Doctor wrote:
> I'm leaving the school that I'm at. I wanted to leave at end of academic
> year in June but the HOS decided a December departure is better. Everything
> has been more or less worked out.
>
> However two weeks ago, the HOS called a staff meeting to annouce my
> departure, of course all the student then knew, which I'm finding awkward.
> Now they are bringing in teachers for demo lessons and I have to wait in
> the library; obviously they don't want me there while a demo lesson is
> going on. I find this even more awkward.
>
> Once the decision was made by the school to release me in December and the
> annoucement was made to faculty and candidate teachers are giving demo
> lessons, I think I should be enjoying an early holiday and waiting for my
> flight out. I can't see anything good coming of me just being here.

Hello Doctor,

Thank you for your post. Although it would be presumptuous to say that I can understand how you must feel, allow me to say that I can appreciate the 'awkwardness' cause by announcing your December departure. Feelings are never wrong and you are entitled to express your sentiments. Unfortunately, we are sometimes not understood the way we wish to be understood. Methinks your pupils & colleagues have formed varied perceptions of your premature departure.

I'm sorry that you were not given the opportunity to complete the school year and had to possibly uproot yourself and perhaps, your family. Rest assured, Doctor. Your next designated 'surgery' [doctor's office] is forthcoming.

chemteacher101 wrote:
> I'm pretty sure there used to be an old thread where people contributed
> questions they ask potential employers. Does anyone have a link to it by
> any chance? Or if not, would anyone care to share things you would ask a
> school when interviewing and considering employment?

Hello ChemTeacher 101. If I may suggest:

What or personal traits & professional characteristics have made your current/outgoing Chemistry teacher highly successful at your school?

[quote="sangster2"]
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. (Native American proverb)

Eat wid the devil but give 'im long spoon. (Jamaican proverb)
[/quote]

@ sangster - These two quotes spoke to me [with their double meanings]. I read once a Native American proverb etched in a plaque but I couldn't recall the tribe:

"When you speak, make sure that the words that come out of your mouth are sweet. Someday, someone will make you eat them."

No worries mate, your words are like rhubard crumble. As for Jamaica, their "grooviest" song at the time we visited was:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IShrytb1UZE

@defygravity - You are not a princess... you are a queen.

1. Best overseas food: Käsknöpfle [Liechtenstein]

2. Strangest overseas food: Barbacoa [Ciudad Juarez, Mexico]. Thank heavens for serviettes.

3. Best beer/spirits: "Groaerd" Riesling Grevenmacher [Luxembourg] although I'm partial to French Merlot and I don't like beer [it doesn't like me].

4. Best festival/event: EuroPride 2008 [Stockholm, Sweden]. I almost changed my passport.

5. Best place you went for vacation while overseas: Minneapolis [Utterly gobsmacked by the Minnesota Nice!] and Hong Kong.

Post Script: I saw Wicked in NYC and London Victoria. You must see how the British cast interpret "For Good" with an English accent and the audience glazed over the one-liners and American humour.

[quote="anon"]How about an Arab one?
"The son of a duck is a floater."
وابن بطة هو العوام

My favorite is an American quotation, "It is as cruel to bore a child as to beat him."[/quote]

@ Anon - Thank for bringing me fond memories. My Papa worked in the Middle East back in the 80's and he used to mention this to us. As for the American quotation, I can see a few of my pupils blowing this out of proportion although I agree completely.

[quote="Cwlcymro"]The one about the best Welshman being a Welshman overseas refers to the fact that Welsh people overseas will often be much more proud of their heritage and culture than those living at home.[/quote]

@ Cwlcymro - Thank you for clarifying the above. Three of my students picked this prompt [I replaced "Welsh" with _____ and the issue of brain drain as well as "unspoken pride while at home came up."

Dear Cwlcymro --- I used Google Translate, of course, and I will include these in my lesson plan:

[quote="Cwlcymro"]Some Welsh proverbs (translated of course!)

The best weapon is the weapon of learning
"Mae'r arf gorau yw'r arf dysgu"

Who would be a leader, must be a bridge
"Pwy fyddai'n fod yn arweinydd, fod yn bont"

A man without knowledge is a ship without an anchor
"Mae dyn heb wybodaeth yn llong heb angor"

[/quote]

The following, however, could be misunderstood when taken literally and by face value:

The best Welshman is a Welshman overseas!

That's the pitfall: the nuance and deeper meaning of the above quote are lost in translation although my Welsh friends are "books" that I cherish.

Good luck to your international school adventure [luck is a factor], and I hope your new headmaster is a "bridge".

Thank you ever so much for these quotes which I included as writing prompts for my Sixth Form class:

@ PsyGuy
"Many things are true, including that many people disagree on what is true" (Judge Ooka Tadasuke).

@ IAMBOG - Of course, this is easier said than done... and we don't have to go very far.
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." --E. Roosevelt

Bliblical phrase from FISH 24:7 - If you ever go to Manila, try their milkfish omelette cooked in banana leaves.

On my first day in Sixth Form, my Maths teacher asked us to share proverbs that represented our home countries saying he did this every September to set the tone for the year. So when I became a teacher, each year I would have my homeroom class create colourful wisdom posters on A3 paper that their mums, grandparents [and Google] instilled in them. Of course, being TCK’s we muddle up our native cultures.

France: “There is no pillow so soft than a clear conscience.â€

Dear Admin,

The original intent of this Open Letter Re: PsyGuy is to prevent meaningful posts from being hijacked, squandered and sabotaged. However, a more glaring issue has unravelled: that some ISR members don’t feel safe in taking a personal stand because of the few vocal [and seemingly draconian] members who will criticize their thread. As a result, posts are being withdrawn and deleted!

PsyGuy does not work alone. Whilst there are members who will resort to name-calling and insults just to enable him, there are others who keep feeding him with refutation when we all know that this is fuelling him to post replies at the crack of dawn and during office hours in Northern Europe.

Methinks some people thrive on conflict. In psychology, it is called “co-dependentâ€

Dear Admin,

FYE: Here's an excerpt from a cancelled episode of the TV sitcom Seinfeld

Yours Faithfully,

Skablictady

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kramer to Jerry: “You really hurt my feelings for posting that on the ISR forum.â€

Sigh for Dongle:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-dongle.htm

Yours Faithfully,

Skablictady

Dear Admin,

FYE:

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/techstu ... -video.htm

Yours Faithfully,

Skablictady

Dear Admin,

I wish to share the following video clip & web article:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-beh ... rnet-forum

http://www.wikihow.com/Behave-On-an-Internet-Forum

Yours Faithfully,

Skablictady

Dear Admin,

I apologise in advance for squandering everyone's dongle. I reckon that some vocal ISR Forum members are not in favour of the daily maximum 3-post policy. After being referred to as "The Sock", I thought I was way past the name-calling after KeyStage 3. Somehow rather, that Canadian TV show didn't catch my Mum's fancy.

In honour of SighGuy, might I share the following links {as againsts an A4 post} as I only have "narrowband" in my flat:

http://curezone.com/forums/troll.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

Yours Faithfully,

Skablictady

A world traveller came to a primary school in New York to speak at an assembly about bicycle safety. At the end of his speech, he asked, “Are there any questions?â€