That didn't take long

Text message "Gone to pick up a bike, will be back by tea"
So, those of you who said here that he would get another one soon enough, you were right.

He has spent the evening, happy as can be, beginning to overhaul the 'classic' (30 year old) Honda. I must admit, I am quite taken with it - I like old and quirky bikes. It sounds like a Singer sewing machine!

I am envious of the husband this evening. His quiet contentment and clear joy at spending time with the bike. No targets to meet, no moral dilemmas to resolve. Just grease, oil and likely as not, some WD-40.

Me? I am struggling with a real sense of anger, dismay, disbelief and personal dilemmas relating to work. I fear that if I start to articulate my thoughts, I could write the longest ever blip entry, even by my standards.

Balloting is due to take place for my union and others with regards to strike action over pensions. I know how I feel about the changes to pensions and our pay, I don't know how I feel about strike action, for me personally.

I know that I feel that we, along with others, are being dealt with with a fair degree of heavy-handedness, and that the powers that be haven't weighed up that pay freeze, prior 'below inflationary' pay rises, increased pension contributions and decrease in final pension, plus a raising of the pension age and constantly shifting targets, along with veiled threats of what will happen to schools who do not meet arbitary targets, is not - in the overall balance of things - a good way to
* motivate existing personnel to work harder, for longer
* encourage people into the profession
* ensure that quality personnel stay in the profession
* build capacity and encourage 'bright young things' who have skill, potential and people skills to go for headship to do so.

It is also not a vote winner.

I fear that the comments regarding the winter of discontent from my students yesterday may yet have a ring of truth to them. I fear that the job that I so dearly love is changing into something I will ultimately despise. I fear that a profession that has been repeatedly run down in the media and in public is going to be harmed by reacting to poor treatment and I wonder whether we have the stomach for it, or whether we will roll over and accept.

Why do I fear all of this?

Because our targets are set by people with a clear misunderstanding of the concept of "average" and are lacking comprehension of the ultimate impact of the perspective of "all those below average" effectively being closed, amalgamated or taken over by teams from better schools. Where will it end?

Young people are individuals - with their own strengths, talents and aspects that, for all the best will in the world, all the effort, intervention and support, sometimes just cannot be improved upon. Targets are all well and good, and every good teacher wants their children to do as well as they can. But children cannot be put into standardised boxes.

We can't all be average, can we?

The only glimmer? That the cloud appears to be clearing a little and I might get to see the lunar eclipse at least partially this evening.