Wolseley Brown is a man to whom the word veteran easily attaches. A former president of the Educational Institute of Scotland and long-serving member of the General Teaching Council, he seems to have been a fixture on the scene for, well, ages.
Ages maybe, but we would never have made the ageist observation that Brown is not as young as he used to be, had he not drawn attention to it himself. Last week’s GTC meeting saw him on his feet making a plea “on behalf of an ageing profession” for Link, the council’s newsletter, to be made an easier read. This had nothing to do with the prose. It was a complaint about it being partly printed on a blue background, thereby making its literary gems less accessible to the optically challenged.
Of course, Brown added, “a young person with good eyesight like me has no problem”. Mary Shand, vice-convener of the council’s communications committee, had no hesitation in responding to Brown’s request. “No,” she said, determined not to be long-winded.
The GTC will, however, have to sort out this important matter. For we can reveal disagreement at the highest levels. Shand’s “niet” was quickly followed by an equally brief response from Vic Bourne, the council’s depute registrar. “I completely agree with you,” he told Brown.
