As the creaking educational locomotive grinds ever more slowly towards the buffers of the long summer break and we can leap onto the platform of unexpurgated freedom I can thank my lucky stars that last week is finally over. As is now tradition and to conceal the fact that our national curriculum is so thin on content that in truth the teaching of it finishes several weeks before the official end of term, we are obliged to suffer the agonies of Activities Week. A misnomer if ever there was one, judging by the ‘activities’ to which I was assigned. My Activity Week was mostly sedentary and largely involved elephants.
I understand the ethos – to allow students to experience things they otherwise wouldn’t due either to financial restraints, unimaginative parenting or sheer youthful malaise – a condition which sadly is becoming increasingly contagious. I understand all of that – but to have to sit in school uniform in one classroom all day playing board (bored) games is reminiscent of an interminable wet weekend at your grandparents’.
This was the fate of our unfortunate year seven’s who, lucky for them (but not me), then had a day off site to visit the Globe Theatre before returning to spend the next day welded to a stool in the art room following step by step instructions to make a clay elephant. All day: with a short break for lunch. By the afternoon, with the searing heat outside and the stuffiness of the classroom I felt my eyes drooping and had to make a conscious effort to stay awake. I sympathised with one of our older students who incurred a detention recently for falling sound asleep in a history lesson. I now know how he felt.
The following day we were treated to Africa Day – the possibilities of this sounded promising. But again, the students sat for what seemed like hours in a large circle in our acoustically challenged canteen while a lovely man from Ghana, dressed in traditional costume spent the day with the students telling stories of his African village and showing them how to make toys from recycled rubbish.
Another forty elephants were made from old plastic milk cartons after which there was a spot of potato printing. A quick break for food and drink and it was back to sitting while they practised the art of African drumming. In the aforementioned echo-y dining room. There were enough drums for each child so you are lucky you only have to imagine the cacophony. I had to sit through it.
I don’t mean to carp on, but I would’ve preferred spending the day at a nearby fishing lake with a collection of year nine yobbos who turn into the politest, nicest shoal of lads you could ever wish to meet – once they are attached to a rod with a box of maggots at their side. I did this trip several years ago now and was as heartened at the students transformation as I was astonished at how adept I became at picking up a maggot or helping disgorge the unfortunate little fishes for those more squeamish. I have obvious skills in this area – why have they been overlooked? The main reason this activity is so popular and why staff members trample each other to take part is fact that the bacon rolls at the shop there are to die for and the opportunity to hear the trip leader tell one of his new ‘fishermen’ to go to the counter and ask for a tin of tartan maggots is legendary. I obviously need to improve my pitch for next year.
So, with only two days left of term time to fill with word searches and videos while the teachers complete their admin, the terminus approaches – the exit gate is in sight.
This post forms the first part of a challenge thrown down by Sherri, over at her Summerhouse. I normally avoid things like this like the proverbial plague but as she is such a regular visitor to my imaginary kitchen and we have shared so many odd and weird coincidences I felt it only fair to have a go. As Sherri herself has already changed the rules of the challenge which originally was to post five pictures and five stories on consecutive days (ha! not a chance!), I shall be taking a more relaxed attitude towards the rules myself. I’m supposed to nominate someone to take up the challenge after each of my next five posts but I’m not going to do that. Suffice to say, if you feel the urge to challenge yourself to five pictures/five stories (fact or fiction) then please feel free. I thought it would be a good discipline to make me write more regularly. Goodness knows, I’ve been pretty lax of late.
I love your approach to the 5 pictures challenge! In fact, I never made it to Day 5, which meant that I didn’t have to nominate – I hate that bit.
I’m still waiting for your final post 😄
I think those elephants are pretty cute. I’m sure I couldn’t make one that remotely resembled Dumbo. Did you make one too?
Yes I did, I have to say, to stave away the boredom. It’s now drying out on the top of a cupboard in our office where it will collect dust for years to come.
My daughter was disappointed her school has no activities week this year, because they are Category 3 and panicking about results, so they had lessons instead. Our school does a really full on Activities Week, which means they can choose from about 20 different activities each day! Which I think is such a stress for the poor organiser and the many teachers filling in multiple sets of paperwork that this year it became an Activities Three Days, but I think that way is the best thing for the students, because it means most of them are doing something they actually chose to do.
I ran a chess tournament for one of the days, on the other two I swear that at every loud noise, I was wondering whether someone was offering African Drumming and remembering your hatred of it as an example of the generic easy-to-offer, meaning-free activity.
The upside to the drumming was that the kids could be naturally exuberant – it was unfortunate that the staff leader for the day lacked any sense of joy and took enthusiasm for disruption. The Ghanaian guy was so laid back – they could’ve been twice as engaged and noisy and he wouldn’t have cared. I did need aspirin at the end of the day though!
I forgot to mention the noise!
