End of term madness

The end of term is approaching and there are many things to gripe about (as A01B discovered today):

• Broken technology. It took three teachers to get the &%^$*#! projector working in LT6 today. Cables in, press buttons, cables out, press more buttons, call technician, etc. There are six LTs in the school. Why don't they all have laptops which we can simply plug our thumbdrives into? Instead, we're forced to lug our laptops around school. Meanwhile, those 30+, oh-so-useful flat screen TVs, each costing several thousands of dollars...
  

• Missed classes. A-Level results are going to be out next week. We usually do quite well for our A-Levels and will probably get a day off from school as a reward. In other words, more missed classes. I mean, I'm only starting my first tutorial question of the term with one of my J1s this week, because of all the missed Thursdays. But the hardest hit will be the J2s, for whom we simply must finish the syllabus. Makeups are in order, and they are always a pain to schedule.
  

• The global "food staple" conference. Hubris. We're pretty good, but not that well-known. Kinda like Singapore actually. Let's start locally, and then see how things go from there. I mean, the only foreign participants are from the Philippines, for crying out loud! And the jargon is nauseating. And it "eats" -- heh! -- into my holidays.
  

• Term papers. It was a difficult question. But that's no excuse for some of the dross that I've been reading. A country-by-country approach?! In J2!? Contrary to what many people might think, the A-Levels do not take care of themselves, even for our students.
  

On a brighter note, the guy I interview on Sunday was very impressive and I hope that he gets admitted. It would be refreshing for Dartmouth to accept someone NOT from the top five JCs for once. Oh, and I have a DPO / ex-DPO social event this Friday to look forward to.
Posted by kungfuzi at 7:26 pm | 0 comments

  Yeats -- Sailing to Byzantium

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Posted by kungfuzi at 6:35 pm | 0 comments

  Stuff to do

• Return costume (by Monday)
• Complete record book (by Monday)
  
• JC2 marking and answer scheme (by end of term)
  
• Civics Elective slides for US session (by next Thursday)
• Notice board (by end of Feb)
  
• JO and Decolonisation notes (for next term)
  
• RI visit (24 March, 10-11)
• JC1 term assignment (due 26-28 Feb)
  

We're missing a lot of school days this year. Yesterday was Take5 in the morning and the Humanz Party at night. Both were enjoyable, but it meant that both the J1s and J2s missed their lectures. Next Thursday is Orientation 2, which means that I'll be missing tutorials with 1B and 1D yet again. How are they going to write their term papers if they haven't attempted any tutorial questions? Makeups are in order, for sure.
Posted by kungfuzi at 5:33 pm | 0 comments

  Worrying

I must have picked up the worrying from my dad, although unlike him, I don't suffer from sleepless nights because of work-related concerns. These days, it verges on paranoia at times. Must. Stop. Worrying.

It would help if I finished the following work in a timely fashion:

• J2 Revision and AFC lecture notes and slides [half done].
  
• J2 Civics Elective lesson plans -- have to coordinate with others
  
• Remaining H3 proposals
  
• J2 Common Test questions
• J1 tutorial question for next week
• J2 Term Assignment answer scheme.
  
• History notice board (the present board has become something of an historical artifact)

Am interviewing a Dartmouth applicant tomorrow. It'll be my first time out of the house (not counting school) in weeks!

Update (4 Feb)

• The interview went really well; she might be my first ever interviewee to get admitted!
• Civics Elective meeting tomorrow; hopefully things will be a lot clearer afterwards. Already have some ideas down.
• H3 proposals are in. Now to get them started on their essay outlines and research.
• Marking starts next Thursday with JC2 papers. Must work on answer scheme for question (which is a killer, haha).
• NUS History Seminar -- must ensure that the kids are on track.

Update (8 Feb)

• Review slides done.
• Started work on JO notes, even though they're not due until next term.
• Started work on Civics Elective slides -- so much will depend on what classes we end up with.
  
• Must finish AFC notes. The topic, while fascinating, should not be on a History syllabus.
  
• We'll be without Torres for the Chelsea game. Oh dear.

Update (9 Feb)

• AFC notes done.
  

Posted by kungfuzi at 9:32 pm | 0 comments