More Ladies of Science

I am not saying that you should be given extra credit if you happen to be a lady that gets into science. If you make a fantastic discovery, whatever your gender, you should be applauded and celebrated for the work you’ve done, NOT your gender.

I had a similar argument today with a LGBT campaigner, who wanted more LGBT issues raised in schools. I am completely for this, and I agree that when it is appropriate (for example during sex education, or in history if a specific person fought for rights of LGBT or faced adversity because of their sexuality, or in English if studying a text which may hint towards some themes of LGBT) it would seem odd to me to find it a taboo to NOT talk about it with students. It’s a perfectly natural, normal thing, so to ignore it completely would seem wrong. To me. However, students may be confused themselves as to their sexuality, or they may have heard some things from older family members or friends which are very homophobic, so they may not be of the same opinion, so I think it IS important to make it as normal to everyone else.

At the same time, and I have taken a HUGE tangent here, this guy was trying to say to me that we should just mention if a scientist is gay or whatever, just so that we accept them as normal people, and so that gay people in the class aren’t confused or embarrassed by their sexuality, as it is a normal thing which we talk about a lot (which was apparently was what he wished when he was a boy). My argument however, was that by making it a big thing in a topic where it isn’t perhaps that relevant WHAT sexuality the scientist may have been, is in fact what is causing the issue in the first place. In my eyes, by treating it this way, you are making your issue, the issue. I wouldn’t even mention if someone was straight, why would I just casually mention that they are gay, lesbian, bi or transgender? Surely that is isolating that community more by picking that out as a defining feature of this person?

Coming back to the women in science thing, I have the same (sort-of) argument. Of course, normally you can tell if someone is a women, even by their name, or a picture of them. But I wouldn’t ever mention it explicitly. If I was explaining a woman’s work to a class, I would be commending the work, NOT the sex of the lady. And equally, coming back to my previous argument, I would NOT base any achievements on sexuality. Or race to that matter. Sure these groups may have faced adversity over history more than your typical; white, heterosexual male. And they may have  had to get through more in their life. But their gender, sexuality or race isn’t what THEY are. It’s just a part of them. And they made this discovery, come up with this theory, solved this problem etc.

I am passionate about getting girls in science. Because I want the stereotype that people (mostly women) have, of a scientist, to be scrapped. Because. We are all people, and we can all do what ever the hell we want to do regardless of anything. And it’s true there are more males in science, but there shouldn’t be. I don’t think it’s because women aren’t capable, I just think they don’t know they can be involved in science (especially involved in science, and not be a dork). But they shouldn’t be celebrated because they are women in science. They should be celebrated as they have achieved in science.

Life Is A Roller-coaster

….Just gotta ride it!

I wish. More than anything in the world. The Ronan Keating hadn’t written and sung a hugely popular song with these lyrics.

Because they are what keep me going. I truly believe in this, and what I say to anyone who is having a bad time. If it wasn’t a song by a slightly cheesy Irish-man, I would have that saying tattooed onto me by now.

Because it’s true! Life IS a roller-coaster. There are going to be really really SH*T days, but there are going to be really good days too, and that my friends, is just life. And you will not enjoy the really good days unless you learn to accept the bad days. They happen to everyone, regardless of your general overall happiness I’m sure!

Don’t get me wrong. I have had some deep, dark days in my past where I’ve lost faith in my saying. But it was this, and another handful of songs and specific lyrics, that kept me going. Because even if it feels like the biggest dip of  a roller-coaster, one in some horror ride which drops into the deepest pits of hell, eventually, something will come along and soar you up again. Maybe not all the way to the top, maybe not very high at all, but all roller-coasters, including that of life, has many bumps. Some big, some small. But all should be embraced with the same positive outlook.

“You’ve got to take the good with the bad, the happy with the sad”

I think this was a lyric from a very early S Club 7 album. But it sticks into my head as it too sums up life. You have to take the bad days with the good. As they will happen, and if you let them get to you, then life is not worth living. There are going to be days, when getting up is the worst, and where you’re going to be sad. But at the same time, there will be days when you’re happy, and you spring out of bed. For whatever reason. For example, I always feel happy if I know I’m going shopping. For literally anything, I can cheer myself up by shopping for tampons. At the same time, I can feel un-naturally depressed at the slightest of things; it’s raining, I look in the mirror at the wrong angle.

For me, the whole of winter is like that. I should imagine I would be diagnosed with SAD. I try exceptionally hard during the winter months to keep these happy things as frequent as possible, even though that generally means getting chubby and being poor!

But I always keep in mind that life is a roller-coaster.

And if that doesn’t work, I remember some Katy Perry lyrics;

“Maybe a reason why, all the doors are closed

So you can open one that leads you to a perfect road”

And if that doesn’t work either, I remember the most inspiring, tear-jerking (I’ve listened to this at least 1 million times in my life) song of them all:

Steps to Conquer Motivation Loss

I am loving teaching. I am now teaching full lessons at least 4 times a week when I’m only in school 3 days. I know this doesn’t sound a lot, but it’s only been a month and a half since I started so this feels like a huge achievement for me! (I only also decided teaching was for sure the career for me in June, so everything has moved very quickly!) As well as planning, delivering and evaluating lessons, I have also been kept busy with numerous assignments and tasks to be handed in, tonnes of paperwork to sort through, and bags and bags of folders to keep organised.

