Intellectual Bohemian

I’m back! and it’s now 2008.

I am setting my self a new resolution for this new term and new year, to blog at least twice a week from now on. This is for my own good and also at the request of a couple of my students who have also asked me when I will be starting again.

Term started today, the teachers look bleary eyed and the pupils are keen and eager. It seems to be a general mixture of excitement of seeing friends again and tiredness of having to get up early.

At the school Christmas service I was down one reader due to the Sixth Form being dismissed early, and it was proving difficult for me to get another one. During one breaktime I approached a few pupils in the playground to find someone to read, most said no. Then whilst I was asking a “good” pupil to read, one of his friends, a less reputable friend at that, said he wanted to read. I explained that he would have to read in front of the whole school and that he had to read well but none of this put him off. I, however, was still rather apprehensive about giving the reading of Jesus’ birth to this unreputable disorganised pupil at the school Christmas Service. So I told him that the first practice would be in my room at 8.15am the next morning, then again after school. I fully expected him to forgot and not bother, so I then proceeded to try and find another reader.

Low and behold, 8.15am arrives and he come running through the door to my classroom. He apparently had forgotten but had sprinted from home to get here on time. I was still unconvinced about giving him a reading. So I gave him a practice sheet and told him we would practice properly after school. Thinking that that would put him off. But once again I was proved wrong, he turned up prompt and practiced, having apparently practiced by himself through lunch.

The penny finally dropped for me at this point, I decided I would give him a try, he was obviously dedicated and keen. The service came on, and he did really well, he read clearly and meaningfully, so much so that he was even praised by his friends, he was beaming ear to ear as he left school.

I realise now that I was really slow to grasp his potential, but in my defence, before the service started he was actually asked to move from the reader’s seat by two different teachers who were certain he was sitting in the wrong place or trying to cause trouble.

This morning I processed is commendation certificate on the school computer system and noticed that it was the first positive entry on his record for two years, I was feeling warm inside, I felt even better when he came and saw me later on to thank me for letting him read.

Coming soon to an MP3 player near you …

Intellectual Bohemian, the Podcast, called “Intellectual Bohemian Speaks”

The aim is to deliver a weekly show on things happening in my life. These should cover:

• My adventures and encounters whilst teaching,
• My views on “life, the universe and everything”,
• Things happening in my life and family,
• Christianity, specifically, related to homilies, services and assemblies that I give in school, and other issues and reflections relating to Christianity.

I hope the first show should be up and running in the next week. This should also coincide with the start of a new term in school, and the launch of the FlatPlanet Wiki and Project.

Hope to be “speaking” to you soon

Happy Easter to all.

I had a frantic and demanding last few weeks of term in school. This left me particularly drained physically and emotionally and thus the break in blogging. However, I did manage to achieve a fair few things in that time.

I did sing with the band in school and performed “Before I Fall to Pieces” by Razorlight at the Spring Term Concert. It went really well and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I had my hair and goatee shaved off by some pupils to raise money for charity. This happened the day after the concert and was quite the hit in school. I am now clean shaven and without a goatee for the first time in seven years! I am now getting used to not having facial hair and may just keep it for a while.

We had the school Holy Week Service in which I gave the homily and I asked the band and music group to perform “Lean on me”. Their performance was excellent and helped me get the message of my homily across really well. That was to turn to Jesus to help us carry out burdens and crosses.

And finally we have had the Easter Holidays. I went to the usual church services, the morning mass on Easter Sunday was one of the best I have been to in years. I also visited both London Zoo, and the London Wetlands Centre, the photos from these can be found on my Flikr page.

I am now putting the final touches to my joint class project with Simon’s class in Canada. This can be found at the Flatplanet wikispace and on the Flatplanetproject blog.

I hope to start blogging regularly now and will be keeping you posted on how the joint class project goes.

Yesterday I went to Church but not in the normal way. I have started an idea in school whereby every week for the next few weeks I am offering to go to Mass with a pupil.

