Posts by Jackie Clark
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If you would all indulge me, what I've been doing prior to the New Year is taking my water hating dog to Takapuna Beach and convincing her that the ocean is her friend. And I finally did it.
I'm a proud mama.Why such a big deal, you may ask. Well, over 2 years ago, she broke her back and had very expensive surgery. Sort of remortgage the house expensive. Along with homegrown physio, and climbing steep hills as regular exercise, it was suggested that we think about hydrotherapy. Very, very dear. And a dog who hated water. Not a good combination. So imagine my surprise, and delight, when we started to go to the beach with her dog pack a few months ago, and she started to go in the water. And then yesterday, as you can see, she swam. Not quite at the same level of accomplishment as writing a book, or hosting a conference of thinky people, but still. What I did in my holidays? Can't get any better than that for me.
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Happy New Year everyone - Islander, sorry to hear about your mac probs. We have leopard on the other two teachers' macs. I refuse to have it. Too many glitches. We deal with Renaissance - RED - and they also refuse to believe that it could have anything go wrong with it.
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I am the kind of drinker about whom people shake their heads patronisingly. I hardly ever drink, so I get totally smashed on about two beverages; I love things that taste completely unchallenging and sugary;
Me too, fellow traveller. My poison is a very weak Coruba and coke, lots of ice, in a very tall glass. More than one, and I get that tiddled feeling that I so hate. Wimpy, I know. But pleasurable.
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Oh and thanks Susan for reminding me: there are now twovery fine EPs by the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra in the shops, for your listening pleasure. And an album in the works. Rock on!
I'll have to look for those, Jolisa. I do like a good ukelele orchestra - and WIUO are very, very good.
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What about a "Births, Deaths, Civil Unions and other items of interest" column.
That's a wonderful idea.
She has some goodies, our Deborah. I think that's a brilliant idea - it does feel a bit like a village here, doesn't it?
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Thank you Russell for your lovely thankyness. And I would like to say thankyou to you for providing an oasis of sanity on an otherwise mad, mad planet. I find myself drawn to the more personal blogs of all your contributors - so I would like to thank them . I wanted to say thank you to all of you for writing so well, and sometimes so personally about your lives, and beliefs, and experiences. Some things we have in commmon, some things I have never thought of, and some experiences I will likely never have, and it makes my world, for one, a richer place. And thank you to the regular posters - my PA Womens' XV especially. We have engaged in some lively discussions, haven't we? My warmest wishes to you all at this lovely, sometimes difficult, time of year.
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Lovely, David. Even if you are dying of a chesty hoiky lurgy thingy. The sky thing: in my first 7 months in the UK, I toodled along, and then went to Wales for a couple of weeks in summer. The beach at Borth was the first time I even realised how much I missed that tall blue sky with limitless height. And all because they had it too. And re empty tracts of land: I found that disconcerting. Farms with no animals on them in Winter. I was told many farms were arable, but I did wonder where all those cows and sheep were.
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What made ece your chosen path, Jacqui?
I was always going to be a teacher - I'm bossy, and loud, and have always been "teacherly" and I thought that that would be a good start, I guess. I was wrong as it turned out. What was more valuable was my penchant for subversion and my ability to think like a 4 yr old. As for heading down the path I did, well, I got accepted for secondary training, but the thought of having to deal to 14 yr old boys, who would inevitably be taller than me? No. Really, it was nothing more complex than that at the time.
Did you have to do another 3 years or was that a 1 year postgrad course?
3 year teaching diploma, back then. And I loved it. I loved being a student. I loved sitting back in classrooms. I loved being part of a big group sitting around in the quad, yakking about whatever. I loved the political stuff - particularly the politicisation of young women who had never really used their thought processes in a self aware way before. I loved the whole thing, really. But I love being a teacher more.
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What does anyone do with a history degree now anyway?
You could ask yourself, as I have, what you do with a South East Asian history degree. Paired with an art history major. Not necessarily a direct career pathway to early childhood education one might think. However, what I found when at ACE (or t coll, or teachers college, or the University of Auckland, Department of Education, Epsom campus, as they call it now) was that having already done my degree 12 years previously, I was at a distinct advantage. I knew about essays and exams and critical thinking. I excelled in hypothesising, and referencing, and addendums. Took me 12 years to figure out how to be an A1 teacher, but.
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I was thinking more in terms of what this thread says about the people who wash up here: we seem to have high-achievers who truanted, and high-achievers who didn't.
Speak for thine self, Mr Brown. No high achiever here. Good brain, lacks application, I think would have summed me up, nicely.