And of course, I have my new flat to maintain, shopping to do, dinners to cook.

And most importantly (for the sake of my sanity), a social life to keep up with, and a family to love.

So I have a lot to be doing. And I know this, and I love having a pile of things to do. Especially when they’re all (well, apart from the cleaning parts) things I love to do. But I’m still finding it very hard to motivate myself to start any of these tasks. Which obviously frustrates me, as I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be, but  finding the motivation to move from my bed is proving difficult.

Ive always struggled with this. Once I’m actually doing something, and I’m engrossed into it, I love it. Especially things like sorting out my folders, I should be all over that! But even that I’m behind in.

It’s all very frustrating.

The motivation is there. I think it’s the energy that’s not.

Im coming up with plans to conquer this. I already drink a whole loads water during the day (at least 2litres), but the second I get home, this intake stops. I’m going to try and rectify this as my first plan of action.

Second plan of action; overhaul my workspace. My desk in my spare room at the moment is tiny, and I don’t have a proper chair to sit on at the desk. This weekend (now I’ve been payed), I’m going to turn my spare room into a proper workspace. I’m going to buy a good desk, good chair, some good lighting. Possibly a bookshelf, and something pretty to make me want to spend time in that room. F**k, maybe I’ll buy a house plant. This will mean this is my workspace, with no distractions from TV or the fridge (which are my current problems) . I’ve also read it’s better to keep workspace and relax space apart as far as possible to make both areas work more effectively.

Third plan; sleep more. Kinda obvious, but I am shocking at getting a decent amount of sleep. Mainly because I need more sleep then anyone on the planet to feel alive, and I’m super restless so even when I do sleep it’s not that good! I’ve always really struggled with relaxation in any sense, so good sleep is always a barrier. But a better routine, and earlier nights may help?

Fourth plan; eat better. Smoothie machine is on my Christmas list, and I own more herbal teas possibly then anyone else. So I’m taking steps, I just need to stick to eating healthier, which I’m not bad at, just not exactly great. I’m not going to go crazy, be super strict or cut anything out. Just try and be more balanced and try and eat more of a variety of pulses, veg, fruit, seeds, nuts etc. A healthy body is a healthy mind.

Final plan. JOIN THE GYM. This is going to suck. I’m very unfit. I’ve never been a member of a gym in my life, and have not exercised properly in maybe 3 years? But I think this will be the one that helps, after the initial few weeks of going to the gym, coming home and collapsing in a mess. If my stamina is better, I’m going to be healthier all round,including my mind and work ethic.

Thats the plan….

Posh Hotels and Conferences

So last night I had a night away, and it was possibly the best reason to want to become a teacher!

It was a night in a spa-hotel which was absolutely stunning (well, for me, a poor, very badly traveled person), with free dinner with a lot of wine, breakfast, more tea and coffee then you could ever need, and a lot of education and chances for professional development. And not a penny spent (apart from petrol getting there!)

Firstly, the conference. Phil Beadle was the speaker on Friday night, and we spent about 3 hours being inspired and taught by this master of his craft. He has written countless best selling books, has been on TV about teaching, but does not sound at ALL like a teacher, especially not an English teacher (which he is).  The topic of the conference was behavior management, as I may have mentioned, is my biggest fear coming in to teaching! So this conference was very useful, and I do feel a lot more confident, and I do feel as though I have a lot more up my sleeve to deal with a range of behaviors and issues which I may come across.

It was also a very very good opportunity to network, as  there were a lot of teachers from other local schools and I got to speak to a fair few of them, which is good; getting my name in and everything.

The main thing I came away from Phil’s session was that there is probably bad behavior for a reason, and your (as in the teachers) behaviors can effect this profoundly, and can even be the cause of it as emotions are viral to an extent. For example if a child was to get wound up, and was to shout a lot; don’t raise your voice to match it…stay calm, and keep your body language fairly relaxed, and they will eventually come to match you. Also…people can tall a real smile from a fake smile, so faking enthusiasm in the classroom and with your pupils will not work, and will likely cause bad behavior, as they will be able to ‘sense’ the teachers emotion whether it be anxious, bored etc.

In the morning, after a fairly late night, we had some more on behavior management, which added on fairly nicely from Friday night’s session, and gave us more time to discuss and reflect on what we had learnt and add it to a real-life situation, which of course was extremely useful.

Overall very informative and I learnt A LOT, and it has increased my confidence in dealing with behavior ridiculously!

*

Then, the hotel. I LOVE hotels. Like LOVE them. And I never really have the chance to stay in one, so this was amazingly exciting for me! And then I got there, and it was so beautiful. I wish I would have taken a picture of the lobby, as that in itself was unreal, but my room was something else.

The name of the hotel was 5 Lakes, in Colchester.

Really beautiful king size bed all for me. Also 2 dressing gowns and slippers. There were also more lamps in the room then anyone could ever need! (I really wish this picture quality was better!)

Walking in

Desk and TV area

Sink area. I did of course take the shower gel and soap…

Shower cubicle and a bit of the toilet area

I wish I had the time to have a bath!

I wish I could have stayed here forever, and I will definitely come back for a spa weekend or something. It is definitely a spot were it would be really nice to bring a boyfriend or something!