). The Writer’s Notebook. School Talk, 6(4), 1-6.

Grant, S. (2007). Notebook Know-how. https://partnershipforinquirylearning.org/resources/writerly-life/gathering-notebook-entries/

A Writerly Life - Developing a Writer's Notebook 1/4

What is a writer’s notebook?

A writer’s notebook is a place for you to collect ideas and thoughts and tiny snippets of inspiration for writing in the future. It is a place to mess about with words, phrases, and record your reactions to and interactions with the world. It is your chance to notice, pay attention, listen, collect, muse, wonder, and play with language. Include significant things in your writer’s notebook. It is not a diary or chronological record of your life but a collection of what is meaningful to you. Aim to add something every single day.

What will go into your writer’s notebook? 

• ideas 
• interesting facts 
• statistics 
• intriguing words/words you haven't heard before/your favourite words 
• great lines from poems or novels you’ve read 
• sketches – of your lunch, plants, a scene from your favourite game, an important place, your desk 
• lists of things you know, things you don’t know, what you like, what you dislike 
• think like a detective as you live your everyday life - what happened just before you entered a room Who was there right before you? What were they doing/saying/thinking? 
• up close observations of things around you – people, objects, events, experiences 
• family recipes/stories/jokes 
• timelines (real or fictional) 
• interesting quotes from books, poems, television shows, films 
• bits of overheard conversations 
• an interesting line of dialogue from something you have seen or read 
• mind maps to generate ideas about a topic 
• research a setting (place or time) or a character you are developing 
• sensory description of the world around you – what do you see, hear, touch, taste, smell? 
• letters – to your younger self, to your older self, to a family member, or long-lost friend 
• found objects – clippings from magazines/newspapers/catalogues, tickets, a handwritten note, shopping list, paint swatches of colours with interesting names, etc. 
• observations of your belongings – how is your wallet organised, how are apps sorted on your 
• smart device home screen and why they are worth this prime real estate, what books are on your bedside table, do you have a secret chocolate stash and what is worthy enough to be included in aforementioned stash
• lyrics from the songs that move you 
• your favourite time of day, season, month, sound, smell 
• anything else that comes to mind! 

What to leave out:

• erasers – there are no mistakes 
• perfection 
• spell check 

Sample Writer's Notebook pages:

A larger version of the pages can be found here: Sample Writer's Notebook pages

References

Fletcher, R. (2001). The Writer’s Notebook. School Talk, 6(4), 1-6.

Grant, S. (2007). Notebook Know-how. https://partnershipforinquirylearning.org/resources/writerly-life/gathering-notebook-entries/

Reflections on Week 10, Term 1, 2020

Week B is usually my 4-day week but I don't think such a thing exists anymore - not with the constant pinging of notifications from my students and my clearly terrible instructions that no-one is able to understand and even though we don't have class today, because I don't usually work today, they were just coming at me all day. I will have to manage this differently next term. I cannot cope with the barrage and the constancy.

My colleague found an amazing article to share with our Year 12 Standard English classes recently 'We are using the same words but are we speaking the same language?' and the words of the writer are echoing around my brain. They ring true.

So what has the past week been like? We are currently on a rotational roster of supervision so we only need to go in 1-2 times in the last two weeks of term. I also went in Monday and smashed out numerous things on the to list, one of which was organising copies of the modified assessment, and then getting modified criteria printed up and put into envelopes after organising a system for record keeping marking online. I drew up a timetable for the meetings and then we had the meetings all day Wednesday and then on Thursday the decision was made to cancel all junior assessment. The guilt that swallowed me - wasting all that time on Monday and Wednesday - is massive. This time period is hard enough and there's so little extra to give and I just worked for nothing and made my staff work for nothing. Not much can be done now but I am sad about it.

I have been collecting data and trying to work out a way forward that is not going to burden the staff in my faculty. I really do need to go into school to speak with the senior executive to clarify some aspects of online teaching because if I am feeling the pressure with four classes, what are my staff dealing with when they have five or six classes?

I have asked for an extension for my university assignment - it is due in 5-days and they are giving students whose workload has been impacted by Covid 19 an extra 5-days. I watched the census date drift by and paid the course fee so I am committed but I am so distracted. I am looking forward to pressing 'submit' but it is going to be a struggle to get there.

I just organised priority delivery for my grandmother so she is able to get supplies. My brother and sister in law recently visited her and mentioned that she was out of toilet paper - something she didn't mention to me so I need to put something in place to ensure she has the things she needs. I will call her local fruit and veg store to get them to do a delivery for her as well. If she has been living off her freezer store she will be missing fresh fruit and vegetables. It is times like these that I do wish I lived closer - not because I would go visit but just so I could shop for her and leave things on her doorstep.

