![]() ![]() I confessed further ignorance, only to be told that I have missed out on the televisual event of the century. I was momentarily disadvantaged, so he carried on. “Ah goat the highest number o’ cricket ba’s thrown at ma ba’s, sur,” he decreed proudly. “And what, pray tell, did that entail?” I enquired of our champion. I pleaded an ignorance which was absolute, whereupon Simon explained proudly that he had won the jackass competition during their idyllic country retreat. “How d’ye know? Did Mr McManus tell ye, surr? Did he?” It was a rather old-fashioned term (so I thought), but one which hit immediate resonance. It all began when I upbraided Simon Sheridan over an inappropriate answer he had given, calling him a jackass. Meanwhile, my third year class gave me serious cause for alarm today when they revealed the goings-on that had taken place during their Easter holiday Outward Bound mission with “Coarse Davie”, our libidinous and rudely-spoken prinicpal teacher of biology. So far, not a single pupil has turned up, but I’m hopeful of improved numbers the closer we get to judgment day. I am holding last-minute lunchtime revision sessions for my Higher classes as they prepare for their imminent Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations. This last is most evident in our bottom tier first year maths stream, where the ability is certainly mixed: six pupils at 5-14 level C, 15 at level B, six at level A and three rendered non-classified. Consequently, last week’s headline proclaimed us to be leading educational practitioners because we are “an establishment enabling both streaming and setting practices at the same time, as well as allowing the full fruits of mixed ability teaching to flower where appropriate.” ![]() That’s a moot educational point if ever there was one.įortunately, few among the general public understand either of the terms, and Ms McShane certainly doesn’t. Last week he had the national press (in the guise of Sara McShane, his “poodle” journalist) reporting that we have both streamed and set our junior classes at Greenfield Academy for the past two years and that standards have consequently rocketed in S1 and S2. Richard Dick, our oleaginous headteacher, has pulled yet another media relations stunt. Recent press reports claim that “a national survey has confirmed” that one or other of these previously discredited theories is now in the vanguard of educational reform. The “streaming” and “setting” wheel has turned full circle for what seems the umpteenth time in my career.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |