Teaching Trials and Tribulations 3

Now that the end of term has come and I have come to the end of my sharp learning curve, I can at last share some of my difficulties and how I have overcome them.


Now and then

PE with Prep/One (Senior Infants/First)

Now: I bring a bottle of water to all P.E. classes as do the kids. We leave all our bottles in the shade and have regular breaks for drinks. During these breaks a small number of pupils also take a toilet break.

Then: “What do you mean you want a drink of water? Didn’t I tell you to have a drink before you came out! You can’t go to the toilet, it’s too far away and I can’t mind you. I have a pain in my tummy too and I also want my mammy!”

Now: “Jack, you need to stay in the rectangular area.”

Then: “You, what’syourname? What’s his name? Get back into the square. I know it’s not a square but don’t you be giving me cheek!”

Now: I remember to get the equipment ready beforehand, sometimes with the help of Grade Six.

Then: “Now we will have a bean bag relay. Sorry someone forgot the bean bags and hula hoops. Let’s go for a run around the oval. Who left the gate open? Come away from the open gate!” When I did remember to go to the PE store, it was often locked and I did not always remember my key.

Now: “When I tip you, you run and bring one hula hoop back to me. …and you…and you…”

Then: “You, what’syourname? Will you collect the hula hoops for me and bring them to the PE store?” Five minutes later while we are all having lunch back at the classroom I notice that ‘what’shisname’ is missing and run back to the oval to find him still tripping over the hula hoops. He gets nine of them together and just when he puts the tenth on, half of them fall and he has to start all over again. If he does get them together after about three paces he trips over them. He was nowhere near the PE store.

Now: I give all my instruction in the Queen’s English.

Then: ‘Siúlaigí, ‘stopagí’ ‘Seasaigí I mbeirteanna’ ‘Na déan é sin’ ‘Gabh mo leithsceal,’ ‘Cad a dúirt mé?’ ‘O a Dhia is a mháthair bheannaithe…’

Now: I use prompt cards to remind me of the sequences.

Then: “Good, now we will do… panic, what comes next who knows of a good game. Whatshisname. good man. What’s it called? ‘sharks and fish’ how does it go? Holy God above in heaven the sharks are not supposed to bite the fish!”

Now: line up and let’s go.

Then: “Line up in twos. Find a partner. Get into line. No, you can not be my partner, find your own! Go back to the end. No not you, you have a partner. Come back, we are not going anywhere until everyone lines up in twos!”

Now: I use strategies that the teachers have established rather than my own.

Then: “Remember that this is a PE lesson but it is still a lesson and I have no problem with you enjoying yourselves (lie!) but when teacher talks everyone must listen. What did I say? What did I say? Did you not hear me when I said that when teacher talks you all must listen? Whatsyourname! I’m talking you should be listening and herself beside you also whatsherneme? Okay stand out for not listening and I don’t care about the pain in your tummy or your mammy!”

Now: “One two three look at me. One two look at you.”

Comment: Major difficulties caused for me by not knowing their names. I take about 120 kids a week and PE is most difficult as it is done outdoors in the heat, with all the children wearing hats, so that the few names that I do remember I cannot recognise them under the hat. On a windy day the hats can blow off and we have to chase them down and start all over again. I was strict with the first class and they started crying and wanting to go to the toilet and wanting their mammies. When I was nice to them they ate me for breakfast. So I spoke to Paul O Connell and learned to ‘put the fear of God into them!’ Did twice as much prep to keep the lessons interesting and moving and I am now really enjoying them-well mostly.

Water is essential as both the kids and I get dehydrated very easily. I have not taught for over ten years and have forgotten all my little strategies and gap fillers. One class takes the full 45 minutes and the next class are finished in half the time and I am struggling in the sun with nothing to do. I spend ages preparing the lessons and cannot remember the sequences. Even with the prompt cards I often cannot remember what the prompt means.

Note: No children or animals were damaged in the research undertaken for this article.

