Category: teaching

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Random thoughts teaching Work

8/52 on focus and distraction

It’s Saturday morning, and we’ve finished Week 4 of term. Nearly half-way there! And I feel like I’m starting to emerge from the ‘head-down-bum-up’ non-stop ‘doing the work’ that’s been my life this year.

Take a breath.

Look around.

Take a second breath – because I can.

It certainly has been a busy start to the year. The line between important and urgent, work and home has been blurred, and I’ve made more mistakes than I’d like to think about… but praise God for sustaining me to reach this morning, this day, this weekend!

A day in which to reconsider priorities, rather than just paddle, paddle, paddle furiously like that duck who seems to be swimming serenely but underneath the surface, the legs are flailing relentlessly.

And this is where I’m thinking I’ll start. This post, which came across my feed the other week, and had me thinking about the spectrum of ‘focus’ to ‘scattered mindset’:

You see, when there’s multiple things pulling at your attention, it’s easy to do the ‘fun’ thing. To mix the ‘important’ with the ‘urgent’ and focus on the wrong thing. To allow distractions to take over, to move you off course. Or maybe that’s just me?

So today, this morning? A reset. A chance to sit back and look. And think. And re-prioritise. Circle those 5 things and – more importantly – identify those 20 distractions.

Here’s hoping for quite a lot more clarity by the end of it! And for you too as well, dear Reader!

KRidwyn

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Random thoughts teaching Technology Work

4/52 Gen Alpha

I was blessed, Monday just gone, to listen to a couple of AMAZING speakers at my new workplace’s staff retreat. Now I’m not one of those people who points her phone at, and takes photos of, a speaker’s screen… but this week, I did.

This one because it’s kinda funny (and true of not just Gen Alpha!):

But this one because it’s really indicative of how society is changing, and the trajectory of this change. It’s not difficult to predict what will be next, yes?

Anyway, these are some thoughts I’ve been pondering over the past week. How my generation influences others… and how they will influence others on turn. No wonder God says to “teach your children” (intentionally!) – Deuteronomy 11:19 and Proverbs 22:6 spring to mind – because it’s so important!

Without intentional teaching, things change unintentionally. And that may not necessarily be a good thing for society at large. Humankind is far more well known for its greed and selfishness than its compassion and altruism.

So: I wonder what this coming week will bring? And how I can go about being more intentional in it?

Have an intentional week yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Blogging challenges teaching Work

52/52 All fixed :)

Today, the final Sunday of 2024, marks my final post for the year as well. Woohoo! And I’ve fixed the numbering too, did you notice? t was easy… I just skipped posts 50 and 51!

So this week had Christmas, with the over-catering and the present exchanging and the relaxing. And next week will have the New Year’s celebrations and resolutions and all that jazz, so there’s that 🙂

Looking back, I’m quite proud of my blogging achievements this year. In spite of everything else that was going on, this was one thing I managed to (mostly!) stay consistent with, so yay me 🙂 🙂 🙂 meaning that I’m going to attempt this again next year. Each Sunday, one post. Preferably with a photo, but we’ll see how I go wth that one.

It should be an interesting year. New job, new workplace, only one cherub left at school, and all the rest of it!

Here goes – and HAPPY NEW YEAR when it gets here, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts Reading teaching Work

48/52 Nearly there!

Today marks the 48th of these weekly posts. How cool is that! I must admit, I’m quite proud of myself for keeping this going 🙂

This past week has been all about the catch-ups. I’ve caught up with my inbox (I’m now down to one email in my inbox, and I’m keeping that one; the reason for which will be a post for another day) and also caught up with my bestie and with other friends and colleagues and past colleagues and… and… and the list goes on. I made it into my new workspace briefly, I drank coffee, and didn’t sleep (surprise surprise) and I also visited my old workplace, took Master15 to both doctor and optometrist, managed some Christmas shopping, read “The Book Haters Book Club” and finally finished Season 2 of Arcane. Today after church was more Christmas shopping with Hubby, then we watched Gladiator 2.

Phew! No wonder I’m pretty tired! Looking ahead to next week: there’s fewer things on, for which I’m grateful 🙂

Here’s praying your week is a not-so-busy-one too, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn

 

Categories
Life momentous events teaching

47/52 And it’s clearing out time…

New job next year: I’m back to Nambour Christian College… which was the school that I moved to the Coast for in the first place! Head of Library position, replacing an amazingly talented man who’s retiring.

So, for the first time since 2016, I find myself on Christmas holidays with one job finished and the other not yet started. It’s a weird feeling. I’ve ALWAYS done work over the Christmas break. But I can’t right now. There’s nothing to do for CCPS and I can’t start anything at NCC! So I guess by default that means it’s “clearing out of stuff” time.

