Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

Waan't the 4th plane supposed to be for the white house?

I think so, but I hadn't put the distances into context as it crashed in PA. The fact that they got as close as the Pentagon shows that they would absolutely have succeeded if the brave people on board UA93 hadn't brought it down. Both the White House and Capitol would have been sitting ducks. Since 9/11 they are both in a no fly zone.

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

He's not ruled it out completely at the moment but he would like to take a year to examine his options and build up a bit of a buffer in his bank account before making his decision and adding to his student debt.

What he would like to teach? Philosophy and/or media but philosophy would require further study before he could teach it...believe you me he is kicking himself over not taking the Herts offer now but he thought their requirements were more than he could achieve. Turns out he blasted through what they wanted but by that point it was too late.

He's always enjoyed working with young people, either in his role as a leader at his cub group or at the youth club (even his job down here is child related) and he has come up with some brilliant ideas that he would like to put into place if he ever gets the chance that could help with teaching younger ones skills that appear to be missing in a fair few now (basic cooking, first aid, money management etc).

If he enjoys working with children as young as cubs, and is interested in imparting skills across the board, would he consider teaching primary? The pressures are somewhat different to the pressures on secondary teachers, so he'd need to talk to some primary teachers before deciding, but the career progression can be particularly great for men. That's because primary schools have a big majority of teachers who are female and like being with children, and huge numbers of those teach full time for a few years and then have their own children and decide to focus on them by going part time or at least slowing down their climb up the ladder. Not all the women do that, of course, but all the same, the few men in the profession tend to do very well in terms of promotions etc.

SingleSue

He wants to teach high school age despite my telling him he is particularly good with primary age or younger and appears to have a real affinity for them. The same goes for children with differing needs, he has a real understanding and 'knack' for getting the best out of them whilst also keeping them calm and feeling safe but he is not interested in going into that sort of area (at the moment!)

He's surprised many a parent at his at home job, they have worried about their differing needs child (usually autistic) being able to cope with doing something, James starts working with them using the techniques he has learned at home in his role as a young carer and they start doing things their parents thought impossible or the child has failed at before.

Hopefully he will work it out for himself and pick the right path.

Pyxis

He sounds like he has a huge talent in that sort of field.


I wonder if he thinks that the subject matter at primary level wouldn't be stimulating enough for him? Hence his predilection for secondary teaching?

I must admit, even though I have no teaching gene whatsoever, I would much rather teach the blank canvasses of 4,5,6 - year-olds.
I think that would be lovely!
And before they get 'hormones'! :rotfl:

I could never cope with a class of unruly pupils aged 14-16 :eek: I really admire anyone that can keep that lot in check!

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

He wants to teach high school age despite my telling him he is particularly good with primary age or younger and appears to have a real affinity for them. The same goes for children with differing needs, he has a real understanding and 'knack' for getting the best out of them whilst also keeping them calm and feeling safe but he is not interested in going into that sort of area (at the moment!)

He's surprised many a parent at his at home job, they have worried about their differing needs child (usually autistic) being able to cope with doing something, James starts working with them using the techniques he has learned at home in his role as a young carer and they start doing things their parents thought impossible or the child has failed at before.

Hopefully he will work it out for himself and pick the right path.

People like that are very rare and very valuable. I hope he finds a path that enables him to use those skills somewhere, whether that's at work or volunteering after work. Good luck to him whatever he decides.

Pyxis

I must admit, I'm with the AA, have been since 1991, and although they're pricey, I treat it, along with my mobile phone, as essential when I'm out driving.

I used to do a lot of motorway driving, and did break down a few times, so was infinitely grateful for having it. Been taken home with the car on the back about three times.
Plus the battery has died on me about three or four times, so I was able to use home start a few times, too.
Tyre blew once, in the middle of nowhere.
Cam belt snapped, on the motorway, 100 miles from home, at night. Luckily, my car was one of the few that weren't irreparably damaged by that happening.
A couple of other things too....flat tyres etc.

All this, and I had the car serviced twice a year, every year!

The worst time was when I was en route from Bath to London, very, very late at night, and was on a country road heading for the motorway, when both of my headlights failed.

I pulled into a layby on this country road miles from anywhere, no houses visible, no street lights, and up the other end of the layby were a couple of cars with some oddbods.

I was really scared, but I had my phone and only had to wait about 25 minutes for the AA man to come, but it was the longest 25 minutes of my life.
When he arrived, I could have kissed him! He asked me if I was cold, as I was 'shivering', but I said no, I'd been trembling with fear!

Anyway, he sorted it! I just love AA men!

God only knows what I would have done on all those occasions if I hadn't been a member. It would have cost me megabucks, not to mention any potential danger I might have been in. Plus the stress would have been through the roof.

So now, even though I don't do anything like the same amount of motorway driving as before, I still pay for the full package. It's the peace of mind thing.

michaels

Autoaid (MSE recommended) give AA max cover for about 40 a year rather than 180 that the AA cost.

Alternatively get a Nationwide plus current account which costs 120pa and gives full breakdown plus travel and mobile insurance and if you ask me to refer you for an account we both get £100 which makes the first year effectively free.

vivatifosi

I have Autoaid. They are pretty good. I've used them a couple of times for a call out when my old car got to the end of its life. Renewing was hard though as they were being bought out.

The RAC at £53 for comp cover may be another good option (though involves topcashback).

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/breakdown-cover

Jazee

Thanks for the reminder guys that breakdown cover would be exceptionally useful for my new to me old car that I got yesterday. Just did the cashback thing, so I think I've paid about £49 for AA. It all gets very confusing.

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

Autoaid (MSE recommended) give AA max cover for about 40 a year rather than 180 that the AA cost.

Alternatively get a Nationwide plus current account which costs 120pa and gives full breakdown plus travel and mobile insurance and if you ask me to refer you for an account we both get £100 which makes the first year effectively free.

Cheers... I do have a N/W account, not a Plus one, but I don't "pay for banking" as it's of no benefit to me.

I'll look into the autoaid.