Note 2: They are lovely kids. They are not the problem. I am the problem.

Taizé

I have joined a local group and went to a 'Prayer Around The Cross' tonight. Great to be back singing in a choir again and I just love that music. Can't believe my luck finding a group here. Lovely peaceful way to start the holidays.

Give it to me straight!

Today I had to phone a parent to collect a child who had banged his head. I phoned the mobile number and a lady answered:
"Is that Joan?"
"No, wrong number."
"Sorry."
I thought that I had dialled the number incorrectly. I looked it up again and dialled more carefully the second time. A man answered:
"Could I speak to Joan, please?"
"You could if you stopped phoning this bloody number and phoned the right bloody number!"
CLICK

New Footy Season

The hype is unbelievable. Starts tonight and there is something on every channel on the telly and pages and pages in the newspapers. I joined a betting club in school. For two dollars a week you predict the winners of all this weeks matches and continue each week. At the end of the season the overall winner gets a lump of money.
www.footytips.com.au

Huge crowd at the first match Richmond versus Carlton. Carlton won by 54 points and Setanta O Halpin played well. In 2007 when I saw him play in the NAB Cup Final he was playing in the backs as he was not that proficient kicking the oval ball. Now he is in the forwards and kicked three goals tonight.

Everyone will talk about nothing else at school tomorrow.

The Long Acre

 

Here they call it 'The Long Paddock'.

Birds on the local beach

 

Working Bee

Saturday:We have one a term and this was my first. The chairman of the school board, Alistair, helped organise. We had a list of jobs and about six parents came and picked a job from the list. From 9.30 to 11.30 we got hedges trimmed, windows washed, protectors on basketball, netball and footy posts, sand put into the sand pit and new lines on the playground. I was anxious about it beforehand but it worked out really well in the end. It is a common feature in this country, most clubs and organisations have at least one a year. Volunteerism is alive and well and far more prevalent than at home.

Steam coming out my ears

Friday: Had to do an interview today to establish if I was a fit person to oversee an Outside School Hours Club (OSHC) which is already established in St Patrick's. It has become licenced and the paperwork etc. have gone into overdrive. The co-ordinator in our school spends six hours a week on the paperwork and cannot get it done in that time. I had to fill in a detailed form, six pages long, and provide certified documentation. I also had to study the relevant children services act and regulations prior to my interview which was to take about an hour. Well it took two hours and ten minutes. For starters, I was told that the book I had studied was out of date and given new copies of both the Act and Regulations. Then I had to answer a 25 question multiple choice paper followed by a paper with four scenarios. The jargon and language were both legalistic and foreign. I was late for another meeting and the more I rushed the slower I became. I got five questions 'wrong' and started to argue my case when I realised that this was only delaying matters. Besides there were two of them-one had come especially from Melbourne. For the scenarios I had eight or nine points but one or two were missing(eg you inform the Dept of Human Services if you have an allegation of bullying!) What a load of rubbish. Bureaucracy gone mad... I am a fit person to run a Primary School but have to go through this nonsense for a 'homework club' at our school.

I met my 'wife'!

Thursday: Yesterday in Mickey Bourke's I met Veronica O Sullivan from Macroom, Cork,who has recently moved to Koroit with her husband. She was not surprised to be asked in Koroit if she was the wife of the new Irish principal but when she went to a newsagents in Warrnambool and was asked the same question she thought that it was a bit much! Anyway I booked a bed in Veronica's but not for myself! If the gang from Melbourne come down for the Irish Festival, I may not have room for them all.