Ah! You know, she got me too – but as I was also ‘got’ for the 3 days – 3 quotes challenge and it is easier – I’m dong that first! Rules-pules [?] I say – do it any way you want.
Love your story! I’m afraid mainly because I am no longer in that kind of predicament and I can meanly appreciate the fact that you are. All things pass m’dear, hang in there and then enjoy, enjoy, enjoy endless days in your [virtual] kitchen or your real one for that matter. Although I’m sure the garden and the great outdoors would be better for you – it’ s the fact you can do what you jolly well want to do!
I love that you are ‘meanly apreciating’ my predicament and that I’ve given you a chance to reinforce why stepping away from the treadmill of education has its advantages!
Am coming over soon to check out your quoting challenge …
Dire period, but great post. I felt I was in those classrooms suffering the boredom, and set free when outside, although I would find fishing equally boring.
The first time I did the fishing trip I thought I’d be bored but I wasn’t. It was just so interesting to witness how a simple pastime like that can calm even the most hyper kids right down. Plus, our lakes here are in a really beautiful spot. 😀
Brought back many memories – especially of having to organise Activities Days for 1200 students – all one one day – every 11 days, rather than a week. A challenge; some of it was excellent, some dire. Getting students out on the necessary trips – field study days, history days, theatre etc. all on one day, rather than disrupting lessons was the underlying theory, and if it had been fewer days it would have been excellent.
I also remember sitting at Teddington Lock fishing about 30 years ago with the disaffected boys. They loved it.
At least our activities are confined to KS3 – the year 11’s have gone and year 10 are out in what’s optimistically called ‘work experience.’
It’s a shame, I think, that days out can’t be taken throughout the year, subject based, as we did when we were at school. Art Galleries, museums for history, field work for science and geography, theatre for drama and English . It’s all a nonsense that other lesson time would be missed – this can easily be caught up at the end of the summer term when everyone is at a loss as to how to keep the little darlings amused until the holidays.
Activities in my day (groan) meant a cross-country run or similar. I clearly missed out on plastic elephants, clay elephants and maggot hooking. It is good to see how well the system has progressed. I remember teaching in Germany in 1978 and using the lyrics to Hotel California to keep the class interested. It seems that it is true that you can check and fall asleep any time you like but you can never leave (as you get detention if you try).
Oh, Andrew, this comment made me laugh out loud!!
Cross country running – I remember that. Our route was able to detour via a sweet shop which was handy until the PE teacher cottoned on, then it was changed to a torturous route up a chalky path on the north downs. Those were not the days – I hated PE then.
Hotel California always did make me feel claustrophobic and I was never completely sure if it was the lyric, the whining of the Eagles or a bit of both …
I thought the clay elephants were rather cute, but the milk cartons…a little odd. I agree, Jenny, getting outdoors would be more enjoyable for the students and the teachers. Enjoy your well deserved break.
A milk carton is a milk carton…
Weather here is great, things are looking good so far for next week. Hope you’re enjoying a well earned rest from your keyboard, Jill 😀
Almost proves my point that schools should finish in June! I loathed the last weeks of the summer term for everything you mention. When year 11 left it was supposed to free up time (for those of us who taught them) to work on planning for the next year, finish all those reports and assessments, produce reports for the head etc etc. Instead we had to organise ‘Activity’ days, supervise sports day, and try and find ways to engage students stuck inside hot, airless computer suites. And why is it the disaffected kids get the best treats? My bright class of 16 year olds questioned this when the group of students that caused the most mayhem were given driving lessons in the school grounds! Now just how fair can that be?
Enjoy your summer Jenny – hope the sun shines for us all.
Driving lessons?! Thats taking things a bit far. To be fair, it’s not just our disaffected kids who go fishing – anyone can choose to go, but it tends to be those kids who end up doing it. However, a motley collection of bad boys did get to go to Thorpe Park one year, outside of Activties week which caused a complete furore. That mistake has not been made again!
if it’s any consolation – they don’t do bacon rolls at the shop anymore!
This news is most alarming. I shall have to totally rethink my attack for next year. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to another SSF adventure.
Indeed, a good fishing trip would be better for all. School gets out here during the 3rd week of June and resumes the first week in September. There are those who wish the poor kids were in school all summer and also those who think students should be inflicted with lessons on budgeting, economics and labour laws at the end of the school year but I feel that’s misguided and cruel. Let ’em be a bit feral for a while…
What a lovely long break your students have, not to mention their teachers! I’m thinking that your school days are probably longer than ours to make up for it. I might go along with a budgeting lesson – especially for those about to start university, but as for the others…plenty of time for that. Feral sounds good.
I bet our school days are not any longer. Typical high school days are a collection of five 56 minute classes with 4 minute breaks between and a lunch period of around 40 minutes. Students typically take seven courses. For example: Math, one or two sciences, English, Either Geography or History and the remainder chosen from another language (generally French) a fine art course and either a skilled trades or tech-ed course. Within any discipline there tend to be opportunities for differentiation with 3 math streams per grade level and two streams in English, science and social studies.
