There is the story that someone is admitted to Hell and is allowed their choice – one choice, and for ever – of punishment. It’s all very Hieronymous Bosch until the man finds a room in which everyone is sitting around drinking tea. The only drawback seems to be that the residents of this particular circle of the Inferno are knee deep in the worst floods of human waste. The stench is appalling but they are sitting about drinking tea.
“Well,” thinks this man, ” of all the punishments I have seen, this one seems the least horrendous.” And he opts for it.
“Are you sure?” he is asked. The man nods. He is ushered in, the door is shut, he is given a cup of tea to drink.
He takes only one sip, when a klaxon sounds, and a demonic voice calls out, “OK, everyone, back on your heads.”
And here we are, all back on our heads (if you like), back to it, with marking and staffing and curriculum design taking up all our time, and brain space being picked at by God-awful news from the wider world. We know it’s the same with schools, where colleagues are beleaguered, over-worked, victims of the “can you just?” request (as in “can you just write the governors a paper on…” “could I ask you just to set up meetings with the parents?” &c., &c.). It is therefore something of a joy to come across Miss Smith’s clever and positive blog post: Teaching is Wonderful. Read it. Enjoy it. Warm up January.
nicktomjoe 