My Summer Reading List

Though I haven't really been reading much of late, I have been gathering in books and now I have finally started them. I have Andy Murray to thank. When I watch his matches, I get so nervous that I have to leave the living room and do something else. It is so warm here at the moment that I have been going out in the garden to read. Cliff brings me regular reports on the action so I don't get too anxious... and I read.

So, here's my list:

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Airman by Eoin Colfer
The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Black Money by Ross Macdonald
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Information Society: a study of continuity and change by John Feather
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
August Heat by Andrea Camilleri
A Cure for All Diseases by Reginald Hill (finished today)
Outcasts United by Warren St. John

A strange group of books, if I don't say so myself! I said earlier that I hadn't been reading of late but that isn't entirely true. I have been very tired and stressed out so my reading has tended towards escapist, recreational literature. Some who know me, know that I'm a detective fiction fan and so I have been working my way through the books of Andrea Camilleri, the most famous Italian fiction writer. The stories take place in Sicily and have a wonderful sense of place and equally wonderful descriptions of food!

A Week On

It has been a week since staff were no longer required to be in school, and I have been there every day except Wednesday when I went to Windsor with Chloe! Are you mad, someone said to me when I told them and no, I'm not. I have spent this week completely reorganizing the library and sorting through. It has been very hard work but the library is beginning to look really good. I will try to take photographs but since I don't have any before photos, it probably wouldn't mean anything to anyone but me...I may do it anyway!

The last day

The last day is not today, it's tomorrow. However, I thought I'd make some pre-event comments. For most of the staff tomorrow will be their last day with our head of school. You can already feel a loosening of the bonds. It's rather exciting but there is also an air of disbelief. Perhaps we will all get excited about this and she will will suddenly jump up and say, " Gottcha!" So, I don't imagine that people will be overly demonstrative until a lot later. They haven't found a replacement for her yet so isn't it conceivable that she will be asked to stay on for one more year. There is a president for this.

I have been organizing a tea for those staff members who were retiring this year: the school receptionist, a chemistry teacher, a special needs support teacher and one of the librarians. Within days of sending out the invitations, circulating cards to be signed and collecting money, the chemistry teacher had been asked to delay her retirement for one more year. What to do? Well I told her that this was it for retirement parties and that she wouldn't get one next year. That was fine with her and we went ahead with our plans. Today, just hours before the tea, I heard that the special needs teacher had also been asked to put off her retirement because her replacement had decided not to come. Do you see why I think that Moyra may still come back?

The anticipation that she might make such an announcement could almost convince me to go to the end of year barbecue. No, not really! Nothing could convince me to do that. While insincerity, hypocrisy and the smell of burnt burgers and chicken fill the air, I will be sipping pimms and eating lunch on the banks of the Thames with a few like-minded friends.

Forgiveness

My head of school is leaving. She is quite the most despicable person I have ever met. For whatever reason, she hurts people. So many people have been damaged by her that there must be a huge cloud of negative karma hanging over the school. Alas!

What is truly amazing in the lead up to her departure, is the number of people who, having openly talked about how much they dislike her, are now writing touching best wishes in her farewell card. So, my question for today is two-fold. Is this hypocrisy or or have they forgiven her. If forgiveness is involved, why do I find it so hard to believe?

I'm not going into a religious or philosophical discussion of forgiveness. However, I will say that I don't think I have forgiven her for what she has done to so many. Then again, perhaps I have, since I no longer feel angry towards her. It might have something to do with the writing of my murder mystery. In it I had a character based on her who I killed her off at the beginning and then spent the rest of the novel trying to decide who of many might have killed her. I certainly felt a lot better after the first 5 chapters. One day I might finish it off.

What does this say about me? I'm trying to work that one out!

A Victory of sorts!

Well, it has been decided! We are now the languages department! Not the World languages department! Now I would like to try and introduce Latin before I step down as head of department. It is a language...but unfortunately, MYP (Middle Years Programme of the IB) don't let you teach it because it is neither a language A (native languages) nor a language B (another language you are learning to speak). Alas!

Someone suggested that we consider text as a language. An interesting idea! Since we are trying to encourage students as mentors, we could have them mentor teachers. I am really warming to this idea.

World Languages

I was walking with Naomi yesterday and told her about my department's impending name change.  We discussed 'World Languages' and she pointed out that some languages are not.  I hadn't thought that 'world' might suggest that a language was spoken all over the globe in which case that reduces the number of languages which might be taught in my department.  I hadn't considered introducing Icelandic but one never knows.  However, you couldn't consider it a language spoken world-wide.  The way things are going, French may be in that category one day, but not Spanish.   The rise in the Spanish speaking population in the United States for example is quite considerable.

Now this is something else to ponder and it will certainly become one of my arguments for leaving well enough alone!

A Week of Madness!

One of the lessons I have learned while working at my school is that some people have far too much time on their hands (obviously not the teachers) but that this time is in no way related to considered thought. If it were, no one would be able to come out with an email suggesting that we change the name of my department from modern languages to something else because they think that the word modern suggests that other languages may not be. Of course, it is true. Some languages are not. In fact, some are ancient or classical. Am I stating the obvious? I certainly feel that I am.

However, someone with too much time on their hands, thinks that because we only teach French and Spanish in grades 1 through 10 and that we call our department Modern languages that we are somehow suggesting that all the others aren't. Oh my! What sort of logic is that? Rather, we might want to consider why we only teach two of the thousands of modern languages that there are in the world.

So, what do they want to call the department? The World languages department, of course! Now, what I'm trying to work out is what non-world languages might there be? Do we have non-terrestrial languages? Klingon or Ferengi, perchance? Well, some say that math is a language and certainly, there are computer languages but is it likely that we will confuse French and Spanish with those if we don't use the word 'world'? Do I even need to answer that?

The silly season is upon us early this year and I expect more to come.