First of all, I must assure you all that the reason for a distinct lack of posts is NOT because of laziness. Quite the opposite in fact. Upon reflection of term three, exhaustion was the theme. The last blog post spoke of a woman that was simply tired. There was so much to take in; a term of exam preparation, smashing through course work, designing new units as well as a big term personally with the loss of Eric. Battle of the Bands was a fine way to send off the term - something light in a sea of heavy.
But with the holidays, came a new challenge. I had edited and reviewed some textbooks earlier in the year for both a colleague at work as well as a health text to examine the potential to use it in Business Management/Studies.
Getting an email from Blake Publishing, there was a new and exciting world opening up. Would I be interested in writing a new teacher text for Business Concepts? Hell yes I would.
I have always loved developing new units for my classes and seeing something start with just and idea and developing through reading, research and time so I thought, "Why not?!" This would soon be a thought I would come to detest, regret but ultimately, be proud of as I saw the completion in early-mid November.
So with school holidays started, I headed away to a place that would hopefully start the writing process and prove fruitful - Glenmaggie.
For those that don't know, my family has a holiday house down in Gippsland over Lake Glenmaggie. Whilst I don't visit it as often as I would like, it is truly beautiful. It is a place that is serene (how's that serenity...) and holds many wonderful memories. It was purchased in 1999 when I was in year 8 as a run down house a home handyman had had his way with. Since then, it has been extended, walls moved, decking redone and painted in the traditional "Haynes cream and burgundy" colour scheme (all our houses, factories and holidays houses have received the same treatment at one time or another!). In the mornings, there are cockatoos and King parrots waiting to be fed on the back deck, a resident echidna that can be seen sometimes when not hiding in the burrow under the gazebo and bushlands you can walk through up behind the old church on the hill.
There is also the water of course. Freezing cold during the first skiing weekend (traditionally Melbourne Cup weekend), it becomes a refuge for the scorching Victorian summers and many a fun time has been had in the boat, being towed on biscuits, being idiots on the pool ponies with matching inflatable shields and swords or simply floating on the doughnuts with a drink in hand under the tree in the shady, shallow end of the lake at the end of the street.
As well as this, it has also been a venue of some of the best times with friends. From the infamous "Pride and Prejudice" study weekend with J. Coleman, J. Dapiran and M. Wright as we finished year 12 (a weekend of drinks and Austen - what a combination!) to the more recent Girl's Weekends with work mates - times of upskilling with makeup courses by S. Peaple, poached egg lessons from S. Haughey, pilates and workouts from K. Williams, wine appreciation by E. Foulds, cross stitching from K. Wilson, psychological advice from C. Eldridge, pedicures from V. Dennis and guitar lessons from myself all being brought to the table.
Here are some photo highlights of Glenmaggie for all to enjoy.
But with the holidays, came a new challenge. I had edited and reviewed some textbooks earlier in the year for both a colleague at work as well as a health text to examine the potential to use it in Business Management/Studies.
Getting an email from Blake Publishing, there was a new and exciting world opening up. Would I be interested in writing a new teacher text for Business Concepts? Hell yes I would.
I have always loved developing new units for my classes and seeing something start with just and idea and developing through reading, research and time so I thought, "Why not?!" This would soon be a thought I would come to detest, regret but ultimately, be proud of as I saw the completion in early-mid November.
So with school holidays started, I headed away to a place that would hopefully start the writing process and prove fruitful - Glenmaggie.
For those that don't know, my family has a holiday house down in Gippsland over Lake Glenmaggie. Whilst I don't visit it as often as I would like, it is truly beautiful. It is a place that is serene (how's that serenity...) and holds many wonderful memories. It was purchased in 1999 when I was in year 8 as a run down house a home handyman had had his way with. Since then, it has been extended, walls moved, decking redone and painted in the traditional "Haynes cream and burgundy" colour scheme (all our houses, factories and holidays houses have received the same treatment at one time or another!). In the mornings, there are cockatoos and King parrots waiting to be fed on the back deck, a resident echidna that can be seen sometimes when not hiding in the burrow under the gazebo and bushlands you can walk through up behind the old church on the hill.
There is also the water of course. Freezing cold during the first skiing weekend (traditionally Melbourne Cup weekend), it becomes a refuge for the scorching Victorian summers and many a fun time has been had in the boat, being towed on biscuits, being idiots on the pool ponies with matching inflatable shields and swords or simply floating on the doughnuts with a drink in hand under the tree in the shady, shallow end of the lake at the end of the street.
As well as this, it has also been a venue of some of the best times with friends. From the infamous "Pride and Prejudice" study weekend with J. Coleman, J. Dapiran and M. Wright as we finished year 12 (a weekend of drinks and Austen - what a combination!) to the more recent Girl's Weekends with work mates - times of upskilling with makeup courses by S. Peaple, poached egg lessons from S. Haughey, pilates and workouts from K. Williams, wine appreciation by E. Foulds, cross stitching from K. Wilson, psychological advice from C. Eldridge, pedicures from V. Dennis and guitar lessons from myself all being brought to the table.
