Monday “You know this Shakespeare rubbish we’ve got to do?” asks Sunny, group 5 English language.
“Yes,” I reply cautiously.
“Well. The drama department’s doing The Something Wives of Something and Henry the Something for this year’s productions.
“So they are,” I reply. “Merry, Windsor and Fifth to be precise.”
“Anyway, I thought, seeing as how I’ma good actor, I might offer to do a part.”
“Back part of a horse maybe,” says Kulwinder.
I interrupt: “I think they only use people from their own department. People, that is, who are actually studying drama.”
“We’ll see,” says Sunny.
Tuesday “Well, how did you get on?” “Don’t ask,” says Sunny. Then proceeds to tell: “Mr Jones says he’s got actors coming out of his ears and there’d be a riot, possibly World War III, if he even auditioned anybody from outside his department.”
“So what did you say?” “Nothing,” he admits.
Which is unusually wise of him, since David Jones is a 6ft 3in ex-rugby player, and mean with it. Maybe Sunny does have a bit of sense after all.
Wednesday: I have a visitor to group 5 English language: American, name of Walt, researching British educational institutions, with specific reference to buildings as places of work. His window of interest is functional working practices as affected by those physical features which influence the dynamics of human interaction.
“Cor,” we all say. “What a brainbox!” Thursday Sunny is nothing if not persistent. “I went to the rehearsal yesterday. I thought they’d all be rubbish and Mr Jones might want me to take over.”
“And?” “I was right. I told him what I thoughtof his so-called actors and says I could do it better, specially the Henry-the-whatsit part.”
“And?” “He said he wanted to hit me.”
Which, as David Jones is taking that part himself, is fair enough.
Friday Walt drops by again, very excited. Apparently the physical features of our room - small, stuffy and scruffy - are responsible for, well, everything. Given our limitations, however, if our performance indicators are monitored, our aims and objectives clarified and strategies introduced for realising these, together with forward planning to cost the hypothetical strategies, we’ll be OK. That’s a relief.
Therese Biblio recently retired ashead of business studies in a West Midlands comprehensive
