Today, my father-in-law was cremated. He had passed away the Friday prior. Read full post…

I went to New Plymouth for the first time yesterday with my partner, a friend, and one of their daughters. Here are the highlights. Read full post…

Steve Jobs said not everybody will need a PC/laptop form factor, likening them to trucks. Rather, people will gravitate towards smartphones and tablets, likening them to cars. Not everybody needs a truck, most people can do with a car. But some of us need something heavier duty than a car so we have truck. Read full post…

I run a Discord server where some ex-students keep in touch, let me know what's going on with their lives, and just shoot the breeze. Right now, it's a hive of activity, which is really nice. It's nice seeing students from years gone by interacting with each other openly, freely, regardless of when they were in my class. Read full post…

National, Act, NZ First.
Awful. Read full post…

This blog post comes in two, tangentially related parts. Read full post…

Subtitle: A trip to Japan as depicted by feet in front of various manhole covers. Read full post…

Tomorrow, I will be attending a memorial service for an ex-student who passed away. Read full post…

I hate being a teacher, sometimes. Part of the job means building a relationships with students. That means showing whanaungatanga. That implies aroha. That implies a level of care beyond the academics, beyond grades, beyond awards. You want to see them grow and succeed as though they were part of your own whānau, your own family, your own children. Read full post…

It was always going to be a long shot that the coalition government would come to the table with a proper offer for the kaiako (teachers). Surprise, surprise, they didn’t. One percent raise over three years, lower than the rate of inflation, results in an effective pay cut. On average, kaiako are already paid quite a bit less than their counterparts over in Australia; certainly, quite a bit less than one minister thinks. Read full post…