Lá Fhéile Padraig

Wednesday: Strange having to work on a day I would normally be off. Lovely feeling 'rocking up' to the school and seeing the Irish flag flying. Thank you Áine for the flag and Trevor for putting it up. School had a busy schedule for the day but I did have some input having taken the Grades four, five and sixes for choir. Mass was lovely, Fr Bill is very funny and had great crack about the flag and me being in the school. Choir sang beautifully and seemed to enjoy themselves. After mass I went around to the various classes and talked about St Patrick and also how we celebrate the day in Ireland. Snakes and shamrocks featured and they all loved the idea that there is no school in Ireland on this day. At lunch there was a barbie run by the PFA-boy do they step up to the plate for their school. They also provided green cordial for the kids. This was followed by 'Green Faces' a talent show where different kids do different acts and get rated and critiqued. Guess who had to do the critiquing? Anyway there were a lot of parents there and the hall was pretty full and last up I got them all (including teachers and parents) doing the Tommy K Dance! And I have the photos to prove it.
Went to Mickey Bourke's after school and it was like Supermac's in Eyre Square late on Saturday night-packed! I had no meal booked but I befriended the family of the leader of the Irish group playing (Martin Ruane from Swinford) and they included me in their group. Stayed for about three hours and enjoyed the atmosphere. Koroit is a good place to be on St Patrick's Day. I finished up in The Seanachai in Warrnambool. There was a much younger crowd there and I found out that Wednesday is Uni night in Warranbool-don't ask me why. When I went to order my coke (and it wasn't green) I met Digger Mahany from Warrnambool who will be sleeping in my house in Trim in a few months. He is a friend if Mark and Margaret and he insisted that I meet his wife who came to collect him later on. He had had a few and I think that he felt safer with me to distract Julie! Both will be visiting Trim in June. Is it a small world or is it a small world?

Ballarat Wildlife Park

Sunday: Visited the local wildlife park and again there was free entry ($25 more saved) as I had a VIT (teacher reg) card. This was a small park in the city but wallabies and emus walked right up to be fed and wombats were there to be petted- under supervision-apparently they are really friendly and love to say hello. That's fine except that their method is to bite! We saw Tasmanian Devils, kangaroos, koalas, and loads of snakes and crocodiles.To be able to pet a wallaby while it was being fed (by someone else of course!) was amazing. They were so close that you could see the detail of their teeth and they all needed some dental work!

Sovereign Hill

Saturday:
We, about twelve of us, spent the day at Sovereign Hill, Australia’s foremost outdoor museum. Sovereign Hill recreates Ballarat’s first ten years after the discovery of gold in 1851 when thousands of international fortune-hunters rushed to the Australian goldfields in search of riches.

By day, Sovereign Hill is where Australia’s history comes to life! It's just like stepping back in time – from the hustle and bustle of Main Street where costumed ladies and gents parade their new-found wealth, to the excitement of the Red Hill Gully Diggings where you can pan for REAL gold. No facades here, it is the real Mc Coy, authentic to the last.

We saw a spectacular $50,000 gold pour and ventured underground on a fully-guided gold mine tour. There were horse-drawn coaches touring the Township. There were working shops, hotels, schools, a theatre, crafts, a wheelwright, a candle maker, a confectioner and steam-driven machinery.

The streets were a theatre, where we were entertained by costumed goldfields characters who acted out scenes from the 1850s. It is not surprising that is was voted Australia's Best Historic and Cultural entertainment venue.

The Gold Museum, across the road was fantastic and we finished with a barbie organised by our hosts. We all had to sing our national anthem but I had the words of 'Danny Boy' ready and everyone joined in-there wasn't a dry eye in the house! I was very tired as I followed Sherry and Ian home to their beautiful house in the outback, just outside the nearby town of Cheswick.

Blood on The Southern Cross

Friday: ITA weekend in Ballarat. That is the International Teachers' Association consisting of many teachers who have been on exchanges over the last thirty years. They organise weekends for us and host us for free. It is great to meet upo as a group and to be able to share with each other and at the same time to tap in to the experiences of those who have gone before us.

I booked the sound and light show (with meal) which told the story of a rebellion in Ballarat at the height of the gold rush.

