Another Update

Greetings to my loyal readers (all five of you lol), it’s time for another weekly update in the life of Bryan.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much news to report.  The weather has turned “stereotypical British” (i.e. cold and rainy) which has put a damper on my sight-seeing exhibitions (hence no new pictures in a while).  Also, work has picked up, keeping me busy every day of the week – good news for my bank account, bad news for my blog.  So, apologies for the sparseness of this blog...

I’ve continued to broaden my school experiences this week – in addition to teaching and nursery nursing, I worked a day in an all-girls secondary school as a cover supervisor.  Now, you may be asking yourselves “what is a cover supervisor”?   In a nutshell, it’s someone schools bring in to babysit their classes while the teacher is out.  Unlike supply teachers, cover supervisors do not need to hold any sort of qualifications (only a valid police check), as they are not there to teach.  The work (usually busy work in the form of worksheets) is left and they are merely there to maintain discipline and make sure the students complete the work.   As you may imagine, this is a bit controversial: it cuts down on the number of supply teaching jobs and puts people who may have no formal training in charge of children in order to save money (stupid budget crunch).

Anyways, I enjoyed my time at that school – it was the easiest work I’ve done so far over here.  I was in two Grade 7 math classes (algebra), a Grade 8 French class and a Grade 10 Music class.  Maybe it was because the classes were composed entirely of girls or maybe it was their age, but there was a lot less rowdiness compared to other classes I’ve taught.  The day also underscored the difference in teaching styles between primary and secondary – namely, an increase in independence and a higher level of talk and reasoning.
It’s been a bit quiet on the social scene, but I did manage to make it out to my Magic draft (got my first sack land!) and finally met some of my Facebook friends in person.

***EDIT: Oh wow, I can't believe I left out the most important part of the meet-up I went to on the weekend!  We went to this American-style diner for dinner where I found my new favorite beverage... Banana Bread Beer!  It was amazing - it tasted just like liquid banana bread with a slight beer aftertaste.  I was in heaven.***

Let’s hope this coming week will bring a bit more news.  I have three more days booked in my local nursery and a few more leads on permanent work for the New Year.  The schools should start interviewing for those positions soon (fingers crossed).