I hope this is all over soon.

Reflections on Week 9, Term 1, 2020

Week 9 was one of the biggest weeks of my career. Not for any reason worth celebration but because we systematically, in the space of 7 days flipped education from face to face to online. We all had a crash course in Google Classroom and we are, almost, officially online.

I have been working enormous days and caring for my partner and child while getting everything established. I joked, and I regret this now, that I would appreciate a little break to catch up on everything because I was tired. While there is a break from face to face teaching time now, the alternative, our online 'revolution' seems almost like I am shouting into a void and as for spare time. There's none of that.

I have modified assessment for 7-12 and have converted everything so it works on Google Classroom and students will be able to hand in their tasks online. Instructions have been written, hundreds of Google Classrooms notifications received and it is safe to say that this situation is less than idea. 

We are contacting families next week to ensure students are accessing materials. I really, really hope that maybe after a few days off last week that students will now get online to access materials and get on with the work I have put together. 

A few parents have asked to be part of the classrooms which I have no problem about, especially now that everything is set up and ready to go. I wasn't happy to add them last week when I was still trying to work out how to use Google Classroom but now, I am feeling a bit more confident.

I have made a few errors - using Google Forms to collect information for an assessment task. Forms makes information so easily collected, however, it also dumps the information in one area. When staff are marking their own classes this is not helpful - now everyone is going to have to flick through all of the student responses to find their own. Class lists are arbitrarily organised so it is not possible for me to collate the information into classes without sitting and doing it manually. I just do not have the time or mental capacity to do that at the moment.

The future looks interesting and I am not sure I am ready.

Reflections on Week 8, Term 1, 2020

This week Covid19 has moved onto the radar in a more insidious manner. We are no longer laughing at the lack of toilet paper in the supermarket aisles but have seen canned goods, pasta and sauce, pain relief medication for children and adults, flour, sugar, and tissues become depleted. There are gaps everywhere and we, who have lived all our lives with constant availability, have never seen such a thing before. Supermarkets have begun to limit the purchase of toilet paper, tissues, long life food items to ensure customers are not missing out on the necessities.

At school the kids are starting to drop off. Attendance is usually fairly consistent but there are empty chairs appearing in our classrooms and teachers on social media are speaking about readying resources to provide to students. Sport has been cancelled. Things are starting to get a bit spooky.

I went to the doctor with my partner and baby on Friday and I had a slightly running nose. The receptionist nearly threw me out of the practice. She shoved a mask at me and handed me the hand sanitiser. I learned, once we got in for our appointment, that if the doctor fell ill for even a cold she would have to immediately take three days off work. She apologised for the mask. I wore the mask on and off over the weekend to avoid spreading my cold to baby - you can't buy them anywhere so it seemed smart to use it.

Everything feels difficult at the moment.

Reflections on Week 7, Term 1, 2020

What a massive week.

Tuesday night was Open Night - I used to have a short PowerPoint quiz with ten questions about the subject of English but they reduced the time they wanted parents and prospective students at each station so my team rallied and put together a little display and I basically yelled at bunches of parents who tried to listen over the fray of other faculties. I had no idea just how many people would attend - in my before stint as HT there would be about 20 people in a large group but the groups this year were around 40+. I should have set up on the other side of the Library instead of across from another faculty because it was wild. I noticed some lose interest and walk off which is really disheartening and possibly problematic for the school. I did have a few good conversations though. I spoke about the daily poem in Year 7, the focus on giving time to reading and writing, opportunities for students to engage in writing competitions, extra-curricular activities such as debating and public speaking. I had a whole bunch take one of the poetry booklets I had put together for parents to peruse which is cute - poetry should be in everyone's life! I got home from the evening and proceeded to bag up 80-cookies for the professional learning session on Wednesday. It was a huge night. 

The professional learning seemed to go well - the coffee van arrived on time, the catering was adequate (we did ask for more sandwiches because they catered for 38 instead of 75), I had the sign on sheet ready, stickers and a marker for name badges, Twitter signs, spare note paper and pens, water for our guest speaker (and cute and colourful Ikea cups for her to drink from!), the lucky door prizes, and aforementioned cookies. I wrote a short speech to introduce the afternoon and well, it fell pretty flat - I acknowledged the difficult start to the year - heat waves, fires, floods, and panic buying toilet paper and how all of these things impact us as well as our students and one way to reflect is to write and what a good opportunity for us to engage in our craft before sharing the activities with out students. I feel like maybe not everyone wanted to attend the professional learning so I am very glad I wasn't getting up to speak about a literacy initiative. I am glad I provided some space for staff to engage in their writing - something different, something fresh, something to engage us in our subject area in a practical way. Personally, I loved the workshop. I will write some of the things we learned in another post.