The population of the Victorian goldfields peaked in 1858 at 150,000. Between 1851 and 1860, an estimated 300,000 people came to Australian colonies from England and Wales, with another 100,000 from Scotland and 84,000 from Ireland. During this period, the colony of Victoria received 60% of all immigrants to Australia.
In 1854 there were about 25,000 diggers of many nationalities on the Ballarat goldfields.

Law and order on the goldfields was enforced by the Gold Commission's police force which was later reinforced by a garrison of soldiers.The diggers, in protest to injustices held a public meeting (10,000 attended)and decided to publicly burn their mining licences. At this meeting the famous Southern Cross flag, which was to become known as the Eureka Flag, was displayed. They build a stockade on a hill where many of them lived which became known as The Eureka Stockade. The stockade itself was a makeshift wooden barricade enclosing about an acre of the goldfields. Inside the stockade some 500 diggers took an oath on the Southern Cross flag, and over the following two days gathered firearms and forged pikes to defend the stockade.

Early in the morning of Sunday 3 December the authorities launched an attack on the stockade. The diggers were outnumbered and the battle was over in twenty minutes. Twenty-two diggers and five troops were killed. Plenty of Irish involved who were not afraid to stand up to the establishment. If only so many of them were not gone to the pub when the redcoats attacked the stockade, there might have been a different outcome and we could be looking at a different Australia today.

Good meal and a great show.

Port Fairy Festival Epilogue

This was not something that your typical tourist can do too easily as it is held outside the usual holiday times. It was a real bonus to be able to attend and afterwards to sleep in my own bed at night. The highlight for me was to hear and meet the Saw Doctors. It is something that I have tried unsucessfully to do in Ireland. The following songs are in my alltime favourite list:

• Land Down Under
• From a Distance
• Woman's Heart

It was a privilage to hear the original artists sing those songs live. This I will miss next year.

Nanci Griffith

Everything that she sang sounded great though she was complaining that her voice was a bit rough. 'From a Distance' is another great favourite of mine and I was enthralled hearing her sing it so well and telling the story that a friend gave it to her after having been refused by all the major recording studios. Boy can she sing and boy is she opinionated! Wish she had washed her hair, though.

Mairtín O Connor

What a class musician as were the guitarist and fiddle player. The slow airs were haunting but the fast stuff was too frantic for my taste.

The Saw Doctors and Sit

They were ready for us on the Sunday and we were not allowed to dance. It was not fair on the others sitting down. The tent was full and I did get to sit on the right hand side. Top left and to the side where they were not blocking anyone were a group of singing and dancing fans, most of whom had been there the previous day. I lasted the first two numbers and then I 'had to be with my people'. I left my seat and joined the dancers, though I drew the line at dancing the Tommy K up and down the aisles. A local journalist, Anthony Brady, got me backstage beforehand to get my photo with the lads but unfortunately Leo had not yet arrived. But at least I had his photo from the night before. The MC introduced the Saw Doctors to the audience by saying that they had followed a huge fan and local principal (moi) to Australia. "Oh happy day!"

The Pigs

This was a Hillbilly outfit from Brisbane. Great craic and great parodies.

The Saw Doctors and Dance

They performed in the largest tent that took over three thousand people.

Beforehand, I watched 'Shane Howard' and other Australian folk musicians. He drew a bigger crowd than the Saw Doctors. They were involved in a tribute to to a recently deceased Aboriginal activist and received long rounds of applause and a standing ovation at the end. I had met Shane in Crossley on St Brigid's Day when he asked me to teach Irish to some local kids-I had better brush up on my Irish!

I moved right up to the front before the Saw Doctors came on. All the rules were broken as a large group gathered there and as their song says 'danced and danced and danced and danced...'I jumped up and sang with the best of them. Tommy K got me going and then there was no stopping me. As they say here' it was all good.' Got some photos afterwards and Leo and Eimhin came to the pub with a gang of us Irish. Sound, down-to-earth people both.

Dougie Mc Clean

His most famous song was 'Caladonia' and he sang it well. Good sense of humour kept us all entertained.

