(no subject)
yay i'm back again! just a few updates and a potentially long ramble.
it's the last 3 weeks before holidays!!!!! \(^^)/ all the students are on study leave now, so i have free time to roam around the classroom and do what needs to be done. if i'm not stuck doing "protocol". i don't understand how that means invigilating, but it's the word they use.... i've been assigned 6 sessions, which i am looking forward to so i have some free time to read, if we're allowed that. just in case i get yelled at for reading things that might be helpful to their exams, i've decided to read my diplomat handbook. should have nothing to do with their exams :3 there's also a lot of last minute moving things around and chasing up students with their textbooks, but that's in the final week. i've also been assigned to go on activity days with the students! first day is a hike and the other is paintballing... this is going to be ~*fun*~ orz i was never the fastest hiker in AYP, and now i have to be walking with grade 9 kids?! urgh...
an amusing update about the teachers that i didn't write about last time. the teaching couple that were supposed to come couldn't come because they were arrested for drug posession. teachers arrested for drug posession. *died laughing* now we have a male physics teacher and seem to be deciding on a biology teacher? which kinda leads to me possibly going to malaysia for a week next school year! but nothing is set, coz the principal would prefer the new (female) biology teacher going.
during procrastination at work, i've been reading up on teaching degrees. i think for a lot of people this is a simple "just apply to your local university and be done with it", but i guess i'm trying to think it through properly and make sure that i won't make any stupid decisions that will affect me on the long term. one of the biggest problems for me is that i want to work in an international school. in my local city. despite spending the majority of my life in HK, i've never studied under their education system and from the sound of it, it's not a particularly good system either.
i'm sure that where you get your teaching degree doesn't relly affect how well you can teach in a particular curriculum (we have a few aussies, canadians and south africans in our american school), but i still think it's a factor to consider as there's always prestige over certain systems. i guess i'm also thinking realllyyyyyy far into the future and wondering if i do end up immigrating out of HK (for whatever reason), i have a job/degree that is employable worldwide. maybe i'm just biased against HK education, coz i really see nothing good about it...
i've also been telling people that i'm trying to use teaching as a stepping stone to get into science communication. it seems like people use teaching (and it's adminstration work etc) as an end point in their career since it's such a stable career and i've heard so many stories about how it's hard to transfer your teaching skills elsewhere, but i find telling students the same things over and over again, year after year so boring. sure that's not just it, but after working in a school for so long that's the impression i get.
i'm not sure if it's just because i'm focused on going back to london, but there really seems to be a lot of science education/communication related events going on all the time over there and i guess that's what i'm going after. there's also the whole field of science and education policy which i've been reading about since secondary school and seems really interesting. and of course there's always a lack of science teachers (or so i've heard), and my school seems to be always low on female science teachers... so even if it doesn't work out, i'll be in an advantage for teaching jobs :D
there's loads of options on how to get a teaching degree, so hopefully when i have some free time i can go and ask my principal for some advice about where to get my degree etc. i would ask my HoD, but i'm more concerned about employability, which is an administration problem. i also found out my cousin is a HoD in australia so i kinda squeezed loads of information from him as well :D it feels a bit weird to ask my principal nearly a whole year ahead, but apparently applications start in september and i rather get this sorted out so my family don't breath down my neck all the time... i know they're really lacking female staff so telling him i'm more or less set to leave after my contract is done doesn't seem to be a brilliant idea but hopefully he understands...
that's about it :D today is a holiday so i'm just rolling around in bed and trying to clean my room. as i've been trying to for nearly a year XD;;;
it's the last 3 weeks before holidays!!!!! \(^^)/ all the students are on study leave now, so i have free time to roam around the classroom and do what needs to be done. if i'm not stuck doing "protocol". i don't understand how that means invigilating, but it's the word they use.... i've been assigned 6 sessions, which i am looking forward to so i have some free time to read, if we're allowed that. just in case i get yelled at for reading things that might be helpful to their exams, i've decided to read my diplomat handbook. should have nothing to do with their exams :3 there's also a lot of last minute moving things around and chasing up students with their textbooks, but that's in the final week. i've also been assigned to go on activity days with the students! first day is a hike and the other is paintballing... this is going to be ~*fun*~ orz i was never the fastest hiker in AYP, and now i have to be walking with grade 9 kids?! urgh...
an amusing update about the teachers that i didn't write about last time. the teaching couple that were supposed to come couldn't come because they were arrested for drug posession. teachers arrested for drug posession. *died laughing* now we have a male physics teacher and seem to be deciding on a biology teacher? which kinda leads to me possibly going to malaysia for a week next school year! but nothing is set, coz the principal would prefer the new (female) biology teacher going.
during procrastination at work, i've been reading up on teaching degrees. i think for a lot of people this is a simple "just apply to your local university and be done with it", but i guess i'm trying to think it through properly and make sure that i won't make any stupid decisions that will affect me on the long term. one of the biggest problems for me is that i want to work in an international school. in my local city. despite spending the majority of my life in HK, i've never studied under their education system and from the sound of it, it's not a particularly good system either.
i'm sure that where you get your teaching degree doesn't relly affect how well you can teach in a particular curriculum (we have a few aussies, canadians and south africans in our american school), but i still think it's a factor to consider as there's always prestige over certain systems. i guess i'm also thinking realllyyyyyy far into the future and wondering if i do end up immigrating out of HK (for whatever reason), i have a job/degree that is employable worldwide. maybe i'm just biased against HK education, coz i really see nothing good about it...
i've also been telling people that i'm trying to use teaching as a stepping stone to get into science communication. it seems like people use teaching (and it's adminstration work etc) as an end point in their career since it's such a stable career and i've heard so many stories about how it's hard to transfer your teaching skills elsewhere, but i find telling students the same things over and over again, year after year so boring. sure that's not just it, but after working in a school for so long that's the impression i get.
i'm not sure if it's just because i'm focused on going back to london, but there really seems to be a lot of science education/communication related events going on all the time over there and i guess that's what i'm going after. there's also the whole field of science and education policy which i've been reading about since secondary school and seems really interesting. and of course there's always a lack of science teachers (or so i've heard), and my school seems to be always low on female science teachers... so even if it doesn't work out, i'll be in an advantage for teaching jobs :D
there's loads of options on how to get a teaching degree, so hopefully when i have some free time i can go and ask my principal for some advice about where to get my degree etc. i would ask my HoD, but i'm more concerned about employability, which is an administration problem. i also found out my cousin is a HoD in australia so i kinda squeezed loads of information from him as well :D it feels a bit weird to ask my principal nearly a whole year ahead, but apparently applications start in september and i rather get this sorted out so my family don't breath down my neck all the time... i know they're really lacking female staff so telling him i'm more or less set to leave after my contract is done doesn't seem to be a brilliant idea but hopefully he understands...
that's about it :D today is a holiday so i'm just rolling around in bed and trying to clean my room. as i've been trying to for nearly a year XD;;;