Asking for a reference and realising the influences on me are my ambitions this weekend. I woke up a little better this morning after some heavy drinking with a friend. I refused to drink too many beers, leaving two that were poured. I remember Pat and Tom.
This week was one of change. I gave in my intentions. Whilst the newbies are leaving vociferiously en-mass, I desire a quieter approach. My body reacted to the stress and I responded well. Firstly I spoke with the PA, sharing desires for her family and their ambitions. When I did sit with my Headteacher, I spoke honestly and with integrity. It meant much that he responded positively. He shook my hand and called me a diamond geezer. My HoD spoke herself in similarly supportive terms. Again, this meant much to me. Later, a great man and a supportive friend was generally angry that evening, and not unsurprisingly so. Various family things had combined to vex him. A tough life is experienced in Dubai, or rather tougher than expected. It was in the acidic awareness of the evening that I felt something akin to love for those who supported me today, despite our distance over four years. My friend has supported me with time and love and expertise over years and deserves understanding on his terms. He racialises issues so much yet is racialised in return. To understand him is important: he is someone who could be a best-man to me. He is moral. It is interesting yet challenging to experience his culturally different background. It made me consider mine.
I am not so… certain as him. I am earnest. I am passionate. And right now I am a little lost, and grinding my way into the next days.
And so it is with this that I am in a position now to write my application and reapply to Search Associates. My references go back a decade or so. The process fascinates me: the lives of myself and others ready to change on the serendipitous of choices. I want to find an interesting place; I want a life a little more colourful than I have now. I will record my thoughts on here to be read by those who stumble across them.
My impression of Search Associates was very different some six years ago. When I first wanted to venture abroad, I was distinctly uncertain of teaching EAL students. I thought British students would be superior. Perhaps they will be. Now? I want to find myself in a truly international school that is far more organic. I want to be in a place that inspires. I want to be in a place that will lead to a different lifestyle than the one I have now.
With that in mind I am to look at The British School of Tokyo. A job arose there last week. This is a school to which I would really like to apply. There are some distinct pros and cons.
Pros
Japan is interesting: it is alien enough to me and allows me to enjoy an outsider status.
Tokyo has great things to do: it is a cosmopolitan city with many people and many things to do. There is a small city of expats: perhaps 6k British.
School has good results: it is in a good place already academically, although it remains to be seen how the curriculum is spaced
School has opportunities to grow etc: it seems on the up, but this is made on incidental information.
Leadership is educated: they are Oxbridge. This will be good for my subject.
Cons
No maid service: I have got used to having a maid who cleans once a week. China or other places would allow me that experience. Japan would see me having to change the habits of a lifetime, frankly. I would have to make my lunch every day. I need to look at how I can do this.
Small school size with poor facilities: unlike Beijing and Dubai, Japanese schools are really quite small and unimpressive with what they can offer.
Small accommodation: again, there are issues of growth and classrooms. But… this is fine enough too. I don’t necessarily need my own classroom anymore.
Poor savings potential, perhaps: although I have good savings and now it is time for something else.
Students have been banned from two local shops for presumably being boisterous, but we can suspect what other cultural influences are at play here.
Ultimately, though, the opportunity to work in Japan is alluring. These cons are obstacles.
Before I can finish this weekend, I need to mark like an English teacher can... There is a kind of machismo in marking books on a constant basis in some British schools. I remember in China having a nine-hour stint to catch up on 3-4 weeks of work with marking. I fell asleep marking. In the future, I intend to use whole-class and marking-code methods for non-assessment work, not least as it involves using students' work to inform the next lesson. But for now, I will brute out the marking.
And so as I set out on the weekend, I realise I want to manage my workload a little better. 37 tasks sit on my Wunderlist today! Last week I suffered through pressing tasks that felt unduly stressful. I deprioritised some planning as a result and had a trickier week. But I did many important things. Now? I want to ensure things are more cohesive. And I want to plan tasks over several days, not just one.
1) Therefore, I will first tick off tasks that I have done.
2) Then I will reallocate tasks over the coming days.
3) Then I will allocate tasks to today or otherwise, spending a few minutes where necessary on some.
