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Elbee wrote: |
The Prefects always seem to be helping with younger years' games lessons, supervising prep, being sent to St Mildred's with messages from/for the Heads, being told that as they have a free period they can come and help with this or that. |
Caroline wrote: |
Yes,
I reckon In This Day And Age, only the Lower Sixth (with no external
exams to worry them) would be allowed to be Prefects. They would all
have to resign when they went into the Upper Sixth.
|
jennifer wrote: |
I'm
not familiar with the prefect system in reality, but the prefects
supervise prep, supervise snack time, generally act as a dormitory
prefect, act as additional supervision on walks and while skiing, are
expected to help coach tennis and other sports if not in class, and
have their special duties (keeping the art room tidy, running the
school bank, editing the school magazine), and their additional sixth
form special coaching, plus playing on school teams. I'm surprised they sleep. And some of these girls are only 16. What would normal prefect duties be at a boarding school? |
jennifer wrote: |
What would normal prefect duties be at a boarding school? |
Caroline wrote: |
I'd suggest they never have a sufficient staff to student ratio on rambles or expeditions to ensure proper supervision, and there's no formal risk assessment before excursions. |
jennifer wrote: |
What would normal prefect duties be at a boarding school? |
francesn wrote: |
I don't think health and safety really meant much at the CS - I never saw anyone wearing goggles in science! |
Lottie wrote: |
We never wore goggles for science either, and we used asbestos mats over our Bunsen burners, and played with mercury, by rolling balls of it round the bench with our hands. |
Kate wrote: |
I wouldn't have thought Matey's doses were anything stronger than Aspirin.... EBD does seem to think that Aspirin helps sleep, as she does reference it directly at times. So I don't think Matey is giving out heavy narcotics or anything. |
Ray wrote: |
Thing
is, though, most of these are bad by *TODAY'S* standards, not
necessarily bad by the standards of the time EBD was writing in. Ray *aware this might be a tad unpopular* |
Katherine wrote: |
realistically how far can you take checks? Do you run a CRB check on the parents of your child’s friends before you let them visit for tea? |
jennifer wrote: |
Psychology is another - homesick or grieving students are told to buck up and not be wusses, and the attitude is that they should be glad to be at the school. Odette Mercier springs to mind as someone who needs psychological evaluation. The school's idea of psychological evaluation and counselling is siccing Joey on the girls |
jennifer wrote: |
Unqualified teachers would be another. Madge starts the school and teaches English subjects with only a high school background. Joey substitute teaches on multiple occasions with the same, once while 17 years old. Miss Denny teaches half the courses on the qualification of having spent a few years in Italy. |
Quote: |
Unqualified teachers would be another |
Kathy_S wrote: |
I'd also agree with Ray that car occupancy and supervision norms were very different not so long ago. We regularly had 7 in a seat that today would be limited to 3, |
Quote: |
It wasn't uncommon for one teacher to supervise 40 children on her own, |
dorian wrote: |
I remember that, too - my primary school had 8 classes, 4 classrooms, and 4 teachers. With about 20 kids in each class, each teacher was having to deal with 40 children - teaching one set of 20 while still keeping half an eye on the other 20. ::shudder:: |
Jennie wrote: |
A teacher who regularly loses his temper and throws things? |
Dawn wrote: | ||
I can remember a teacher who just to chuck the wooden blackboard eraser at people if she didn't think they were paying attention. And we were about 8 or 9 at the time |
Ray wrote: |
Particularly things like squeezing people into cars: It was a lot easier even just twenty years ago, with no rear seat belts. We could (had we wanted to!) have got at least five people in the back of one of my father's cars without even trying - we certainly *DID* get four very muddy boys in there (each one sitting on his own plastic bag!), plus their assorted school bags and kit. |
Fiona Mc wrote: |
There's a very humourous email going around about this very topic. It basically congratulates you for surviving your childhood if you were born pre-80's as there were no such things as seatbelts and kids ran around getting into everything. |
Alison H wrote: |
We never seem to see anyone at the CS discussing their career plans, or even which subjects they should take in the VIth form, with a mistress. |
Tara wrote: |
As
for careers advice, it was totally pants when I was at school (mid
60s), if you were female you were advised to be a secretary, nurse or
teacher.
It's much more varied now, and they try hard and are good about further ed etc, but it still doesn't seem quite to meet students' needs, not sure what goes wrong. |
Tara wrote: |
As for careers advice, it was totally pants when I was at school (mid 60s), if you were female you were advised to be a secretary, nurse or teacher. |
Clare wrote: |
We
did something like aptitude tests (answered a load of questions and it
told us what job we were best suited to). The careers advisor came in
and made a huge deal over the fact somebody's test said they should
become a careers advisor. Then, she hands the sheets back and still
buzzing over 'careers advisor' was on the top of someone's sheet (oh
it's not you' 'it definitely wans't you!' etc), and shrieks for the
whole class "Oh I just knew you were going to be a careers advisor
Clare!"
Yeah... 'Cos I make my choice on what a TEST tells me! She deflated when I said that there wasn't enough money in the world to make me do her job. |
Lexi wrote: |
We had something similar, but it was a very long, very slow computer program. According to it, my ideal job was bus conductor |
Tara wrote: |
As for careers advice, it was totally pants when I was at school (mid 60s), if you were female you were advised to be a secretary, nurse or teacher. |
Clare wrote: |
I'd love to see a CS risk assessment before they take the girls out on a trip. Might try and get a form and do that as a drabble one day... |
Kathy_S wrote: |
They were still mouth pipetting solvents and passing mercury from hand to hand in the early 1970s, and yes, I was told in 1979 by my first attempt at a Ph.D. advisor that "Women can't be scientists," though there might be a chance of a lower level position if I avoided marriage. |
Dawn wrote: | ||
I left school in 78 and we were still mouth pipetting acids and alkalies then |
Dawn wrote: |
Matty however has spent the last few open days at his school helping in the chemistry department by setting his hand on fire Apparently the head wasn't too enthusiastic when he saw what was going on and declined Matty's kind offer to set fire to his hand |
Chair wrote: |
ETA: I have just looked the drabble up in the archives - I have too much spare time! The drabble was written by Katarzyna. The drabble you're looking for is called 'The Chalet School Goes to Court'. |
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