This week’s been going in so many different directions, its hard to know where to begin.
I just started a new job at a school in Haringey. As a teaching assistant. I think I get on with the kids ok. But its hard to keep discipline. I get so stressed when I see even a few children being silly or not focusing in class. I have a tendency to lose my temper very quickly and I start screaming or barking orders at them. Its not nice. i’d rather it was different, but the school day is so structured and every minute of the day is taken up with timetabled activities. I have to say that on the whole, even when children are being disruptive, they’re learning more than it might seem. Because children are like sponges. They take in everything around them without appearing to pay any attention.
There was an autistic child at the school who couldn’t focus like the other the children when sat on the carpet when the teacher was talking to the class. yet when you asked him what the teacher had said he had perfect recall of what the teacher was talking about. I expect there are many other children very similar to that boy.
I went to Notting Hill yesterday (Sunday) for the Portobello Road market. I like that place a lot. I think its the most interesting part of London. You’ve got Notting Hill itself, part of the Borough of K & C, the richest area of London. Then you have the market area, all the way to Ladbroke Grove. There you can find some of the coolest bars, the most bohemian pubs, cafes and shops. Its easy to stereotype the area as only serving David Cameron types (peronally I like Cameron) and sienna Miller, but its the most egalitarian part of London. Maybe one day I’ll live there?