Back to the Future

Summer over - back to full time schedule today and a little nervous.

It's one thing to sit with a few students and talk about Dad - it's another to stand in front of 10 to 15 people in a big room and talk about him and the events of the past month.

But NOT to talk about it all would be even stranger. Like ignoring the elephant in the room.

I've never been a "Goodmorning. Turn to Page 26" kind of a teacher. I believe in sharing my life and I hope the students do too, because that is far more motivating than Page 26.

But at times like this it is hard. My students are good people and I'll feel the waves of sympathy coming off them.

I'm not a gibbering wreck about Dad - had a good night out of dinner and karaoke last week, did shed clearing and a picnic lunch outside yesterday - but it's a bit strange to be supplying the vocab and correct phrases to talk about funeral - scattering etc.

My solution is to deflect attention from me onto his photographs and hope that looking and talking about those is a way into it all.

Students who've looked at the photos so far have really enjoyed them: Dad as a baby, young photographer, his wartime pictures in Hong Kong, of Churchill, Princess Di etc...

Anyway. Got 7 hours of classes today...almost 5 hours tomorrow.

That should get me firmly Back into my Future...work again.