If you nosed around my school asking people why exactly they had turned up that morning, chances are most students would offer something in a range from ‘because it’s compulsory, innit’ to ‘what else am I going to talk about on MySpace tonight?’. Once you get to the Sixth Form, however, you start to (finally!) acquire a group of individuals who actually, genuinely, honest-to-god want to be there. It matters to them, because most of all they want to pass exams.
But why exactly? I was reminded today of the very clear idealogical divide that exists between two competing groups of students and teachers. On the one hand, you have the rationale that thinks it’s bloody obviously why you should want to pass exams – university, duh! And that’s going to be great because you’ll end up with a degree, and everyone knows degrees are great for getting you jobs, and hey, everyone wants jobs. Jobs = money. Money = stuff. Stuff = a really fast car painted to make it shinier, or, for the tenderer souls, a chance to buy a boat and sail off to a desert island for a while to escape that awful consumerist world back home. (Urgh. It makes you so angry that, like, the media is forcing you to buy things and you’re so glad you’re not going to conform like all those other idiots in your sociology class.)
Those are the optimists, by the way. The pessimist variant is that you better damn well make sure you succeed, because it’s a ‘highly competitive world out there’ and if you don’t get that A in English Literature Unit 2 (with coursework, naturally) someone is going to fuck you over in a job interview 20 years hence and you’ll die poor and sad and lonely in a box on the corner of the street opposite where your rich, clever friends live.
This is basically what I heard today from one teacher, who began to scrutinise a friend’s AS choices to check she wasn’t about to waste her life. Naturally, I jumped in (with a friend) to object.
“No! Don’t be silly, you don’t need to choose a career now. Do what you want to do, have fun, drink some alcohol (religious tolerances permitting) and don’t worry about it.”
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Just back from a big family weekend in Dorset for a surprise party to celebrate my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Tasha has actually beaten me to the online publication of photos, but here we go anyway 
(She actually has put the whole lot up, so do check them out too.)
Waiting to surprise
Haha facial expression of joy
He was generally much more cool and collected about it
Nice group photo in la casual clothes
I get shoved at the back now
Aww then we dressed up
This is a Dominic tie photo first
Parents made an effort too
Formal group!
I like this photo of Dad and Josh too
Certainly a whirlwind few days… starting with Friday, my ‘fake Cambridge interview’ day. Robert, Promise and I trekked down to Harslesden for this event which included a workshop on interview skills and mock interviews to try and give us some idea how how it would go. My first interview was great – I made a point quite early on that he really liked, so everything flowed like a natural conversation that could have kept going for ages. The second interviewer was a bit tougher, asking a few questions I didn’t really know the answer to and damning my lack of knowledge on the history of the college but he said at the end it did go well and that I kept good eye contact, hehe.
Oh, and I met a Tory ‘Catholic but not really’ boy who has exactly the same voice as Alex Trafford! We argued jovially a bit, so shout-out to David Allen, wherever you are! A distinctly un-shout-out (a boo-out?) to the two pretentious boys in suits I sat next to for a bit who sneered at everyone else’s lack of preparation in not brining notepaper.
Friday evening saw the return of Quiz Night! (Remember that?) Fabio and I were on marking duties this time, after various people gave excellent and understandable excuses and a further person gave a lame one Oh, and Mr. Birch gave us a free QPCS Music CD! Well, better than getting chocolates that have gone off, Waseley crew?
Saturday was Lucccccccy day, which turned into House of Mase day as I got dinner and everything 
thank you! I returned to London by train, shunning the Megabus for leaving me stuck in a traffic jam in god-forsaken Coventry that morning. (Ask Lucy if you want to see the cartoons I hastily drew to relieve my frustrations with the residents of said town )
And the train was interesting to say the least – an ever-changing carriage of entertainment. From the group of kids with voices curiously like mine, to the fare-evading boys who tried to hide under chairs, to the girl who stopped me to ask “you don’t happen to know who was kicked out of X Factor tonight do you?” “No” I replied, but not wishing to sound boring, adding “it was probably the one with the most talent and potential though”.
My my my… MySpace. That’s the other thing. I finally caved in and submitted to intense peer pressure (OK Lucy told me to) and got a MySpace account. So, y’know, if you’ve done the same and fancy adding me… 
Though I’m already having the inevitable ethical dilemmas on how to manage the ‘Top Friends’ slot. Hehe addiction.
I guarantee you, at the end of this year when I have my extra-super-long summer holidays this blog will become so chock-a-block with posts that you can hardly move for ramblings, but until then my time is becoming increasingly finite
The big news news to mention, of course, is massively important and signals much hope for a better future. But I’m sure that you’ve all read already about Britney and Kevin’s divorce so I won’t say anything more. Oh, and yes, the US mid-terms. Hurrah! It’s great to see Democrats seizing control of both houses of Congress, and signals, finally, that one of the most disastrous presidents in US history is rapidly losing all semblance of power.
‘Most disastrous’? Really? Well maybe it is too early to judge, but there’s no doubt Bush has been presiding over a highly polarised country, and we should remember that for every American that voted for him two years ago there is (almost!) one that voted against him. So the celebrations now should be for them, and the tireless work put in to unset Bush over the past two years. 
Having said that, it is now important – now that they have some power and responsibility – that Democrats perform well in the eyes of the American public. And that means the American public; reconnecting with the rest of the world is all well and good but the urgent priority is to prove they can govern again. Else this victory could yet turn into a defeat two years down the line in the Presidential election, and we most certainly don’t want that!
Captain Jack in Torchwood
Brilliant so far and improving every week too, although not designed for the same family audience that Doctor Who is. (Not, it isn’t as good as Who but then what is? 
Great for building up anticipation for Series Three though!) Last week we had a pterodactyl attack a cyberwoman for goodness sake!
You can hardly turn down that.
Where we left off, Manchester had come in first with an early conditional offer of AAA. Since then, Nottingham have made up for second place by offering AAB and Reading have come in with a ‘we can’t be a simple as that – 300 points and a handstand’ effort. Cambridge sent me back my nice stamped return addressed postcard today saying ‘yeah yeah we got your pieces of submitted work, ta’ so the question is now – will Bristol or Birmingham talk to me next? Place your bets now…
Although I just spent a whole paragraph on it, I am really quite glad I don’t have to really worry about unis much at the moment. It’s back on with work, and presentations on the French Revolution for English Literature, for some reason. Oh – social-historical context. Got it
We actually had one of those nice studenty teachers in our lesson who told me “I’ll always remember the White Terror now as you described it – when the people killed the people who’d killed the other people.”
Helen on It’s (waiting) time.: “Fabulous news, congratulations to you both! X” Jun 8, 21:51
