12 February 2011

i'm grateful for 'ace teachers'

Greetings all,
Ah school . . . when you hand over your precious beloved children into the hands of teachers each new school year, it can be a lottery that you get a great one (& preferably not a pregnant one).  A teacher who understands your child, let's them be quirky & guides them positively. 
My 4 children have scored ace teachers on a regular basis.  Also LOTS of male teachers, double yay, extra handy for my children who have a daddy living interstate & overseas for 3 years!!  Not going to say sorry for the pregnant teacher comment, yes, congratulations teacher you're pregnant, great for your personal life, NOT so great for an undisrupted year of teaching for my child (making that a triple yay for male teachers who aren't stay at home dads - i've lost one that way too before).  Teachers, please don't have a personal life outside of school holidays, JUST teach my children 40 weeks of the year, it's all i ask.
This week i'm grateful for 'ace teachers' . . . thanks for asking Maxabella Loves. 
 Having issues, again, with downloading images, so here is a shot of my big girl & little boy last week in the pool.  LOVE Summer holidays, the freedom, swimming, sunshine & pyjama days.  Below is a shot of our twins from when they were 4 at preschool (5 years ago) now THEY are children with personalities & are always very popular with their teachers.  Not sure if they have bigger personalities than regular children or that because they are twins, it's enhanced as they are so different??  Either way, it's an excuse to use a cute photo from the archives.
Ace teachers this year include . . . for year 7 (at my eldest daughter's ladies college, la de da) a French chef (male); a Canadian Maths/ Science teacher (male); a Japanese teacher (female, funnily enough, teaching Japanese); a PE teacher (male); a young female teacher for Humanities & a 'mature' female home room teacher.  Great mix!!  She is LOVING high school & so far has happily kissed me in the car park, outside her home room & told me i must have a Uni degree in "awesome" - i know, soaking it up while it lasts.  She's given me her locker combination, i've met her new friends & waves when she walks off into the sea of girls in the morning.  Success & for now, i'm still cool. 
For year 4 - ah yes, haven't followed up on how my twins reacted when they realised they were in the same class this year (due to small numbers there's only one year 4 class & they've spent 3 years in seperate classes) - let's just say, gasps, hugs, kisses between them & all the parents went "ah, how sweet".  I had tears in my eyes, too adorable & sorry, not photos as requested, the day before one of them dropped the old little digital camera, which is now broken with the lens fully extended open. 
With the girls in the same class, it's handy as one is super efficient & the other would leave her head behind in the classroom with her weekend homework on a Friday afternoon.  One is the SRC/ class captain for the semester (terms 1&2) . . . i asked if they went up against each other, to which they replied "no, she'll be SRC next semester".  Oh dear, a McClelland monopoly on year 4??  I never thought of this before, but what do twins do when it comes to house/ school captain when they're both qualified, gulp.  Anyway, they have a joint teacher collective, a nice mummy teacher 2 days + a more experienced lady for the other 3 days.  As they said "we'll always be fresh", hmmm, am i fresh on a Monday morning or do i get stale?? 
Finally, my boy in year 2 - well he has inherited our middle girl's teacher from years 1 & 2, so i know him well.  If you ever needed a positive, fun, active & engaging male influence in your child's classroom (particularly a son) imagine . . . a professional ice hockey player for a teacher.  Yep, awesome & gorgeous too, poor man, this is the 3rd year out of 4 in his teaching career he's had to put up with me as a class mother.  Again, small numbers in the class (our primary school averages class sizes 20 students or less) & my son is in there with his complete harem of girlfriends.  He's also the SRC/ class captain, no doubt thanks to the female vote in his class. 
Just realised each of my children are the SRC representative every other term - i should remember, i'm always paying $8 to replace the lost badges!!  Anyway, my son & his girlfriends were sitting in a group in the hall anxiously waiting to hear their names called out for the class with the action man teacher . . . one by one they all stood up & realised they were in the cool class, together, there were hugs, squeals & high 5s. 
So i'm completely exhausted as the 1st week is over, a new school route to master, P&C fundraisers to plan, new school rules to learn, day shifts at Shop Handmade, Zumba classes & sewing for the Handmade market next weekend . . . but we're back & we're loving it.  Thank you ace teachers, you make for a wonderful school experience, love Posie

14 comments:

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

My boys have quite different but outgoing and big personalities ...very popular with preschool teachers and everyone at the shops knows them LOL.
I wonder if it is a twin thing or just noticed more.
How sweet about their reaction being in the same class.
Our boys may end up in a small school and always in the same class - it's a decision we will have to make by the middle of the year ...
It is good to get ace teachers since they spend so many hours a day with your children.

