ahh the joys of public transport

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Well, was offered the job I was offered then un offered last week. A teacher here at alerton grange high has a sick not til the end of next week but thinks she may well come back early if she feels up to it (i tell you know, if the doc gives me a sick note and i feel better early i would be heading ion holiday not back to work!!). The job is the north side of leeds, about10 or so on the bus so i am back to the joys of public transport. Now the transport system over her is really quite good i think better than ours but i havent been on it for a while... Little did i know to buy a long term ticket (a weekly) you need to bring in a passport photo to get an identity card thing, then purchase you ticket so the first two days til i found and had the time to get a passport photo done i was stuck paying for each portion of my journey separately.

My typical morning over here is a 6am alarm,for a 6.30 dept from hospital rd riddlesden for the walk down to the bus stop to get the 662 bus to keighley station. There i stood in the sub zero temps (no not sub zero, but seriously before 7am it is seriously cold!!) i get either the 6.56 northern trainlines train or the 7.04 GNER to london to travel the half an hour to leeds. From the leeds train station i have to walk 15 mins up to my next bus stop - no, why have a bus stop at the train station where everyone is getting off their trains, why not sprinkle a million different bus stops all round the leeds CBD so people have trouble finding them. From bus stop V4 it is a simple 15mins further on the bus and a 10 min walk to the front gates of the school about 8.15. In the reverse order i have tended to get home between quarter to and quarter past 5, so it’s a long day when cricket begins at half 5, 3 days a week (2 training and 1 coaching jnrs)

Its not soo bad. It is seriously chilly, when the sun is down the wind has a real chilling bite! I must admit i am the only one at the train station at Keighley with a beanie on!! I have also been wearing my thermal top under my shirt and seem to be the only one that is quite this cold. One of my colleagues came today having ridden his bike to school in simply shorts and a t-shirt - thats tough! I spent 20 quid the other day at argos and bought myself a sneaky little Mp3 player/radio so that has kept me company as well as the crappy dross they write in their free yorkshire paper.
One of the teachers form my science office is selling a car for only 400 quid, given i get payed 400 next fri i think it might be a sign..... it would certainly be nice to jump into the car in the morning and crank up the heater and would be helpful for tripping down to york/the footy/ cricket/london etc....we'll see.

The school here is very similar to back home, but everything is provided for the students. one of the students complained the other day that they had filled their workbook up, i offered them a sheet of paper and they told me (bluntly) that they could just go to the store cupboard and be given a brand newy! I assume that students are only given the basic writing material, I have taken to going to class with 4 or 5 pens, and then find myself without a pen to do the 'register' during class as they are all being 'borrowed'. they obviously don’t cover borrowing very well, as two or three times the only way i have been able to recover all my pens is via the threat of detention, unlucky chez.

I dont think the agency told the school i have never taught before (probably reasonably good idea i think). When i first arrived at the school i was given a small booklet with a couple of the school policies (discipline, reward, detention) and a school map and class times (no bells here). A notice saying that if students are particularly misbehaved which room to send them too (unfortunately they have gotten rid of corporal punishment), and my class list for today and told good luck! Well well well, it is going to be interesting i thought to myself as i wondered out into the arctic and tried to orient the map so i could head for D3.... 3 and a half hours later i had returned to the school form my journey to D3,no, i found it reasonably quickly, to be told i was a form teacher and i had 5 mins to go to the staff room to check my notices and head to for. My class is a lovely bunch, only three of the students that day had a WSD (whole school detention), full of colourful language and respect for no one but themselves! Over the past few days i have at least progressed to being given 5 minutes to say my piece in form and most people listen to my requests, most of the time. The two other teachers in my office have been quite helpful and i am now involved and know whats going on each day and what all the notices i am getting are for. You would hardly call what i do for the rest of the day teaching, rather crowd control. A teacher has been assigned to do my planning for me for each class that i teach. Therefore there is no room for me to take over and work at my pace and extend students who finish the work. If someone finishes whats on the sheet for them to do, i dont know what part of the book they are doing next so cannot keep them workin..... it gets kinda boring really, but the students are very caring souls and they make sure i am never bored for too long, throwing things, stealing things, wandering from the room (each room is joined to the two either side of it via a non-lockable door, this is the simplest form of crapping me off by leaving my class...) Never was the plight of a supply teacher more evident than half an hour ago as i was 'on duty' in the D block corridor, 3 minutes i spent yelling at students, who are not allowed in this particular corridor asking them to turn and leave, raised voice was tired, logical reasoning was tried, threats all to no avail..... A 'real' teacher came out of his classroom "girls, LEAVE" and the students were gone.... its a tough life.

I have been teaching Years 7,9 & 10. Year 9's are the devil. They have no respect what so ever. I dislike them immensely. I also have some senior students - 6th formers (years 12 and 13). They actually have provided the highlight of the week here as they are capable of normal speech at a normal volume about sensible topics (not, sire im a wrestler, im john cena...) they taught me all about the education system i this country and how it works at school, they have probably been more helpful than half the teachers cos they also taught me about all the ways there are to break the rules etc, where to go when your skyving (cutting class) which is all very helpful. then the second lesson i had them we chatted about that dude in the states, and about oz and accents and stuff.
I am feeling slightly better about myself right now cos im typing this in my office next to one of the D block classrooms and the female teacher in there (a real teacher) is having as much trouble as i have been to get across simple instructions and such! She is also missing 3 glue sticks if anyone comes across one (i have heard that about 8 times now...)

think thats about all my news for now. I think i am injured and wont be able to bowl on my first weekend here but actually had quite a good hit last night and seem to be adjusting finally with the stick. I get my new bat tonight so i am very excited and i think that some of my under fifteens might be feeling the wrath of my willow tonight as i take some of my residual year nine anger out on them and bash some sixes!

Thanks to everyone thats sent emails, i will Endeavour to reply to all of them at some stage. Think of me everytime you fell the sum, warm on your shoulders, i am missing that!!!

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