Page 147 - Through a glass brightly

MrsBarberwhomwehadforO-levelphysicswithchemistrywas good,andnice,ifabitscatty (perhaps that is what made her fun). As has been mentioned in earlier emails, later Mrs Barber was sadly killed in a car crash.
Miss Eatock, who was the teacher for A-level Chemistry knew her stuff and I think still held a passion for the subject; once or twice after I left school, she followed my 'progress' and wrote me a nice letter. However, she could be a bit volatile. One slightly crazy incident. We had exercise books in which our practical work was meant to be recorded, and which, in principle, the A-level examiners could ask to see, although I doubt they ever actually did so. At the front of the book we were supposed to record our 'inorganic' chemistry practical analysis and ,starting at the back, our organic chemistry analysis We were supposed to turn the book round (upside down), so that the stuff at the back could be read, turning the pages normally . (Yes this is getting complicated, but hang on in there).Unfortunately Ann Draper had starting writing up her organic experiments in the back of the book (correct thing to do) but without turning the book round (incorrect but not a great difficulty, one would think, it was still quite understandable ,just the page turning was slightly different).But Miss Eatock was incandescent. What would happen if the A-level examiner asked to see the book? (In fact, I think it would have been no great deal). But Miss Eatock was determined to put it right. With a razor blade, she cut out the offending pages and , with sellotape, stuck them back in, the 'right' way up-what a mess, made worse by her cutting her finger in the process, and the pages being smeared with blood......
Miss Wilson, for Physics A-level, had a difficulty in that half the class were doing mathematics at A-level and half (in particular future medics) were doing biology instead. So the approach on some topics was either too easy or too difficult. Miss Wilson knew her stuff but most of it just went from her notes to the blackboard and into our notebooks.I found this sometimes rather boring. I think some of the future medics found it incomprehensible.
But it was impressive how many of these teachers were prepared to give their time to extra coaching in lunch hours for catch-up or to prepare for additional exams e.g. S-level.
Much has already been said about the history teaching. I really enjoyed history before I arrived at QEGGS and continued to do so. The UVth year was, for me, particularly interesting. I think we covered 1840-1940, a wonderfully interesting period in which so many half -known events clicked into place. We had a text book which illustrated events with Punch cartoons; I still can visualise King Louis-Phillippe as a pear, and the Kaiser watching Bismarck leaving the German ship of state. And we had a special topic, I think specially designed for our school, which covered the development of the Empire in India and in Africa. I doubt that the approach would match today's perspectives but at least I got some idea of the pattern of these developments. I guess that must have been the inspiration of Miss Ritson (who, I think was very good) and Miss Meyer, whom I never had as a history teacher but whose lunchtime current affairs sessions (in the LVth/UVth?) I really enjoyed and were eye-opening.
Sunday, 5th July
From Maggie R.
I thought of you today Glenda as ‘Songs of Praise’ came from Glasgow. We have two more programmes from Glasgow to come. The sun was shining!! I do hope that you can get your walk in the Autumn.
From Val M. at 20.56
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