School Daze

Earlier this week, prompted by the current "debate" over the state of our schools, I posted this reminiscence of an earlier, happier period in the history of Australian education. It seems I'm not the only one with a few fond memories of teachers who rose above the common ruck to inspire their students with a love of knowledge. Tim Blair writes:

My own state school teachers (Werribee Primary, PS 649) were among the last of the non-PC breed; years after leaving I'd sometimes drop in on them, to chat and help mark a few tests or whatever. Once a former teacher and I set a sixth-grade class this impossible, practically university-level combination maths/English/science quiz ("the results will be on your permanent record!") so we could go outside and talk about cricket for an hour.

If there's anyone reading this who went to Werribee Primary (PS 649), back when the teachers were the last of the non-PC breed, and you remember spending an hour sweating over a practically impossible test while your teacher was outside talking cricket with an ex-student, I think I'm not the only one who'd like to know how it felt. If there's anyone who didn't, but is thinking of pretending that they did, please don't.

It's amazing how some things can really piss you off.