Oh dear Jenny – more than ever I know that I could never teach. In any case I wouldn’t last a morning. I’d be down the local nick for smacking some child around the earhole 🙂
Our favourite school outings were to the Peak District. I guess caves and caverns are off limits these days for school parties.
Don’t think some of them wouldn’t deserve it, either. I can think of several pupils I’d like to take pot- holing😃
Cute elephants! 🙂 But yes, getting outside would have been much better. Our kids are cooped up far too much as it is, sitting in front of their screens.
Yes, far too much screen time. And to be fair, many of our students did take part in outside activities – I just wasn’t assigned to supervise them😀
The elephants are great but you definitely got the short straw – everywhere I go lately there are columns of children catching the metro to go to and from the coast…
Well, thanks for a) your support and b) for rubbing it in! A trip to the coast would be great. However….health and safety and all that nonsense would probably rear its ugly head and deem a bit of sand far too treacherous to contemplate. 😆
You’re very welcome Jenny, always happy to help 🙂
😆😆
Jenny … At least your students got to do activities. Ours were tested, re-tested and tested again … I’m glad my school years weren’t like that.
Love the elephants. And your humorous take on the grueling ordeal you – and the students – went thru. 😉
Oh we do all that awful testing, retesting stuff here too – all through the school year. This is another one of my potential rants – no sooner have we read half of the first chapter of our novel, we are doing an assessment on it. Where’s the learning or enjoyment in that …don’t get me started Judy.
And like you, I’m thankful for the school days I had – with hindsight, of course!
“Filler” activities are often such a waste of time at the end of the year, but Jenny your pictures are too wonderful to be taken seriously as a waste of time. I love the elephants, and your retelling of the situation is excellent!
Thanks Marylin! It’s comforting to know that this massive time waster takes place everywhere, not just the UK 😀
I second what Marylin has written above. Our last term week is also filled with useless activities to keep the kids “occupied” (i.e. taxpayer-funded babysitting service) and way too many feature-length DVDs so teachers can wrap up grades and end-of-the-year checklists. Why not just release the students on the last day of formal instruction and give the teachers a couple of solid, uninterrupted days to complete their work? It’s much too logical, and logic has never been a part of the public education equation. But I’m reassured by your retelling, that this appalling time-wasting is occurring elsewhere! And of course, an entertaining read, as always 🙂
I like that – tax payer funded babysitting – that’s exactly what it seems like. I know a lot of parents have to work full time but fun days with your own kids are so important – and that doesn’t mean it has to cost the earth – potato printing for instance can be done with friends in the garden with a picnic. I was amazed to learn from some of our eleven year olds that this week at school was the first time they’d ever done anything like this. What on earth do their junior schools do with them? So I suppose from that perspective, our Activity week was beneficial, just not very active 😀
Oh Jenny, are you now walking along that ‘platform of unexpurgated freedom’? I do hope so! I did think the first lot of elephants were rather cute though, but then I didn’t have to sit through hours of making them
Reading your post reminded me of a maths teacher I once had in high school for double period on Fridays. He dressed as if he had just come back from a safari and indeed he spent most of the lesson showing us slideshows of his safaris. At the end, he told us to do our homework from pages such and such. Much as I preferred his slideshows, my maths skills left a lot to be desired, yet I ended up working in jobs involving finance. Life’s rich pattern eh? I hope you get the long end of the straw next year Jenny and practice your fishing skills instead 🙂 Glad to see you taking park in the challenge. I’ve yet to do day four and five, working on it!
Thanks Sherri – just about to start work on Day Two…
🙂
This does sound like a festival of arts which could have benefits if were spread out throughout the year. It is too bad as your year closes there wasn’t a more interactive ending. . . We have relays, Olympics and performance medals for all participants in lower grade levels. I liked the elephants and your title, Jenny. Great and interesting post with a few questions left in my mind about your school experiences. 🙂
Thanks Robin. Happy to say I’ve now started the summer break and have spent the day being very active one way and another!
Yes!! Congratulations, Jenny! Summer break is fantastic and we usually had the rocker song playing loudly on the intercom, “Schools Out For Summer. . .” Snd ss we drive out of staff oarking lit hinking like school kids:) Hope you take a break from blogging and gosh! I just remembered your flip book magazine. Have you been busy with this lately, Jenny?
Oh yes, I remember Schools Out – what a great anthem that is!
I’m still avidly reading Flipboard, my magazine is really a scrapbook where I put articles I find from elsewhere to read later. I just think it’s such a brilliant device/app/service – I’m not sure what to call it 😃
See how you used active? My first day of break used to be a “slug”or if chilly, “a bug snug in a rug.” Sleepy naps for the first 2-3 afternoons. Just to prove a point: I no longer had to work!
See, I can’t do that. I would probably feel the benefit but I can’t do lounging in my PJ’s – I associate that with feeling poorly.