Massage Reflections

Tonight I had my last massage for 2007. It was lovely. This morning in the staff room, many teachers were complaining of sore backs and shoulders from long hours hunched over the computer, writing reports. I went to the chiropractor last night. Two other teachers had been there before me. I feel great, even though I had a pretty busy and demanding day.

I was chatting to the masseur tonight about the many courses I have done in my life. I love learning new things and she does too. She was commenting on how people sometimes think you are crazy to be learning all the time or doing more courses. I have usually done some kind of study at most times of my life. Even when I am not formally attending a school, I have been focused on learning some new skill or practising something new.

Blogging would be in that category. I don't know everything there is to know about blogging, but I know enough to do it to the level I want to, with ease. I expect to learn more over time, yet at a more gradual pace now. One of my friends commented to me last night, after checking out my blog that I must put a lot of time into it. I have in the past, yet I don't really now. I would spend around half an hour on a post usually. Occasionally I spend a couple of hours when I want to rearrange or shuffle things about, or have something I really want to write properly about.

What's the connection between massaging, blogging and learning? Well I realised today that I do all that learning to make the things I want to do quicker and easier. Short term pain, long term gain. I think you are crazy if you don't try to make your life easier and more effective! Learning is the fastest route I know of.

Restorative Justice

Tonight we had a speaker talk to us about 'Restorative Justice'. Terry O'Connell came to our school to run a session and it was a bit of a shame that only about a quarter of the teachers attended, because it was brilliant. I totally agree with most of what he said and I can't wait to explain it to my students and practise it with next year. I am going to be one of the year 9 co-coordinators next year.

The result of the no compromise situation, I ended up getting the position I wanted!

The power of restorative justice, I feel is that it is relationship building. It also gives all involved to have a learning experience. This is the kind of environment I want to work in and belong to. Read the article in the link about Terry because it outlines more about what this system is about. It works equally in all relationships I imagine and I had a play with it tonight with my son over a small situation and found the questions very satisfying and the outcome pleasing.

I have learnt more in the last three days than I have in a long time. My brain feels very satisfied! It's wonderful when you have highly productive learning experiences. A great high for me and rare too! Often it can be tedious and hard to get through, yet both courses I have attended were really interesting and useful.

I didn't get home from work until late and have mounds of corrections so I am beginning to feel a little under the hammer.

Massage Course - Day Two

Today was the final day of the introductory massage course. I feel confident to give massage to my nearest and dearest now. I purchased a table as I can see that having one will enable me to give a better massage, for longer, without tiring or injuring myself.

I was pleased with the course I have participated in. I was surprised how quickly the breaks came. I never felt bored or restless for a second. That is unusual for me in a course. This was very hands on and I think it's a great way to learn a practical skill.

The instructors were very professional and knowledgeable. They presented well and created a very safe learning environment. Their instructions were clear and the course was well structured. I was more relaxed and comfortable today. Yesterday it was all very new to me. It's amazing to feel such progress in learning.

I initially intended only to complete this introductory module, yet feel it is quite likely that I will complete the certificate or perhaps even the diploma. Whilst I don't see any likelihood of becoming a professional, I think it is an awesome skill for a number of reasons. I might tell you about them another time, because I have plenty to catch up on around here!!

Massage Course - Day one

With my trimmed fingernails and numerous towels I headed off this morning for day one of the course. I called into my closest polling booth to vote and was totally dismayed by the long line. I couldn't wait as I knew I would be late. I was early then and surprised there was no polling booth nearby. I was a bit stuck on that concern, I think I was nervous about doing the course. I found one at lunchtime with no line, and there was no problems.

It was a bit confronting to me, the thought of massaging people I don't know. I had no problem receiving massages from strangers though. I think for some of the participants it may have been the other way around. I love getting massages though.

It was interesting being a learner again. It's been a little while since I've taken a class or course. I enjoyed it. It was a little uncomfortable for me to massage strangers to be honest and I am looking forward to practicing what I have learnt on my family and close friends. I have learnt ways to position myself so I won't be as tired. I have a new understanding of the routines of massage and the reasons for doing things. I am looking forward to learning more tomorrow. The other participants won't be strangers by then!

I have also purchased a table that looks great and after researching it, the deal they offered was great. I can really feel the difference in giving a massage on a table and know it will allow me to feel less strained and tired, whilst giving this great experience to the people I love.

I am really glad I committed to this course because I wouldn't have made it this weekend, without having committed to it a while ago when all that I have on my plate right now, wasn't in my face!

