It finally happened. At 0700 this morning the phone rang and it was a school offering me a day’s work today. 54 weeks since my accident and I was getting back to work, whoohoo. It was at a school that I already know and at which I’ve taught quite a lot before. That was the good part. The potentially bad part was that the class on offer was a K/1 class.

Now I can teach anything, anywhere, anytime. I’ve been teaching since 1969 and I’ve pretty much seen it all…BUT….Kindergarten is one of my least favourite grades to teach. It’s not because the kids aren’t nice, or that they are discipline problems, far from it. In fact, most Kinder kids are lovely (especially with a side order of fries and salad).

No, it’s just that Kinder kids are very demanding. Not in a rude way, just in the way that you have to teach them. Senior primary kids, (my favourite age group) are often naughty and not particularly nice, especially as they get close to the time that they’re heading off to high school, but I’d still rather teach them than Kinders. You see, you can set some work for senior primary kids, explain what it’s about and give some examples and then set them to work knowing that, for the most part, that piece of work will keep them busy for half to 3/4 of an hour. In that time I can circulate around the class, make sure that all students are on-task and help the students who are struggling with the concepts but who were too embarrassed to say so out loud when the assignment was set. Win-win.

Not so with Kinders. They have a very limited attention span, as any parent will attest. Their work tasks usually last 5 to 10 minutes, max, then you have to move on to the next task. And the little perishers keep you running all day with it. They plumb wear you out.

Today was no exception. For a start, the classroom was up two flights of stairs. First big hurdle. Then it appeared that the teacher had left no lesson plan of what she wanted done with the class while she was away (note I said APPEARED – I’ll get back to that later). So, as most of my teaching resources are directed towards the top end of the school, it was a quick lash-up job getting some stuff together on the interactive white board so that I could keep them busy and on-task for the day.

That taken care of, the bell rang and were away. Down the stairs to pick the kids up from assembly and back up the stairs again. A couple of songs to start with and my voice is CRAP from not singing for a year. AND, my fingers are very soft after not having played for almost the same period of time. But we got there. At recess time I was on playground duty, so no rest for the leg there. Between recess and lunch half of the class went to reading groups leaving me with a much smaller group and a chance to do some productive stuff. Then it was back downstairs for lunch and back up after lunch. I did manage to rest the leg in the staff room, however.

The afternoon was quiet and productive, some more singing, some Maths and a game to round out the day. Back down the steps and home where I summarily collapsed in a heap in the lounge chair wondering how the heck I managed to get through the day at all.

Oh, and you know I said about the work the teacher appeared not to have left? Well, she did, it’s just that I was looking in the wrong place. Not a sign of a paper or folder anywhere on her desk, but, as I was closing down her computer for the evening I noticed on the desktop of her PC a little folder that said “Work for casual” Now why did she have to be so technological? I’d have found it on her desk, I didn’t even THINK to look on her desktop!

So, another day banked away. My first paid school work in over a year and I survived.

But I hope I don’t get a call tomorrow, I need a rest!

The FIM has issued some major changes to the rules for the WSBK for next year. However, there might be at least one manufacturer who won’t be happy with the changes.

Amongst the most significant changes is the increase in the weight that must be carried by twin-cylinder motorcycles. It has been  increased from 165kgs to 171kgs, a whopping 6kgs. Now those that have followed the saga will know that it has always been Ducati’s assertion that the rules suit the Japanese bikes better than their own that has led to them blackmailing the organisers to frame the technical regulations to suit their twin-cylinder machines and to deliberately hobble the Japanese bikes.

Indeed, it was the factory’s dissatisfaction that the organisers had finally decided to redress the balance and make the playing field more level (something that Ducati have NEVER wanted) that led the factory to pull out of this year’s championship and have their flag flown by the Althea squad.

Unsurprisingly, the regulations are still so skewed in favour of Ducati, that they won the championship anyway, winning nearly every race. So the FIM is just recognising that they need to do even more to help all manufacturers compete on an equal footing.

The next sound that you will hear will be howls of displeasure emanating from the general vicinity of Bolonga.

Other regulations will restrict each rider to one bike, bringing Superbike in line with SS1000 and SS600.  Supersporet teams will be restricted to 8 engines per year and Superstock to 3 engines per year.

Practice and qualifying sessions will now be 60 minutes instead of 45 minutes.

Interesting times ahead.

Oh, and here’s a great article on the iconic Kawasaki Z1R

Marco Simoncelli was laid to rest overnight after a sombre service in his home town. Many luminaries attended, Valentino Rossi wheeling Simo’s bike alongside the hearse as it left the church. Thousands who couldn’t get into the church and its precincts watched on the big screens at the nearby Misano circuit, especially opened for the occasion.

Huge amounts of comment has been generated in the last week, much of it ill-informed and much of it by ignorant people outside of the sport who have taken the opportunity to score a few journalistic brownie points with their editors and their readers. These we can safely ignore and should do so. Their inane ramblings are, as Shakespeare put it (although not in this context) “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Of greater concern has been the groundswell that is growing amongst enthusiasts over the graphic depiction of Simo’s death on the internet. Far from being inured with constant scenes of death and destruction, it seems that Joe Public can’t get enough of it and mainstream media outlets are complying. Even news.com.au’s article on Simo’s funeral this morning had a sidebar containing a video of the accident, as if we haven’t seen it enough already. They DID have a “Warning – Graphic Content” banner over it, as if anyone is going to take any notice of that. In fact, that is really just an INVITATION to watch and satisfy one’s ghoulish cravings.

Numerous petitions and suggestions are out there seeking to find a way of preventing the media outlets from broadcasting this kind of material, based on sound, moral and ethical grounds. But, since when has the media been moral or ethical? It seems like we might be our worst enemies as numerous so-called “enthusiasts” on the social media have taken to publishing and re-publishing the accident under their individual profiles as well.

If we don’t raise a voice against this sensationalist profiting from someone else’s misfortune then where can we expect it to end? Marco was someone’s son, brother, partner. He went to work one day and he didn’t come home. I can’t even find words to give that tragedy any meaning at all. Do we allow news reporters on to work sites to film people dying in industrial accidents? Of course we don’t. BUT IT’S THE SAME THING!!

One word sums it up, RESPECT. Those who want to post up and replay the accident do not respect the memory of Simoncelli despite all they might say to deny it. Their actions speak far louder than their words.

Should Youtube and the social media be more responsible in what they publish? Of course they should. Should the mainstream media exercise the same restraint? Of course they should. Will this tragedy bring about any change in this situation?  Sadly, I think not. Man’s fascination with the sensational and grisly is deeply ingrained and no amount of hand-wringing on our part is going to even change that.

I sincerely hope that the outrage that has been expressed over peoples’ actions this week DOES make people think a a bit more about the feelings of others and maybe they might think twice before posting offensive material. Me, I’m just going to continue to ignore the postings, reprove where necessary and remember Simo for what he was, a supremely talented racer who was taken from us far too soon.