Brian Kennedy

On Saturday I found him ostentatious with his tight t-shirt, name dropping (Van Morrison, Ronnie Drew, Bill Clinton...) and bum-wriggling. He was trying too hard to be funny but it did not work. On Sunday I sat behind a pole so that I was spared the sight of him! He was less ostentatious and more entertaining. He sang acapella to begin and finish but this did not work for me. 'You Raise Me Up' especially was crying out for musical accompaniment.

The Craic

A group of mainly Warrnambool musicians with a guest or two from Melbourne. They were brilliant. The box player had a very strong country Irish accent and I went up to him afterwards to enquire. He was in fact from Melbourne but had only moved there in 1959! His accent was Scarrif in Co. Clare where he had left as a teenager to find work, as he put it. Paddy Fitzgerald was his name.

Gospel Singing Workshop

'Oh Happy Day!'

Eleanor Mc Evoy

Went to her on Saturday and again on Sunday. Quietly entertaining. She plays a plethora of instruments and is multi-talented. Sang a song about a girl who suffered from bulimia that brought a tear to my eye. ...and of course 'A Woman's Heart'.

Saoirse

A trad group from Melbourne who sang 'Teigh Abhaile Ariú' among their English language repertoire. Three ladies and a gent and a nice sound, with a little bit of dance thrown in.I went to them twice and the second time they sang more songs in Irish and did a lot more dance. I was beginning to feel like a groupie. I went up to them afterwards to speak to them 'as Gaeilge' and found out that only one was from Ireland and she was from Celbridge. When I asked her where she got her lovely Donegal Irish it turned out that she had gone to the Gaeltacht there organised by Raymond King! I showed her The Tommy K Dance for later.

Colin Hay

He was on his own with his guitar-no 'Men at Work'. Though he moved from Scotland to Oz in the late Sixties and has since moved to California, he still has a strong Scottish accent. He is a funny guy and kept us entertained with his many stories between some decent songs. The highlight, of course, was the 'Land Down Under' which is one of my all time favourite songs. It was a special moment for me to hear it sung by the writer in the land of its composition.

Daily blog RIP

Friday: I can't keep this up. spent the week editing video of the weekend and forgot to save it. Had to do it again. Now have to figure out how to put it up. Falling behind in my emails also. Will only post as the need arises from now on. Many of my observations have been made at this stage altough I still have to talk about Vinnies and the Four Minute shower.

Knackered

Tuesday: I know that we were only sitting around these last four days at the Festival but everyone at school today was exhausted.

What a voice!

Monday: I am not a C&W fan but Nanci Griffith was the best singer I heard all weekend, and i have heard a lot of good singers. Stayed for an hour after the festival finished to take in the atmosphere as I will not have the opportunity to go to a festival like this again. Went to the beach in Port Fairy, as it was 21 degrees. About five people! It needs to be mid to late twenties to get a crowd at the beach here.

Granny can't get no satisfaction!

Sunday: Breakfast again with Karin and Rick who then took off down the Great Ocean Road and haven't been seen since! Went to the Folk Mass in Port Fairy church. As yesterday met loads of people who know me. Either I know a lot of people or everyone I have met since coming here was at the Festival. I suspect the latter. Saw Eleanor Mc Evoy, The Saw Doctors, Brian Kennedy, The Pigs, Mairtin O Connor, and queued for a half an hour to get into the World Famous 'Sunday Singalong' in The Shebeen (Guinness tent). There must have been half a million people squashed into a space that normally takes about a thousand. Young and old alike belting out their favourite songs. I have seen it all: a granny belting out 'I can't get no Satisfaction' while pointing to grandad! Who says that there Aussies don't shoot from the hip?! No pressure Grandad! The most atmospheric event of the whole weekend. I was heading home when I met Joe so I queued up with him and went back in. Met Niamh and the others inside but did not stay too long as was exhausted.

