Ok – this is going to be a bit random…no concrete walls, purple prose, car parks, DOZs or even Jemima this week. First I want to thank all you parents out there for the vast improvement to the drop off scene (whoops – sorry!) since I last wrote. I have only been able to use one single sticker, and that one slid off the window of the L**** Coupe because of the driving rain. Also, nearly everyone is using indicators to show which direction they are suddenly going to change to and most drivers are pulling up at the end of the DOZ to enable others to fit in behind. It is a cheering place to be other than the cold and gusting wind driving the damp, grey drizzle across the late Autumn…(Sorry, there I go again.) In fact, the only thing to report is a mum with an active phone in one hand whilst negotiating the bend by the crosswalk with the other hand at peak hour, maximum kid movement 8.30. She waved at me. No, I can’t remember which hand she used.
We have had some graffiti in and around the building and I need your help in getting the kids to see that this is not only criminal (something the equivalent of trespass and damage to third party property with malice aforethought in German) but antisocial and indeed selfish. Logos for football clubs are the rage at present. My message is that we call the professional painters in and the bill goes home. Have I caught anyone yet? Yes. Has the bill gone home? It will. Indeed, I learned that graffiti of this sort is appearing all over Zumikon and the Gemeinde has contacted the ICS Administration. It has appeared in areas close to the school as well as others that our students and to be fair other people not connected with the school, use regularly.
Moving on to another quite unrelated topic that is pretty dull – we are also in danger of having a plague of stickers appearing all over the school’s doors, door handles, walls, windows, pillars and so on. They are difficult to remove and waste a good deal of our hardworking caretaking team’s energy and time. So if you happen to see your child taking a sticker or two to ICS please step in. And that leads on smoothly and logically to setting fire to things.
There are basically two sorts of things you can set fire to in school, cigarettes and other things. I am referring to the latter. Too many children are bringing matches or cigarette lighters to school. They are banned for obvious reasons. Young children in grade 6 – that is not a typo - have been caught. They have had an uncomfortable conversation with either Mr. Hall or with me. One incident was potentially extremely dangerous and might have led to serious injury if indulged in for another minute or two. Please rest assured we will continue to take a hard line for the sake of your children’s safety. I would ask you to do what you can to check they are not leaving home carrying these things; does that mean a Front Door Frisk? Yes, absolutely, if that is what you judge to be needed.
The school buses; this I have never mentioned before so, can of worms, let’s go. The drivers are all trained, tested, qualified and experienced. This is a great relief to you and a cause for peace of mind. As part of their training they must bring the bus to the soonest possible stop if a child leaves its seat or releases its belt at any point on the journey. Sometimes your children leave their seats or release their belts. This is despite knowing they should not do this. The driver will normally warn them not to do this again. If they do, then the name and incident is passed to Mr. Penny or to me. I will email you with the facts as related by the driver of that bus. We tend not to contact you the first time. You have to trust our judgement on when to bring parents in as we do not want to worry you at too early a stage when it is a school matter nor do we want to leave you out of the loop. However, recently parents have taken the school to task for the timing of their being told rather than focussing on the issue that their child created in the first place. My message is simply let’s work together on this for a positive outcome that will benefit all the constituents of our community.
Finally, yes, I did have strong words in English and then in Schwiitze-Tuuetsch (sp?) with the driver of the Asian food delivery truck that blocked the entire DOZ the other icy, foggy morning. All our supply companies have been instructed and have agreed not to deliver to the school between 8.00 and 8.45; if they arrive earlier on no account are they allowed to enter the school drive but must circle the block until 8.45. But occasionally a rogue delivery ignores this and that was the case. This one assured me he would not do this again. Thank you for your patience that nasty morning!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Ghosts
I am going to return to an old and favourite topic because, ever optimistic, I want finally to persuade some ghosts to be laid to rest.
The first ghost is that many things at ICS get damaged by students who show no respect for others’ possessions. Airers of this ghost are making dramatic (and serious) accusations against children attending this school with little evidence to go on.
Certainly, some damage is done but it is nearly always accidental and of no great financial significance. Certainly, teenagers could be more careful. But puberty’s hormone cocktail just makes this a very unrealistic focus of a school wide drive. In fact, a lot of kids, and especially boys, already feel very self conscious about their increased clumsiness let alone all the visible body changes they have to undergo alone.
Occasionally there is wilful damage. For example, a wall is given an addition of a football supporters’ emblem. So is a desk. A toilet is filled with toilet paper. But the broad view reduces the height of these incidents when placed against the usual school landscape. Tellingly, very rarely is a student’s work on display defaced and this must be noted. And no, we do not tolerate even these damages and yes, we follow them up and question people in or near the scene, investing a lot of time and effort in these enquiries. And yes, the Administration makes it very clear there are consequences ready for any vandalistic act. It is just that we very rarely have to enact these consequences.
