Back to Work

Today marks the end of the summer holidays in this part of the world, so tomorrow it's back to work...and before those thoughts enter your head about how lucky I am, being paid to sit on my backside all summer, I'll point out that I'm not a teacher, just a lowly teaching assistant. So, although I've spent six weeks doing virtually nothing, I've not been paid for the privilege (and quite rightly, too, in my opinion).

My workplace is a little school, where I'm usually found arguing with the older children. I'm not a fan of the infants - too much leakage and whining, although I will work with them if sufficiently bribed. As far as colleagues go, I'm pretty lucky; there are no staff-room rows, just occasional huffiness which is easily smoothed over by offers of cake. 

From Up North, Ms Fab is my little island of sanity. Fellow TA, lover of all things pink and sparkly, she endures my rants, likes the same children that I do, and makes a good, strong cup of coffee. She often works in the same class as me. The class ranges from the unbelievable angels, who desperately need to liven-up their lives by being occasionally naughty, to the, umm, more difficult ones. We'll work on that; Ms Fab and I are great believers in there being a decent child in them all. Somewhere. 

Mr Chaos has the classroom next to us. One of my favourite members of staff, he brings a comfortable untidiness to the place. Mrs Opinionated can't set foot in his room, it makes her OCD itch.

So it's staff training tomorrow and Wednesday. No doubt tomorrow will be spent eating biscuits, drinking coffee, and dreading the morning the children actually arrive.