And check out my inbox! I can’t remember the last time it was at less than 20. And yes now I’m down to just 13!!! I wonder if I can get it to zero by New Year’s?

Wish me luck! Have have a lucky week yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
teaching Work

46/52 Morning mist…

Work duties are done and dusted for the year… it’s morning walk time!

And through the mist? It looks heavenly, doesn’t it?

Happy holidays, dear Reader!
⁃ KRidwyn

Categories
Random thoughts teaching

42/52 Recent funny stuff

I watched ‘The Union’ with Hubby yesterday. Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. It had exactly the right amount of humour for an action flick, I thought.

And then last night Miss 16 and I watched the Season 6 Grimm episode ‘Blind Love’ and we laughed ourselves silly. It was SO good! (And teaching A Midsummer Night’s Dream to my Year 8 English last term made it all the more relevant…)

So today, I thought I’d share some screenshots I’ve taken from my social media feeds recently. Things I’d saved because they amuse me. Hopefully you’ll get a smile out of them too?

I’m thinking I could so use one of these walkers when the time comes! And:

Not I throw punches (very often) but the timing of this phrase is very clever! And thirdly: I wonder if I could make one of these for my next online video call:

So was I successful? Did you smile? And if so, at which one?

And just to round this post off: back to Shakespeare. This final screenshot is not so much ‘funny’ as ‘clever’ and ‘I want one’. Does it remind anyone else of the bard’s play Julius Caesar? Not that he made it into fighting stance before being cut down, but for some reason it reminds me of this, nonetheless…

Anyway, here’s hoping you can manage a smile sometime this week, dear Reader – and maybe even more than one?

God bless,

KRidwyn

 

 

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Life Random thoughts Review teaching Work

41/52 Huh! Catching up… and aliens because sure, why not…

So we *do* have a new government. And Miss 16 has completed three of her four external exams, with her final this coming Wednesday, and Master 15 has recovered from his very successful Work Experience week, and I’m marking the Year 10 English (real) exams, ready for them to start Year 11 work next week.

Phew!

Oh, did I also mention I’m finishing four Halloween ‘inflatable alien’-but-without-the-inflatable-bit costumes for my year 1 Innovate class?

Long story.

“Innovate” is what my school calls the amalgamation of the two curriculae ‘Digital Technologies’ and ‘Design and Technologies’ and in 2025, it’s taught from Prep through to Year 10. And yours truly is the Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 teacher. The Year 1 class is studying ‘wearable costumes’ and – rather than just deisgning them – I thought it’d be fun to help the children actually *make* them.

The idea quickly paled though, when I was absent the lesson where the children decided on their costumes… and the relief teacher let some of them choose ‘inflatable aliens’. As in, this type:

Now, inflating a costume is something I’ve never done before. So that was never going to happen. Sewing though: I’m not great, but it’s do-able. So that’s what is currently happening. Four of them. And the kids are stuffing them with foam and adding eyes to the heads and enjoying the process.

Here’s hoping it’s all going to get done before this Thursday! Wish me luck!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Life teaching Work

40/52 this time next week…

Who knows, but this time next week we could have a new State government. I must admit, I’ll be quite happy to see the signs gone from the roadsides, and to have my phone back from all the un-wanted texts from politicians and political groups and stakeholders who somehow got my number. Not to mention the phonecalls from those poor unfortunates who get hung up on when they call asking your opinion on the political scene!

The freedom from political advertising (until next year at least, when we do it all again but nation-wide) is going to be amazing. And the thought of this freedom is keeping me going in amongst all these Year 10 English mock exams I’m currently marking.

On the upside, the topic is Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, so that’s pretty nice, you’ve gotta admit.

All the best with voting this coming week, dear Reader! (If you’re a Queenslander, that is…)

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts teaching Work

36/52 On what affects our reputation the most

What we do is who we are, I think.

I teach school students… but I am not just a teacher. In my hours spent not in front of my students or with my colleagues, or planning or assessing, in my hours interacting with family and friends, who am I?

I am the person who thinks a certain way, who values particular things, and from these thoughts and beliefs, makes decisions and acts (or refrains from acting) on and in the world around me.

What I do reflects what I value; what I think.

The thinking comes first.

I think, therefore I am.

Our thoughts are pre-eminent. And yet: how often do we acknowledge them? When they are so influential on what we do and who we’ll become in the future?

I saw this the other day, and it’s left me quite reflective:

Here’s hoping my thoughts on the matter (Ha! See what I did there?) are of some value to you today, dear Reader 🙂

– KRidwyn