The rest of the week flew by with more things being added to my to do list than getting done but with two massive tasks ticked off the list the relief was palpable.

Reflections on Week 5, Term 1, 2020

How difficult is it to build continuity and rapport when you are off work sick every other week. The report from students about the lessons in my absence was less than enouraging but sometimes one is just too ill to be in front of 100+ students in a day, and it would be terrible (not to mention, gross!) if they were to all catch my illness. I think it is also damaging to rapport and classroom management when one is not well enough to uphold the facade of certain rules and procedures.

I was unsure whether I would be well by Friday and the reality of facing a big day when still feeling a bit delicate was a bit much but it ended up being just fine. I had 4-periods on, recess welfare meeting, and Pen and Paper Lunch 1 and Lunch 2. I got a sudden burst of energy when more kids started wandering in for the lunch time creative writing group and wow were they adorable when I gave them each a journal. They were only the two for $3.00 ones form Kmart but the kids were chuffed to be given something to capture their thoughts and drafts.

My Year 12 students have expressed their love of writing notes, my conundrum is, how do I give them the briefest notes possible so it fulfils their wish of having some notes and 'actually writing something' in their workbook but also not losing time for them to think and respond and compose... the things I really want them to do. I will have to think on this as I prepare for next term.

This job is such a balancing act and it has been the roughest of starts, I am still planning week by week for every single one of my classes, uni has started, I have to write a book, I have to plan for NAPLAN, I am running a Twilight Session next week, Open Night is next week, and it is assignment time... I am tired just looking at that list. I once told a friend that I bite off more than I can chew and then chew like hell and that is where I am at right now. It is a bit silly, really, but it is hard to give up passion projects even when I know it is going to be a lot - they are the things that keep us going.

I spent a few hours getting baby and myself out of the house so my unwell partner could have a rest. We went to Officeworks where I purchased some lucky door prizes for the Professional Learning I am running - two lovely Lamy ballpoint pens, a few notebooks, memo pads, and some sticky notes, and a big packet of Tim Tams. We then went to Woolworths to buy a roll of wrapping paper and our guest speaker some chocolates as a thank you. I managed to get everything wrapped and ready which means next weekend I won't be feeling stressed knowing I *have* to go out to get things. It will all be done.

Almost at the halfway point.

Reflections on Week 4, Term 1, 2020

Just a quick overview of the week - in Year 7 English we created a list of ode topics and then moved onto anti-ode topics and one student loudly proclaimed as I walked around the classroom that his topics for possible anti-odes were English and Maths. He explained his reasoning for 'English' being on his list - he knows how to write so English is a waste of his time. I guess I appreciate his honesty. Conviction is important even though hearing such an opinion after he has been in my class for just four weeks made me a little sad.

I applied to be a volunteer for my Professional Association and went to the first meeting. It went really well. I am on the Communications Committee and the work in the lead up to the annual conference is to spruik, spruik, spruik!

University has started, well O'Week has, and I am a little scared to be honest. The lecturer is right on time - the materials were not uploaded a day earlier than they had to be, which, to be honest, again, means that I am going to be behind very quickly.

We worked out the non-charging laptop issue. It turns out they charge but the little lights that indicate that they are connected to the power doesn't work, on any of them. Fabulous. It was a lot of stuffing around to get to that point. I moved them to three different power points to test them, knocked the trolley over on myself, and proceeded to break two chargers. Thankfully the laptops didn't break and I was only slightly damaged. Someone with more knowledge than me figured it all out in the end, thankfully we now know.

Baby is sick, again. He has spent 1/7 of his life fighting illness and if the stories are correct, this is going to continue for months to come. Parenting is ensuring you are vigilant in setting the timer for the next dose of pain relief medication. Also, working out hacks to get said medication into the baby without him choking because he is screaming the house down (sorry neighbours!), is very important.

Reflections on Week 2, Term 1, 2020

Whoa, what a whirlwind. Week 2 wasn't really a week. It was three days. Anyone can manage a three-day work week, right? Maybe not. All I can say is. Food poisoning. I started feeling off on Saturday night and I don't think I was feeling right again until Friday. I took Monday off, baby still went to daycare because I was a wreck, and then I had Friday off because I don't work every second Friday. It was brutal and I still feel a bit off just thinking about it.

