Do We “Get Up Ourselves”
Nobody gets to choose where they are born. Many foreigners living in Thailand “get up on themselves”. That is, through an accident of birth, education and an increased spending power, say, with new personal drivers, they turn into little dukes and duchesses. With the “me first” generation this can easily turn into an unearned sense […]
Oppositional Kids in the Classroom
Can you imagine a society where the only power police officers have is to appeal to drivers not to park in forbidden zones? To reason with and persuade them? Motorists would quickly realise they can park as they wish and the police are just a powerless inconvenience. But this is the kind of situation that […]
International Schools: teenagers are not porcelain angels
It is great to know that so many international schools are concerned for “child security” and “leadership development programmes” but coverage of international schools is mostly occupied with the slant of highlighting excellency. Teenagers are not porcelain angels. We all know this. The contents of the American Pie movies are not entirely fictional and, believe […]
Returning to the UK
Travel is akin to science fiction because the grossly unfamiliar constantly mixes with the real. One not only traverses space but also epoch and culture. My first impressions: a large number of old people, an abundance of charity shops, turtle-shaped women, not many cops around but road cameras everywhere, twice as many cars, a lot […]