On Apathy

The lag between this post and the last was caused by nothing more sinister than complete and absolute apathy. I've really lost my fervour for writing since my recent censorship incident. In fact, I feel I've rather lost my fervour for most things lately. Perhaps forcing myself to write an entry can renew some sort of spark. [30 mins later] Or not.

So instead I'll just say that I'm really excited for Christmas and wish I had to time or motivation to actually make cards and presents again this year. Ah well, such is life. 

The State of Our Educators

The powers that be have asked me to remove my post as it seems that even those who spent years vowing to make changes happen ultimately choose not to stand up for students' rights.

I have, instead, decided to edit my post so that those who deserve praise will still receive it. Let those who fall short explore their own consciences.

___

Today I was honoured to attend a prize-giving ceremony on behalf of my younger sister who won a scholarship this year. 

While at this institution, my sister was blessed with a handful of truly dedicated teachers who went above and beyond the requirements of their job to ensure that their students had the opportunities to succeed. These women knew that being a teacher was more than a job - it is a vocation. When you are entrusted with the responsibility of someone’s education, you commit yourself to doing all in your power to fulfil the role of teacher and exemplar. I don’t need to mention their names because anyone who studied under a teacher like this will immediately associate them with my description.

Unfortunately, not all teachers in the world meet these standards.

Perhaps what’s most disappointing about this is that I know how many great teachers are still out there - teachers who care about their students regardless of creed, race, class or even ability.  So why is it that there aren’t more men and women who view teaching as a vocation? Maybe it’s because too many people see at it as a secure job where you can show up as often as you feel or say whatever you like and never be held accountable. Food for thought.

TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF ARACHNID-HUMAN INTERACTIONS

TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF ARACHNID-HUMAN INTERACTIONS

Notification of the entry into force:

By special negotiation initiated by the resident, hereafter referred to as “the Proposing Party” and involving the Class Arachnida of the Phylum Anthropod the Treaty is to be entered into force on 8 November 2013.

_____________________________________________________

Preamble

The Parties to the Treaty,

Guided by the principles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, specifically article 5 “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and article 12 “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,”

Acknowledging that both Parties to the Treaty are equally entitled to a basic standard of rights,

Believing that the distress resulting from contact between members of the Class Arachnida of the Phylum Anthropoda, hereafter referred to “Arachnids” and the Proposing Party are injurious to the peace and security of each Party to the Treaty,

Convinced that unsolicited and avoidable opposition to the peace and security of a Party constitutes a violation of article 5 and 12 respectively,

Reaffirming the verbal agreement between both parties dated January 2003 which outlines the appropriate guidelines of conduct between Parties to the Treaty,

Have determined as follows:

ARTICLE I

Each Party to the Treaty shall immediately and permanently cease hostile action against the other party unless said party is found to be in violation of one or more condition outlined in Articles III-IV.

ARTICLE II

As far as possible, Parties will avoid all unsolicited interaction with one another. The treaty acknowledges that occasional interaction in neutral territory may be unavoidable and takes measures to reduce this (Article IV).

ARTICLE III

Parties commit to not encroaching on one another’s territory with the intent to cause physical harm, emotional distress or interference with the party’s home (defined here as areas frequented for rest and Party-specific hunting grounds). Parties acknowledge that a violation of this article constitutes a temporary suspension of the ceasefire principle outlined in Article I.

ARTICLE IV

Each Party to the Treaty agrees to control reproductive rates thereby minimising the need to encroach on further territory and the probability of interaction in neutral territories. Parties again acknowledge that a violation of this article constitutes a temporary suspension of the ceasefire principle outlined in Article I.    

DONE AT SAN FERNANDO, this seventh day of November, two thousand and thirteen.

Apologies for my hiatus

In an attempt to keep my apologies and the stylised writing of my next post well separate, I have devoted a short note to explain that life occasionally prevents me from giving attention to a blog that is more for my own personal amusement than any real need to inform others of my doings (read that as: I am lazy and don't devote much time to blogs or journals).

However, I have recently convinced my younger sister to keep a blog that chronicles her university experiences in England and, in an attempt at solidarity, I will also be trying to revamp my blog.

<3

A Very Post-Grad Christmas

Instead of apologizing for my absence, I have to apologise for extending it. One essay is done but the other is still weighing heavily on my mind (and my back, neck, shoulders, eyes and everywhere else that hurts from sitting in front of books all day).

The next few days will be spent in the British Library reading dusty old eighteenth and nineteenth-century children’s books and then I head off for Christmas in Newcastle with my sister and some family friends.

All in all, it looks as though I’ll be having a relatively un-Christmasy Christmas. In spite of that, I send my sincerest wishes for a very merry Christmas to all of you.

The Quest Continues

And so, after an epic battle against Samuel Richardson’s Sir Charles Grandison I have finally defeated the 1,600 page monster and his 20 Academic Article minions. But, as it is often noted, the battle may have been won but the war is not over.  The enemy will not be truly defeated until I can dispel the darkness over his land and to do this I must forge an illuminating 4000 Word Paper.  

Even if I gain victory over Sir Charles Grandison, I know that the wrathful King of the English Department has released another challenger and she sits, biding her time, looking for the perfect moment to attack. But I will not despair.  Let him send whatever challenges he may, I will meet them bravely with a pencil in one hand and a flashcard in the other.


~*~

And so the writing stage of Essay #1 begins! Wish me luck and keep praying. After this comes essay number two - an equally challenging analysis of the Eliza Fenwick's infinitely shorter novel Secresy

Writing "the Best of Men"

The perfect man, we have all been told, does not exist. He is a character confined to the pages of gushy novels and idle dreams. But, indulge me for a few minutes by suspending your disbelief and trying to picture this elusive paragon of chivalry. What would it be like to know the perfect man? By that I don't mean to have met him in passing over a cup of tea or to have shared an entire evening of enjoyable conversation with him (assuming that all conversation with the perfect man would be enjoyable). What if you knew him so well that you spent most of your time in his company? How would you feel? Well, I'll tell you...

You'd be frigging pissed off 90% of the time.

Notwithstanding that your eyes would never get tired of looking at him, this nonpareil man would be so insufferably good that you would eventually find it obnoxious. With the exception of the equally perfect female, all those around our "Best of Men" would have their flaws constantly rebuked and corrected (and if any person is harder to find than the perfect man it must be the individual who actually enjoys being constantly corrected).

Wouldn't you rather correct your flaws by comparing yourself to someone worse than you than someone better? It's no wonder that most writers who attempt to create the perfect hero also insert grossly exaggerated villains.

I would venture to say that we are more likely to correct ourselves through witnessing others' punishments than from the moralising lectures of these perfect men. Keep your Sir Charles Grandisons, your Lord Orvilles and your Mr. Darcys. I am not a perfect woman and I don't care for any perfect man.

~*~

And the point of saying all that was just to let you know that I'm currently writing an essay on the representations of masculinity in Samuel Richardson's "Sir Charles Grandison" and Frances Burney's "Evelina" and therefore, if you don't see a blog post for some time it's because I'm drowning in work.