A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat anecdotes
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Cat Using toilet and toilet paper



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #241  
Old April 24th 10, 11:55 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
MatSav[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 323
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)

"Yowie" wrote in message
...

snip a tale of a young girl studying a traditional 'boys only'
subject

...our stories show just how much effect teachers - both good
and bad - can have on people's lives long into adulthood.


At my secondary comprehensive ("high") school, we had to make
choices at aged 14 (for me, that was in 1975) about what subjects
to study to GCE O' Level or CSE (the standard qualifications, at
the time, for 16-y-o's in the UK). These choices were
constrained by the timetable planners, and some subjects were
compulsory.

It was compulsory to study English, Mathematics, at least one
science, and one foreign language. The 'options' usually forced
the boys to take one of three technical subjects as well
(Technical Drawing, Metalwork, Woodwork). The timetable planner
(yes, ONE teacher!) hadn't even considered there may be some
pupils (such as my older brother) who were absolutely useless at
the technical subjects, but were also very bright and got
excellent results in academic subjects. My brother was the first
to force a change in this rule, and was able to study all
academic subjects instead. A friend of mine wanted to become a
dentist - which meant he would have to take three sciences
(chemistry, physics, biology) - but Mrs. Annan, who planned the
timetable, had never even considered the possibility that a pupil
from our school would be bright enough or have enough ambition to
study those three subjects. Fortunately, his mother was also a
teacher at the school (she taught Remedial English for pupils who
had problems with literacy), and was able to force some changes
to allow this as a possible choice.

So yes, indeed, teachers have a great influence (both good and
bad). At 16, it's just not possible for a young adult to
understand exactly how many different careers are available, and
teacher's advice tends to stick with traditional options - such
as engineering, banking, nursing, etc...

--
MatSav



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---
  #242  
Old April 24th 10, 05:59 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Christina Websell[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 885
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)


"MatSav" wrote in message
...
"Yowie" wrote in message
...

snip a tale of a young girl studying a traditional 'boys only' subject

...our stories show just how much effect teachers - both good and bad -
can have on people's lives long into adulthood.


At my secondary comprehensive ("high") school, we had to make choices at
aged 14 (for me, that was in 1975) about what subjects to study to GCE O'
Level or CSE (the standard qualifications, at the time, for 16-y-o's in
the UK). These choices were constrained by the timetable planners, and
some subjects were compulsory.

It was compulsory to study English, Mathematics, at least one science, and
one foreign language. The 'options' usually forced the boys to take one of
three technical subjects as well (Technical Drawing, Metalwork, Woodwork).
The timetable planner (yes, ONE teacher!) hadn't even considered there may
be some pupils (such as my older brother) who were absolutely useless at
the technical subjects, but were also very bright and got excellent
results in academic subjects. My brother was the first to force a change
in this rule, and was able to study all academic subjects instead. A
friend of mine wanted to become a dentist - which meant he would have to
take three sciences (chemistry, physics, biology) - but Mrs. Annan, who
planned the timetable, had never even considered the possibility that a
pupil from our school would be bright enough or have enough ambition to
study those three subjects. Fortunately, his mother was also a teacher at
the school (she taught Remedial English for pupils who had problems with
literacy), and was able to force some changes to allow this as a possible
choice.

So yes, indeed, teachers have a great influence (both good and bad). At
16, it's just not possible for a young adult to understand exactly how
many different careers are available, and teacher's advice tends to stick
with traditional options - such as engineering, banking, nursing, etc...


Eventually I pleaded so much to give up the sewing classes that I was
allowed to take woodwork instead. It's been far more useful to me. I can
make wild bird nestboxes which are used every year and hen runs and stuff
like that, far more relevant to my life.
Sewing is a no-no, if anything needs repairing either I ask my aunt to do it
(as she likes sewing) or I throw it away.

