From 2016

 Introduction:

During the week of the October 2022 Half Term, I had to terminate a storage contract of personal effects which had been in storage since 2017.  In one of the boxes was a notebook which I used to start a journal or diary during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend of 2016.  I only wrote two entries but thought it was interesting to read back what I said at the time.  How ideas and times have changed.

6.22am, Friday 26 March 2016 (Good Friday)

I have decided after the week I have had this week to start writing a diary or reflective journal again.  It has been an “annis horriblis” this week as her Majesty is quoted as saying in her Christmas message of 1992 I think it was.  To use the fact that it was – sorry this week was the first time in my adult life that I have had an overnight stay in hospital and I do not want to repeat the experience.  I contracted cellulitis on the left side of my face to today begin a course of oral antibiotics having had three intravenous doses since the small hours of Wednesday morning.

Anyway, the purpose of this journal is or as is my intention for the purposes of this journal is to help me focus on what I want to achieve (a fancy way of saying to do list) and what I have achieved.  The things for example I have started this week and intend to continue are:

1.      taking multi-vitamin supplements daily to prevent ever being in the position I was this week ever again;

2.      brushing my teeth with a manual toothbrush again.  Since the late 1990s I think it was I’ve been using an electric toothbrush and my oral hygiene is no better.  To further improve or try to improve matters, I will also use a mouthwash;

3.   make the laundry and washing up a priority rather than waking up and going into the study to turn on my computer.  This morning for instance before I started writing today’s writing / reflection I loaded and started the laundry with towels in the washing machine and did the dishes from last night’s take-away supper.

I realised too from the last two days that my son’s awake so I must stop there. (6.43 am).

6.47am  Although [name of my son] is awake he is happily playing in his room and not acknowledged my presence.  Having said that he has now gone to the toilet and may need my attention.

8.41pm, Sunday 28 March 2016 (Easter Sunday)

I know I could have gone with the convention of starting a new page for a new entry but I would rather not waste pages.

This last couple of days have been a struggle to maintain the new routine.  This morning for example although I did manage to wash before coming downstairs so ready for my day before eight o’clock, I did not want to do or clear the washing up.  I have tried tonight but still not got across the no washing up left finish line.

I’ve also failed too with maintaining the discipline of trying to avoid using the iPad over the last couple of days.  It was using the iPad that or not using the iPad while I was in hospital last that week that made me think or realise that my eye problem in part might be too much tablet time as it were as I felt so much better eye-health wise on Thursday and Friday with no tablet or PC time.  However last night I let myself go and indulged in reading the Education Minister’s speech to the NASUWT Union made yesterday as well as looking at other things on the Interweb.  Today once again my eyelids are sore and eyes looking bloodshot and weary.

The other things I would like to achieve from now on as well are:

1.      to read more – specifically read for the MA in Primary Education.  To that end or extent, it leads to my next personal targets which is:

2.      to get back into part time study on the MA in Primary Education at the IoE.  Although the IoE have since last year I think become a faculty within UCL I still and will forever think of the IoE as the IoE and nothing else.  I thought too this morning that as a 17-18 year old, I had thought of aspirations to study for a BEd degree at the Institute of Education.  I would never have thought thirty years later that the aspiration has not only become a reality but I would be sufficiently qualified to be a postgraduate student at the IoE. 

3.      limit myself to two hours of quality time spent on my teaching preparation.  Easier said than done.  I t tried to do this yesterday but think I spent time – not think but know that I spent that time sending non-work related e-mails and buying replacement Lego parts as well as a photograph order of a portrait shot of me for work. 

4.      Be a better Dad to my kids and be a better husband to my wife.  I struggle with both a lot of the times and feel I only get things about five percent right.  It wasn’t until this afternoon for instance that I got the children interested in activities that I helped them with so that we were all quietly being together rather than having to constantly berate them for niggling each other and not following instructions.  Anyway, tomorrow’s another day and I should give myself the chance to put things right again on both the Dad and husband scores with a fresh start. 

5.      Go out running – just to keep myself healthy and mobile as well as having the vague idea or aspiration of being able to comfortably take part in the occasional chipped times 10K so that I can achieve a PB of sub one hour instead of ever closer to the ninety minute mark.

