The day I saw the light again.

It's not a surprise to any of you who know me that I have been becoming mildy disillusioned by the teaching gig lately. Frankly, moments when teaching is a wonderful and exciting privilege are few and far between. Mostly it is assessments, concern forms, planning, marking, discipline and staff meetings. I really didn't want to become one of those new teachers who left after a few years. I was headed that way.

Until today.

For the first time in two years, I remembered why I decided to become a primary school teacher today. The curriculum is being changed (for the first time since the 80s!) in the next couple of years and I am stoked! We are going to be allowed more flexibility; chances to integrate ICT, languages, debate, economics, puzzles, investigations and presentations. It's everything that primary education should be! I just hope that the (respectfully) older members of staff are able to embrace it. Anyway, I'm bursting with ideas.

Excellent!

Britain's Got Talent

There’s the weirdos, wannabes, time-wasters and mislead mummy’s babies.
But there’s also a lot of real, genuine British talent. Cornershop, bin man, single parent, primary school, self-taught, hard working, any talent real stars:

An unassuming guy from Carphone Warehouse who was bullied at school knocks everyone’s socks off with ‘Nessum Dorma.’ There were more than a few tears.

Six year old Conny with a killer smile reduces grown men to a powerless, speechless mess by singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’

A middle-aged Average Joe carries off hilarious impersonations honouring the memory of his Parkinsons suffering, ex-comedian father.

Twenty-seven dancers of all ages, races, sexes and sexualities bring spirit, life, soul, unity and real talent to Britain.

A young guy with a love and amazing skill for baton twirling follows his dream in the face of his parent’s disapproval and at the risk of mockery, and he is sensational.

A singer-songwriter provokes tears with his voice, guitar and painful, raw emotion at the loss of his brother and love for his orphaned niece and nephew.

A funny young man with a dancing monkey puppet, Michael Jackson music and a dream to perform for the Queen gets a “super entertaining” from Simon Cowell.

A jewellery shop employee and self-taught break dancer destroys the stage with amazing dance moves.

And that’s just a few of them. This is a real, real talent show. Anyone, any age, any background is allowed their chance. It’s the best of British. Sure, there are some complete loons, but for the most part it’s genuine, undiscovered talent. The chance to shine, opened to all. It’s touching and entertaining and deeply, deeply moving. It is actually reality TV in the sense that it is not this fake, manipulated, designed, manufactured, choreographed “reality TV” nonsense. This show is real, normal, every day, 9-5, nothing special, unimpressive Britain in the face of competition, opposition, restriction, hardship, isolation and self-doubt. Real dreamers who work hard and deserve every second of recognition they get. Yes, yes, yes.