Recent good reads online

Robin Good: Online Social Networking And Education: Study Reports On New Generations Social And Creative Interconnected Lifestyles
Must read for parents who are concerned about their children's Internet behaviour/habits. It's not all bad! I'm sure I've said it before, but 'Repetition Leads to Discovery' Robin Good is great reading!

The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss: Don’t Like Meditation? Try Gratitude Training. (Plus: Follow-up to “Testing Friends” Firestorm)
I have recently purchased Tim Ferriss's book "The 4-Hour Work Week". This post about gratitude is great. I have actually tried this and found it to work, always good to be reminded to start doing useful things again though. I especially liked the 'follow-up' part as well.

Duncans TV Ad Land : Highmark Challenges Bullying with Punching Bag
If you are a parent or teacher at some stage you could be faced with a bully or a bullied child. It's painful stuff. Highmark is an American Health Insurance company which obviously understands the far reaching consequences of this in the field of health.


Christine Kane : Watch Your Language
I frequently need to be reminded about this one!


Healthy Living Lounge has two great Feng Shui articles as follows:
Nine Sure Signs the Energy in Your Home is Stressed
Nine Things You Don't Know About Your Child's Bedroom
There are some great tips for making or restoring your home as the nurturing place we all need it to be.

Students Today... (a bit of a rant)

This could make you think.....

A Vision of Students Today by Mike Welsh and class


On my school based blog that I recently deleted due to lack of interest from fellow staff members, I had posted The Machine is Using Us. I read today about Mike Welsh's latest clip Information R/evolution on Sultana Blog:Observations on How We've Changed and noticed the clip above.

Granted the students are obviously university students, yet from conversations I have with secondary students (12-16yr old) replace Facebook with Myspace and you would get some similar feedback. I have noticed many of them don't use email as much as we 'grownups' do either. Quite a few students use forums to discuss their gaming and other online interests. They socialise and use their mobiles similarly.

Another good clip on this theme, I had previously posted on that other blog was...

Pay Attention


Youtube is blocked at my school. We have 4 computer labs shared between 22 classes. MP3 players and mobile phones are banned. There are good reasons for this, but I often wish we could harness the positive use of these things. I wish some others got over being scared and listening to the scare campaigns about the latest scary thing that happened online, and learn and be effective for this generation.

Schools aren't protecting students from online threats by excluding the Internet from their education. The one place they could get some leadership and guidance, is largely ignoring online experience.

Sometimes I wonder if the first biro ever brought into a school was used as a weapon and stabbed someone in the eye, would they have been banned across the country? If someone reflected on the amount of times students use paper to make planes and fly them around, thus causing a distraction, should paper be banned? And what about paper cuts? I know I am becoming cynical now, but I'm frustrated.

Respect

Yesterday whilst waiting between interviews at parent teacher night I read this great piece of writing from 'The Age': 'Show respect, don't demand it'. There is so much accuracy in this article that I would recommend you to read it and reflect on it.
A colleague gave it to me for a read and as soon as I read the headline I agreed. I guess the bottom line is really that as teachers we can demand all we want, yet from experience, both personal and observed, the only way we are ever going to get it, is if we give it. Not just as teachers either I would suggest, as parents, partners, employees, even bloggers I imagine.
My parent teacher interviews were wonderful. I met with mostly very loving, supportive parents who have great kids. It was a pleasure to be able to share with them my observations about progress and personal gratitude for their young people.

Weekend ends with Deb Practise

Tom is partnering a girl at the school's deb ball on Friday night. The parents had to go to deb practise to learn the dance they do with their parent. It's a long time since I did my deb, so I was glad to have an opportunity to refresh the steps.

I stood at the back of the hall watching all these grown up teens. I had a bunch of them in year 7. They are great kids and have grown up well. It's quite amazing the change since they were at our campus 3 years ago.

I loved having Jane on Friday night. I was delighted that her daughter Ricki was there too. I haven't spent time with Ricki like that for ages. She is a great young woman. Yesterday we went for a walk and Sam is walking so well he pushed Tom in the wheelchair for a little while. It was quite amusing. I was sad to see them go.

Bill McDonough

Bill McDonough features in 'The 11th Hour", the new film by Leonardo DiCaprio that is discussed on TED.com blog. He is an architect who is tackling sustainability with intelligent design. TED is a great place to watch amazing thinkers from all over the globe.

Melbourne Writers Festival

On Monday I'm travelling with some year 9 and 10 students to the "Melbourne Writers Festival - Schools Program". I look forward to this for a number of reasons. I always enjoy taking the students on excursions, because they are always engaged and at their best. We can only take a small number of students, so only those who are really passionate about reading and writing have gone to the effort, or been selected by their English teachers. I expect this will make for great conversation on the 2 hour + bus trip. I will also enjoy listening to the authors speak about their books. I'm not sure yet, which sessions I will be attending, but I will be sure to tell you after I've been.
For those who live a little closer, "Melbourne Writers Festival" is for adults also and there are plenty of sessions to cater for all. Check out the program on the webpage.

