B@~#dy C#@*sework!

Anyone else suffering Edexcel coursework at the moment? At our place they like the students to have their own tray with all of their own equipment and reagents contained within. Each student provides a list which I then have to provide... the logistics of having 14 large trays knocking about our tiny crowded area is one thing... getting them filled in between lessons is a feat worthy of Hercules...

The lists they provide are always woefully inadequate in any case and, since I'm not supposed to think for them, this necessitates me running around getting them stuff when they suddenly realise that its a bit tricky measuring half a cm3 of pepsin with a 100cm3 measuring cylindar. Truth to tell I've generally pre-empted their shortcomings and got the stuff stashed close by... but it makes for a frantic half an hour as they get set up anyhow.

And can anyone tell me how you get sodium alginate to dissolve in a hurry? I hate this stuff with a passion, even more than agar, the devil's own media... It takes an age and the patience of a saint to make up and then it sticks to everything... absolutely everything.

On top of this I've got all the normal pracs for the lower years. Year 10 are doing microscopes... not one of them could find an elephant on a slide without help... and my lab assistant is ill. Lab assistant is the worst job title for what she actually does... without her I'm like a dog with a bone tied to its tail... I spend all day chasing it.

C'est le vie...
S

Introduction

This is a blog for those unsung heroes of the prep room, for everyone that's been out picking leaves at 6am just so some kids can rip them apart and fail to make any sense out of their appearence under the microscope, or wondered how it's physically possible for them to make _that_ much mess out of such a simple experiment.

I'm Saz, I work at an independent school teaching 11 - 19 year olds. I've been a Biology technician for 3 and a bit years, having spent a decade or so in the relative sanctity of industrial and commercial laboratories.

My colleagues, either fascinated or fed up with being regaled by the trials and tribulations of my job, suggested that I should share my experiences with you in blogland who have suffered similar indignations.

Right, must go set up some photosynthesis experiments. Speak to you soon.

Saz