While in the changing room post-swim the other day, a poster caught my eye. Christchurch City Council's new campaign, It's Cool Not to Be Cruel centres around reminding people to treat CCC's employees with basic human decency. Abuse towards customer service employees has been on the rise. Part of me was shocked to learn this,… Continue reading Kind Strangers, Angry Strangers
During our second teacher strike recently, I met with other kaiako and wrote letters to politicians about our desperation, frustration, and why we are advocating for change. Initially, I wondered whether I was overstating things. Upon second glance, I realised the opposite is true - we are absolutely always understating our workload, day to day… Continue reading Open Letter to the Ministry of Education
There’s something theatrically sardonic about blasting Vivaldi’s Winter out your car speakers when it's a blistering 35C outside and you’re sitting in a Pak'n'Save carpark trying not to have a meltdown xo I was relegated to the car because the supermarket music was stressing me out. I forgot my noise-cancelling headphones in the car. There’s… Continue reading Hey ASD (Spoken Word Poem)
Having body hair - anywhere except on the scalp - is seen by most women as a drag, a pet peeve, or even disgusting. It's something to be ashamed of, something to get rid of, something to cover up. I understand that; I've grown up with that societal expectation around me. From friends, from family,… Continue reading Fearing the Hair
I never thought I'd get paid to pass on existential dread to teenagers. I'm kidding of course: they bring their own, and they bring it in bucketloads. We share in the joy that is questioning everything, including but not limited to unmovable movers, uncaused causers, infinite regresses, and... temporality. Enter: Jeremy Bearimy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFm9ClqlGuo This term… Continue reading Philosophising with Kids, Paradoxes and Inventing Religions
The year has only just started and I'm already finding it difficult to turn my work brain off. Whenever I have a significant shift in my schedule, I struggle to adjust for a while. Often, a week or two (or three) is spent in limbo. Going back to school is a prime example. Does anyone… Continue reading Bribing Teenagers and Dragonfly Brain
It's been a big ol' year, folks. Anyone else feeling it? It has been a long while since my fingers have graced the wordpress stage, and I've missed it. While there have been many passing thoughts and ideas flowing through, I haven't found the time or the enthusiasm to grasp hold of one and bring… Continue reading Teachering, Tetrapaks and Tuku Mihi
It's hard to believe this is only the second time I'm discussing my autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. The first time was my "coming out" blog: Aspergirl Gone Rogue. It's genuinely like that, in a way. As someone who has worked extensively with special needs youth, and is both autistic and a lesbian, the disabled… Continue reading 8 Things Women on the Spectrum Want You to Know
I'm as exhausted as I am exhilarated by my first proper week of full time teaching. My students are fantastic, my colleagues are a tremendously welcoming and lovely bunch, and my feet hurt a heck of a lot. This teachering thing I'm doing has has coincided with moving houses, so that has been a laugh… Continue reading This Teachering Thing
Despite numerous drafts on the back burner, none have quite made it live for quite some time. I would say must do better, but this is my playground, not homework. There are no deadlines, quotas or gradebooks. I'm not letting anyone down by not posting - at most I'm just barn-egging my free range-destined ideas.… Continue reading Qualified, Medicated, Elucidated.
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