Sunday 30 March 2014

Day 28

Wow, has it been a while...? First I was feeling way too horrible to stare at a computer screen for more than a minute and after that I went to the UK. So here I am with a very long update ;) A lot of happy pictures in order to keep up with the challenge. Yeah I'm back!

The first days in which I felt a little better was spent well in my sunny garden. Eating of course.. 


And eat some more.


After eating, eating and eating in order to get powered up again I went to London for a few days. Not because I had some days off or something. It was a trip with my school and I had to look after 80 small adolescents running around on a sugar high. It's amazing to see how much candy fits in those kids. I'm impressed! 
Anyways, I was allowed to set them free in the musea so I could enjoy my peace and quiet for a few hours. We went to the Brittish and the National History Museum. Oh wow, the NHM is like heaven for a geography teacher who loves biology as well. I had the best time of my life over there. It's so ridiculously huge that I've only seen about 10% after a 2/3 hours. A good reason to go there again some time.











After the museum tour we visited the Globe and the tower of London.






Back home we had a wonderful view, the cliffs of Dover.

Friday 7 March 2014

Day 27

 Dit moet ik even kwijt.

Afgelopen week heb ik op vier scholen gewerkt. In totaal werk ik op 40 scholen. Overal zie ik hardwerkende, enthousiaste leerkrachten. Ze doen hun best voor de kinderen, voor de school.
En voor 'bovenaf', de inspecteur. Want de resultaten moeten goed zijn. De invallers zoals ik hebben het druk. Omdat de leerkrachten het druk hebben. Omdat de leerkrachten 's avonds laat nog zitten te werken, zitten te mailen. Omdat hun werk nooit af is. Omdat hun hoofd nooit leeg raakt.
Jaaaaa, ze hebben veel vakantie. Dat weten ze nou onderhand ook wel. Broodnodig. Dan worden ze vaak ziek. Maar helaas ook steeds vaker buiten hun vakanties. Omdat het werk nooit af is. Commissies, oudergesprekken, lessen maken, voorbereiden, nakijken, mailen, vergaderingen, scholing, cluster 1, 2, 3, of 4 leerlingen, sommigen passen op tijdens het overblijven, continurooster. Burgerschapsvorming, techniek, natuur en milieu. Of ze mee willen doen aan een actie voor Syrië?
Pauze? Gauw even die leerling bespreken, brood wordt meegenomen. Handelingsplannen, groepsplannen, sociogrammen, contactpersoon voor zus, vertrouwenspersoon voor zo. Doelen, leerlijnen, en ga zo maar door. Opvoedende taak.
O ja, en ze geven ook nog les!! Hun enthousiasme, hoge verantwoordelijkheid, zorg en liefde voor de kinderen maakt van hen kanjers. Maar is tevens hun valkuil.

Uitval. Het niet meer bij kunnen houden. Niet meer kunnen ontspannen. Slecht slapen.

Burn- out.

Kijk, en dan hebben we de kinderen nog. Voorschools, tussenschools en naschools worden zij opgevangen. Ouders moeten werken. Allebei.
Maar nergens is er rust. Overal prikkels, informatie. Herrie.

Kinderen zijn overprikkeld. Stop er een pilletje in. Zo, die is rustig.

Kijk, klagen doen de leerkrachten niet. Ze hebben het mooiste beroep ter wereld. Maar overvolle klassen, waar de kinderen hun kont nog niet kunnen keren, administratieve rompslomp en prachtige nieuwe gebouwen waar nergens rekening wordt gehouden met een moment van rust, vertel mij maar eens wie dat kan bedenken.
Bestuurders? Tijd om te demonstreren is er niet, want dat gaat ten koste van de kinderen.

Ik maak me ernstige zorgen over de toestand van het onderwijs. Over de leerkrachten en de kinderen. De basis wordt hier namelijk gelegd.

Ja, ik weet het, we zijn net pas weer begonnen. DAAROM juist.

Getekend: een ervaringsdeskundige


I read this today on someones facebook. I don't know this person, but her message made me smile and very sad at the same time.. This person really knows how to phrase what I've been thinking the past couple op weeks. Today I started making some preparations for school again. It took me hours before I had the strenght to do something and that something was the simple writing down of marks. I quit after only 5 minutes of work.
Today is a weird day in which my mind seems to be contemplating my upcoming days at school. Feels like I'm there already even though I'm still spending most of my time on the couch feeling shitty. Anyways, it's nice to read something like this and feel very connected to the writer. So thank you for writing this unknown person! 

Thursday 6 March 2014

Day 26

My lovely mom bought me groceries today and took Pinkeltje back home with her. I think his cute little rabbit hairs were not helping with my sneezing and running nose. After my mom and Pink left I had a nice cup of tea and moved away from my couch for the first time. Took some pictures in the garden because it really feels like summer with the sun shining as it is doing right now. Now I'm tired again and about to go back to bed. Zzzz..




Day 25

Still feeling like I'm about to die, so more bunnytime!


Day 24

Damn I'm so so so sick. It sucks! Fortunately I have a very sweet little bunny keeping me company on the couch. 


Monday 3 March 2014

Food day

Normally I come home from work after 19.00h or so. That's not the time to do extensive grocery shopping or cooking for that matter. Now that I have a holiday it's about time I started doing some real cooking.

Since my blender broke down a while ago I had to go shopping first. Scored a really cheap and awesome (if you believe the reviews) new blender. First use was to put in some juicy fruits and soymilk. Hmmm! :)


You always work better on a full stomach and believe me, that juice was a good way to start the day.
For dinner I made Sajour Lodeh soup. I found some lovely glutenfree noodles I could use and bought the coconut sauce that goes with it. Damn it was heaven to eat. Wish I had more time when I work to actually make stuff like this. But I enjoy it for now :)

Recipe:
Noodles 
Chinese cabbage  
Bean sprouts
 Leek  
Green pepper  
Olive oil
2 eggs 
Salt  
Onions


Day 23

Yay yay yay, nothing beats waking up with my little friend and watch tv together. After breakfast he took care of my room and just started demolishig all that was in his way (while he was running and jumping around like crazy). That got him quite tired in the afternoon and he slept on my lap. How can something be so ridiculously cute?

 

Sunday 2 March 2014

Day 22

Morning in the city, afternoon in the forest.



Wow this city is just amazing! After a really lovely weekend with one of my dearest friends I would love to come back soon. The people are friendy, the food tastes great and the building are absolutely beautiful!

And after a couple of days well spend in the city.. nothing feels as good as walking around in my good old familiar forest. ^^








Day 21

Lovely new stuff @ Flea market Leiden <3







Day 20

Lovely day in Leiden at Naturalis Biodiversity Center.