Oh Momentous Day (actually Night)

Tomorrow is graduation day (well night, it is at 7.45 at Truro Cathedral and I will be graduating as a Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Sector (could teach in schools now but don't think I want to)

It is, and despite the past 8 months, the culmination of my ambition to retrain as a teacher. With lots of support from everyone except my ex-partner, I have achieved my goal, my mentor and my tutor ensured I had support (and pressure) to do the assignments and while I may not have achieved a distinction or merit it is enough to have achieved the qualification.

My Graduation Speech

Along the way I have found that I enjoy teaching Maths, yep me who was deemed an imbecile at school and relegated to the commercial calculations class rather than the more academic o levels and I like it when students pass their course and their qualifications and say thank you... I tell them not me, you did the hard work, I was only your tour guide.

ICT has always been a love of mine, from 1982 when I met my first computer I was head over heels in love.. besotted by technology and seduced by gadgets.. they will always feature in my life.. watching students master the skills to gain a driving licence (yes, I know it bugs me, cars you drive computers you operate hence the old name computer operators)..

and then to English, I have fun with this part, my love of words and language stand me in good stead and I have endless opportunities to pass this on to my students from ice breakers using spellings, and games with letters it all helps to engage them in using this long and very mixed up language to serve them well in their future careers.

Am I in the right job, yes wholeheartedly yes, and I wished I had known it sooner but I haven't wasted my life or love of the skills and will not do so in the future.

I wish my Dad particularly could be here to see this, he was very proud of me when I got my first degree and sad that I chose not to graduate (too impersonal to me) so tomorrow night will be for him and for my Mum who taught me so much about how to teach - not that I knew it at the time...

To all those who supported me, and those that did not, I thank you... sometimes I begrudged it at the time but looking back on it I see it now as important.

.. and onward I will go