Happy birthday, Ciocia. Today you would have been 89. Aged about 2, in Lwów. Today’s date will stick in many Londoners minds, because of the London bombings 20 years ago. I remember the day well because I had taken some children on a school trip, and we were supposed to come back to school by […]Read Post ›
I left Sheffield in July 1978 after I finally finished my final teaching practice, and felt that my life was over. Little did I know that it was only just beginning, but I was sad, bereft, and dreading the future. What I really wanted was another gap year, to find myself as they say, but […]Read Post ›
Have I said I always wanted to be a teacher? Many times, I hear you mutter. So boring, never wavering, always on about education.Et cetera, et cetera. Well, now is the time to admit, that isn’t entirely true. I’ll try and explain. In June 1976 I finally obtained my degree by the skin of my teeth from […]Read Post ›
What is this ugly thing? You may well ask; I had to ask myself the same thing when I found it last week. But then I saw Mrs Washington’s handwriting, and it all came back to me. Mrs W, from Marlborough School, my teacher for the whole four years, was very ken=en on handicrafts. She […]Read Post ›
It was Holocaust Memorial Day last week and my son, a teacher was asked to take the school assembly and reflection the meaning of the day. I am unable to embed the Youtube video of Szpilman actually playing the music referred to, but here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9oQEa-d5rU which may work. If you ever saw […]Read Post ›
One day I was happy standing on a table (the best punishment ever), daydreaming out of the window, and the next day I didn’t have a school to go to. My grandmother had come to collect me with the big box of Black Magic – sadly not for me but my teacher, and then she […]Read Post ›
Looking at this bowl this morning as it catches and reflects the light in the most beautiful ways, I was reminded of my sojourn in Reggio Emilia about fifteen years ago. People who knew me then will roll their eyes at this point, because I returned from a week’s educational course so full of unbearable […]Read Post ›
I haven’t posted for a while, but I wanted to share this delightful little tale with your. Our daughter is a teacher of English as a Second Language in the North of England and her story really moved us. She then wrote it up and here it is. “Every few weeks, I assign my students presentation […]Read Post ›
Happy New Year After my wild New Year’s Eve celebrations last night – smoked salmon canapes, champagne – just me and my husband- I was in bed well before midnight – I was a bit at a loss today. I’d done the dusting and the washing and had finished my book, so I was mindlessly (should […]Read Post ›
For all my ex pupils I was a teacher for about 44 years. I started when I was still at school (in those days they didn’t have supply teachers, just willing sixth formers like me) and i loved the job most of the time. At first I taught mainly English to A level, then for […]Read Post ›
Life Through Basia's Eyes 