Sounds from beyond the Shed – week 16

The dichotomy of working in education

Some great days but also some shit… literally.

Working in education can be a hard slog as many parents discovered with homeschooling but in the grand scheme of things most of us have to work hard to gain some satisfaction from effort expended so I would say that although there are times when I am more tired than a particularly tired sloth I cannot and would not claim to have a disproportionate work-life balance, particularly at the moment when I can think of thousands who endure far grimmer working lives than myself be it at the coalface of the NHS or desperately trying to get back into employment.

But a career in education it’s a double-edged sword as last week reminded me. The week started brightly with an assembly on Everyone’s Invited which saw some real anger from many of our students and some definite soul searching from others. This then rolled into a growing sense of politicisation within the cohort that I am responsible for, it was fantastic to see young(er) people putting their phones down and becoming energised by not only one cause but realising that the interconnectivity of our society feeds several other issues also driven by the same misogyny and ignorance

Soon we had a clear agenda for change within the school and specifically their peer group. I felt very chuffed. As a generation in education, this lot are a tough nut to crack – the noise of social media and the sexualisation of everything can be overwhelming to them, removing their own opinions and thoughts. A great week so far.

On Thursday I found myself on the receiving end of a different form of self-expression. Remember the double-edged sword. I have become used to the universal truth that when there is good there is also bad…. not far behind. A student informs there is a ‘mess in the toilets’ although he wasn’t entirely accurate because the toilet had been studiously avoided! Nuff said.

Some tracks to draw your imagination away from the horror I may have had to confront. First up a southern statement from Sam Morrow, then the incomparable Joni with James Taylor on a Peel session believe it or not and finally some Phil Cook, an artist to follow and cherish as he ploughs the left field. As  ever take what you need or want and try not to think about the paragraph above!

Groovy

Almost sacred

Glorious 

About Keith Hargreaves 357 Articles
Riding the one eyed horse into dead town the scales fell from his eyes. Music was the only true god at once profane and divine The dust blew through his mind as he considered the offering... And then he scored it out of ten and waited for the world to wake up
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Raymond Walker

Thanks Keith. You are forever opening my eyes (ears) to fresh stuff (it’s what the radio used to do).
Sorry that you had to deal with the odd side of some people’s lives – probably thought it was hilarious. it brought to mind a memory of a cross-channel ferry some years ago. After eating my breakfast (always a treat on return to UK) I went for a pee only to be regaled with howls of laughter from one of the stalls inside which were 2 or 3 school lads marveling at the fact that the wc could not cope with its “load” and taking photos of said blockage and calling for their mates to come see! Great memories!