If anyone was watching the World Cup this weekend, they would have witnessed one of England's worst games culminating in their 4-1 thrashing by Germany and an end to their cup dreams. Seriously... Germany walked all over them and it didn't seem that there was any heart in the squad. They gave up much too early.
Another contributor was the disallowed goal in the first half... how anyone could miss that it was in is still beyond me. Two feet over the line for Pete's sake! Just another argument for the use of goal line technology in soccer matches (it happened again in the next game with Argentina receiving an offside goal against Mexico). I'm not quite sure why FIFA has nixed the idea... something about it taking too long and spoiling the "spirit of the game". Really though - in this day and age, in this sort of high profile match with millions of dollars in the balance, I think taking a minute to verify contentious goals would be an asset. Its not like we're asking for every infraction, foul or free kick to be checked... just disputed goals which the officials did not have a good line of sight to.
At the end of the day though, the players themselves must take the "blame" for the loss. One goal would not have made a difference in the result and, if they could not mentally shake themselves out of the shock of going into the second half one goal down, then they should not be in this kind of high profile event. In any kind of sporting event, you have to just keep pounding away at the other team until you get the result you want - miracles can happen but only if you create chances for them to.
They are making £100,000 + a week which hardly seems justified in the way that they performed. And to Rooney - if you don't want fans to boo, give them something to cheer about!
Monday 28 June 2010
Saturday 26 June 2010
Another lazy weekend
Here I sit on another lazy weekend . The temperature is 25C and rising - a perfect sunny day for a BBQ. My housemates and I just finished cleaning off the unused porch and BBQ in preparation. It'll be just us pretty much, but should be fun.
I suppose the most exciting news from this week is that I've gotten guaranteed work for the autumn term! I will be back at my current school for 3 days a week covering teachers' prep classes (or PPA as its called over here) for Nursery - Year 4. Each week a teacher gets half a day off to plan, mark and prepare for the next week which means the school either arranges for another teacher to cover the class or hires a supply. I'm quite happy about this: I have some guaranteed work coming back from my long vacation, I don't have to take any days off to prepare for / attend interviews and its a good school with friendly staff and well-behaved students. The head teacher also had some really nice comments about how I was doing a good job and everyone loved me :).
It will be a change - hopefully a good one. I will miss the bond between teacher and student that you form when your with the same group of kids every day, but 3 days at the same (small) school will help mitigate that. It will also be nice not to have to worry about long-term planning or assessments (though marking will be the same). And the two days out of the week I wont be at the school, I'll (again hopefully) be out at other schools - giving me back a sense of adventure and new ideas (PD that I get paid for doing! lol). Also even though 3 days a week is enough to survive on, it doesn't leave much for saving :).
I suppose the other thing I need to do is my report writing which I am woefully behind (surprise, surprise eh?). If everything goes to plan, I'll get 6 done this weekend leaving only 5 to be completed during the week. Its not too bad - thankfully I only have half a class to do or I'd really be in trouble lol.
I suppose the most exciting news from this week is that I've gotten guaranteed work for the autumn term! I will be back at my current school for 3 days a week covering teachers' prep classes (or PPA as its called over here) for Nursery - Year 4. Each week a teacher gets half a day off to plan, mark and prepare for the next week which means the school either arranges for another teacher to cover the class or hires a supply. I'm quite happy about this: I have some guaranteed work coming back from my long vacation, I don't have to take any days off to prepare for / attend interviews and its a good school with friendly staff and well-behaved students. The head teacher also had some really nice comments about how I was doing a good job and everyone loved me :).
It will be a change - hopefully a good one. I will miss the bond between teacher and student that you form when your with the same group of kids every day, but 3 days at the same (small) school will help mitigate that. It will also be nice not to have to worry about long-term planning or assessments (though marking will be the same). And the two days out of the week I wont be at the school, I'll (again hopefully) be out at other schools - giving me back a sense of adventure and new ideas (PD that I get paid for doing! lol). Also even though 3 days a week is enough to survive on, it doesn't leave much for saving :).
I suppose the other thing I need to do is my report writing which I am woefully behind (surprise, surprise eh?). If everything goes to plan, I'll get 6 done this weekend leaving only 5 to be completed during the week. Its not too bad - thankfully I only have half a class to do or I'd really be in trouble lol.
Saturday 19 June 2010
I'm Alive!
Alright, no need to send out search parties or call the police... I am indeed alive and well. I know that I haven’t been keeping this blog as up-to-date as my loyal fans would like (or at all for that matter). I guess that is the danger of having a routine – you get comfortable, complacent and just don’t know what to say. Over the month I’ve tried to sit down and blog, but ever time I would simply stare at the blank page – the words wouldn’t come. I know its hard for some of you to imagine... Bryan at a loss for words?! But its true.
Anyways, I’m still enjoying my time with my Nursery class – they are so cute at that age and some of their observations are amazing in their insight. The other day I had to do one of the hardest things a teacher has to do... I said goodbye to my first child. You just get so attached to them at that age and I wont be there next year... don’t think she understood though lol.
This summer I’ll be taking another trip, this time around Europe. I’ve booked through Contiki again (quite a good agency for young professionals) so hopefully it’ll be a blast. I decided on their European Experience leaving in August. Click here to view my itinerary.
Work for September is still up in the air, so fingers crossed something will come up in the next month or so. I really don’t want a repeat of last Autumn! I need more than 6 days lol!
Anyways, I’m still enjoying my time with my Nursery class – they are so cute at that age and some of their observations are amazing in their insight. The other day I had to do one of the hardest things a teacher has to do... I said goodbye to my first child. You just get so attached to them at that age and I wont be there next year... don’t think she understood though lol.
This summer I’ll be taking another trip, this time around Europe. I’ve booked through Contiki again (quite a good agency for young professionals) so hopefully it’ll be a blast. I decided on their European Experience leaving in August. Click here to view my itinerary.
Work for September is still up in the air, so fingers crossed something will come up in the next month or so. I really don’t want a repeat of last Autumn! I need more than 6 days lol!
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