Tuesday 12th February

 

This week I listened to a program about homework. Is it valuable; is it helpful, is it a waste of time… that sort of thing. I am closely related to many teachers, and they all have very funny stories about homework projects which have very obviously been done by clever parents. One particular Science project caused a lot of anger and competition. My then Grade 6 teacher daughter was questioned very closely: WHY did Audrey get an A+ for her project? I think Beatrice’s was just as good, if not better! What can a poor beleaguered teacher say, in response?? Well actually Audrey got the higher mark because…she – ahem - did it herself…

 

India #85

We had been told to get up and moving and up to the Elephanta Caves early in the morning, because it gets too hot for the climb later in the day. So like good little bunnies we left the Club at 7.30 and were at Colabar to catch a boat from the Gateway of India by 8. This is when we discovered all of the advice we had been given was spurious; no boats left until nine. Oh well…off to the Mondegar for breakfast, not a problem. When we finally got on our boat, it seemed quite large and sea-worthy. But the trip took forever – was it really that far? Why were we going s-l-o-w-e-r by the minute? Because our boat was crap, that’s why. It finally conked out completely and bobbed about ineffectually in the midst of the very busy shipping lanes. Another similar boat puttered up and we changed by walking the wibbly-wobbly plank. I looked around a bit dubiously – was I capable of swimming back to shore? Well no…but I could easily to have swum to one of those nasty looking concrete buoy thingies, so long as none of the enormous tankers ran over me first.