Some of the teachers I had would have been in serious trouble today, they
often bullied children who didn't have an aptitude for their subject. A
maths teacher we had would often pick up 11 yr old boys by the ear if they
got a sum wrong and would also throw the board rubber (which had a wooden
base) at us. One day he asked me in front of the class if I was
illegitimate. I didn't know what the word meant at 11, so I went home and
asked my mother.
Some teachers have a strange agenda around why they want to work with
children and looking back he was certainly one of them.
Tweed




  #243  
Old April 24th 10, 06:27 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Lesley[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)

On Apr 24, 3:55*am, "MatSav" wrote:


At my secondary comprehensive ("high") school, we had to make
choices at aged 14 (for me, that was in 1975) about what subjects
to study to GCE O' Level or CSE (the standard qualifications, at
the time, *for 16-y-o's in the UK). These choices were
constrained by the timetable planners, and some subjects were
compulsory.


You might have been at my school except for the fact it was all
girls! Except you had slightly more choice because our timetables
were such that you had to choose between history and geography (And I
was good at both of them) French and typing (except if you were in
the academic stream as I was you were pretty much forced to do French
and if you were in the non-academic stream you were expected to do
typing) and you had to choose between art, needlework or domestic
science- I picked art as the lesser evil being hopeless at the other 2
but a friend of mine who later went to do costume design for theatre
suffered because she needed to do art and sewing

It was compulsory to study English, Mathematics, at least one
science, and one foreign language.


We only had one science and one foreign language- we all had to do
human biology and French. One of us who planned to do something that
needed a physics O level ended up having to have special arrangements
to study at the local boy's school where the local boys so ignored her
(along with their teacher) that she dropped out

, and
teacher's advice tends to stick with traditional options - such
as engineering, banking, nursing, etc...

We were all told the brightest of us should consider the post office
counter and the rest of us Woolworths! Then again we'd been taught
from year one that we would only get jobs for money to spend on make
up etc because our ultimate mission was to meet a guy with a good
job...basically we would be failures if by the age of 21- we had not
at very least got an engagement ring from a guy with a steady well
paid job (Not a doctor or anything like that- we weren't worthy of
such an honour- but something in the local council/civil service was
good going)..by say 23 we should all be housewives with at least 1 kid
and another on the way....The state of our careers advice was when
someone mentioned going to study to be a nursery nurse the careers
teacher told her she was too stupid to pass the crucial GCSE in human
biology and a couple of other girls looked at it seriously...Lorraine
got through the human biology GCSE because she used to go to lunch
with someone who knew more than the teacher (Me. Our human biology
teacher was a PE teacher who did the whole course with the book on her
lap and wouldn't talk about sex....that's a story for another time.
When we were revising I asked if DNA might come up and she gave me an
ear bashing because that was too advanced......base pairs landed in
the middle of the compulsory part of the exam!) and because the
career's teacher did not approve of nursery nursing...5 of my fellow
pupils signed up for it on the spot!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs
  #244  
Old April 24th 10, 09:45 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,800
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)



MatSav wrote:

At my secondary comprehensive ("high") school, we had to make
choices at aged 14 (for me, that was in 1975) about what subjects
to study to GCE O' Level or CSE (the standard qualifications, at
the time, for 16-y-o's in the UK). These choices were
constrained by the timetable planners, and some subjects were
compulsory.

It was compulsory to study English, Mathematics, at least one
science, and one foreign language. The 'options' usually forced
the boys to take one of three technical subjects as well
(Technical Drawing, Metalwork, Woodwork). The timetable planner
(yes, ONE teacher!) hadn't even considered there may be some
pupils (such as my older brother) who were absolutely useless at
the technical subjects, but were also very bright and got
excellent results in academic subjects. My brother was the first
to force a change in this rule, and was able to study all
academic subjects instead. A friend of mine wanted to become a
dentist - which meant he would have to take three sciences
(chemistry, physics, biology) - but Mrs. Annan, who planned the
timetable, had never even considered the possibility that a pupil
from our school would be bright enough or have enough ambition to
study those three subjects. Fortunately, his mother was also a
teacher at the school (she taught Remedial English for pupils who
had problems with literacy), and was able to force some changes
to allow this as a possible choice.

So yes, indeed, teachers have a great influence (both good and
bad). At 16, it's just not possible for a young adult to
understand exactly how many different careers are available, and
teacher's advice tends to stick with traditional options - such
as engineering, banking, nursing, etc...


