Two days workshops in the school. One of those schools where the moral of staff is very low.
As it turns out the cleaners there have been paid wages below that of their male counterparts and have been awarded eqall pay at last. This has also been backdated about 7 years or so I'm told. The school has to make up this shortfall not the education authority or the council.
So 140k or something dont quote me I can not remember is coming out of school funds. The result may be no money to pay covering teachers when absences occurr. Curenttly at 7 apparently. So my contact at the school was only briefly there to say hi and I didnt see her on the 2nd day at all!
But I worked as well as I could and we did mosaic work all 55 of us. I had teacher support as well dont get me wrong.
I wonder what it is like to face these tasks as a kid. Levels of expectation really high. Fish with eye lashes and intricate patterns.
Achievements are on a different scale gone are mouths, the fins and tails. Sometimes the fish has gone as well? A good result is to cover the whole paper with tiles…'finished it' wow.
Do you remember what your expectations and aspirations were when you were a kid? Did you meet them? Some kids here tried so hard and worked intensly, others pestered me the whole time to do it for them. I hope the kids who tried hard try hard at all their subjects.
It is about aspirations and having ones that make you move through life. Too low and you get lost.
Do you know the Pink Floyd song about 2 gold fish swimming in a fish bowl, covering the same old ground, facing the same old fears, year after year.
I came away with this song ringing in my ears, it seemed apt.
My job is to step it up a level and bring them with me.