Ghost 2: 'There is a good deal of theft from students and, indeed, it is getting beyond control.' The problem with this particular ghost means that this regular theft is committed, presumably, by your children; that the upbringing you give them is ineffective; that the social education we give them is insufficient. A sub ghost, a ghostlet if you will, is that ‘Yes, but my child was lead on by those other children who really are…’ But the same arguments can be raised about parental standards of upbringing and school standards of personal development if a child cannot say, 'No!' or an adult still not sought out or some other wise solution still neither known nor attempted.
Yes, indeed, bunches of objects go missing as I have written in a previous Blog series http://nickydarlington.blogspot.com/ Keys and ipods and iphones (and normal phones and rings and earrings and wallets and watches and bracelets and necklaces and precious keepsakes and huge gangsta blouson puffjackets, and trainers and track suits and shirts and sweaters and normal jackets; these are a selection of the items reported to Sandra Downie or Mr Hall or me as having been stolen.
Slightly smaller bunches of these items lie for weeks In Lost Property and in Sandra’s ‘LostBox’ in her office. Many are located in or on or behind the lockers (we are going to move these to more frequented areas of the school). Many are found in the rooms in which the owners last had a class and turned in to the cleaners. Several are found on and under the lunch tables at 1.45. Some have been loaned out and not returned or forgotten about or loaned on to a friend of the first loanee.
Yes, and some clearly have been stolen but this is a very small percentage and one that is not higher than other, similar international schools. And that is neither defensive nor complacent, merely context creating. Solutions are clear and present, well known and much repeated to our constituents, namely you and them. Here are the Golden Rules of Property Retention that are seldom followed
Do not bring expensive and/or designer artefacts to school. They are neither wanted nor needed. This is just common sense and a question of what is appropriate.
Lock valuables away in lockers.
Buy large, solid, recommended padlocks.
Never leave something tempting in you jacket or bag and then leave these lying around.
Place valuables in the Tresor at the foot of the stairs in the Academy opposite the boys changing rooms.
Hand them in to Sandra for safekeeping.
Remember to collect these valuable items afterwards.
Go check in Lost Property.
Go check in the LostBox.
Label your clothes.
Be able to identify your phone, calculator, wallet or watch because your own clear but special sign is on it.
Report it missing (not stolen) as soon as relevant steps are taken.
If it is likely there is in the community a child tempted to steal then we must try not to put temptation its way.
New Year’s resolution? For the sake of your children’s reputations and our school’s honour, let’s give this a try.
The first ghost is that many things at ICS get damaged by students who show no respect for others’ possessions. Airers of this ghost are making dramatic (and serious) accusations against children attending this school with little evidence to go on.
Certainly, some damage is done but it is nearly always accidental and of no great financial significance. Certainly, teenagers could be more careful. But puberty’s hormone cocktail just makes this a very unrealistic focus of a school wide drive. In fact, a lot of kids, and especially boys, already feel very self conscious about their increased clumsiness let alone all the visible body changes they have to undergo alone.
Occasionally there is wilful damage. For example, a wall is given an addition of a football supporters’ emblem. So is a desk. A toilet is filled with toilet paper. But the broad view reduces the height of these incidents when placed against the usual school landscape. Tellingly, very rarely is a student’s work on display defaced and this must be noted. And no, we do not tolerate even these damages and yes, we follow them up and question people in or near the scene, investing a lot of time and effort in these enquiries. And yes, the Administration makes it very clear there are consequences ready for any vandalistic act. It is just that we very rarely have to enact these consequences.
Ghost 2: 'There is a good deal of theft from students and, indeed, it is getting beyond control.' The problem with this particular ghost means that this regular theft is committed, presumably, by your children; that the upbringing you give them is ineffective; that the social education we give them is insufficient. A sub ghost, a ghostlet if you will, is that ‘Yes, but my child was lead on by those other children who really are…’ But the same arguments can be raised about parental standards of upbringing and school standards of personal development if a child cannot say, 'No!' or an adult still not sought out or some other wise solution still neither known nor attempted.
Yes, indeed, bunches of objects go missing as I have written in a previous Blog series http://nickydarlington.blogspot.com/ Keys and ipods and iphones (and normal phones and rings and earrings and wallets and watches and bracelets and necklaces and precious keepsakes and huge gangsta blouson puffjackets, and trainers and track suits and shirts and sweaters and normal jackets; these are a selection of the items reported to Sandra Downie or Mr Hall or me as having been stolen.
Slightly smaller bunches of these items lie for weeks In Lost Property and in Sandra’s ‘LostBox’ in her office. Many are located in or on or behind the lockers (we are going to move these to more frequented areas of the school). Many are found in the rooms in which the owners last had a class and turned in to the cleaners. Several are found on and under the lunch tables at 1.45. Some have been loaned out and not returned or forgotten about or loaned on to a friend of the first loanee.
Yes, and some clearly have been stolen but this is a very small percentage and one that is not higher than other, similar international schools. And that is neither defensive nor complacent, merely context creating. Solutions are clear and present, well known and much repeated to our constituents, namely you and them. Here are the Golden Rules of Property Retention that are seldom followed
Do not bring expensive and/or designer artefacts to school. They are neither wanted nor needed. This is just common sense and a question of what is appropriate.
