An easier day, but ending on a dilemma

Nowhere near as manic today, though I still struggle with the efficiency of moving between two buildings to deal with routine administration. Learning new rooms and their various layout and equipment problems (and occasional pleasant surprises) is helping me think about planning next weeks lessons to take advantage or account of them.

One idea - an icebreaker for a couple of English classes - worked really well today. I gave them a lie ('I have a twin sister' and so on) on a card and asked them to add two interesting facts about themselves or their family to see if the group could spot the untruth. This was adapted from something a little more sophisticated that was used during a course I was on a couple of years ago.

One class was a problem. Trying to organise an ICT homework session was pretty fraught - lots of 'off topic' surfing and even the fairly innocent looking were Googling 'proxy service' in an effort to find a way around the school's Websense filters! This I need some help on - I'm really only used to more mature ICT students.

I also had a agony of self-doubt following an incident in the ICT lesson. A student took advantage of some disruption to make a surreptitious phone call home to mom. I let the call finish as the student was clearly homesick and wanting to talk but I felt I had to re-enforce the rule on mobile phone use quite firmly. As the bottom lip trembled, I did add that I would be sympathetic to an emergency call to mom, but only with my explicit permission. Did I undermine myself or correct an unreasonably harsh stance? Arggh.