Here are some photo highlights of Glenmaggie for all to enjoy.
The venue itself: the Haynes house at Glenmaggie aka "Griswold Manor"
The venue from the back deck. The view of the lake and the wildlife are spectacular.
Australia Day weekend, 2009:
J. Coleman and I discussing the merits of cooking spray to get into wakeboard bindings. The wetsuits, whilst hideous in colour, have almost become a family heirloom as we have had them as long as I can remember!!!
Getting ready for a day on the lake - sunny weather ahoy!
J. Coleman and I indulging in a favourite hobby - relaxing with some drinks in the shallows. You can't see it, but an inflatable boat full of ice and drinks is roped to us. Glorious!
The most recent girl's weekend - going for a stroll through the bushland.
Intense Scrabble game between S. Peaple, J. Rankine and S. Porrino over the last Glenmaggie girl's weekend.
But this Glenmaggie trip was one of work. With plans to start the book and get a solid week's writing in, I headed down to the lake. Stopping by S. Haughey's skating competition before we headed off, I was joined by the lovely V. Dennis on my expedition. Happy to take on the role of "tea bitch/slave" as I called it, the next week was one of many ups and downs.
Unfortunately, doubt plagued me as I started to write. Going off a brief is tough work in itself (as the name suggests, it is BRIEF!!!), but the doubt I was doing the right thing, doing what the publishers wanted etc. was horrible. As V. Dennis and S. Haughey (always in close contact through improved mobile reception) can attest, writing came slowly and painfully. The hardest part is trying to develop resources that can be accesed by every student and helps teach an entire concept in one page.
This book, if I haven't explained it before, is not designed as a textbook. It is instead and additional resource for teachers that contains basically hundreds of worksheets and activities to teach the concepts textbooks talk about. This is done with the assistance of short video clips and interactive content.
So by day two, I was a mess. I would like to blame the remnants of term three still at this point. Having sent of half a dozen pages for feedback to make sure I was heading in the right direction, I almost wanted to email back and simply say, "I don't want to do this anymore. Sorry." However, the lovely V. Dennis extended her "tea bitch" duties and treated me to a massage at the local beauty spa - massively appreciated. It was just after this, my phone dinged with the following email...
If that is not good feedback, I don't know what is!!!
So with motivation that I wasn't all together a shithouse author, the pace picked up and the writing solidly continued for the next six days. A BIG thank you at this point must go out to V. Dennis for well and truly fulfilling her "tea bitch" duties. The tea flow was constant, the conversation divine, the DJing from the iPod speakers kept me moving and the food (including copious amounts of chocolate) was almost as constant as the tea!
Returning home, I was straight off to QLD for a week of true frivolity with S. Haughey and S. Porrino. The drive from Brisbane to Airlie Beach was spectacular and I am truly grateful for choosing Camberwell and getting to meet these two women in 2008. What a spectacular draft! The writing was minimal here, but some still occurred.
However, with a deadline looming, I wrote constantly upon my return. At work, after school, during class, during lunch, on weekends, well after midnight. There were times I fell asleep with pages still open on my laptop, times I woke at 3am and wrote because my brain wouldn't turn off. I even resorted to a personal day (five a year for teachers to use when required) to WORK - kind of sick really.
This is NOT what a personal day should look like... Surrounded by textbooks and the like.
'However, on 12th November, the book in its first draft form was finally completed. 130 pages of content and 30,715 words were emailed off to Blake Publishing.
From now, a small amount of editing and tidying is required then it is a MASSIVE part of my year completed. Unfortunately, this has meant the goal "work smarter, not harder" was officially BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER!!! A goal for next year perhaps (although I doubt it!).
So by term 2 next year, a business studies text will be available that will have my name on it (along with one other author). A massive achievement and one I am extremely proud of. However, it is one I could not have done alone. I must thank everyone who supported me through this. Everyone who asked how it was going, picked up my slack at work, understood when I replied to a text with "I can't, I need to write pages." or the likes. Most notably, the work of S. Haughey and her notorious "Pages?" texts that bombarded me and made sure I was keeping to the quotas I set myself each day and week. Whilst at times, the message tone on my phone caused a sinking feeling because I knew what it would say, the support all the important people in my life gave me during this writing process was so important - I couldn't have done it without you.
This gratitude also goes to my family who lovingly asked how it was going, asked about the book, made tea for me, moved tables into the shade for me so I could write outside instead for a change of scenery or simply left me to work with headphones in.
Whilst not always a pleasant experience (yes, there was plenty of shitty cracks and tears), it is one I will do again if the opportunity arises. I am proud of myself for this one and whilst not an official goal (I mean, I had no idea this would be happening at the start of the year), it is definitely a massive step in my career and future aspirations.
Hopefully there are people that find my text useful and help them to teach students better. If that is the mark I leave of teaching by doing this, I will be happy. :)
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