Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Sunday 28 February 2016

I really need .

To go sailing. I have just worked my third fifteen hour weekend in a row and there is still a mountain of coursework, essays and books to mark. I still have eleven lessons to plan and mountains of paperwork to complete. In the meantime Michael Wilshaw feels the need to offer 'golden handcuffs', yes that is what he said, to teachers to keep  them from leaving the profession. Handcuffs.......what an interesting choice of words........... Is it any wonder so many are leaving to teach abroad where they earn a third more, have subsidised housing, opportunities to travel and students who are keen to learn with supportive parents. We face a substantial teacher recruitment shortage. Huge numbers of teachers leave thenprofession within three years of their training. In the meantime I will return to fill out my class intervention sheets, do my data analysis report, do my performance management mid year review notes  and ...........................I know I get paid reasonably well, I have thirteen weeks holiday and it is a privilege teaching young people in my school and the vast majority of their parents are so, so, supportive..........But my average working week is sixty hours plus and at my age......it's beginning to take its toll.......

I wAnt to be out sailing, doing charity work, running extra curricular activities for my students, spending time with my family and not waking up at 4am every morning writing out lists of all the things I still haven't done for the following day...........

i know...suck it up, stop whining, be grateful, get on with it........... Sorry.
Normal service is now resumed................but it was a sunny day with a lovely breeze........and couldn't I just have one day?

3 comments:

Stuart said...

The joys of a rant (if I can call it that without being rude) - so cathartic! My rants tend to be private, ususally internal monologues (who's going to argue when it's just me?), and I suspect your published thoughts are better for one's mental health. It sounds as though you have a great school to teach at which can help a lot, I'm sure.
Judging by your other posts, you still manage to get a lot done on Arwen, so are clearly much better organised that I am.
Well, at least you have an extra day (today) to play with!
Hope to see you both on the Dart one day.
Regs
Stuart

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

60 hour average week - interesting - question - do the UK working hours directive apply to teachers?? My wife tells me there may be some doubt about it's application to nursing/doctors (she's a nurse) and I wondered if teachers were in the same boat...??

steve said...

I rarely rant. Tend to be head down, get on with it...sometimes it just catches up. No, the expectation of teachers is like NHS colleagues.....do what is needed to get job done
Hey ho!