Cheap Television

I can report that progress is being made on the house, mainly the spare room: a lowered ceiling and additional insulation. I did manage to injure myself late last night while trying to help Matt - by attempting to stop him frequenting Burger King. Foolish I know. My method was jumping him from behind, but he mistook the ambush for a chav attack and I landed on my side on the hard concrete...he fell over a few seconds later...

So it appears Channel 4 are filming at my school this week. They are making a programme where they give a load of money to students (and I'm talking a few grand here) to put on a 'prom'. The build up and event are all filmed and aired on E4 and Channel 4 next year. They could have got away with giving them a few hundred quid and making it a challenge, however to the big shots in TV the production cost must be miniscule compared to Big Brother.

Mr T (not yet rated)

A friend of mine relayed something to me that he had heard on the radio. It shouldn't really surprise me but some bright spark has set up a website enabling kids to rate their teachers in terms of clarity and helpfulness. They can also write little comments in addition to their ratings. A smily or sad face then appears next to the teacher to show how they have been rated by their pupils in general.

"Has Mr. T made an appearance on these listings?" you ask with baited breath?
No - but these things have the tendency to spread so I await my professional ability being put on internet trial for all to see!

Spoon fed

You may probably not be aware that GCSE coursework for Maths is being phased out in a couple of years. Brilliant! It just doesn't work. The kids either get help from their parents, do nothing at all, or expect to be spoon fed.

In an effort to get the most from my classes, I created a template for them to design their work round featuring starter phrases like 'In today's lesson you will do...' and 'My hypothesis is...'.

My expectations of my lower sets isn't great but imagine my horror now as I trawl through the stuff to see some pages written with the same incomplete sentences like 'In today's lesson you will do this' and 'My hypothesis is...'!!
Oh crap!

Housewarming

I followed wisdom and decided to invite my friends over for a housewarming before any of the serious cosmetic improvement work begins. (There are certain people who have in the past pulled handles off doors and broken floorboards). There was some minimal damage to the house, however this led to some more potentially serious damage to a relationship.
Anyway, I am pleased to say I think the event was a big success - the food, and the company (neighbours, friends, colleagues...). The neighbours enjoyed it so much they have suggested a New Year's Eve bash chez T's.

We did nip out to one of the nearby pubs that had put in a shoddy bid to become 'Mr T's local', however there are still some other strong candidates before the decision is made.