Killer Recipe: Sticky Date Slice with Caramel Sauce

OK, so I had to make this for Christmas Day dessert, and I lost the recipe... only finding it at the last minute, phew! But now I am typing it here, so I will never lose it again:

Sticky Date Slice with Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
60g butter, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g fresh dates, pitted and chopped
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/4 cups boiling water

- Cream sugar and butter with electric mixer for 5-8min
- Add eggs, beat well
- Sift flour and baking powder, add to mixture
- Place dates in separate bowl with bicarb soda, pour over boiling water and stand for 1 min
- Then add date mixture to butter mixture, it will be very runny but this is fine
- Pour mixture into lamington tin lined with baking paper
- Bake in 180 degrees over for 30min or until springy
- Serve with caramel sauce

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
100g butter, chopped
1/2 cup cream

- Melt butter and sugar over low heat
- Add cream and stil for 5min or until mixture thickens

From: Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 26, March/April 2006

yummy! Happy Christmas 2008!

And to another (completely different) subject...

I have been reading an awesome book called 'Seven Days in the Art World' by Sarah Thornton.

I am trying not to devour it whole in 2 days, but already I have many pages dogeared so I can write down some quotes, and that place is here. So... just in case I ever get round to attempting an MFA... or is writing down quotes an old habit, or...?

'Mary Kelly used to think it was depressing that so few students could sustain themselves as full time artists, but then she realized 'it is not sad at all. I believe in education for its own sake, because it is deeply humanizing. It is about being a fulfilled human being.'

'Criticality is a strategy for the production of knowledge, our view is that art should interrogate the social and cultural ideas of its time. Other places might want a work to produce pleasure or feelings. Criticality is the code word for a modelof art-making that foregrounds research and analysis rather than instincts and intuition.'

Christmas Booty

Well there ain't no cash bonus from the government when it comes to teaching but it is surely a wonderful time of year for all of us that are valued by their students and colleagues.
I ahem - work in an affluent suburb of Sydney, and I have been overwhelmed by wonderful gifts and handmade cards. Here is a sample of the booty! (Mainly so I don't forget about all of the beautiful things I have received, no particular order):

- Westfield voucher for $250
- Massive, massive bunch of flowers from Pearsons (Lilies, roses, lizzies, and something I will refer to as 'brain flowers.') !
- Bottle of Croser champagne
- Over 1kg of Ferrero Rocher chocolates in various forms
- A box of 'Lindt Selection' chocolates that is bigger than a dinner plate
- Simon Johnson truffle oil (awesome!!)
- Kiehls body products (was just running out of shower gel...)
- A beautiful bunch of delicate pink Dahlias from Summers floral, Woollahra (my favourite!)
- A turquoise butterfly brooch (these kids listen...)
- An amethyst bracelet (LOVE crystals)
- A new coffee cup
- A whole teaset (somewhere to put my cake as WELL?)

Plus a whole mound of cards saying lovely things that I can barely stand to read! One student even wrote me a three verse poem!

I am blessed, I am blessed. I keep wanting to sob!! How my life has changed (for the better) these last few years.]

Love and light, love and light. xx

The Interview Process, Public School Style

OK, so I went for a few DET NSW interviews.

This is what happens (and here are a few tips!)

- The interview day and time is non-negotiable. They tell YOU when they want to see you. Be ready, and say yes!!
- When you get to the interview, you have a further 10min to prepare. The office ladies will bring out a list of the questions that you will be asked. You are allowed to make notes. You have every right to be ask to sit in a quiet place or empty office to answer your questions. (sometimes the office staff are a bit clueless about this!)
- In the interview you will be infront of a panel of three people. Generally: the principal, a teacher at the school, and a parent/ union representative.
- Try and answer each question on three levels: One for the principal, one for the teacher, one for the parent / union rep.
- Generally, the interview will take 30min - 1 hour
- Generally, the panel will not divert from the questions given.
- At the end, they will ask something like: Is there anything else you would like to add? Try and finish it with a bang!!

I will talk about interview tips another time, but this is a general overview.

x

Addressing Position Criteria: Boy's Education

I will be having an interview tomorrow at a private boys school, and of course the words are there inside me...

