It's a scary thing...

becoming a primary teacher.  You have to get into the heads of children.  You have to read their books, watch their TV and play their games.  You have to be able to understand what they think, how they see the world and what they understand from every little sentence you say.  You have to be careful that they don't fall for misconceptions or get confused at simple instructions.  You have to watch the language you use and the way you say things.  You have to think simply and stop being convoluted.  You have to remember that they have physical limitations and mental limitations.  You have to remember that they see the world in vivid colour and imagination.  You have to remember that they don't have the experience that you have and they don't know the people you know or the things that you know.  You have to remember that what you've seen daily and now goes unnoticed, captures their attention and they become excited about it- it's a whole new exciting thing for them.  You have to remember that they all live carefree lives but you also have to keep an eye on making sure it stays that way.  You have to keep them safe and make sure they get to their parents on a night without having accidents.  And you have to make sure they're happy and enjoying life.

With so much to think about and remember and to put into action, you even have to be careful you don't become a child again...

Wandering down memory lane..

As I've mentioned, last week I had the opportunity to spend two days in my old secondary school.  A place where memories live of the times I was carefree, a massive swat, and perhaps the best days of my life.

Immediately walking down the corridors I could see the old gang sat in the library over lunchtimes, standing under the alcove at break times, the times we queued for lunch and the classrooms we spent countless hours in.  What's more of a shock was the old teachers.  Each looking like 6 years had never passed aside from their hair tinted with grey and their faces ever more lined.

But the old mixes with the new and as I walked around the old corridors, there'd been significant changes.  The school almost reflected the years I'd spent when I was away from there.  It's matured, changed, it's developed and it's got more serious.  Gone are the days of the sport of taunting teachers until they broke down, gone are the days of tantrums and throwing chairs, swapping naked pictures over bluetooth and hiding from the teachers behind rows of heads.  Hello was the fresh clean yellow look of the new logo, not a phone in sight, group tables and after school detentions handed out without a second thought.