Is Staying in a Care Home like Going Back to School?

18/8/2019

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Comparing the Old and Young

Image drawn by Terry Cooper, who is the illustrator of my new picture book out in October.

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Being the Teacher’s Kid (or their Mum!)

17/8/2019

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Pros and Cons of Being a Teacher's Kid

These two munchkins actually enjoyed being teachers' kids, or at least I think they did!

I blogged yesterday about what it was like being married to the Secondary Principal. After writing my post the girls said to me that if I thought it was bad being the Principal’s wife then I should try being the Principal’s kids! I retorted if they think that was bad then they should try being the Principal’s kids’ mum! (By the way I’ve got no idea if the apostrophes are correct in the last sentence.) The joking around got me thinking about what it is like being a teacher's kid. Like being married to the boss there are ground rules for being a teacher's kid.

Our comments were largely tongue in cheek as the kids have had an amazing education for which they and I are truly grateful. I’d even go as far as to say that they’ve even enjoyed being teachers’kids, especially Betsy. She cites the following advantages and disadvantages:

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Being Married to the Boss

16/8/2019

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Pros and Cons of Being Married to the Boss

You always have to think before you speak when you're married to the boss!

I have been part of an expat teaching couple for many years and it often feels like I'm married to the boss. I am married to the Secondary Principal of a school I used to work in. This came with advantages and disadvantages that I think that lots of teaching couples, close friends or married people working together in any profession can relate to. It’s not always plain sailing.

Remember the moment when:

Your husband suddenly gets a promotion and colleagues who have passed you in the corridor before, without acknowledging you, turn into Mary Poppins level friendly, chatting about this and that, enquiring after the kids and being nicer than pie.
- The same Mary Poppins approaches you a few days later and casually pulls out of her magic bag a whole list of recommended changes that ‘your husband’ might be able to implement – hint ‘put in a good word please.’
- Mary Poppins blanks you a few weeks later because you seemingly haven’t taken the hint. When passing you in the corridor they now bear more of a resemblance to Cruella deVille than Ms Poppins.
You enter a room of friends you’ve gossiped and laughed with over the years and the atmosphere freezes. ‘What on earth has he done now?’ It's not always fun being married to the boss!
These same colleagues suddenly also become more cautious than a Volvo driver when around you. Conversation turns bland and if things were to be believed, the school is more welcoming than immersing into a hot tub with a glass of prosecco on a balmy night. (I don’t have a hot tub and don’t drink alcohol but you get the idea!)
Every conversation seems to start with ‘Your husband should…’, I didn’t know I was employed as a messenger!
You want to punch a colleague in the nose for point scoring against your husband in a public forum when he has little right of reply.
You want to punch your husband on the nose for being a bloody idiot.
You ask your husband advice on some dress code issue. When he gently replies that your new clothing might not adhere to it and shouldn't be worn for school you fume, resent and storm. Everyone else breaks the dress code so why do I have to be such a 'goody goody'. I’m fully aware I sound about 14 years old there! Sometimes it must be like that when you're the teacher's kid too!
You squirm for the colleague who is lovely and inadvertently puts their size 14 foot in it, not knowing you are married to the boss.
A colleague assumes you spend every evening discussing school and practically accuses you of lying when you declare your ignorance regarding a particular issue. The reality is that my husband’s number of coherent words per day output is very limited and most of them are used up during the school day.
When everyone thinks that something you worked really hard to push through was achieved because ‘you just get what you want’. If only ..
You feel prouder than punch because the old man has stuck to his principles, but there isn’t a person in the world you can share this with as confidentiality is your middle name.

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Preparing for the Worst – IB Results and Beyond….

5/7/2019

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How to Stop Stressing over Exam Results

Only one more day to wait for results.

The IB Results will be with us tomorrow; it’s a little bit like waiting for Christmas day only you really don’t know what Santa will bring. He won’t necessarily reward kids for being good and hard-working! The truth is, whatever the results are there is no point stressing ahead of time. I noticed that Betsy seemed a little bit out of sorts yesterday and couldn’t quite figure out why. Don’t get my wrong it was nothing that a sing-a-long in the Land Rover on the way back home from her Nanna’s didn’t set right, but I guess she is starting to feel a bit nervous!

Yesterday I had re-visited my own book to explore what to do for preparing for university if her results are pleasing. Today, I’ve just read the next couple of pages to get some tips about what to do if the results don’t quite live up to expectations.

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IB, A Level, or GCSE - Preparing for the Dreaded Results ...

4/7/2019

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Getting Ready for Exam Results

We are getting ready for the big 'exam results' day!

As a family we are going up to Edinburgh at the weekend. Saturday is also the day that Betsy is due to get her IB results - yikes! We need to get ready for whatever results may arrive - good or bad! We've been saying we will need to be somewhere with good internet access and phone reception, both for receiving the results and completing any follow up emailing or phoning regarding university places.

This is probably going to sound a bit daft, but I genuinely have just revisited my own book (co-written with Lorraine Illing and illustrated by NokIsMe), giving advice for parents surviving the IB. I needed to find out what to do both in the positive situation that the results are what Betsy hopes for, or in the (fingers crossed this won't happen) sticky situtation if they are not.