Occasional Tales

What caused it this time? It was morning exercise time when my eyesight started going funny. This was a serious migraine, which came on rapidly, and the aura lasted for some time. What caused it? It could be another non-weekend which has been vacuumed up by preparation. It could be forthcoming observations. It could be the presence of the Reichsmarschal. There were hints of some potential problem. The top of my right shoulder was sore last night (although the migraine hit the left-hand side of my head), and my back is sore around my right shoulder blade. This morning my eyesight was a little too sharp. Even so, there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about these things. If the signs are there, what might stave off an attack? Paracetamol? Ibuprofen? Would it even be right to use such medicines in anticipation of a possible migraine? This latest bout of migraines (four this month) means that I’ve had the equivalent of one a month this year. This is a Bad Thing™. I’v...

The effects of AQMs. Yeah, they’re coming at the end of the month. I know they’re meant to be useful, but they aren’t. They induce more stress and anxiety than good. They have expectations, but they’re rather opaque about them. They come with assumptions. They come with trite phrases such as “Everyone has their own style of teaching”. They don’t bother to mention that they think their way is best and can’t fathom doing this any other way. They want classes to be interesting and exciting, but quite forget that starter – activity – plenary classes are boringly repetitive just as the Basic Model, which I got when I did that EFL course about six years ago, was good for one or two classes, but disengaging thereafter. But we have to play the game. We have to be subservient and stressed and anxious and deprived of a decent amount of sleep. We have to put up with some annoying colleagues who play the game to be highly proficient. I want to be adequate, competent, and left al...