Three firsts

A couple of months ago I heard an inspirational talk recommending ways to be content with life. It sounded very easy: write down three reasons to be happy each day. Aware of my effortless transition from angry young man to miserable old git, I decided to give this a go. And it lasted about one and a third days. 

I'm going to try again, but this time not worry so much about that happiness nonsense. I'm just going think about three things I've done for the first time each week. Hopefully this will help to lighten my life in this essentially meaningless universe that is bound by the laws of entropy to progressively get worse. 

1. Scored a basket. 

We had decided to play basketball for the lesson. Actually the students had decided. We had a few more lessons left in the term and I asked them what they wanted to do. I like doing that, not just because I'm lazy and indecisive, but because I believe that as they get to the end of their teenage years my students need to start taking control of their own education. In fact they should already have taken control.

So I get them to brainstorm for ideas in groups, then I get someone from each group to stand up, and go around the class collecting their best ideas. If there's time they keep doing this until they repeat somebody else's idea or hesitate for too long, or the last person is left standing. If there is less time I just get the best idea from each group. Then the ideas go up on the board, and each person gets one vote. Because I believe in them taking control of their own education, I put any possible idea on the board and make it available for them to vote on.  Sometimes I have to remove impractical suggestions. For example there is not enough time in a 90 minute lesson to travel abroad, although it something I wholeheartedly recommend them to do if they have an opportunity. 

I get them to write down their choice first, before they put their hands up to vote, and if there is little time I just collect their papers.

So they chose to play basketball, and after checking the gym was free and booking it, that's what we did. There were seven teams and before the lesson I had a lot of fun working out which teams would play each other. The gym could have two games going on at a time, so two of the other teams would act as referees for each game, and the seventh team would have a break. I worked out a circuit the teams would have to move in. One of the teams in the first court changing ends, the other team going to be referee in the same court, the team that was referee going to play in the second court, the team that was there moving to referee the second game, the team that was refereeing the second game moving to the other end of the second game, the team that was there going for a break, then the team that was on a break going to play in the first court. Seven moves later, each team would have played four games.

On the day there were a couple of people absent, so I asked one of the teams if they'd like me to join, and they said yes. I'm not sure whether this was worse for them or for me, but I can tell you that there are some native basketball players in my class, and I amply demonstrated my lack of fluency. I did score one basket though. We still lost that game, and two of the others.

2. Explained that Eddie Izzard was a man.

In another class one group were talking about humour, and comparing British and American varieties. One of the students was quoting Eddie Izzard, and what she had said in a Guardian article. I pointed out that she was a he, which caused a great deal of disbelief. They had a picture. I explained that he wore women's clothes. They asked if that was part of his humour. 

Well, that's two things anyway. It's a good start, and I think it's really important to set realistic goals.