I'm off to London for a meeting tomorrow. Hark at me!
I'm pathetic really, I get all excited and feel all professional-like doing stuff like this. I'm 35 years old yet always feel like the youngest one in the room when surrounded by 20-odd year olds. I'm a post-graduate yet often feel a complete fraud/thicko when sat in a board room with folk my own age. What's it all about?
But hey, if they want to pay me to stay in a hotel in London all expenses paid, obviously I'm doing something right! =)
I often think about the nature of my job and how it challenges my belief system. I'm a teacher. I am brainwashing, indoctrinating and 'dumbing down' kids, I'm a brick in the wall, creating slaves for the system.
Yet, am I?
I'm a Drama teacher. I make my own curriculum. I teach approximately 300 kids and I care deeply about them all. I nurture confidence, creativity. I make my lessons experiential to encourage empathy and compassion. We have incredible debates and the young people continually astound me with their depth of thought and broad minded ideas. We put on superb performances- a lot of it devised by the pupils themselves, many very weak academically- and they and their parents glow with pride at their achievements. I taught Media Studies for a year and my pupils learned how to recognise how the media manipulates your emotions and influences behaviour.
I love kids and I love my job. I'm lucky. I get to dig deep with our future generation and it doesn't fill me with dread, it gives me hope.
Don't believe the papers, or the idiot box. The kids are doing just fine.
That's ace Ging, it must be so rewarding... unlike IT, where I hated practically every second of it, and now can't find work at all. Seems such a waste of time, especially when I qualified, my mate said "you've got too much personality for IT"... he was right. I'm not anything outstanding in the personality stakes, in fact at times I think I have a crisis, but I can see what he was getting at.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you enjoy your work, and that the kids have a teacher who gives a damn... maybe the world ain't such a bad place after all.
Ian Glendinning you are a brilliant bloke. It sounds to me that you've had a rougher time than most and this planet is dragging you down. There's a lot that's shit but Ian, there's such a lot that's awesome in the world. It's corny but you've got to stay positive, it makes a difference. I spend so much of my life surrounded by negative, moany arse bastards with nothing good to say. Balls to em! Life is beautiful! A guy with your intellect and humour, how can you stay down?? X
ReplyDeleteAwwwww!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't let it get to me as it used to. You're absolutely right, positivity is the means to a better life, and is reflected back at us. I do try & stay positive.. tend that inner garden & all that. When I get that negativity creeping in, I channel that energy into something creative, like music or writing.
But the kids... they're alright in hands such as yours.
Maybe this is the right place, maybe not, but I just read the story of "Ian's Crossing" in the Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary Blog... Within two paragraphs I couldn't believe what I was reading... here is Nature reflecting *me* back on myself, for that is so accurate of my life in ways I can't even begin to describe, which will only mean anything to me, and is so poignant & poetic & so damn *me*, that by the end of the piece I was in tears at the parallels it drew.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe what I've just read.
I love the story of Ian, beautiful and tragic.
ReplyDeleteThe little turkey has touched my heart. And now you.
All I want to do right now is put my arms around you!!