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So, in the spirit of the new DW/LJ plan, I thought I'd post a little summary of 2014, given that I posted all of (goes and checks...) 11 posts this year. Of these, 4 were essay writing procrastination, one was report writing procrastination and 3 were variations on the "how do I use my journal these days" theme.
So what else went on, I hear you ask. Well, probably one of the most significant practical changes was that starting in September, I went down to four days a week, teaching Monday to Thursday. The combination of that with finishing the MAST course over the summer (I passed, but didn't get a distinction, which is fine) has done wonders for my stress and energy levels. It was only really the last week of term that I started to feel really knackered, which for a 14.5 week term is not bad going at all.
I said goodbye to my lovely class that I'd had for the last two years in July and they were really ready to go to secondary school. I have been quite touched by how many have popped in to visit me over this term though - it's really sweet that they're keen to keep in touch. This year's class are mostly also good, although there are one or two rather difficult characters. The main problem is that they're a larger class so lots more marking. God, I wish one could teach without having to mark.
Academically, I finished my history Level 3 course in June (2:1) and have now started the final module of my Humanities degree, which is Level 3 Philosophy. I had deliberately delayed to take this course in it's first year rather than it's predecessor, always a gamble, but I'm really glad I did because it's really interesting so far and challenging. I also finished the MAST, which counts as a third of an Education masters and one of my tutors on that suggested that I should think about applying for the Ed Doc programme. This was hugely flattering and I love the idea of being a doctor of something but I'm really on the fence about it. I could potentially apply next year as it looks like they consider candiates without masters degrees but I feel like I ought to finish the masters properly (irrational but there you are) and then on top of that, I would really love to do a philosophy masters too but that would be a lot of money for something really not relevant to my career! So I don't really know what my next move is going to be academically, but it's something I definitely need to think about this year.
I should also mention that I went to my first con this year! LonCon was pretty good fun, actually, and there were certainly lots of intereting things to do. It was a pretty full on experience though - certainly not something I can imagine wanting to do every year. Also, I suspect that critical engagement in the sense of these things is not my primary mode of engagement with my entertainment. I guess perhaps it's also just that I'm really not very widely read in the field these days, if ever I could be said to have been. I need some new things to get in to in terms of books - any recommendations? I have enjoyed going to the SF book club though, that's defintely given me some interesting reads this year.
I did also change my name, but I actually did post about that nearer the time. It's still weird to get used to being called the new name at school though.
So what else went on, I hear you ask. Well, probably one of the most significant practical changes was that starting in September, I went down to four days a week, teaching Monday to Thursday. The combination of that with finishing the MAST course over the summer (I passed, but didn't get a distinction, which is fine) has done wonders for my stress and energy levels. It was only really the last week of term that I started to feel really knackered, which for a 14.5 week term is not bad going at all.
I said goodbye to my lovely class that I'd had for the last two years in July and they were really ready to go to secondary school. I have been quite touched by how many have popped in to visit me over this term though - it's really sweet that they're keen to keep in touch. This year's class are mostly also good, although there are one or two rather difficult characters. The main problem is that they're a larger class so lots more marking. God, I wish one could teach without having to mark.
Academically, I finished my history Level 3 course in June (2:1) and have now started the final module of my Humanities degree, which is Level 3 Philosophy. I had deliberately delayed to take this course in it's first year rather than it's predecessor, always a gamble, but I'm really glad I did because it's really interesting so far and challenging. I also finished the MAST, which counts as a third of an Education masters and one of my tutors on that suggested that I should think about applying for the Ed Doc programme. This was hugely flattering and I love the idea of being a doctor of something but I'm really on the fence about it. I could potentially apply next year as it looks like they consider candiates without masters degrees but I feel like I ought to finish the masters properly (irrational but there you are) and then on top of that, I would really love to do a philosophy masters too but that would be a lot of money for something really not relevant to my career! So I don't really know what my next move is going to be academically, but it's something I definitely need to think about this year.
I should also mention that I went to my first con this year! LonCon was pretty good fun, actually, and there were certainly lots of intereting things to do. It was a pretty full on experience though - certainly not something I can imagine wanting to do every year. Also, I suspect that critical engagement in the sense of these things is not my primary mode of engagement with my entertainment. I guess perhaps it's also just that I'm really not very widely read in the field these days, if ever I could be said to have been. I need some new things to get in to in terms of books - any recommendations? I have enjoyed going to the SF book club though, that's defintely given me some interesting reads this year.
I did also change my name, but I actually did post about that nearer the time. It's still weird to get used to being called the new name at school though.
