Scottish Holiday; day one

Like many people of our generation childhood holidays involved early starts. Being woken at some unearthly hour to drive through the night, packed into the back of an overloaded car, was a feature of many people’s early years. So it was that some thirty years ago my brothers and I were loaded, I suspect either into a bright yellow Golf or possibly some variety of small Renault, for the 12 hour journey to the Scottish Isles.
This year I decided to take my own children to Scotland, a few days in Glasgow and then a week in Glencoe. Not for us the 12 hour ordeal, a couple of nights in a Travelodge to break up the journey. So off we went, large recently serviced car, with air-con, navigation on the iPhone, kids plugged into the DVD players in the back and five effortless hours later we arrive in Glasgow.
My respect for those earlier journeys is immense. I know the second the particular movie my children are watching ends as the bickering starts. They would be physically unable to travel the sort of distances in a car we used to do without me having to stop and restrain them with duct tape to save my sanity. They are unable to occupy themselves for that length of time, (this is where my own father tells you that neither did we and he still has the calluses on his hands from gripping the wheel to stop his own desire to pummel us to within an inch of our lives.)
Thirty years on our road system is much easier, our journey was just about dual carriageway or better for the whole journey (bar a few sections on the A66) my car covers long distances effortlessly, the aerodynamic top box taking easily all our belongings (not for me the strapping of a polythene clad case onto a roof rack.)
So here’s to my Mum and Dad for the bravery, fortitude and resilience to take us on those journeys all those years ago and let’s remember next time we are sat in a traffic jam, transport is generally better than it was thirty years ago.

Keeping a blog upto date is tough!!!

Things I learned this week.

1. Huge respect to those of you who have the life styles, time, interest and/or dedication that enables you to post regularly. Maybe a list of things I learned on a daily basis is too tall an order.




2. Darwin was taking the waters in White Wells Bath House in Ilkley, when his famous work "On the Origin of Species" was published. I attended an excellent and thoughtful lecture on Thursday to mark the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. This was given by Dr Jeremy Pritchard from Birmingham University and was a Tour de Force on how to teach Evolution in schools. The bath House is at LS29 9RF. The powerpoint of the lecture can be found here. Thank fully we are not in the USA where in several states the teaching of evolution is banned. He showed hopeful data that more people are becoming, once again, more in favour of evolution as a theory, and that good teaching can make a difference.




3. One of those interesting coincidences was pointed out in the press this week, that Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day. Simon Jenkins' article about who was the most important, not surprisingly for a political journalist comes down in favour of Lincoln, but is still worth a read. But Isn't this abit like asking which is most important for life....water or oxygen.



4. Dwarf Aquatic Frogs are fascinating and easy to keep pets (so far.)

Things I have learned in the last few days.

1. Bad weather is great for bird watching. We've been making sure we keep our feeders topped up over the last week. We have been rewarded by tens of birds visiting our garden. We've had feeders that look like pictures in an RSPB catalogue. We've also had some rarish visitors like flocks of waxwings and fieldfare. So feed the birds! (bit more than tuppence a bag but it's worth it)

2. Get a job as a banker if you can. How can they get bonuses? A bonus has to be performance related. Some of these guys seem to have negotiated contracts where their bonuses are guaranteed!!!

Things I learned today.

A work colleague of mine in a previous school worked as a science technician. Though she left school with hardly any formal qualifications she loved her job and really worked hard to understand the science behind the experiments she prepared. After one of my explanations she stood back and said "You know something? Coming to school is a real education!" Need I say more?

1. That the revision plan I have been pushing for some years. "Mr G's one hour special" has now been proven to work. An article in the TES shows how students were able to assimilate information very quickly from an intensive revision process. Here is the article

   http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6007908

2. That my colleagues in my department are a hard working and dedicated bunch (I knew this already but events of today reminded me....if I stopped adding qualifiers you would be able to read it) Several are in today, against doctors orders, with viral conditions that really need rest, but they know that if they are off the pressure is put on the rest of us, so in they trundled
3. That students come up with the best ideas. For years I have got my students to measure the strength of self-made electromagnets by how many paper clips they can pick up. Two year 8 students today decided to use a miniture plotting compass and see how far away an electromagent will make the needle flick when its turned on? Brilliant! Far more sensitive than paper clips.

Things I learned Yesterday

Yesterday for the first time in 15 years of teaching the school where I teach shut, due to the snow.

Here are some things I learned on my day off.

1. Being able to sit and eat your breakfast whilst reading the days paper on the day it arrives is very pleasurable (but not for my wife as I spent all day saying...In the guardian this morning do you know what someone wrote?)
   
   
2. Watching a Reed Bunting and other birds around your feeders in the snow is very pleasurable.



3. Most of the world still views that my job is not to educate children in a safe and stimulating environment, its basically to look after them all day so their parents can go to work. Maybe they can tell Ofsted and the DCSF thats all they want.



4. That most people don't understand that children have the right to be educated in this country, they don't have a right to free childcare.



5. That Oliver Postgate was a poet. The opening to Noggin and Nog is as lyrical piece of prose as you could wish to read.

Big up the Dipper

One fantastic walk.

Sunday dawned clear and sunny once again. My three wonderful boys were visiting us for the weekend and so we decided to go for a walk. Choosing a route we had not been for a while and one that can be wet we set off. We shortly came across an old weir and evidence (like some lost civilisation) of 18th and 19th century industry. The river after the weir was shallower the water running quicker and then we saw them. A flash of dark brown, then a glimpse of white and we stood enchanted for a short while by two pairs of dippers feeding and foraging in the water. This rare and shy bird is not often seen but fascinating to watch when you do find them. They feed by running / swimming underwater to catch invertebrates hiding in the river bed. More well known bird watchers than ourselves have failed to see Dippers, indeed I seem to remember seeing a BBC clip recently where the presenter tried and only caught a glimpse of these shy birds. So here we were about 7 miles from the centre of Sheffield watching them. I think even my boys were impressed. And now the dilemma...do I tell you were we were?????????

Andrew Goldsworthy at YSP

Kids get art!
Its not often that Barnsley is linked with the great and the good of the art world but in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park we surely have one of the world's gems. (Despite what they say its closer to the centre of Barnsley than Wakefield) And other than the fact that the trees there are possibly the best thing, there are some truly wonderful exhibitions. The current one showing the varied work of Andrew Goldsworthy is a must see. It has everything you could want in art and you know its good by the response of the people. The comments book in the Long Gallery is a must read and should be published. We took my boys recently, tiring quicker than I did of art created by the dirty feet of sheep, they waited for me outside and meanwhile made their own Goldsworthy inspired art. So we have Ben's (8) pebble man and Sam's (11) bloody scab art work...rather good I think..and proof unassailably that even though some of the adult visitors there didn't get him the kids totally understood what Andrew was trying to do.