Life has been pretty frantic recently but a few wee moments (and things) have stood out:

• Having three experienced and skilled teachers apply for a Teachers Aid position at school. So what is it about our job now that is so hard people do not want to do it?
• We have a job for a new entrant teacher for the rest of the year that closes tomorrow and so far have ONE applicant. Is the price of petrol that significant that a 55km a day commute is puting people off?
• Life is short and very precious! We have two staff at the moment with sick family members. What DO you say at moments like these except you are thinking of people and wish them the best …?.
• The small incremental changes can also be profound. When I first started at Outram 18 months ago teachers often didn’t bring their laptops to school. Now the internet being offline is a disaster I have to solve RIGHT NOW THANKYOU!! classes are blogging; people are beginning to use iChat to share and celebrate - kids even iChat me in the office to ask for help during class if they get stuck on a technical question their teacher can’t help with; we have purchased a lot of new ‘equipment’. The interesting thing is people have not really noticed the changes and normal is now very different
• The political landscape is changing fast. I went to an STA training the other day on Principal Appraisal … those of you who know me will know it takes a bit to wind me up but by the end of it I was about ready to remove limbs from the presenter! The whole thing was soooo focused on assessment and goal setting - with no thought about the obligation/necessity to actually support or do anything to improve professional knowledge. This sort of thing is very destructive of the relationships between BoT and principal/staff as it promotes the message that the only thing that needs to happen is for goals/objectives to be set an magically they will be achieved …. nothing about structured and well thought out professional learning opportunities. Arghhhh!!
  We also have an election coming up and my reading of Nationals policy (who it would seem are likely to be the next government) is for more competition between schools and I believe it will be a very short time before we have national testing and league tables under their management. Scary stuff for those of us who relish and treasure our independence and ability to make professionally and educationally sound decisions free from political pressure in our own schools.
• Where have the last 10 years gone? In a couple of weeks our youngest, Alex will be 10 years old… thinking back on all the things that have happened in that time …. it only seems a short time ago we were discovering that that ‘odd’ feeling Jane was having wasn’t just a tummy bug. I sound like my parents …. another scary thought ….

But still it is the small moments that are the most meaningful. A hug from a loved one, the aha moment in the classroom, making a difference in peoples lives.
It is a privileged profession we are all involved in! Family still matters most! This life is not a dress rehearsal!

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