
Before I launch into a rant about this week at school I will go over this lovely meal. A friend of mine, his wife makes really good pies. I get a dozen a time and put them in the freezer. She makes chicken, beef, pork and vegetable, bacon, chunky beef, curry and so forth and they are delicious.
I pay 40 Baht a pie, a bargain I say for the quality, cook up some vegetables and a meal for a king or a dick like me.

The other great thing of late was this convection microwave. It cost me 300 Baht. A friend had it in the kitchen and it got wet in a downpour and stopped working, he bought a new microwave.
I informed him that Thais can fix just about anything, he said I could have the microwave and get it fixed. The repair man had it for a week, he cleaned it up, repainted the inside with a special paint and it is working like new.
Now in the mornings I simply tip all the ingredients in together for my oatmeal and go and have my shower. When I come out my breakfast is ready to eat. Cooking vegetables are so easy too, should have bought one a long time back, but I wouldn’t have got it for 300 Baht.
This week at school has been pretty horrible. We had exams on Tuesday and Wednesday and this meant sitting in a classroom all day proctoring. We had to make sure students didn’t cheat.
The days were long and boring but you get through it. After the tests finished it then meant marking your exam papers. I started with my youngest class, primary 1. They are kids aged from five and a half to nearly seven.
When you teach these kids 5 days a week you get to know then well, you know who are strong and who are weak in English.
The first test I was to correct, each student is numbered from 1 to 30. The number 1 student is a boy and his English is weak. I was expecting plenty of mistakes, in class he cannot read the easy sentences, identify the colours we have learnt, match words to pictures and so forth.
So I started marking his test, correct, correct, correct… Okay, I knew something was going on. I then went straight to the weakest student in the class, I straight away knew when I glanced over it what had happened.
The teacher that looks after the class, their homeroom teacher is a lovely lady, really lovely. She is the politest lady I have met at the school. Always so friendly and I have always gotten on well with her.
The problem is she is too soft; she hates to see the kids not do well in the exams. I first came across this a few years ago in her class when again very weak students were just doing too well.
Later that day when I arrived in the classroom. I called the 5 weakest students to the front of the class. I had them come to me at the teacher’s desk and try and read some of a blank test. None of them could, I had expected this.
I then explained, I was not angry at them or they were not in trouble. I asked them how they could do the test.
I was then told, ‘the teacher helped me.’
I asked how the teacher had helped. I was told, ‘the teacher had translated frpm English into Thai’ and had also coloured objects where students had to read and colour.
I was really pissed, I had 4 exams on at the same time, so I was walking between them to monitor and also offer assistance if a student asked. I do not help students at all. I will point to examples on the test or the words that might be in bold in the instructions. I never prompt a student in an exam.
So I then again told the primary 1 students that they were not in trouble. I asked the students who were helped by the teacher to raise their hand.
About 18 students out of the 30 raised their hands. I am sure smoke was coming out of my ears.
I taught the rest of the class as per normal. I went back to the office and didn’t say a word to the supervisor of the English programme or to the teacher who had helped them.
I composed a letter informing all the primary 1 parents of what had happened, exactly the truth with no sugar coating. I then had this translated into Thai.
It basically informed parents that all scores were null and void. All students would be retested next week and the test will be done in class and monitored by me. If the parents have any complaints, direct them to the administration of the school.
I know that the teacher involved is going to be embarrassed and also angry, but after warning her not to help students every time we sit exams for the last 3 years I have had enough.
I don’t expect all students to be grade ‘A’ students. If a student cannot do a part of a test, so be it. I can then inform the parents that they need to offer extra help in that area. Hiding a student’s weakness only creates a bigger problem down the track.
Apart from this, there has been idiocy happen about the swine flu or H1N1. Some of the powers to be must have been sniffing way to much glue in a very small and enclosed area. Some of the recommendations they rules they have put in place over the past week, go against what the World Health Organization recommend.
In our classrooms have had the airconditioning turned off, the windows and doors have been opened but there isn’t a breeze to be felt. It is stinking hot in the rooms and students have droplets of sweat fall off their noses onto their books in the swealtering heat.
I have said again and again. The air conditioning is not going to spread the H1N1 virus, it isn’t an ‘airborne virus’ it is spread through contaminated droplets expelled when speaking or sneezing, human to human contact or a person touches a surface that has the virus on it and then transfers it by touching their mouth or face area.
Today the idiocy went to new heights, apparently, again apparently some students in year 10 had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, so the classes around them were sent away from their room and all the classes were ordered to be cleaned.
Students who weren’t sick started asking if they could go home as they were scared. It was really pathetic.
If these kids are made aware that if they follow some basic hygiene steps they have a very good chance of not contracting the virus.
When I asked some students how the virus was transmitted or spread the answers were absolutely comical.
Students would not believe me they could sit in a room with a person who had the virus and not contract it. They could not believe that a person with the virus could sneeze or spit on a part of your body, say arm and hand and you would not contract it.
When I asked about how they can prevent contracting the virus, nearly all answered, ‘a mask.’
When I told them that this could increase the risk of getting the virus, if they wear the mask incorrectly, which 99.99% of the kids do! They thought I was insane.
Also they said washing their hands, I asked how long should they was them for, what was the recommendation from the World Health Organization, they thought 10 seconds. You should wash your hands thoroughly for 20 to 30 seconds.
And so forth, the students have been filled with propaganda, lies and deceit. If the students were told the simple facts it would stop a lot of the rot that is going on now.
The virus is a worry, but if you do get it and seek medical attention early most will just have a cold, some will get very ill and others will sadly die.
Next week, I have no idea what it will hold. Today a memo came out informing us that there will be no air conditioning until the 14th of August at least, classrooms need to be thoroughly cleaned twice a day, teachers, students and parents are encouraged to wear a mask and so forth.
I am sick of it all, I am sick of the over the top panic, student parents who have kept some kids away for over 20 days of school now. You cannot wrap your fuc$ing kid in cotton wool all the time. These idiot parents don’t realize that the kids have more chance of probably catching it at the local market or super market.
The school is virtually a controlled environment, teachers watch over the kids, if a student looks sick they are separated from the other students and their parents are called.
At a supermarket you don’t know who has handled the packet of chips before little Johnny and rubbed mucus and snot all over the bag. It is there environments that worry me.
Anyway, I could go on and on. But I am over it all. I have a headache, sore throat, sore arms and legs, I have a temperature and I feel like shit. So I am going out to spread this to as many people as I can.
Brunty :)