Skipping 2020

 Nothing has changed.

It’s quite some time since I last posted anything here mainly because nothing much has been bothering me that wasn’t being bothersome the last time I posted. To bring you up to speed, the management continues to be a complete ass.

This asinine behaviour has got worse recently because of the finals. We’ve had a couple of incidents which provoked a most peculiar meltdown from the management (“We’re all doomed!”) and a bunch of petty additions to exam procedures. It’s the meltdown that has me wondering because it seemed to be a rather extreme reaction to situations we’ve had to deal with before. I’ve been wondering whether there was some other, external reason for it.

We’ve also had meetings on an almost daily basis which seem to be a manifestation of the management trying to reinforce its power over us. The first one that was part of the meltdown was especially fraught and quite nasty at times. The implicit message seems to be that the management has authority over us and is quite prepared to waste our time with its petty (yes, that word again) concerns.

The conduct of the exams has become unnecessarily stressful as the management goes to helicopter mode, which affects both us lot and the children. We’ve also been confined to our classrooms for the exams, which are pokey little things that feel like a cage at the zoo. In part, this is because the big room we used to use is no longer available. I loathe invigilating at the best of times, but a large space in which to roam made such tedious occasions more tolerable.

On top of this, the IB programme has finished, which means no IB1 teaching that previously got me out of so many invigilations. But it’s amazing how many two-hour exams I’ve had to deal with – often twice a day, and there are more to come even though the number of exams has diminished.

I do not like the current management who is a p-e-t-t-y tyrant, who is a good reason for not allowing Americans to be in charge because of their polarised and inflexible views, because of their ethos of my-idea-is-right-therefore-I-am-right. It’s like that medieval notion that the king must excel at everything, and even if he hasn’t picked up a sword in 15 years, he’ll still be the best swordsman. It’s like the captains in Star Trek, whether it was Kirk, Picard or Janeway. For example, Picard managed to resist being infected by the Borg even though no one else ever did.

If I could’ve got away from this place without too much bother, I would’ve, but the days of going to some new place and being registered by local plod have gone. Now, we’re all treated as if we just fell off the plane with demands for various checks which are for someone like me both insulting and unnecessary; but it doesn’t matter how long I’m in the Empire. The length of my presence here will have no official recognition.