Thank you all for finding time in your busy “literary lives” as world-renowned detectives to join us here today.

Since all of you are known to have extraordinary powers of deduction,  I would like to give you a small challenge.  Please look at this photo I took of a person’s desk.  What can you learn about the person who uses this desk and his/her workplace from this photo?

Hercule Poirot: I don’t even need to use my little grey cells to see that this is a teacher’s desk. She is clearly grading papers!

Naomi: That is correct, but wait!  You said “SHE” is grading papers. What makes you think that we’re talking about a female teacher?

Hercule Poirot: “Because I am Hercule Poirot! I do not need to be told.” *

Naomi: Haha! With all due respect, if you were my student I would ask for information from the text (in this case, the photo) that supports your claim.

Sherlock Holmes: I must agree with my colleague on this matter. “You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.”**

Sherlock Holmes: Look carefully at the photo. Great thought and care have been invested in the exact placement of each object and decoration on this desk, indicating not only a woman’s touch but one who is pedantic and clearly interested in style or design. Even the apple, which is only there temporarily, is neatly cut and placed with care.

Naomi: Pardon me for saying so, but you are from another era – there are men today who are admired for their style. Aren’t you just guessing due to the fact that there are more female teachers in this country?

Sherlock Holmes:  I’ll ignore that. Just look at the spectacles on the desk. Not only do they serve as an additional indication, but they are reading glasses. Clearly, this desk belongs to an experienced teacher.

Miss Marple:  Gentlemen, do take a look at yourselves!  You are so easily distracted by the irrelevant issue of gender, while completely ignoring the true significance of all you see on this desk.

Naomi, you must bear in mind that “Gentleman are frequently not as level-headed as they seem” ***

Naomi: Thank you, Miss Marple. What do you mean?

Miss Marple: This teacher, and the teachers seated near her (this desk is obviously one of many), are clearly required to spend a great many hours at school, well beyond those hours devoted to teaching.  One would assume that such hours were allocated as “preparation time” though as someone who specializes in listening to what others say among themselves (certainly not to be confused with eavesdropping!!) I do wonder how much work can be efficiently done when surrounded by so many people…

The investment we see in making one’s workspace comfortable and aesthetically pleasing indicates someone who has decided to make the best of the situation.

Hercule Poirot: (Coughs loudly and pauses before speaking)

My dear Miss Marple, you neglected to mention the evidence that this teacher does not have an administrative role at school.

Naomi: Which evidence is that?

Hercule Poirot: I’m astonished you need to ask that, Naomi. Why even a child would know what being allocated a cubicle (as opposed to an office) signifies…

Lieutenant Columbo: Just one more thing…

(Collective sounds of surprise are heard, as he had not been sent an invitation)

Lieutenant Columbo: Why has no one mentioned that this teacher is not an elementary school teacher? Look at the length of those texts!

Sherlock Holmes: (sighs deeply)

Sherlock Holmes: Even though I did not actually say the following in any of my books, I cannot help myself – we didn’t mention it because it’s E-L-E-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y!

 

Many thanks to Mali Savir, for “lending” me her desk for this post.

• *        “Death on the Nile”, by Agatha Christie
• **     “The Bascombe Valley Mystery” by C. Doyle
•  *** “The Body in the Library” by Agatha Christie

 

 

YAY!      Schools will resume teaching “normally” as of tomorrow at full capacity.

OMG!    Schools will resume teaching “normally” as of tomorrow at full capacity.

Note: Full capacity at the high-school where I teach is about 1800 students.

It’s a ROLLER COASTER!     Last-minute decisions,  conflicting and incomplete information – teachers and school administrators can be ready for anything, adapt to whatever is needed at a moment’s notice, right? Isn’t that why educators are one of the most respected professions in the world? Right, huh?

I say “YAY” because I’m thrilled to teach the way I was meant to teach – being with the students in the same room! A lesson in which we can all focus on the task at hand,  with all our resources available,  leaving technology to be used when, where, and how we want to use it, only when it serves our purpose.

A FACE-to-FACE lesson where we can smile at the students as they enter class, compliment one, encourage another who seems to need it even though no word was spoken, or even just silently point to the whiteboard where the dates of the national exams are written when they ask for the umpteenth time.

Smile?

Did I say “smile“?

What about THE MASKS?!!

If it is safe now to have so many students in one place for an entire school day, in close proximity, why isn’t it safe for them to ride on a school bus to school? The students won’t come without transportation and the drivers won’t bring them at half capacity.

Who is actually going to come tomorrow? And the day after? And what about those who don’t? And those students and teachers who really can’t return?

Have medical professionals, epidemiologists, been consulted during the “thoughtful process of planning” the reopening of the school system? The fact that I’m looking for a “rhyme and a reason” may be highly Quixotic of me but knowing that doesn’t help me sleep any better.

Is wearing a mask for a full school day at all feasible?

Thanks to an administrator at school I got a mask with a clear plastic window so my Deaf and hard of hearing students can see my lips. Can I spend a whole day with a piece of plastic over my mouth?

I guess I’m going to find out.

The principal sent a recommendation to spend breaks outdoors as much as possible, so as to avoid crowding in the teacher’s room.  Students should go out as well.

Unfortunately, the first serious heatwave of the year has just begun. It’s a scorcher worse than our usual seasonal ones. The weather forecast for the area of our school tomorrow will be a whopping 40 degrees celsius! 

For once I can foresee the future – the schoolyard will be empty!