It's a small world

Saturday: no this is not the name of a Saw Doctors' song. Had breakfast with Karin and Rick fellow ITFs down from Melbourne. Went to Eleanor Mc Evoy, a Gospel singing workshop, The Craic, Saoirse, Dougie Mc Clean, Brian Kennedy and The Saw Doctors. Had a burger from our school's stand.

At the Saw Doctors I got talking to a group of Irish vets (the animal kind) who had included me in their dance routines. They were from Armagh, Laois, Cork (Angela Lynch had been her principal in primary school) and Meath. Niamh was from Ashbourne and I asked her if she knew my son Fiachra who had also gone to school there. She didn't until I said that he was nicknamed 'Felix' and then she got all excited and ran to get her boyfriend Joe. Joe turns out to be a brother of Lawrence, one of Fiachra's best friends. Is it a small world or what? We have met in a small town, the furthest from home anyone of us has ever been, next stop Tasmania and then The Antarctic. We all went backstage and met the lads. Leo and Eimhin then came to the Stump pub with us. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. All sound decent folk. I left for home at two o' clock and they were all still going strong.

The Port Fairy Shuffle

Friday:Was surprised to get parking quite close to the venue. I had a short walk to the ticket centre to trade in my ticket for a wrist band and another short walk to the Festival Arena. Eight massive tents and an area of stalls selling food and goods. Another area with entertainment for the kids.

Spent tonight mainly finding my way around. Went to Colin Hay of 'Men at Work' fame. A highlight. More anon.

Oh I nearly forgot 'The Shuffle':everybody brings along a low beach chair and sits between aisles in these large tents. This is what they do to fill the gaps left by people coming and going. An MC comes out between some acts and asks everybody to shuffle forward and to fill the spaces.

Oxygen Without The Wellies!

Thursday: The Port Fairy Folk Festival starts tomorrow at 4.00 and goes on until Monday at 2.00. Featuring The Saw Doctors; Nanci Griffith; Colin Hay (Men at Work); Brian Kennedy; Eleanor McEvoy; The Greencards and another 116 international and national artists. 12 different genres of music in 22 different venues. A total of 36 hours of onstage entertainment and that is not counting the fringe festival featuring about 90 other acts. It is a kinda 'Oxygen Without the Wellies.'

Saw Doctors 2

Wed: Only two days left until the Port Fairy Folk Festival and The Saw Doctors. Gave out a few cds today in the staff room. Reminded me of home. We all went to The Saw Doctors in the Olympia back in 2008, as a staff and quite a few of the staff in St Patrick's are going at the weekend. That must be some kind of record. I have emailed the lads pointing this out but got no reply. Pity as I would love to get a photo with them. I did manage to get a photo of Vanessa Amorosi who is Australian and can't get one with the lads from my own county. Oh cruel world. One of the teachers is on duty in the Green Room so I might be able to swing something. Apparently you get a wrist band of a certain colour when you present your ticket, hopefully they will not be too strict. Still with 16,000 people going, security will be tight. There will be plenty of Irish there so 'working the accent' won't be that effective either.

Choir Practice

Tue: Just back from choir practice with the choir that I like so much. Great bunch of people and a lovely selection of hymns. I thought that I knew a lot of hymns but only knew 'The Cry of the Poor' and 'Pie Jesu'. The others I did like and look forward to singing them. They only practise once a month and do different masses depending on the Sunday in question. Strange that they don't have a set time. One of the ladies brought water, sprite, port and cookies. Boy did the organist tuck into the cookies and the port. He is the life and soul of the choir and he was happy tonight!

The Wind and the Kids

Mon: I can confirm that it is the same as back home. We had a really windy day today and they were hyper. Now is that a theory or a thesis or a paradigm?

Plastic Jesus

Sun: It was 20 degrees and overcast and the beach was deserted, apart from a few walkers and some surfers. Went to evening mass and was asked to join the choir. I think that I will go along on Tue to the practice and see how it goes. I might have to audition. I was thinking of singing 'Plastic Jesus'!