Before I start to share my experiences of 2.0, Let me introduce myself properly. In the past, I’ve blogged about my allotment, but it’s hard to get back into methodically drafting and rereading your own work. I proofread students’ work every day at work, but there’s something different about your own. Please forgive me if I’m a bit rusty.
The academic side of me wants to ramble on but here is the summary. I qualified as a Middle Years English teacher in 2004. Through my 19 years of teaching I have taught in Primary, Middle, Secondary and Special schools, teaching every ability from Pii to A Level. That all sounds incredible, until it’s not. Like so many others, I hit burn out. I stepped away from teaching, vowing never to enter a classroom again! Instead, I worked outside, shouting commands in Latin, handing thirty 8 year olds wooden swords and teaching them how to use them!? Being a Roman, the Commanding Officer’s Wife to be precise, at The Lunt Roman Fort, had got to be the best job ever! Playing dress up; sharing gruesome facts which at times reduced kids to tears; giving awards for the most dramatic death; encouraging kids to shout at teachers and teachers to launch foam javelins at kids. Smothering everyone in blue face paint, as you inform them that wee was one of the main ingredients in celtic war paint. What was not to love about this job? Oh wait, the 7 and a half hours of exposure to ALL the elements, getting plantar fasciitis from replica Roman shoes, the aching legs from the minimum 18,000 steps a day. Wearing a wool cape instead of a coat in the rain and snow. Despite this I have so many amazing memories. There’s still a little piece of me there on the display wall. In fact, I can be found there in the garden on certain days during the Summer.
But things have to change. Take it from me, after a few years on minimum wage, and being a single mum of three, you long for a teacher’s salary. My bank balance started to call me back to the classroom. I was determined that I could not go back to a School, the culture was not right for me, so I decided to dip my toe into FE. I’d spent a few successful years in FE at the Special School, which I really enjoyed. It seemed a safe place to look. I started applying and my first job interview was fruitful. I started working with NEAT students at a network of private colleges- APM. I found I got on brilliantly with the students and the curriculum just came naturally. I recalled all my skills from years ago and everything clicked! It wasn’t an illusion before, Post 16 was my niche! Sadly after 4 months, it was announced that every college was to close and we were all being made redundant. All those students were left without a place to go. I felt helpless! I had let them down, even though it was not my fault.
A Summer fraught with job applications and interviews until I found another college that I felt I connected with. I have been there for 4 years now. I can say without a doubt that I absolutely love my job! I now have the best job ever! It ticks all the boxes. I am challenged yet supported, all those lovely skills I’ve acquired are put to good use. The resilience I built up as a Roman has massively helped, especially over the past two years; keep going no matter what. But it didn’t just happen. I have had to work harder than I’ve ever worked before to get to where I am today.
My Little 2.0 Project 