UFO's

A morning spent reading on the Internet has been a little journey into the past for me today, riddled with co-incidences and revelations. I read my weekly 'Mystic Medusa' horoscope and her latest blog post:Bibliomancy: Tekhne led me to a link to review of a book she is reading about metaphysics, history and myth, some of my favourite subjects. The John E Mack Institute website however, was the real find for me.
Without wanting to reveal too much of my flakey past, I did a 'spiritual' course once and met John E Mack. He was one of the participants. My friend Shirley and I and around 20 others had this adventure that was so shoddy. Shirley and I discussed it last time we caught up and she asked whether I'd heard anything about John, as she really liked him. I thought he had died and today, that was confirmed on that website. He was a very interesting, humble and gentle man. When he listened to you, you really felt heard and Shirley was especially touched by his ability to listen and hear.
He died 3 years ago in an accident.
He was quite sick on that course and that was one of the objections I had about the course. They wouldn't allow him to deal with his health issues and I felt that was crazy and almost cruel as I could see he was in pain and I felt almost in collusion by being there and watching them deny him care. It was a very unpleasant experience for me. I ended up being totally outraged and basically throwing a tantrum, which was then put down to a flaw in my spirit. Still, on reflection, I learnt lots from that course about myself and about deferring to others. I had perhaps lost touch with myself and that was what it took to make me realise who I was.
Earlier this week in class (although I was hardly there, I did have a couple of lessons), a student asked me whether I believed in UFO's. John came into my mind. I told the kids what he'd told me about his research and that although I had no evidence, I trusted his and I personally do believe.

Teaching

I had a great week at work. I feel really enthused about my classes and teaching this year. There is a really positive feeling amongst most of the teachers I feel. It is great to work with people you love.
I have two new classes this year. One of them is careers and I feel quite adequately experienced having had over 20 jobs in my life. I have also began an enterprise class in digital storytelling. I am quite passionate about that and am enjoying it and hope the students do as well. It is great to learn new things.
Life is good.

Trip to Wollongong - Final thoughts

I learnt I am very afraid of heights on the trip. I am getting worse. Andy, in one of his amusing moments took a rather unflattering clip of me getting down from a monument that I had climbed thinking I could get a better shot. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by fear. You won't find this video, because it hasn't been put online. This horrible 'fear of heights' feeling came along several times during the trip, particularly on the 'Suggan Buggan' road and some of the lookouts.

I learnt that I prefer to stay a while in places rather than pass quickly through. We usually spend a week at a place we holiday to and I found this website today Slow Travel, and I totally agree it is the best way. I guess when we visited Broken Hill last year for a week and traveled to and from taking a week either way, it was the same. The most enjoyable part is the week long stay at the destination. We think we will spend a couple of weeks next year in the one spot rather than spend as much time travelling. We do like to take roads off the beaten track though, which takes longer. I thoroughly agree with the concept of 'slow travel' though. You need time in a place to appreciate it and to really relax there.

I learnt that I prefer smaller places and larger accomodation. I need to get fitter and healthier to continue to enjoy walking and camping. Wollongong was a beautiful place. It was not the industrial city I had thought it was.

I really enjoyed Andy's company and appreciate the care and planning he puts into these trips. I wouldn't see a quarter of the marvellous thing I get to see without him.

The coast is so populated. I was quite astonished by this. The price of real estate is high along the coast.

All roads lead to David Bowie

In the days before the final bell went at school, I gave each class an overview of what they would be learning next year and the topics that would be covered. Many of my students really weren't interested as they could smell the holidays by that stage and the thought of next years learning wasn't a priority. So I explained to them about the RAS antenae and how it could help them to do better next year.
I did a course once that was about learning and I only vaguely remember the facilitator talking about your Reticular Activating System or RAS being like antenae and once you decided to learn something you would begin to notice it everywhere. The example that was given was when you buy a new car that you feel is rare and distinctive and then you start to see it everywhere. I have had that experience! I have also found that often when I was studying at uni, information and knowledge that I needed would seem to come to me from all different sources that I wouldn't have expected. If you are interesting in learning more about this there is an interesting discussion here.
Getting back to the topic, lately I have been seeing David Bowie everywhere. Well not in person, unfortunately, yet I rather fear that if I did he would make a song about me and it would hurt my feelings like the YouTube clip my brother sent me where he sang about a 'Chubby Little Fat Guy'. I would put it on here, except I thought it was a little sad and cruel. I have no sense of humour sometimes.
I have been reading him on blogs everywhere. Just little snippets or photos. So I think my RAS on David Bowie is in action. The wonder of it is, that I don't know why other than having been a fan for so many years. I have never been to a concert sadly. I was very close to going to one in 1983, yet it was the night before my HSC (now VCE)English exam. Why didn't I just go anyway? It would have improved my performance. I know that now!

