Every little thing she does is magic magic magic (The Police)

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

Every one rowing together in a co-ordinated way can be a powerful force.

It's something greatly to be admired, and aimed for because it gives a concerted effort towards a common purpose..

Some, but not all, All Black teams have had it. The last notable time was in 2015 during the world cup under Richie McCaw's awesome leadership.

Some Arsenal teams have had it - the 2003-2004 'Invincibles' team was the clear example, but too often they have not even been all in the same boat.

Some schools have it, but this is an even rarer situation, in my experience. All it takes is a couple of staff either not contributing or worse, facing the opposite direction, and the boat feels like it's caught a crab.

Personally I've only experienced true alignment twice. Once at Macleans College under the headship of Colin Prentice. 

And now.

Let’s hear it for the boy (Deniece Williams)

One of our staff members turns thirty this week. Which makes him half my age. Pause for quiet, wistful introspection...

That makes him an eighties' baby, 1988 to be precise.

At lunch, one by one, we sort of mused aloud about what we were doing  30 years ago: a couple of teachers were pregnant, and so on. Cue more of that wistful introspection...

During the week my Goo Goo G'Joob blog happened to focus on Bryan Adams' Restless album. 

That also prodded some eighties memories to the surface centred around marrying Jacky Smith and then Keegan, Adam and Samantha's arrival before the eighties were done. 

Along the way came fluro jumpers, a long mullet, skinny leather ties, bright shirts, bright socks, odd socks and eighties music like Bryan Adams.

During the eighties, while my wonderful Woodford House colleague, Jo McDowell, was at high school, I was, as she says, teaching.

Arr, the memories: film projectors and the advent of VHS tapes - the camcorders were huge things; chalk and blackboards - the chalk played havoc with my contact lenses; text books (I know, right. I've spent the years since throwing them away from various schools); School Certificate, University Entrance and Bursary; no computers or cell phones or interweb; reading periods in the library (I miss that); bizarrely, teaching literature I hated from my seventies school days like The Old Man And The Sea; teaching social studies, badly; banda and Gestetner copying machines for student worksheets; worksheets!!!

We've come a long way baby!

Huge shout out to all my former colleagues and students from New Plymouth Boys' High School (1983-85) and Macleans College (1986-89) who put up with my idiosyncratic teaching methods and those fluro jerseys.

Holiday, celebrate (Madonna)

Wahoo! Holidays!!

For me that always means doing the jobs that came along during the term and I thought (to myself) - I'll do it in the holidays.

So far, that means redesigning my music room - a.k.a. Abbey Road Three (ART) or The Vault. 

As a kid I'd love redesigning my bedroom into various configurations. It's a great way to do a big tidy up, and conduct a 'Ray clean' - you know, vacuum all those out of the way areas and dust stuff to an exacting detail 

  (BTW, 'Ray clean' references Seinfeld in The Statue episode).

In this case, two days have been devoted to reorganising my prized possessions.

Holidays are also great blogging times. My Wozza's Place blog is currently contemplating the start of my teaching career and life during my first three schools: New Plymouth Boys' High School, Macleans College, and Waimea College.

While doing this I've been reading old school yearbooks and digging around the photo archives. Some great memories with a load of great people that I've had the pleasure to meet (and teach) via my career.

I realise what an honour this is - to pass through many people's lives and maybe have an influence.

I. Love. Being. A. Teacher!

I see the light surrounding you (Evermore)

Okay - two things have driven this one:

1 As I posted about recently, I had to put together a presentation to the staff on being a mentor.

I used this quote to kick it off:

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops (Henry Adams)

To introduce this idea, I asked my colleagues to reflect on students who were still in contact with them: that would mean they'd formed a lasting bond. Clearly our students outgrow us (quickly!) but if they remain in contact via Facebook or email they want to maintain a connection.

A very small number of them actually indicated they were still in touch and no one had students from over 20 years ago.

Made me think about (all of) my former students who are still connected with me via Facebook or emails. Made me feel blessed that a number of them are way past the 20 year mark - not that they'll thank me for reminding them of that I guess.

2 I put together a PowerPoint presentation about myself for my classes (this was inspired by a lecturer at Massey who did just that when I took the Year 12s for a visit recently AND my amazing colleague Amy, who tells her students about her past which includes her James Franco story - hi Amy!). 

Amazingly, I've never thought to do that (tell my story - not the James Franco bit). So while SWMBO was at work one Saturday, I set about making a PowerPoint. In my delve into the Purdzilla archives I came across a lot of old photos from my teaching past.

My first year teaching (New Plymouth Boys' 1983) - the pre Jacky years.

That made me wonder again about my former students - the oldest of whom will be about to enter their 50s (I was only 7 years older than them in 1983). And especially about the ones who are still in contact.

Mt Albert Grammar late 90s

So here we go - a celebration of those wonderful former students and former times. 

Warning! The photos that follow are from then and are hopefully not too embarrassing for the participants (I did get permission where I could).

Unfortunately you may be missing from this line up. I keep everything. If you wrote me a letter or a note when I left the school - I have it, but unfortunately if photos don't exist - they don't exist! And if you're wondering why there are quite a few from Macleans College 1986-1990, well - there's a reason for that!

