Re: Covid-19 discussion thread
Just to add to the teaching question of whether teachers are better or worse than they used to be, I can only judge on the basis of my experiences as a pupil. I was at secondary school between 1976 and 81. Our headmaster was tough but fair, if you hadn't broken any rules you were fine. Though question his authority and you would know about it. One lunchtime I had gone into town with friends and bought chips with my dinner money. I should have been in the school hall buying my dinner and I was caught by a teacher on playground duty and told to report to the headmaster's office.
I was petrified as I knocked on his door and this booming voice said 'come in'. He asked why I was in his office so I told him. He bellowed 'do you want me to phone your mother boy?' Probably the worst thing he could have suggested so I promised not to go into town again and he let me off with a warning. But this same man would be dressing up as Santa Claus at Christmas.
The deputy head was a different matter. Looking back now I'm sure he must have been sociopathic. He would rage at boys until they burst into tears, always walking along the corridors swinging his cane. My maths teacher was cruel, delighting in humiliating boys in front of the class, which would occasionally be me as maths wasn't my best subject. Then when he'd got halfway through a calculation on the blackboard he'd ask me to finish it.
But my English teacher was brilliant, always encouraging me and he was instrumental in getting me promoted to the top set. I can honestly say though that I hated school, no cosy memories there for me.
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'It was a wedding ring, destined to be found in a cheap hotel, lost in a kitchen sink, or thrown in a wishing well' - Marillion, Clutching at Straws, 1987