Getting to know you

[david_carnell]

bignumber5 Wrote:

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> Oh dear AnnaJ - I am often described as Bubbly -

> is it so bad?

>

>

> Not so - it's people who would describe themself

> on first meeting as "a bit wacky, kooky, bubbly,

> always up for a laugh, me!"

Oh god, you couldn't be more right!

[blinder999]

Comic Sans MS is a useful typeface when making TEFL materials for kids whose first language doesn't use the Roman alphabet, as the letters (eg 'a') come out the same as they are expected to write them. I used it all the time when making puzzles etc in Japan.

[annaj]

Bellenden Belle Wrote:

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> annaj Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I?m completely with you on comic sans.

> > It?s the typeface of Bubbly and Wacky people,

>

> Oh dear AnnaJ - I am often described as Bubbly -

> is it so bad? :'(

Well, you could be could be called bubbly I suppose. Personally, I'd go for engaging, scintillating, vivacious or vibrant to describe you.

No offense caused I trust ;-)

[KalamityKel]

Blimey ur wide awake!

[Bellenden Belle]

annaj Wrote:

> Well, you could be could be called bubbly I

> suppose. Personally, I'd go for engaging,

> scintillating, vivacious or vibrant to describe

> you.

Ooooh I had to quote that again because it is so very lovely - I am tickled pink - thank you x

[Bellenden Belle]

Ahhhh, I think I have killed this thread ... so I am going to re-start it...

At 7, my teacher said that while I couldn't physically fight bullies, I had a razor-sharp tongue. And throughout secondary school I infuriated teachers by doing well while distracting everyone else and as one teacher put it "flying by the seat of my pants". Twenty years on I think I am much the same .... but I have learnt to bite my tongue and the pants have got bigger!

So my question:

How did people's teachers describe them in reports and suchlike and more importantly twenty, thirty years on - were they right?

[TillieTrotter]

My mum gave me my memory box (stuff from being born to teenager) a few years back and there is every single school report from nursery age to school leaver. I'm sure I was as angelic then as I am now::o

[Jah Lush]

I seem to remember one school report that said: "Who is he"? from one teacher and from another "When he does turn up he contributes nothing." Secondary school bored the pants off of me. I hated it and I couldn't wait to leave.

[mockney piers]

Bright, lazy and frustrating pretty much summed up every single teacher's opinion.

In fact my reference from Mr Cossy (spits) for my ucas/pcas applications said pretty much exactly that, meaning 8 out of the 9 institutions didn't even offer me a place. Tosser!!

[Brendan]

Insolent was a word that used to come up on mine quite often. Which is teacher speak for telling your parents, ?I don?t like being made to look stupid by your gobby little brat.?

Pa was a headmaster so he knew exactly what it meant and would only encourage me.

Come to think of it there may be a reason he didn?t send to his school. :-S

[Keef]

"So much promise but so lazy" was pretty much uniform for my school reports.

[Brendan]

I am starting to get a general profile of the type of people who spend too much time on internet forums here: Lazy, tardy, liberals.

[Bellenden Belle]

mockney piers Wrote:

> In fact my reference from Mr Cossy (spits) for my

> ucas/pcas applications said pretty much exactly

> that, meaning 8 out of the 9 institutions didn't

> even offer me a place. Tosser!!

Oh I hear you Mockney.... Mr Ward predicted me a C in English - I am convinced purely out of spite - and so only Warwick accepted me; everywhere else rejected me. And who the hell wants to go to a university that will accept a student no other place wants. So I rejected Warwick.

So I got an A in my A-Level; went to Africa, came back and did rather well in English Literature and Drama from one of the universities that originally rejected me.

God I can't believe how cross I still am. I could actually swear at this precise moment.

[mockney piers]

Again similar tales, my shitforbrains economics teacher predicted me an E/N for the simple crime of not being my older brother, whom he had liked, as far as I could tell.

I got an A.

