:o(

[Arrietty]

Second teaching day of new school year and feeling very very miserable.

Came home feeling tired and fed up but forced myself out and did 'Speed'. Ran past a Year 11 pupil who very politely said 'Hello Miss' and didn't snigger at me (or my

beetroot face!) in my Lycra. Bless his cotton socks.

Anyway completing 'Speed' cheered me up a bit and hopefully will help me sleep tonight. Good old running.

[Hidden]

Aw Arrietty, I'm sorry to hear you have the blues. Teaching sounds like such a hard job. I really do take my hat off to teachers. Running makes me feel better too when I'm feeling glum. Take care. X

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! It's my 26th year and I'm beginning to feel like enough's enough but no real alternative. Hopefully it will get better as we get into the year.

And yes I'm glad I've got the running now. Should help :o)

[ShannieP Graduate]

Well done for getting out

Find my best runs are when I don't want to go

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to ShannieP]

Thanks. It definitely feels like an achievement when all i wanted to do was put my pjs on and eat cake!

[Dunnja Graduate in reply to Arrietty]

But you didn't. Well done on getting out there.

Hope it made you feel better and now if you have a little piece of cake, it isn't quite so bad... Well that's what I tell myself anyway.

Hope those feelings pass

😘

Jules xxx

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to Dunnja]

Thank you! Cake has indeed been eaten :o)

[ShannieP Graduate in reply to Arrietty]

Glad to see you had the cake 🍰

Is one of the reasons I run

[AncientMum Graduate]

Sympathies Arrietty. Hope the combination of completing 'speed' *and* a polite y11 are sufficient to give you a good night's sleep and a happier day tomorrow

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to AncientMum]

Thank you! Fingers crossed :o)

[poppypug Graduate]

Well done for getting out there Arrie !

Sorry youre feeling a bit down , life is just relentless isnt it sometimes , makes you feel like a hamster on a little wheel going around and around without really going anywhere .

Glad you got out, hope you feel better now, get your jamas on and eat more cake ! Ha ha xxx

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to poppypug]

Thanks PP! I confess I ate 3 (maybe 4) French Fancies (oooops!!!) xxx

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Arrietty]

Ha ha , Good lass, sometimes a gals gotta do what she's gotta do ! xxx

[gary_bart]

The way things have gone in schools is a good reminder that finding a problem is much easier than finding a solution. So although I'm happy enough to agree that the system of "good manners taught by caning" that was practiced on us at school was something in need of repair, the idea that the solution was as easy as spotting that there were big problems with authoritarian schooling has shown itself, even if the "reformers" are too shy to come forward and acknowledge that they made things worse by fixing them.

For what it's worth, here's my facile armchair solution that doesn't involve going back to the simplicity of the rule by fear.

The teaching profession should be "split" in 3. By this, I mean that it should actually be Expanded to 3 times its size. One type of "teacher" would become the "presenter" (details skipped); another type of "teacher" would become the "evaluator"; and a third would be "the counsellor and disciplinarian". So far, that just divides up the workload in a more sane way than is done at present. (If schools do sport - which I think should be a club matter - they'd need coaches, too).

Then schools should also start providing realistic education. I'll ignore the more positive aspects for simplicity, and focus on the disciplining possibilities. If you reserved old-time education for only the old-time-educable, teaching and learning would be more pleasant and meaningful for all concerned. So let's say that for the uneducable (and this is a state that can change like the weather, really) there were special classes in building skill in things that don't require a traditional education? That could be something skillful like sawing in a straight line, which takes a lot of practice. It could be something that takes quite a bit of strength, like digging holes to plant trees. These are worthwhile things for anyone to learn, but they're also something the plain lazy would avoid if they could - hence the disciplinary angle. If poetry is boring, that's fine, you can go and learn how to drive a nail in straight. For some that would be a reward; for others, a punishment. Either way, your poetry class would benefit.

Oh, and the skills don't need to be manual. Good old arithmetic is useful and underrated. Things like that could be given a comeback. Just like punctuation. And writing proper sentences. Like that one. There are all sorts of more basic skills that might serve bored calculus sufferers better in life, and divert them to productive instead of destructive activities.

And the punishment side of discipline? Parents. Their problem; their responsibility. The idea that they can just dump their responsibilities onto some school is a big part of the problem.

But what's that got to do with running? Sometimes a lot, I think.

Maybe all schools should thrash the hides of their pupils until they submit to the agonies of c25k? That would probably do even more good than the return of arithmetic.

[misswobble Graduate]

Yes indeed!!! Nothing like it for leaving behind the cares of the day, they just fall behind you and get left on the trail

You keep up with your running and you'll have lots of your pupils bigging up Miss! They will think you're awesome. You are!

[Arrietty Graduate in reply to misswobble]

Thank you :o)