As for my weekly reflection - I am still waiting on keys. As are two of the staff in my faculty. I managed to get a block key, and a classroom key, and I was able to wrangle one more classroom key for a staff member. But that is it until the locksmith returns from holidays in a few days time. So, it is going to be another week and a half, at least, before I can open the book room, get into the staffroom without hunting for one of the cleaning staff in the morning, and tun the electricity back on when it trips the switch. I was asked to type up a list of exactly what keys are needed and pop it in the book where all the jobs are written down. I have returned twice to put the list back in the book. I am hoping by the halfway point of this term that the whole faculty will be able to get into the buildings. Fingers crossed.

As for official duties, I attended my first Executive Meeting, and it went well. I made a few contributions and took the rest of it in - the school is not the same place it was 3-years ago and people have changed in that time. Everyone has grown, the school has grown, and I am just trying to absorb everything, and ask questions to fill the gaps in my knowledge. I have had a few funny looks when I have asked for things but I have been gone a while, and I simply don't remember everything.

As for my personal goals, to write, and ensure I am not existing on caffeine and chocolate, well... My healthy eating has all but gone out the window. My last meal before I was ill was a salad and I can't really stomach the thought of a salad now. I will need to change the ingredients to try to shift the negative association. I guess that is what I am trying to do with my Year 10 class each day - trying to shift their negative associations with the word 'English.' It will be a gradual process for us all.

I have a few tasks still outstanding - collection of mandatory training certificates and contact details, a project outline for one of the school goals. That is my plan for tomorrow morning - just to check where everything is up to and work out who I need to speak with. Mostly, I am just trying to consolidate and ensure we have the resources we need to do our work. I managed to put claims in for items I purchased for the faculty, put a P-Card application through, and compile a large stationery order that I really hope is processed sooner rather than later. We are subsisting on the smell of an oily rag at the moment and it is more difficult than it needs to be.

I am starting to get my head around what writing workshop will look like in class. I think I have resigned myself to the fact that students will be given a period a fortnight or the equivalent for reading - how I wish it were more - but the writing workshop focus will have to do for now. I would love to request more Stage 4 classes next year so that I am able to continue with the process I am starting now but hopefully I will be able to develop the scope and sequence of skill development over Stage 4 this year and it will be ready for staff to use in 2021.  Then the next thing to do will be to get stuck into Stage 5.

Some interesting things the kids have said to me so far:

- My husband works at the school as well and I have fielded several, 'Why don't you have the same last name as your husband?' - my response has been - my name is my own, I got married after I had been working for some time so I was already established, and I also mentioned that I'm a feminist.
- I have written my name on the board several times and had the comment, 'You wrote 'Ms' on the whiteboard and you're married. You should write Mrs.' I responded with why write an extra letter when I can get away with two? I didn't mention the hypocrisy of Mr VS. Mrs.

My to do list continues to grow as we move into Week 3.

Reflections on Week 1, Term 1, 2020

It has been a very busy start to the term. I knew it would be. I was prepared. I have set myself some limits. I am aware that all the things on my to do list will never be done at the end of the day and that is alright, because I am getting through them. I haven't procrastinated on many tasks. Though, I have run out of time in the school day to get things done. That is something I just cannot understand - the role of an executive staff is being available to staff but it is also a teaching role, I have 120 of my own students, and yet I also have the other 900 on my mind. In my periods off face-to-face teaching I have to meet with the principal to ask that the literacy initiative I am running can be copied out of a non-English budget, apologise profusely to the office manager because I didn't follow protocol for ordering textbooks because 20 copies weren't returned by the Standard English class last year and we are studying the play with the next cohort right now.

It has been a pressure pot of ordering stationery and equipment and consumables, like batteries, which run the clocks in our classrooms and remotes for the projectors. All of these small details that don't make a 'leader' but are crucial to the smooth running of a school day so it is leadership, I think, to be all over the small details, while not forgetting the big picture, and realising that I cannot work 15-hours a day. Trying to not panic about all the things that need doing, immediately, is quite a challenge.

Ensuring that my family has a routine is high on my priority list as well. We lasted a day. Our baby had an injection on Wednesday of Week 1, Term 1 and that was it. He was all over the place and so were we. Then we hit Saturday evening and my partner and I were struck down with food poisoning and I have been out of action for the past 30-hours. I feel like a wreck. I managed to prepare my own lessons and those of one of my staff in the moments I felt okay. Had a day off resting and catching up on things I couldn't do over the weekend. And now awaiting on a staff member to send through lessons for tomorrow as she is unwell too. It is wild. And untenable. And hats off to those who do this year in and year out. I am on the learning curve of a life time.