But one must learn to harness the energy of the concepts in order to discuss it appropriately at interview...

So here are a few notes submitted to 'The Inquiry into Boy's Education' in 2000.

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/eofb/subs/sub65.pdf

Happy reading!

The DET job application process, so... what happens?!

I have been applying for permanent teaching positions at the jobs@det website for about 2 or 3 months. When I first started, it all seemed like a mystery!

At this stage of the game, only 10% of all available teaching jobs in NSW are advertised. The other 90% of jobs are given to that mysterious employment program that involves you being given a number and waiting for it to get to the top of the list. After teaching for 5 years, I need to say don't sit around and wait.

And although much of it remains mysterious (and I still don't have a permanent job) here is a rundown of (in my experience) what happens when you apply for a teaching job via the jobs@det website:

- You see the job on the jobs@det website. You apply.
- The three days after the due date are the important days. This, I believe, is when you are going to get an idea if you really are being considered for the job or not.
- If you are being considered, your references will be called before you are spoken to. They may let another day or two pass after speaking to references before they speak to you about interview or reject you.
- If you are rejected you will be sent an email.
- If you are not rejected, you will be called. I have found that most of these calls take place at lunchtime or after work (3-6:30pm.)
- If you are called to interview the interview will then normally take place in the following 3-5 days.

Lately I have been told that each advertised job is getting between 85-120 applications. You should feel very proud if you make it to interview!

Teacher shortage, huh?

Addressing Position Criteria: Gender Education Strategy

I have more job interviews to go to, and with that comes more reading...

Ever wondered where to find the official word on gender equity in NSW education?
These days it's called 'The Boys and Girls Education Strategy.'

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/schoolsgender/learning/yrk12focusareas/gendered/yr2008/strategy.pdf

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/yrk12focusareas/gendered/index.php

I could make all sorts of comments about this, but I'll just leave it til I get a permanent job.

You just gotta know about this stuff for interviews.

Playing the waiting game

Playing the waiting in game in teaching ends up being more like a juggling game. And to be deeply honest about it, it also makes me sick!

I have been worrying about my 2009 job situation since coming back from holidays and starting Term 4 (as I have every year.) At that stage there is never much to do about it other than worry, it usually starts for me with a bit of interrupted sleep, and some negative scary thoughts that are easy to divert because life is too busy!!

This is paired with the very liberating thoughts of 'if I could do anything at work, what would it be?' And for me, it usually comes back to 'doing exactly the job I'm doing now, just better!'

And so my mind flips back and forth.

And then it gets more intense. It got particularly more intense for me last week because I found out on one day that infact my current job wasn't being continued next year (the first time since I began teaching 5 years ago.)

And then the very next day I went for a job interview that I really liked, and gulp, I'd really like to have the job - it's just that I haven't found out yet whether I was successful, one way or the other.

It's like my feet are in concrete, and my mind just can't rest!! I have trouble concentrating, sleeping, and focusing on any particular moment.

And in the meantime, do I apply for more jobs? Get my casual CV ready? I mean, I like to have all bases covered but this feels a bit ridiculous, the interview appeared to go really well.

So here I am juggling. My feelings are all up in the air and I'd love to see where they land. I am basically coming to a point where I feel very fatigued and exhausted from the ongoing struggle.

There is no headhunting for NSW teachers (ha ha!), no agent to act upon my behalf. I have to literally get in the car and get myself to the front desk of practically every school I'd like to work at - sort of a misuse of resources, because at many schools, the front office staff are not even the people who employ casuals, it's just to 'be seen making the effort.'

I hope I just find out soon about this permanent job - someone please put me out of my misery. I'm sort of embarrassed that so many people at my current work know about my current situation as well, and I'll feel a bit weird if I fail, it can be a pretty judgmental environment at times.

I don't normally air this sort of thing on my blog, but I put it here for a couple of reasons. Mainly, so I will be able to look back and laugh when everything is OK. Secondly, there are so many good teachers in my situation at this time of the year, and it's nice putting it out there, so nobody feels on their own in the midst of madness!