MAGS School House

That was a period of my teaching life when all the planets aligned.

In 1986 I was into my second job - my fourth year teaching, so a little more comfortable in my teaching skin, but still inexperienced.

Macleans College late eighties

I'd had my three teaching college sections in co-ed schools (Rutherford High, Havelock North High and Keri Keri High School) but I'd had most of my education so far in boys' schools, having gone to Mt Albert Grammar as a student and then starting my teaching career at New Plymouth Boys'.

So teaching girls was a newish phenomenon and I loved how they approached English differently.

Waimea College early 90s

Macleans College at that time was led by Colin Prentice with Allen MacDonald (Mac) as DP. Still the best top two I've ever come across. 

Colin was charismatic and inspirational, Mac was simply born to be a DP - no nonsense, direct, and a lot of fun. Throw in Sue Miller (a lovable stickler) as Te Kanawa house leader and some wacky fellow TK personnel like Steve, Pete and Kent and - woo mama - what a staff!

Ledie - Waimea College

The difference to NPBHS was vast. I'd liked starting there but the feeling at Macleans, with the whole (much younger) staff moving in the same direction, was palpable. 

It really got my blood pumping. I wanted to excel for my students, and for Colin.


I was still young too, I was still in my twenties when I joined the staff at Macleans College from New Plymouth Boys' High School.

Denene - Macleans College

Lance - Macleans College

Aaron, Lance, Dipak, Michael - Macleans

Teesh - Stratford High School late 2000s

The mighty 3PY of 1986. Jody, Andy, Kylie, Julie et al. 

1986 at 3PY camp.
The post Jacky years!

The school, the leaders, being a young dad (second son Adam came along at the end of my first Macleans year) - that's some of it, but not all.

Jynette - Macleans College

The crucial ingredient was the type of student at Macleans at that time. 

I know it doesn't make much sense, but I really believe there was an extraordinary X factor about so many of these students. There was a really concentrated awesomeness to them that I have not experienced to the same degree since.

There were many great students to come in my post Macleans future (like Rebecca and Ledie and Kim and Ecca and others) but my students from Macleans 1986 to 1990 will always have a special place in my heart.

So - here's the final round up of photos from that time:

3PYers grown up. Kylie and Jody - Macleans 

Media Studies - Macleans

Lance, Jody, Jynette et al in Media Studies - Macleans

Kylie, Robyn - Macleans

Denene - Macleans

Jody, Julie, Kylie - Macleans

Jynette - Macleans

If you're reading this and I've left you out of the photo gallery, my heartfelt apologies. When you single out some there's always a danger you'll leave out some, but, unfortunately, as I said - I have no photos of plenty of you as students.

Please know that I continue to hold dear the time I spent teaching you.

There's no one as normal as me (Skyhooks)

Things I've missed by not being in a NZ classroom for three years (a random sample):

Assemblies (yes really) – I've experienced two so far at Woodford House and they have been wonderful: a group of girls performing some theatre sports; an inspirational speech by a Y13 girl (she had her right leg and left foot amputated as a consequence of swine flu in her Y9 year); a performance by a visiting group of percussionists – Ginger Baker eat your heart out!

It's such a relief not having to be responsible for the assembly any more; instead I can enjoy them again from the staff rows.

Staffroom camaraderie – it's a small staffroom for about 50 staff (including all the office and ancillary workers) but everyone has been very welcoming and friendly. A staff quiz happens at 1pm each day (after the staff has visited the staff dining room) and it's a lot of fun.

My own classroom – I have been a peripatetic teacher in my schools since moving to senior management positions (the last place I had my own classroom was as Head of English at Mt Albert Grammar in 1995, then a gap until King John School 2004 to 2006). I can put up posters, arrange the desks as I want and have a home at last.

A desk in the staff workroom – I have had my own office at schools since 1989 (Head of English at Waimea College) so I haven't shared a work space since I was at Maclean's College (and before that at New Plymouth Boys' High School). It's where I am right now as I write this post.

Having an office is fine and dandy but it can also be quite an isolating experience. I've had some doozies over the years – the broom cupboard at King John springs to mind (no windows and a swinging cat would have suffered massive concussion).

A sense of belonging – my pronouns will soon shift from 'they' to 'we' as I begin to understand and embrace the culture of the school. It's been three years since I've felt that. In the Middle East I was an adjunct to Ali bin Abi Taleb school. I was advising and critiquing and all the while I was part of Cognition Education – not a teacher on the staff. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly made to feel a real part of the school but I was still a foreigner and an outsider.

The sense of belonging has been dormant for some time. I certainly didn't have it as a Principal - too isolated and too solitary a position. The last time I truly belonged was The King John School in Essex; a magic staffroom and wonderful people.

Busy and tired at the end of the day – nothing like mental exhaustion to make you sleep all night. I was busy and tired in China but I've not worked in a classroom since the end of January so I feel refreshed and ready to go.

So raise a glass and drink with me. Here's to being Head of English again and here's to normal and here's to stability!

And here's to the teacher profession! Hurrah!!