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#1: Mistresses: New Teaching Staff Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:04 pm
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There are a number of new staff who join the school, with Miss Ferrars' entry being most detailed.

What do you think of the way the CS introduces new staff to the enviroment that they will be living and working in? Do all the staff seem to like the CS on arrival, or do clashes arise between the established way of doing things and new ideas and ways of teaching. Would the prospect of joining a team like the CS unnerve you? Do the old staff come across as welcoming to newcomers?

Last edited by jennifer on Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:54 am; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:14 am
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Miss Ferrars is obviously the one we see most of in that role - the others just tend to appear without comment. (Oh look, there's another one!") Kathie's difficulties all seem to stem from her not knowing the unwritten rules (e.g that you HAVE to give Mary-Lou special treatment !), which can be the hardest things to find out in any new environment.

I think the CS staff-room could be extremely intimidating given its assumption of certain things, even though individual staff members would be extremely welcoming. It's always hard for established figures to remember that newcomers do not know all the things that you take for granted, and do actually need to be told about them. And it sees itself as an extremely friendly place, so that if you didn't perceive it that way, then it must be your fault.

#3: Author: keren, Location: Israel

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:44 am
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Well actually, major new staff is Miss Bubb!

Some new staff are old girls coming back, we do see Biddy coming back she has an influence over Carola (I can't remember who else are old girls where we actually see them conming back)

#4: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:08 pm
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Old girls who return as mistresses are:

Eustacia (Stacie) Benson
Jo Bettany/Maynard
Hilary Burn
Mary Burnett
Peggy Burnett
Juliet Carrick
Grizel Cochrane
Rosalie Dene (does she count?)
Gillian Culver (does she count?)
Barbara Henschell (does she count?)
Simone Lecoutier
Frieda Mensch
Biddy O'Ryan
Kathie Robertson
Nancy Wilmot
Rosalind Yolland

#5: Author: macyrose, Location: Great White North (Canada)

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:03 pm
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When did Frieda teach?

#6: Author: Liz K, Location: Bedfordshire

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:58 pm
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Very briefly in Jo returns when Mademoiselle and Miss Stewart are taken ill, she comes to help with the languages but only very briefly, a matter of days, no more than a couple of weeks before her mother wants her to go home.

#7: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:04 pm
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keren wrote:

Some new staff are old girls coming back, we do see Biddy coming back she has an influence over Carola (I can't remember who else are old girls where we actually see them conming back)

There is an ongoing discussion of that kind of staff here Very Happy

#8: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:59 pm
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Liz K wrote:

Very briefly in Jo returns when Mademoiselle and Miss Stewart are taken ill, she comes to help with the languages but only very briefly, a matter of days, no more than a couple of weeks before her mother wants her to go home.

But I was sure that, if I didn't include her, someone would want to know why! *lol*

#9: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:16 am
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I think the CS staff genuinely tries to be welcoming, but I think it could be difficult for a new teacher to adapt to their idiosyncracies, particularly given the number of old girls on staff.

In the early days the school is fairly informal and relatively small, and they carry over some practices from those days into Switzerland that could be hard to deal with. For example, the school has an examination centre and puts emphasis on doing well, but classes are cancelled on short notice for walks, skiing and swimming, depending on the season. Similarly, Matey will drag girls out of class to reclean their dresser drawers, which as a teacher would really irritate me. Wait until after they are finished with the lecture to do housekeeping.

I'm surprised more mistresses that Miss Slater don't have problems with the language. Kathy mentions that the ad mentioned conversational French and German, which would not be sufficient for teaching geography and math in.

In Kathy's case, it's nice to see a closeup view of a new teacher, and I think she does very well. I also agree with her *initial* response to Mary-Lou. In the class she subs Mary-Lou is behaving innappropriately, answering questions directed towards other girls, and a good teacher would make an effort to keep her from dominating the class, as she could so easily do.

I think it would have been interesting to see more senior faculty hired from outside. In most cases they seem to hire fairly junior mistresses, without much outside experience, to raise up right. A competent and established teacher with a different technique for teaching would have been interesting to see adjust.

#10: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:32 am
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Gillian Linton also comes back to teach

#11: Author: Lisa A., Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:19 pm
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Even as a child I worried about Kathie's introduction to the school. At the staff meeting they said something like there was no point telling her anything about her class as they were all new to her, then left her to just get on with it in the classroom on the first day so that she was reduced to asking the girls what they were supposed to be doing. I think she handled it marvellously!

#12: Author: rae86, Location: Cornwall

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:35 pm
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I agree with Lisa - I've always thought it was odd that Miss Ferrars was put in the position of being told what to do by the students, and also that Miss Annersley checked that she could speak fluent French and German after school had started! I'd have thought she'd have had to at least prove at the interview that she could speak and write in German and French!

It must also have been quite daunting that she wasn't given any time or help with planning lessons before the term began, and that the class she taught was so varied - Len and Con were twelve, and some of the others were fifteen!

She wasn't told much about the routines of the school before she began either!