Cate said...

Really good teachers make the world of difference to everything about school, don't they!!
have a great weekend
xxxCate

Felicity said...

So very pleased to hear that all of your children have had a fantastic start to this new school year.

You have obviously chosen their school well and their inherent self-confidence is being nurtured and allowed to shine in all its glory via their leadership roles.

Yeah for action-man teachers!
Yeah for nurturing, committed teachers!
Yeah for parents [like you] who support them!

Felicity x

Brenda said...

Last year Ryan had a casual teacher until his new permanent teacher was to arrive in term two. Three weeks after she started she announced she was pregnant! So at the end of term three he got his first teacher back! Go figure! That woman knew she was pregnant when she took the job.......had to do a few months to get maternity leave!!! I'm blessed that Ryan is a very smart little cookie and took it all in his stride, but I think it really upset alot of the other kids!!

Ahhh now I have that all out......this year we my kids got amazing teachers so I'm grateful for that!

Angela Furlong said...

Great post... do you know I can still remember what it was like to get an 'ace' teacher for the year!

Angela x

Jacinta said...

I'm TOTALLy going to have a go at your comment about pregnant teachers because I WAS ONE OF THEM.
I was in VIC for a year, finally in December I got an interview for a school close to my home, they basically knew they wanted to offer the job to me but had to do the interview first. They offered the position to me at the end of the interview. By the end of the week I found out I was pregnant for the first time. I still accepted the job though as it was early days of my pregnancy and anything could have happened. Thankfully everything was fine. In early Jan I told the principal and he was actually so excited for me. I still worked 6 months and only announced to the students at the end of Term 1. They were so excited for me too. I know how annoying it must be for the parents but thankfully my student's parents were very supportive (or maybe couldn't care less) ... and honestly, I was so devastated for my students that I couldn't work through the whole year with them. Now I love being a SAHM but I also loved being a teacher... and I worked my butt off for those kids while pregnant in that short time I was with them. So yeah, I'm a bit sensitive when it comes to teachers as we get little pay, lots of hours and it still is one of the best jobs in the world.
*getting down off my soap box now*
hehe :)

seabreezequilts said...

Yes luckily I thing we have 2 winners this year for my kids too. Last year my son was not so lucky, the lady had all sorts of issues and a term off which turned out to be the best term of school all year. He was tested finally mid year and they decided that he was quite bright and could do with some extra more challenging stuff, mind you I was still waiting for that to happen by the last week of school. He was bored and his grades went down (though all his comments and books at the end of the year showed that he got everything right) I think she just didn't like him. Within a week of starting school the new teacher (new to the school) is working with the group that does the program he is now with and she is already engaged to give him more challenging stuff to do and what good about it is he is excited about school again. My daughter has my son's year 3 teacher and she is fantastic. the kids do 20 minutes of hand sewing in the morning before they start their work and they all love it and I help out when I can. Looking forward to a great school year. And Yeah for male teachers they are the best, should be more of them especially with little ones.

Anonymous said...

I've been in the same position as Jacinta as a pregnant teacher, but now I'm a parent too I feel the same terror about teachers getting pregnant as well! The interesting thing is that when this has happened the new teachers have always been fab. So fingers crossed it all goes smoothly for your little ones.

beachvintage.com said...

Hows Zumba going. I think I would not last a class it looks so full on.

Brenda @ 13 Acres said...

wow - it all just sounds fantastic!! i loved it when my son had a male swim teacher - i think the male role model is so important! your kids seem to love school and it shows in your enthusiasm and dedication too - i bet a lot of other kids look up to your kids!! they sound amazing - be proud.

xx

Maxabella said...

It's such a roll of the dice. We are fortunate that most of the teachers at our school have very good reputations. This year Maxi scored 'the yeller' - not great. But then I've realised that she's a super cool young lady who is 100% dedicated to teaching and 100% in love with learning. I don't mind a bit of yelling when you get all that. x

Tammy said...

Great post Jennie . love reading about your kids happy and upbeat experiences : )

Kylie said...

Glad to hear that all are settling in and hope that you can work out the new route to school:)
You are not stale my dear:) Amelia also scored a great teacher - am loving her and she sends home a newletter every wek via email - how great will that me when Tim is on courses later this year.
Another move for us at the end of the year - will keep you posted, wonder if there will be room for us in your school if I promise to be ont he fundraising committee:)

bron @ baby space said...

Hey Posie! Loving how positive you are about all your kids teachers -- also loving reading about your kids' different personalities...sounds like you have a fantastic family there (including yourself of course).