Retired Glasgow teacher Mary Scott has taken to writing the odd verse for the GlasgowStrathclyde Poetry Anthology ‘96, a publication currently being “ingathered” - a folksy word - by a publisher in Berwickshire.
Ms Scott recalls “whit it wuz like” in the old days: “Ah went tae a Glesga School But we didnae get ‘playin’ the fool’ We aw did whit ‘Miss tellt us’ Fur fear she wid belt us!
We were too scared tae break ony Rule Thur wir aboot 49 weans in ma Class We wir force fed the ‘Tables’ etc, en masse It wis called learnin’ by Rote Frae the Blackboard we wrote An’ yon Quali Exam we’d tae pass Thur wir nae computers when ah wis wee Which shows jist how auld ah must be Noo ther’s anae Big Test Weans keep gettin’ Assessed!
An’ in Schools they get watchin’ TV There’s talk o’ Them bringin’ back Streamin’ Whit next are they gonnae be schemin’?
Over fifty’s the Requirement Fur Early Retirement Aw aulder Teacher are runnin’ oot screamin’ There’s so much Chaos an’ Indiscipline today Law an’ Order his noo gone astray the whole system’s wan big bungle A School is mair like ‘Blackboard Jungle’ ‘Cos the pupils hiv goat too much tae say!
Ah hiv taught in Glesga Schools for 30 years An’ hiv seen a lot o’ colleagues in tears!”
