Curmudgeonly or no, Max, I often thought at schools that kids wanted to be entertained more than instructed. The best did both I suppose. But as with learning language there are hard yards need to be put in and it's hard to convince some young of the need for hard-yardery. I recall reading an article on the extent to which cultural background affected attitudes. The conclusion was that students from ANY cultural background other than white bread Australian tended to have a stronger work ethic and greater willingness to attack homework tasks.
Bill
On 10/01/2013, at 6:19 AM, Max Richards wrote:
> thanks, Patrick and others for comment.
> [Bill outside Melbourne sees weird life at St Andrews market!]
>
> In my old age I have come to thank workers like Bess who expected kids to work also.
>
> My wife and I just last night were wondering how today's young will ever develop
> good work habits unless they see results from their own first experiences of hard work.
> Learning the piano or other instrument takes much hard repetitive work.
> Can you learn another language without the same?
>
> Growing your own food has the beauty of the work bringing flavours to your own table.
>
> I am ashamed of my reliance on supermarkets and eating out, but too lazy to reform.
>
> My wife as a speech therapist gets her young (dyslexic) clients doing hard repetitive work, which slowly brings achievement,
> and she says how even the teenagers who come to her seem never to have had to work hard at anything.
>
> Sound like ageing curmudgeons, don't we!
>
> Looking back on my own schooling I reckon no teacher quite saw in me the lack of good work habits…failed at any rate to turn me into the worker I should have become…
>
>
> On 10/01/2013, at 6:04 AM, Patrick McManus wrote:
>
>> Max thanks for these pics -I expect we all get gulled now and then -I feel
>> for Auntie Bess her tough world -and I suppose the awful jobs now when you
>> go to visit uncle Max is to take those flea bitten dogs out for a walk
>> Cheers P
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Max Richards
>> Sent: 09 January 2013 05:48
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: 'Auntie Bess and the Colour Man'
>>
>
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