Good Day

In an email, after reading a brief note of my travails, Mrs Teacher commented that we were all, including HD, suffering from ship psychosis. She knows a bit about that, and I think she’s probably right.

Anyhow, I spoke to LM and said that I couldn’t really give Gomez anything. If this was an FE college in the UK, and that is what it aspires to, then he would have to apologise for leaving my classroom, and then I would (or wouldn’t) agree to his return. However, LM had a word with him, and the class started as usual, with no big sit down. It became, actually, a very good morning’s work.

I also spoke to [Rick] who was in our building in his jeans sorting out boxes of hardware with ITB. I wanted to arrange for The Company to pay for my return flight direct – and not over-stress my always fragile cash-flow. No problem.

In the afternoon break, HD handed T3 and me a letter which gave notice of a very decent pay rise. The letter begins, “We have been reviewing the salary package for academic staff roles over a period of some months.” We? Some months? One imagines a committee composed of accountants, teaching managers, perhaps a trade union official, all entrusted with this difficult task back in December. What a road they’ve travelled, meeting every morning to thrash this out, comparing salaries of academic staff throughout the world.

Factions would form, alliances be made. There would be fall outs, both petty and serious. A whole week lost, perhaps, to the vexed question of whether they should have tea or coffee in their mid morning break. Until, at last, in mid March, they were able to report on the suggested, tenatative size of a possible increase. This was poo-pooed by DoS, who substituted the figure he’d decided on months before.

HD of course hung around whilst we read the letter and looked pleased with himself, like a seven year old who’s bought his Ma a birthday present.