A Curious Girl: 'They'll put you off teaching for life'

I love children. This afternoon was spent at a local primary school, listening to them read, hearing their stories and discussing 'very tiny sounds' with them. Grant, a boy who seemed to be constantly angling for attention, was a bit of a handful - it was difficult to know whether to listen or ignore him. One of the difficult things about dealing with children is that in attempting to get one thing done, I found that the teacher/I had to stop them going off on a tangent about something related that both they and I found quite interesting, but was not linked to the task. But they're great - so bright, fresh and unaffected. I mean, not squeaky clean little angels... but open, interested. I want to encourage them before they get cynical... I want to teach them to keep their eyes open before they get used to seeing what they're told to see.

And as I was walking back to the bus stop, I wanted to skip and run and sing 'I want to be a teacher!' I sort of did... but I only ran a bit and sung in my head. I don't think being a committed looney would really help my teaching career. I mean, I know you have to be mad to be a teacher, but the strait jacket would make holding the chalk quite difficult.

I actually managed to succeed in something I'm not that great at - getting them to be quiet. It was when we were talking about tiny sounds, the sort that Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant could hear. Someone suggested 'Silence'... so I asked if they could all do an impression of silence! Brilliant...

The teacher remarked offhandedly, 'They'll put you off teaching for life'... I said, 'Never.' Yay for children.

Since I last wrote, the parents have given me the exam talk, depressing me somewhat, but it's OK now. Clive is tutoring me Biology Sunday mornings. My Biology investigation is going all right. Tip - do not breathe in sulphur dioxide fumes if you can help it.

Thanks Dral for your guestbook message :)

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