The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2314 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

“I’m thinking of showing, Inherit the Wind to my class next term.”

“Whit’s that when it’s at hame?”

“A play based upon Clarence Darrow’s defence of Scopes.”

“Whit?”

“The monkey trial.”

“Monkey?”

“Daddy, the one in America where someone was charged under the State law about actively teaching evolution.”

“Och, that one.”

“Yes, with Spencer Tracey as Darrow.”

“Why are ye showin’ it?”

“It’s part of the history of the understanding of evolution.”

“Aye, the McCarthy version o’ it.”

“That as well.”

“As long as ye teach them whit’s required as well, I hae nae problem wi’ it.”

“Good, that’s settled then, I’ll see if I can find a copy of it on DVD.” I went back to my office and found a copy for a fiver on Amazon and ordered it. I suspect by using the multinational I was driving more nails into the coffins of small scale vendors, but then I saw something about a major rival that was even less edifying.

I would now have to watch the video and consider how I could use it as a teaching aid, have a series of questions to ask them either to do as an essay or in discussion groups or whatever. As long as it got them thinking about the process of evolution and how nature has used the system as natural selection to get to where we are now.

Humans tend to think of themselves as the top of the tree, the most sophisticated creatures alive. In some ways we are, but even marauding elephants cause less environmental damage than the average human. Surely if we were really sophisticated we’d be as efficient as we are but with less damage to the planet, instead I suspect we’re just greedy rapacious and ruthless predators and despoilers with the ability to transcend our baser natures but little motivation. Climate change when it’s far too late, may provide that motivation just before we become extinct.

On that pleasant thought I went to collect the four mouseketeers. They were getting excited as school finished on Friday. I tried to remind them that exams started when they went back, and although none of them were doing important exams, such as GCSEs, all exams were important. Trish wasn’t worried, Livvie was pretty competent as well, Meems was quietly confident and Danielle seemed the only one who was at all worried.

We dropped her off at football practice, I would collect her two hours later after I’d sorted out the rest of the bunch. David, hopefully, had created some delicious grub for dinner and it would be ready for all of us to eat on Danni and my return from the soccer team.

Trish was concerned by the religious homework, she had to compile a list of the ten commandments and seven deadly sins without using the internet. I was sure they’d be listed in the bible or Encyclopaedia Britannica—Daddy had a set in the lounge, though they weren’t used as often as they should be. There’s something very satisfying about researching for something in books, using indices and turning over pages, making notes and so on. Just clicking on, print on a computer screen might be easier and more convenient, but how much do people remember? If you have to make notes, you might retain a bit more.

I discussed where they might find information with Livvie and Trish as they both had to do the exercise, and were allowed to confer. Using books was something of a novelty to them except to read them as an end in itself. I had no problem with the latter exercise and both of them enjoyed reading, but neither was very confident about recording data extracted from books. I sat and helped them, showing them how to list a bibliography at the end of their work. At least we weren’t guilty of sloth, but there might have been an element of pride in my case as they grasped the concept of research very quickly. I wished some of my first year students did so half as effectively when it occurred to me that some of them had possibly had no training in research techniques or using a library. I’d speak to Tom about it tomorrow.

I noted that the missing aircraft was still missing and expected it to slip off the radar as a news item until something was found or something new relating to it happened. The media systems with their need to consume new news stories in order to provide for the twenty four/ seven news bulletins had moved on. Two stories which caught my attention, one with anger the other with a bit of self-righteousness was the poisoning of birds of prey in Scotland, mainly red kites; and the decision by government to not consider continuing the badger cull in England. The most recent evaluations had demonstrated what the critics had suggested from the beginning. It was ineffectual, badgers weren’t killed quickly or humanely and numbers were pure guesstimates. It had cost a lot of money to prove what the experts had said from the beginning, why government departments can’t see the bleeding obvious is mind boggling but not surprising. How senior civil servants can claim bonuses when many of the things they do ends in such a farce is scandalous. Why they should get bonuses in the first place is ridiculous and before they bring in performance related pay to teachers perhaps MPs and civil servants should be put on it, paying them the standard salary when they met their targets and not when they didn’t. Start at the top of the tree before they cascade it down to lesser mortals.

David had made us a very tasty risotto. I suspect we forget that the Italians make things other than pasta dishes and risotto is one of my favourites—especially the beef variety, which was what we had. It brought back memories of the Vesta packs of the same when I was a student, especially when they were on special offer in supermarkets. I ate probably more than was good for me, but they were easy to make if you had a frying pan and a knob of butter.

“What’s the orange stuff?” asked Trish as she stirred her meal with a fork.

“Paprika,” I answered her question.

“What’s that?”

“A mild pepper.”

“Oh, that’s all right then,” and she tucked into her dinner.

“Actually, it’s rust off the cemetery railings,” suggested Julie.

“Ewch,” said Trish now back to stirring her meal.

“It gives the food more body,” continued Julie teasing her sibling.

“Body—yuck,” said Trish and put down her fork.

“Please eat your dinner, David took some time to make this for us.”

“I’m not eating dead bodies,” Trish declared.

“Well live ones would jump off the plate,” suggested Danni smirking.

“Just eat your dinner, Trish; Julie please stop teasing your sister.”

“But it’s good fun, okay I lied, Trish.” Julie watched her sister pick up her fork and load another lot into her mouth before saying, “It’s not rust from the railings, it’s rust from the nails in the coffins.”

“What, toenails?” said Livvie with disgust and Trish promptly threw up over herself and part of the table.

It certainly didn’t help my appetite one bit.