From the time I knew such a profession was possible, I wanted to be an
opera singer. Consequently, when in eighth grade (age 13) we were
required to write an essay about possible adult occupations, I looked
for something about the practicalities of a singing career. Our school
library provided nothing at all about classical music performance, so I
decided to write about acting, instead. The only "reference" regarding a
stage career was a brief statement: "Forget it!"

True, most people who dream of an acting or musical career never make
it, but wouldn't books and articles describing the TRUE aspects
(including very hard work for often disappointing results) have an
equally discouraging effect upon the mere dreamers, while offering a
little practical advice to those with real talent? Things like
information about professional schools/classes, where to find out about
auditions, how to find a reputable agent willing to handle beginning
talent..... (Learning from experience means one mostly learns too late,
where anything involving the performing arts is concerned.)
Consequently, I still wonder "what if....?" when I contemplate all the
ignorant mistakes I made in my career attempts.
  #245  
Old April 24th 10, 11:37 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,349
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)

Christina Websell wrote:

Some of the teachers I had would have been in serious trouble today, they
often bullied children who didn't have an aptitude for their subject. A
maths teacher we had would often pick up 11 yr old boys by the ear if they
got a sum wrong and would also throw the board rubber (which had a wooden
base) at us. One day he asked me in front of the class if I was
illegitimate. I didn't know what the word meant at 11, so I went home
and asked my mother.


Jesus. And then people wonder why kids bully *each other*.

Joyce

--
There is, incidently, no way of talking about cats that enables one
to come off as a sane person.
-- Dan Greenberg
  #246  
Old April 25th 10, 01:20 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Cheryl P.[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 626
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
Some of the teachers I had would have been in serious trouble today, they
often bullied children who didn't have an aptitude for their subject. A
maths teacher we had would often pick up 11 yr old boys by the ear if they
got a sum wrong and would also throw the board rubber (which had a wooden
base) at us.


My father said one of his teachers used to do that (this would have
been in the late 1920s). One day he did it to my father's big brother,
when he was dozing off in class. Uncle Frank was just awake enough to
automatically catch the eraser and throw it back at him. I don't know
what the consequences were but I doubt they were much fun.


We had the eraser-tossing, and I had one teacher who used to hit my desk
with her ruler when I was daydreaming more than usual. It startled me,
and perhaps embarassed me slightly, but did me no harm. I don't think an
eraser was ever aimed at me, or hit me. We used to have some really big
tough kids in Grade 8 - the local school system at the time didn't
really do social promotion, and also didn't let us out of what was then
called elementary school until we could pass. Provincial law said you
had to stay in school until, I think, 16, but the federal government
would pay what was nicknamed the 'baby bonus' until about 18 if the
child in question was still registered in a school. So there was reason
for some of them to stay on and on even when it was obvious they weren't
learning anything. Some of the boys - both the regular ones and some of
the big ones were far worse bullies than any of the teachers, and some
of our teachers were pretty strict. There was only one I really hated,
but I got over that years ago. There was another who left the profession
in tears after being in charge of our class for only a couple of months.
I don't really feel bad about that - *I* didn't misbehave - but I do
feel very sorry for him, even after all these years. He went through hell.

I went to a small rural school, and although the curriculum was very
narrow, it was as good and maybe better than that in a lot of similar
schools, and was designed to give you the basic options you needed if
you wanted to go on to one of the local post-secondary institutions,
especially after even the university stopped requiring a second foreign
language (we generally ran to one, and that was French and technically
not foreign). A lot of my classmates, unaware as I was of the massive
social changes ahead, expected and wanted to have lives much like their
parents' - the boys working in the local industry and the women working
as housewives and mothers, with perhaps a job in the local shops or
hospital before they married. The industry shut down years ago and few
of my former classmates stayed in a marriage for a lifetime like their
parents, much less in one that required only one income to live on.
Times change, and we all adapt, well or badly.

--
Cheryl
  #247  
Old April 25th 10, 10:45 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,800
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)



hopitus wrote:
I have always wondered if you were Cho-Cho-San or Suzuki.....or if you
were even a coloratura.