This is aimed at pupils who don’t normally go to Mass and whose parents don’t go to Mass. I hope by this to enable pupils to go to Mass with someone that they know and in a way that made the environment less threatening and more welcoming.

The first Mass was yesterday and met a Year 11 pupil at his local parish church. He said he enjoyed the service and found it very interesting and welcoming. He is considering coming back again and may come and see me to find out about other people who go to that Church regularly.

I really enjoyed it too, and it looks like there may be more pupils signing up to do this after seeing how well the first one went.

In my post about Mika’s song “Grace Kelly” I mentioned a funny story about a pupil in my class. What I failed to mention was that I had used that song and story to lead a short prayer meeting in school.

We have prayer meetings every Friday morning in school. They last about five minutes and an equal number of staff and pupils attend, usually about twenty in total. The meetings are led each week by either a member of staff or a pupil who talks briefly about a topic and then leads a short prayer/reflection on it.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I led a prayer meeting on that song and that story, and earlier on this week I was approached by a pupil who was at the meeting. He said that he hadn’t really heard the song before the meeting but that he had quite liked it and so had been listening to it afterwards. On one occasion he had found the song on a music TV channel and was watching the video, and he was really surprised to find that the little girl seen with Mika in the video was in fact his younger cousin. Apparently, he doesn’t talk to them much so didn’t know that this had happened until he and his family saw the video.

There you go, thanks to a prayer meeting and a lively pupil; I am now within in six degrees of separation of Mika! How cool is that?

The new term starts on Monday, it marks a new year at school, but also a new environment for me, I get to move into a new classroom.

The last year the school have been the site of some major building works, and Monday marks the opening of the new Humanities Block. In this block will be a brand new sports hall, 5 English Classrooms, 2 History Rooms, 2 Geography Rooms, 4 Art Rooms, 3 RE rooms, 4 Offices, a workout gymn, and an IT room. I’m pretty excited by this as I get to my own classroom, having been out in a portacabin for the last three years, it also means I will be with the other RE teachers for the first time and we will have our own department office! A new start indeed for our department.

In my new classroom I get to display my favourite Christmas present. Hazel got me a hand crafted wooden plaque of the Last Supper for me to display in the room.

It is special because each of the disciples are displayed as a cross, and the crosses have symbolism attached to show certain things, for example Peter’s cross being upside down, Doubting Thomas touching Jesus’ side, and Judas seperate from the others and having two coins in it.

The other special Christmas present I got this year was from a student. I usually get a few cards from students, along with the token gesture gifts of chocolates etc… but this year I got give a book, Chicken Soup for the Couple’s Soul, from one student and his family. It was so well thought out and also included a personal inscription from the boy’s mother thanking me for my hard work.

This gift itself reminded me of how lucky I am to be a teacher with such great pupils. I hope to hold that book dear, and remember it when I am snowed under with marking and reports!

The Rosary at lunch went well, I had hoped for 2 pupils and ended up with 5! I was really happy with this, even more so when they asked when they could do it again, and also said that it would be no problem getting more people along next time. The only downside is that “next time” can’t happen for a couple of weeks, but at least its something to build on.

If you do feel like joining in the “spiritual boquet” please comment on my post below.

On request from my mother, I am holding a prayer meeting at lunchtime today in school to say the rosary. It will provide a nice introduction to the boys that have been invited and also help us pray for a cause. The prayer request was made by a prayer group who meet regularly to pray the rosary to Our Lady of Medjugorje for private intentions, but in this instance they have asked those who are willing to say a rosary in thanks to Our Lady for all her intercessions and help.

I really like this idea of praying the rosary as a “spiritual boquet” or a thank you, especially in light of all the good that has come about through the help of Our Lady. And I really do hope that a good number of pupils turn up, (a lot have shown interest, but may forget). But in an all boy high school I will be happy with 2 boys.

If you like the idea and would be willing to take part in this, please feel free to say your own rosary. All I would ask is that you please leave a comment to that effect so that I can pass on your participation to those who are organising it and my thanks to you.