Instead I will put this interview from Rove that was filmed about 8 months ago and shows all the things I love about him. He is healthy, interested and creative with a dry sense of humour that I love. Rove is great also. 'The two names are synonymous with sin and fun.' Enjoy!

2006 School Year Complete

Is there anything sweeter than the first days of a long holiday period? The weeks stretch out before me. I am generating lots of to do lists and pottering around setting little things straight around my home. I am preparing for our summer trip and excited about the adventure it will be. I am purchasing last minute gifts for Christmas and looking forward to the big day when I'll feast with the family and give and get.
Yesterday, although it was the first day of my holidays, I went into work to tie up a few loose ends that in my rush to finish I had not managed to attend to. I tried to kid myself that it would wait until next year, but they niggled at me in the morning and I knew they would lose their significance if I didn't have them done. I feel at peace now and complete with my year.
In reflecting on this year of teaching, it hasn't been one of my better years to be honest. I have been cranky and haven't managed to build positive relationships with as many of my students as I have in previous years. I am aware of some of the reasons for this, but can not excuse myself. I have made my work harder and feel I have not given my best to the kids. Over the holidays I want to redesign my thinking in this area. I like teaching because I learn so much. I am letting it go now though. It's done. Next year I will be better for having learnt what I have this year.

Zefrank's Learning Strategies

Zefrank has some seriously good ideas delivered in his usual frank and delightful way. I am a fan.

Interestingly he uses divorced people as a metaphor and after spending a really positive evening with my ex-husband, current family and friends and ex-in-laws last night to celebrate my wonderful 18 year old's birthday, I know it works, interestingly enough. Watch the video, it may make sense. If not - Oh well. It was a great night.

Ted Talks

Considering what it costs to see Anthony Robbins live, this is good value. It's free! He tells a very touching story. I've listened to a few Anthony Robbins tapes over the years, but not until today did I hear him say the F word. So that was interesting! I kinda liked it. Made him seem more human to me. I know, I have issues.
Actually you can watch a video of Tony Robbins. He looks good too.
I have been checking out TED Talks again today. I watched a video there the other day, I don't know if I mentioned it here but it was about Happiness by Dan Gilbert and I really enjoyed it. This is a valuable resource. There are quite a few great speakers on this site and I think you could treat yourself to the time it takes to listen to a half hour or so, or download a podcast.
Oh and since U2 is in Australia, you might like to celebrate that by watching Bono here.

Camille lyrics

I love that song "Ta Douleur" and have been listening to it quite a bit. It occured to me the lyrics may not be great and not understanding French, my curiosity got the better of me. So of course I found the lyrics and went to babel fish. The translation was funny. Do it for a laugh.

[I know you're suffering, but trust me, I'm gonna take away your pain.]

The translation is funny. I get the gist of it though and it's ok.

Investments in Learning

My daughter, very conscientious human that she is, signed up to do some extra study during the holidays to prepare herself for her VCE exams that are coming up. She applied to a well known University about 150kms away. She woke early on Monday morning and caught the train, only to get a phonecall on her mobile about an hour before the course was due to start, to say they had overbooked and they didn't have a spot for her. She had arranged accomodation for herself for the three days in the city and was well organised. The uni have debited the money for this course from the Visa card and although it is three days later, no refund has appeared. She was quite devastated.
I was altogether unsurprised and others I have discussed this with have expressed a similar belief that universities in general are not the best at customer service. As courses become more expensive I find myself wondering if it is all worth it.
Interestingly I read this today:What's the ROI on an MBA When You're in the SEO Industry?. I hope people begin to question more, what is the return on the investment.
I have attended uni, tafe, adult education and lots of privately ran courses. I am a bit of a course addict actually, or at least I was until I started blogging:-). I honestly found my uni course to be the least quality or ROI. I guess that peice of paper one needs for many professions, that is only available at a uni, is the edge they have. As far the actual learning though or the growth gained, uni's didn't rate for me.
I guess I am just always cranky when people are not treated with respect.

Terracotta Warriors

I would love to go and see this place. I think this is amazing and Chinese history is one of the things I love learning more about.