Anyway, instead of just dwelling on the things I would like to achieve, the things I have achieved so far since starting last week are:

1.      Maths planning – priority.  2.  NQT Evidence Tracker record.  3.  Eleanor Palmer, Primary manifesto poster – something I saw in last week’s Camden New Journal or whatever rag it was I picked up during my hospital stay.  Essentially a different type of schools poster I display that I thought looked really good.

4.      Scanning and upload of the Neil Gaiman book for next terms’ literacy teaching and writing up a proposal to introduce a VLE / MLE at the School using Fronter.

5.      Chess teaching plan including scanning and turning into an e-book the Chess for Children book I bought in the New Year.

6.      Resources or circulating resources for literacy (First News); Science (ISEB text, Scholastic planning) and Geography.

I would also like to use this journal to set out some longer term goals or wish list.  As I said to my wonderful wife today, if we had the disposable cash over the holiday period would be to get my sight checked as well as one or two dentist / hygienist appointments.

Moneywise, our plan is to build up sufficient reserves – ideally six months take home salary.  At the moment I am still struggling with keeping afloat of all bills let alone having any extra disposable money.  To that extent I wish yesterday we had not bothered with the children’s bookshop visit in order to spend the World Book Day vouchers we had.  As my wonderful wife and I thought after yesterday’s visit to the Muswell Hill Bookshop, the children aren’t capable of making suitable book buying choices for themselves and the benefits of a pound off a title doesn’t really make any difference to us as a book buying family.

To describe more effectively I think or succinctly where our financial priorities are, I’ve used the phrase “if money were no object and time no consequence” I would want to make our house as comfortable, tidy and labour free as it could be with sufficient living space to have a beautiful and efficiently working bathroom  / shower and kitchen.  The study where I do much if not all of my teacher preparation would be a neat and tidy space where I could do everything effortlessly including letting and expecting the children share the space with me for their homework, reading, writing and maths practice.  As for the bedrooms to be all be beautifully restful places to simply sleep.

Careerwise, after the bumpy start I’ve had getting into teaching, I’m really happy working at Willow Brook.  In terms of my working or professional priorities they are:

1.      To be signed off as having completed induction.

2.      To work a further two terms – complete terms at least at Willow Brook as I’ve yet to have been working in a school for longer than two consecutive terms.

3.      To try based on the achievements I have made so far at Willow Brook to negotiate for a salary on M2/M3 as soon as I’m signed off as having completed my NQT induction.

4.      To secure a place on the MaST programme at the IoE starting this September and for the fees to be sponsored by my employer.  I’m not particularly or specifically interested in becoming subject leader for Maths but I just want to have that string to my bow as it were with the potential to become an AST perhaps.  My priority though is simply to be a better Maths teacher.

5.      If not the MaST qualification then to study steadily for the MA in Primary Education.  I can never remember the module structure but on the basis that it is a total of 180 points for the Masters with each module worth 30 credits, I could be within a dissertation of being awarded a Masters by October 2016 if I manage to get my act together and clear the outstanding fees owed as well as getting my student status at the IoE back on an active footing.

Anyway, I’m going to stop there for now as I’ve been writing for an hour, need to get om with other things I said I need to do, get some rest by going to bed at a decent time as well as needing to take a comfort break.

Before I go though, I wanted to say that thinking about this journal which I’m writing at the kitchen dining table because it’s the most comfortable as well as brightly lit space in the house.  I thought today that when I last kept a journal back in 2001 I think it was (I had thought it was in the Year 2000 but I wasn’t sure) – anyway, when I last kept a diary, my favourite writing spot was sitting at the kitchen dining table back then as well.  The room that I call the study was never a space for writing a reflective journal.  The whole journal writing experience also makes me think of the Diaries of Bridget Jones by whatever the name of its author was which became one of the films I would always happily watch simply because they bring back fond memories of great times for me.  I’m looking forward to seeing its next release in the series which is expected sometimes soon.

Coming back to the here and now and the me not fantasy vision of my diary becoming a major film franchise, my study plan in respect of the MA in Primary Education target is to spend as much time as a I can reading items off the recommended reading list for the “What is Education?” module so that I have the essay written up for or during the Summer for assessment in October 2016.  To help me do that I was going to or intend to go back to basics or “Luddite” and read the articles and or text extracts in printed format, keep a notebook of my ideas and take it from there.  I say this because since 2011 I have tried to use the ebook and portable word processing device to support my studies.  Whilst I scored modest success (Grade B pass on at least two essays), I think I could do better by using a more traditional approach.  And with that, I am definitely signing off.