Thursday 5th December 2024 - Learning from the Challenges and Moving Forward

I am thankful for the lessons, both big and small, that come with each day. Every challenge is an opportunity for growth, and I am grateful for the progress I make in all areas of my life.

Today, despite the gloomy weather, I woke up on time and made sure to get the house organized before heading out. I decided to drive to work, as the weather wasn’t ideal for cycling. Once at school, I was asked to do an IT lesson with Year 6, where the challenge was teaching them how to make a video game using variables. I spent an hour planning, but I had to briefly pause to set up an online safeguarding meeting for our head teacher and nursery manager.

Once the meeting was sorted, I dived into the lesson, teaching the students how to create a simple game using Scratch—moving a bowl side to side to collect objects falling from the top of the screen. I thought I’d crafted a fun and engaging lesson, with clear instructions to guide them through the coding process. However, I was disappointed to see that only two students managed to complete the task. Despite thinking it was fairly straightforward, many of the students struggled. It seemed that they were more accustomed to being spoon-fed the information, rather than reading the instructions and engaging with the process of learning to code.

While it was frustrating, the two completed games were absolutely fantastic, and that really lifted my spirits. It’s moments like these that remind me why I love teaching: seeing students succeed when they fully engage with the learning process.

Gratitude for Progress Beyond the Classroom
After work, I headed home to work on the future of the Durham County Referees Association. I wrote up a report outlining my plans for the future of the group, which I sent to the other officers for their feedback. It felt great to make progress on something I care about, and I was glad to receive responses from everyone, promising to review the plans over the weekend.

In the evening, I continued to work on the Home Harmony Project website, adding updates and new content. I also added more pages to my TownHost web development business, steadily moving forward with both projects.