You ever have one of those days where everything goes just as it should, but all the little things irritate you? Like the rough edge of a finger nail catching on things or a tiny stone in your shoe you just can't shake loose, something tiny hangs around in your brain and puts a damper on all the stuff that went right, all the things you did well, and everything that made you feel good about what went before.

So here are the broken down bits of my day:

The good thing, the thing must first status today (sometimes students are good for the soul), was about the two wonderful, blissful, year 10 (freshmen) lessons that i taught back to back, and the 300 good words i wrote during break in between. the lesson was all about writing specifications, the words were about Clem telling... (SPOILER), and all was right with the world.

So over lunch i decide to start a list of marking comments to have made up into stickers to make the whole process easier (because how many times do I need to write "please expand your annotations by referring to the ACCESSFM sheet in your book" by hand when 1/3 of the class haven't done it right?). While I was doing this I realised that it would be good to have these things as a department, and went to seek permission and input from my Head of Department.

And then in an after school meeting, I had to watch him lay claim to my idea. Entirely. Granted, it wasn't my first ever original idea, it was shown to us in a INSET session on marking and feedback I attended, but he took credit for starting the list and getting these stickers organised, despite the fact this is i) untrue, and ii) I'll be the one sending them to repro-graphics.

And then I realised (my second status for the day) that lots of people can have good idea, because I believe him when he said he was thinking of doing it too, but very few people ever actually act on them.

It struck a chord with me because, with NaNoWriMo having ended, I look around the NanoBrighton forum and see dozens of good ideas lying at the wayside, abandoned because their owners could not do what they set out to. One of these is an ML's, people who are upheld as our 'leaders' in each region, many are those who claim to be 'writers' having never finished or made public a single thing.

So I'll forgive my HoD for stealing my credit, because it's better than a kick in the teeth, and I pity him for having so little get up and go of his own.