Aargh! Why did I stick my head up?

[Peter Westall]

...that's what I asked myself.
I wrote about what I'm doing and I wished I hadn't!
It is just so much easier to have a fabulous, albeit chaotic, enthusiastic time in my classroom so WHY did I feel I have to go and BLAB nonsense on a site where everyone is Louis Vuitton....that just popped in my head because I was carrying a ridiculous little box with microcomputers in it as I was leaving the school today and a member of the Parent Group gave me a bit of a "dig!
I didn't care as I had managed to get the 3 little lights to work during the ASB Workshop....("Do you have a background in programming?" I was asked. -there was a sound of uncomfortable swallowing - and a squeaked "Graphics and Film...?") Blink Blink Blink.

...oh! Yes I have gone and looked at the Resources stuff / watched the Slideshare stuff / checked the Wikis / looked at people's blogs.....oh, oh. So WHY even try to do a blog .....?
Personal Metaphor prevails: I am really the Recycled newspaper "Fabindia" bag that I brought back from India which was really more interesting than the table napkins!
(Now in the Year 2 Resource box for their next unit!)

ANYWAY - there I am today - ignorant of my later nocturnal insecurities of blogging "out there "- encouraging my kids to "go for it" - put in the video / whip up a table - "it's easy" / find out what others think. ....and yes! you guys do the pasta for tomorrow....let's hold on the sauce for Friday so that your Mum's eyes don't go pop and that she has time to get some basil leaves - you can cook your lunch, wouldn't that be great?"

That was when the student teachers came in!

And I looked at them. They were such lovely, fresh, youthful, cheerful people.

"If you haven't got a laptop - you're toast!" I said.
(Since Mumbai ASB Unplugged "toast" is the operative word.)

They all had one!

"Now - DON'T do Wikis like I do....but DO THEM - it's our responsibility. "

Oh, since the poverty and the faecal cordite of Mumbai...DON'T get me started on "Our Responsibility......"

And as I write I KNOW there are 4 boys who will have prepared the pasta dough - others who will be blinking and looking around a bit (one who rolled her eyes and said "aargh! The password!") and there'll be pasta tomorrow and flour on the carpet. There'll be basil and tomato sauce on Friday. We'll try to survey who wants thick and who wants thin?
I'm invigorated and thrilled with that....even in anticipation.

My story is like many others really - the insecurities; the momentary flashes of joy - the "shut the door and I'll sort this mess out" stuff.
Which is why I SHOULD share it.

....and anyway think of the power you have as you hit the DELETE button!

Noodles anyone? Served at 2.15pm, Penang, Malaysia.
No reservations!

[Peter Westall]

once it's there, it's in the public domain!
I hope the quote is not the "....cordite" bit!

[Julie Lindsay]

Peter, I have tears in my eyes (is that laughter or dust in the air?). OK, I need to know if I have your permission to quote you on my blog? Please say yes!