#13: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:35 pm
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I dare say that was all checked at the interview - but it was Miss Wilson who interviewed her, so probably Miss Annersley was just checking for her own peace of mind.

And perhaps the feeling was that, if Miss Ferrars was told about her students in a staff meeting, she would get prejudiced against some of them by comments that other mistresses would make.

#14: Author: Clare, Location: Liverpool

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:44 am
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KB wrote:

And perhaps the feeling was that, if Miss Ferrars was told about her students in a staff meeting, she would get prejudiced against some of them by comments that other mistresses would make.

I can undersatnd that to some extent, but it is very unfair. I remember when I started in my current school the teacher assigned to help me in form sat down with me and went through the kids in my class ("he's got a bad rep, but I generally get on with him" "she's lovely, she won't be any problems" "you'll have to nag him to bring a school bag in, he never remembers equipment"). My HoD highlighted problematic pupils and suggested strategies for dealing with them, so at least I wasn't facing a class blind!

I think it would have been very difficult to start in the CS in the later years, the whole community seemed so insular. I did feel Pam Slater got ridiculed for her ambition - she could see that there was (shock horror!) life outside of the CS.

#15: Author: jennifer, Location: Taiwan

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:04 am
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Clare wrote:

KB wrote:

And perhaps the feeling was that, if Miss Ferrars was told about her students in a staff meeting, she would get prejudiced against some of them by comments that other mistresses would make.

I can see the philosophy in not prejudicing a teacher, but given that Kathie is basically assigned the most problematic class, behaviour wise, some help would have been nice.

By my count, in a class of 18 she has five real problems, discipline or academics wise, (Margot, Emerence, Yseult, Joan, Francie), three real handfuls, for various reasons (Heather, Betty, Charmain), four students who are behind academically but not discipline problems (Rosamund, Marguerite, Iris, Pamela), a few solid basic students (Jo, Eve, Alicia), two bright lights (Len and Janet) and Con, who is bright but dreamy.

#16: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:36 am
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I think perhaps the intention was not to overwhelm Kathie with a lot of detail which she couldn't possibly remember. Inter V were old enough to know what they should be doing at any point in the day, and there were several girls - Jo, Rosamund, Len - who could be trusted to be helpful.

I think Kathie sorted out the girls' different personalities and abilities for herself quite quickly, and she asked for advice about Yseult when she needed it.

Perhaps the one piece of advice she should have been given is that Mary Lou Trelawney should be allowed to get away with all kinds of cheek because 'it's just Mary Lou'!

#17: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:40 am
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JayB wrote:

Perhaps the one piece of advice she should have been given is that Mary Lou Trelawney should be allowed to get away with all kinds of cheek because 'it's just Mary Lou'!

Maybe not so much with school pupils, but certainly in most workplaces there seem to be some people who're allowed to get away with a lot more than others. It'd've been interesting to see some real staffroom conflicts along the way.

#18: Author: Lisa A., Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:58 pm
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There was always Joey breezing in as if she owned the place of course. I agree it would have been interesting to see something of that nature among the staff - I think it would have been quite amusing for child readers to see staff members acting like children or having the same sort of problems that they were having in the staff room. It must have happened - even in the well-ordered CS community. Maybe EBD had seen enough of that sort of thing herself and decided not to pursue it.

#19: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:45 pm
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I think EDB was unusual in showing the Staff Room and adults talking anyway - but probably felt she couldn't show the type of thing that really went on as she felt a duty toward the girls for whom she was writing. (Hilda eat your heart out - I'm very impressed with that sentence!)

#20: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:39 pm
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I remember Miss Charlesworth (I think) being annoyed with Peggy Burnett when Peggy had a girl for remedials and made her late for Miss C.'s lesson. Hilda noticed but didn't interfere. Can't recall which book that was in.

Realistically, there would have been quite frequent tiffs and fallings out, with so many women under the same roof with very little opportunity of getting away from each other for a day or an evening, especially in the winter.

#21: Author: rae86, Location: Cornwall

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:42 pm
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Although regarding Lesley's comment - and it's a sign of the times - most of the mention of the staff smoking is edited out of most of the books when they were re-published. Smoking would most probably not be included in school books today! Very Happy

#22: Author: Lisa A., Location: North Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:16 pm
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Lesley wrote:

I think EDB was unusual in showing the Staff Room and adults talking anyway - but probably felt she couldn't show the type of thing that really went on as she felt a duty toward the girls for whom she was writing. (Hilda eat your heart out - I'm very impressed with that sentence!)

*admires beautiful English Smile

*

Yes. Perhaps she felt a professional duty towards her fellow teachers as well and didn't want to let on that teachers would every carry on in such a manner!

#23: Author: Rosalin, Location: Swansea

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:17 pm
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rae86 wrote:

Although regarding Lesley's comment - and it's a sign of the times - most of the mention of the staff smoking is edited out of most of the books when they were re-published. Smoking would most probably not be included in school books today! Very Happy

Well not by the staff. The pupils on the other hand Wink

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