He didn't even have the decency to look me in the eye when he came down on results day to congratulate everyone. Yep, I'm still pretty annoyed too.

[Moos]

Coulddobetter Musttryharder Coulddosowellifsheonlytried pretty much standard on all my reports.

Perhaps those of us that found our talents considered a bit upside down by the system in our formative years are more likely to turn out to feel as though we're looking at the system from the outside when grown up?

Er, something about me... I can spread the toes on my right foot, but not my left. Not very useful.

[citizenED]

Making notes of those phrases Moos - need something original for when I get to write reports next term.

[Moos]

Just don't write 'em on my report, Citizen, please?!

[mockney piers]

"Perhaps those of us that found our talents considered a bit upside down by the system in our formative years are more likely to turn out to feel as though we're looking at the system from the outside when grown up?"

A valid point moos, though I'll stick with Lazy Tardy Liberals ;)

I will say that reading Catch 22 was a bit of a life-defining moment when I realised that systems and authority figures really were petty and absurd and I wasn't alone in thinking that. My mind has not changed much since then.

[Bellenden Belle]

mockney piers Wrote:

I realised that systems

> and authority figures really were petty and absurd

> and I wasn't alone in thinking that. My mind has

> not changed much since then.

Agreed Mockney... it dawned on me recently that the last person to successfully "manage" me was Andrew (my friend from forum drinks) - and that was only because our friendship was more important than the job. Since then I have had problems with every single manager I have ever had ... though my publishing boss was astute enough to understand me and while he and I both know I was hell to work with at the end, he remains a close friend.

Freelance and contract work is the only way forward....

[Moos]

Hello BB!

Your friend Andrew is a peach. Hope he does end up moving to ED, and I'm sure I know at least one nice chap to introduce him too.

OK, now just because we're all in danger of agreeing with each other here (You're so right! No, you're righter!) I have to say that all this 'authority sucks' thing is quite true, but there are down sides to the general move away from respect for authority, aren't there? For eg, there was a thread on here recently about parents giving their kids better discipline and boundaries, teachers can barely control their classes, many people automatically distrust and dislike the police (who are supposed to be public servants)... anarchy is a beautiful thing but only if, er, everyone is terribly NICE.

*awaits bullet*

[mockney piers]

I'd actually deleted the final sentence

"I'm not saying that authority isn't necessary, just that's it's normally dysfunctional and bonkers"

from my previous post

So you're still right ;-)

[Brendan]

mockney piers Wrote:

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> I will say that reading Catch 22 was a bit of a

> life-defining moment when I realised that systems

> and authority figures really were petty and absurd

> and I wasn't alone in thinking that. My mind has

> not changed much since then.

That just brought back a memory of reading catch-22 in maths class and spontaneously laughing out loud at something in the book. I had the book slid inside my file as I wasn?t supposed to be reading during the lesson. The teacher came to see what I was laughing at, took my book away and sent me to the office for a caning. I ended up in the deputy head?s office explaining myself. Turned out it was his favourite book so he let me off with a ?don?t do it again.?

[Bellenden Belle]

Moos Wrote:

I have to say that all this

> 'authority sucks' thing is quite true, but there

> are down sides to the general move away from

> respect for authority, aren't there? ... anarchy is a beautiful thing but only

> if, er, everyone is terribly NICE.

>

Oh Moos you're so righter! I like boundaries, I like learning from other people who have more experience and more knowledge than me, I respect people in that position....

But in my experience the problem comes when those in authority cling to their position, and when challenged or questioned (which I always do out of curiosity and from a place of goodwill to begin with) feel threatened and so shut down dialogue with me. And it's when I feel I am not being listened to, or I'm not able to make a full contribution, that I start to get bored... and then restless ... and then cross....

Yes A is a perfect peach! As are you my dear Moos. x

[Azul]

I'd never eaten a parsnip before I came over to the UK.

[Azul]

I quite like beans on toast