Suzuki. (Also Amneris in "Aida", San Tuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana",
Azucena in "Trovatore", Martha in "Faust", and various minor mezzo roles
in any number of opera workshop productions.) Mostly unpaid, of course.
My only consistent income from singing was alto soloist/section-leader
in various church choirs (a wide variety of denominations) as well as
soloist for a few Bahai services, and member of the auxiliary choir for
the High Holy Days in a couple of Jewish temples.

In retrospect, my major mistakes:

1) Attending a liberal arts college, instead of a professional music school.

2) Heading for Los Angeles rather than New York when I finished school.

3) Getting married, when many of my fellow singers were heading for Europe.

(In the years after WW2, a great many American singers built respectable
careers in Europe, singing in regional opera houses - none of those I
knew became superstars, but they succeeded in doing what they wanted
with their lives.) Alas, we grow too soon old and too late smart!
  #248  
Old April 29th 10, 01:13 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Yowie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,225
Default School Curriculae (was Cussing)

In ,
Jack Campin - bogus address typed:
Some of the teachers I had would have been in serious trouble today,
they often bullied children who didn't have an aptitude for their
subject. A maths teacher we had would often pick up 11 yr old boys
by the ear if they got a sum wrong and would also throw the board
rubber (which had a wooden base) at us.


My father said one of his teachers used to do that (this would have
been in the late 1920s). One day he did it to my father's big
brother,
when he was dozing off in class. Uncle Frank was just awake enough to
automatically catch the eraser and throw it back at him. I don't know
what the consequences were but I doubt they were much fun.


We had the dusters (chalk-board erasers) thrown at us, but it was the chalk
that really hurt.

Only boys coud get the cane when I went to school, but the teachers threw
stuff at all of us. The chalk erasers were bad, but the chalk itself hurt
far more, and there was more of it so a teacher with really good aim and a
fistful of chalk could turn into a gatling gun. however, the projectiles
were usually reserved for kids who were actively misbehaving

There was generally two techniques to wake up a 'day dreamer', the whack on
the desk with the metre rule (I hated that) or the 'surprise question' meant
to humiliate the day dreamer by making them look ignorant. However, the
teachers quickly learnt that there was no point doing that 'surprise
question' thing that for me. I'm exceptionally lucky that whilst a chronic
day-dreamer, I always had some part of my brain following the lesson, and
again was exceptionally lucky to be bright enough to be able to 'fill in the
gaps' if I had happened to doze off.And even worse, i could come out of my
reverie and ask really difficult, complicated, and relevant questions on the
subject that they couldn't answer, one famous one was why they heck did life
evolve from something far less complicated if entropy is a universal law. (I
still don't have an answer to that one). I spent a large part of my school
life being scared to death by that sudden 'whack' of the metre-rule landing
on my desk micrometres from my face, but it didn't stop me day dreaming.
Going to Uni and being part of a 'seminar' rather than a 'lecture' was a
revelation - a lecture will put me straight into a semi-somnolent state,
but a seminar will generally keep me awake and interested. I thik all
different teaching techniques are now used in modern schools to cater for
different 'learning styles', but back then there was only one style of
teaching, and tough luck to those it didn't suit.

Every single teacher (well, bar the ones that taught the 'practical'
subjects like music and sewing) always lamented about how much better I
could be if I only *tried*.

My objection was that there was no need for me to *try*, I was doing
perfectly OK as a slacker. Which I was. I got the marks I needed to get the
job i wanted, what was the point of working any harder than I had to?

Yowie


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Poll OT Toilet paper tanadashoes Cat anecdotes 30 November 9th 08 11:53 AM
Toilet Paper Eater Jan Harris Cats - misc 4 April 9th 05 06:06 PM
a strip of toilet paper and yepp Cat anecdotes 13 March 17th 05 05:25 PM
Toilet Paper John Biltz Cat anecdotes 11 August 17th 03 08:41 PM
toilet paper 2 Byron & Christine Burel Cat anecdotes 5 August 17th 03 04:09 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.