Keys really help, so does being on email mailing lists. So far I have been saved by caring colleagues, I am so very grateful to work with great people. I know though that every one thing I can't do for myself is something someone else has to add to their workload for the day. I have a different concept of time lately, I am keenly aware of whom I am taking time from if I am not doing what I am meant to be doing, if something isn't working that should be working, inefficiencies make me really cross, in a way they didn't before. Now, if my work computer isn't functioning I know that is more time I will have to spend working at home, or after school, more time that my child will be in the company of people who are paid to look after him. And that breaks my heart a little, each and every day.

I must say that it definitely isn't all doom and gloom though. I have opportunities to mentor and support early career teachers. I am getting things done. I have made a few small but deliberate changes in line with a greater vision and the staff working with me on this, seem excited. I have another 3-days this week to get all finance/purchasing stuff done,  clean and unpack my classroom,  book PDP meetings with staff.

Writing, planning, reading websites I love...

Just a few websites about writing, planning, reading and I have thrown in a few shopping sites as well.

Meet Me at Mike's
This site has it all - beautiful imagery, support with blogging, great recommendations, recipes, and what feels like advice from a friend.

Planning Mindfully
Tips and tricks when trialling a new organisational system. It is nice to think about being as organised as the author.

The Tot
Lots of articles about parenting babies and toddlers. I found this site after a friend sent me the 10 best books for 1-year-olds article when I asked her about early literacy.

Teachers as Writers
Many short and practical articles about writing and the craft of writing.

Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA)
PETAA has a range of resources available for members under the title 'PETAA Papers' - they are very useful and written by reputable authors. I have found a lot of the Professional Learning on offer to be beneficial to the high school classroom, as well.

NSW Teachers' Association Centre for Professional Learning
The Journal of Professional Learning (JPL) has a heap of articles on every topic related to teaching imaginable. Definitely worth a look.

Multimodal Me
I took lead from the author of this page to create a writing teacher group. The resources from her sessions are filed here.

The National Writing Project 
The NWP website has a plethora of resources to support writing instruction. I have linked to the 'Teaching Writing' resources.

Writers Digest
WD has a heap of resources, books, articles. Some of these would be terrific in the classroom.

Print Friendly
I tweet this website regularly. It is a brilliant way to capture a website which in teaching, sometimes you need to do. I also use it when saving craft or cooking instructions! To print or save a website simply paste the URL into the search bar, the website will load, you can delete extra spaces and large images if not required and proceed to print or PDF a document that is much shorter. Save paper and space on your hard drive or cloud!

Booko
Getting a price range on books can be time consuming so pop the title into Booko and it will do a price comparison (with postage!) so you can see how many books you can buy with your monthly book budget. I like that there is free shipping through Booko with Booktopia, too. I have found a few times that there is a cheaper edition available so it does pay to do a quick double check if you have been directed to Booktopia, or Book Depository.

Doops Designs
The fabric designs are striking and the garment design is simple and pared back to allow the prints to shine. I have one dress so far. I will be purchasing more.

Mentor texts

It is sometimes difficult to find great texts to use in the classroom. English teachers use texts all the time - as mentor texts to support students with their writing, as an example of a particular rhetorical device, to determine reading comprehension skills, as a prompt for creative writing, or when putting exams together. I love to have a tapestry of different voices in my classroom and my aim is to ensure this happens more often this year.

This is a list of quality sources:

The Paris Review
A variety of articles and interviews with writers (going all the way back to the 1950s!).

Teen Vogue
Many great articles of varying lengths about current affairs, sustainability, and, of course, some fashion.

The Sydney Morning Herald Summer Reading
Short stories which could be useful in demonstrating a particular way of opening or closing a piece of writing or another technique.

Literary Hub
Pithy articles of varying lengths, as well as poetry.

AF Harrold 
Many poets are kind enough to share some of their work on their websites which gives teachers a chance to read through to see what will appeal to their students. I did a workshop with AF Harrold a few years ago and it was so much fun. He also has a website that focuses on his writing for kids.

Marie Claire
A range of articles of varying lengths. These work well as they are very current and local to Australia. I am on the look out for the current magazine to get a copy of the article, 'Meet the Indigenous Women Fighting for Change.'

Other resources:

Tropfest
Short films can provide as much insight into film techniques and construction as feature length films. Tropfest is a gem. I must admit, I loved when I could get my hands on the DVD with the Sun Herald but times have changed and YouTube is more accessible anyway - especially since laptops no longer come with DVD players.

Writer's Digest
This page contains many useful resources around writing, rather than articles, but I thought I would include it considering the focus on writing in the new HSC English syllabuses.

CPL Journal
Lots of greats in the NSW, Australia teaching world have written for the NSW Teachers' Association Centre for Professional Learning journal. There are so many quality articles to support teachers.