Karen

Today we went to Karen's house for lunch. Actually that's a lie. The humans had lunch. I just had to lie around in good dog mode though Karen did give me a little bit of cheese. Yum!

Ann first met Karen in 1984 when they both taught together. Ann & Karen have been friends for almost 40 years. When Ann was a young probationer teacher, Karen was Ann's mentor. Though in those days, one didn't have a 'mentor'. Karen was just the 'older, more experienced' teacher in the classroom next door, who very quickly became a friend for life.

Ann had a classroom full of 33 five year olds, (in what was a very deprived area at the time) and the aim was to get them all reading and adding up/subtracting within 10, by the end of the year. It never entered Ann's head that she was attempting an impossible mission. There were no teaching assistants or classroom help. …...........Nor was there any pressure to record what you were doing. Ann was a teacher and that's what she did. She taught! By the end of the year the 33 kids in her class could all read (albeit to different abilities) and they could all spell their own name and they could all add/subtract nos up to 10.

…....................Oh and they were certainly all toilet trained before they came to school. And yes, there was the 'very' occasional little accident, but that's all it was.................. a little accident. Way back in the 1980's kids were only accepted into nursery at 3 years of age if they'd been toilet trained. Now it seems a lot of the kids starting school aren't toilet trained, but apparently they may have 'medical issues'????? Seriously???!!! #theworldhasgonemad

…...........And just as a little throwback to Ann's very first teaching job when she was 22 years old. …...............The school had it's own swimming pool and at the interview she was asked if she'd be happy to teach the kids swimming??!! Well, she was hardly likely to say no was she?? No swimming teaching qualifications, 29 five year olds in a swimming pool, 3 mothers to help with getting the kids changed and then off they went for a coffee while Ann was left alone in a swimming pool and taught 29 kids how to swim.

In today's world it seems mad that something like that would even be allowed. But that was how it was 40 years ago. …............And when Ann said she was quite happy to do it because let's face it, at 22 you think you can do anything, she was told that the pool was only 3ft deep so if anything happened she could jump in???!!!

#howtimeshavechanged