Lock valuables away in lockers.
Buy large, solid, recommended padlocks.
Never leave something tempting in you jacket or bag and then leave these lying around.
Place valuables in the Tresor at the foot of the stairs in the Academy opposite the boys changing rooms.
Hand them in to Sandra for safekeeping.
Remember to collect these valuable items afterwards.
Go check in Lost Property.
Go check in the LostBox.
Label your clothes.
Be able to identify your phone, calculator, wallet or watch because your own clear but special sign is on it.
Report it missing (not stolen) as soon as relevant steps are taken.
If it is likely there is in the community a child tempted to steal then we must try not to put temptation its way.
New Year’s resolution? For the sake of your children’s reputations and our school’s honour, let’s give this a try.
Pants
Well, what is suitable? How do we know? By what do we judge? How do we cater for everyone’s cultural view? Is it just a question of aesthetics and personal predilection, fad n’ fetish, one generation reminding the other of its mortality (and dead lack of cool)? Does it actually matter?
‘What is he rabbiting on about this time?’ you may well be pardoned for thinking.
Well, somehow we accept rabbits’ behaviour in their own cultural context – we know and accept what they are like. But put humans en masse and opinion leaps to the tongue of the many as we observe what they do and what they wear to do it and air our considered opinion to anyone who has the misfortune to be nearby and not hearing impaired. We adults go broadcast then.
‘Making out’, ‘hitting on’, or ‘canoodling’, ‘snogging’ or ‘courting’ depending how far back your particular generation goes. It gave offence in the time of Chaucer and does so today. One litmus test is does what you happen to observe two humans doing make you feel uncomfortable? Another is whether what you see is appropriate in the context, here of study and learning amongst many cultures. Or again is it acceptable in our host country because if it is then what is the problem? Does the fact it is in a school that two teenagers are clearly showing affection make the difference, or any difference? Is it relevant to argue that you don’t see teachers cuddling and canoodling? This normally brings snorts of…well…hilarity and horror in more or less equal parts. Is it a relevant metaphor anyway since our upbringing and professionalism would prohibit open displays of luxurious affection on the campus?
The decision we have made in the secondary school is worth stating, for our parents and our students. If two people’s behaviour causes onlookers discomfort then it is not ok. Then one should intevene. Then I do intervene. So does Mr Hall. So does Mrs Zwart; we are in agreement. And so we try to explain exactly why and try to ignore the look of incomprehension at the irrelevance of the argument. It is a rule. So there. 'Private life has the word ‘private’ and what part of ‘private’ is causing you the problem? Break it at your peril. For the greater good. Move on.'
And then there is this extraordinary habit of boys their jeans totally below their…erm… gluteus maximus, for which they were never designed so they look plain silly. Going up stairs behind one there is a strange and unlovely view of the current underwear of choice. And when running they need one hand to keep the jeans from falling down! Ridiculous! In my day… This is a rant and I am not going there.
Did I hear one of you say, ‘Just ban it?’
‘What is he rabbiting on about this time?’ you may well be pardoned for thinking.
Well, somehow we accept rabbits’ behaviour in their own cultural context – we know and accept what they are like. But put humans en masse and opinion leaps to the tongue of the many as we observe what they do and what they wear to do it and air our considered opinion to anyone who has the misfortune to be nearby and not hearing impaired. We adults go broadcast then.
‘Making out’, ‘hitting on’, or ‘canoodling’, ‘snogging’ or ‘courting’ depending how far back your particular generation goes. It gave offence in the time of Chaucer and does so today. One litmus test is does what you happen to observe two humans doing make you feel uncomfortable? Another is whether what you see is appropriate in the context, here of study and learning amongst many cultures. Or again is it acceptable in our host country because if it is then what is the problem? Does the fact it is in a school that two teenagers are clearly showing affection make the difference, or any difference? Is it relevant to argue that you don’t see teachers cuddling and canoodling? This normally brings snorts of…well…hilarity and horror in more or less equal parts. Is it a relevant metaphor anyway since our upbringing and professionalism would prohibit open displays of luxurious affection on the campus?
The decision we have made in the secondary school is worth stating, for our parents and our students. If two people’s behaviour causes onlookers discomfort then it is not ok. Then one should intevene. Then I do intervene. So does Mr Hall. So does Mrs Zwart; we are in agreement. And so we try to explain exactly why and try to ignore the look of incomprehension at the irrelevance of the argument. It is a rule. So there. 'Private life has the word ‘private’ and what part of ‘private’ is causing you the problem? Break it at your peril. For the greater good. Move on.'
And then there is this extraordinary habit of boys their jeans totally below their…erm… gluteus maximus, for which they were never designed so they look plain silly. Going up stairs behind one there is a strange and unlovely view of the current underwear of choice. And when running they need one hand to keep the jeans from falling down! Ridiculous! In my day… This is a rant and I am not going there.
Did I hear one of you say, ‘Just ban it?’
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)