Learning from my Cat

Today was one of the first warm and sunny days of this year - did I go out to enjoy the sun ? No, I had to sit at my desk and work all day. During a short break I watched my cat who had taken up her favourite place on the table on the balcony … she was lying in the sun, totally relaxed, eyes closed, the ideal of well-being. Later she came into the house and sauntered into the kitchen to get some food before she elegantly jumped onto the sofa.

I looked at the furry ball on my most expensive silk cushion and thought that I could learn a lot from my cat. For example she always does what she wants, she never does what others expect from her. When we get visitors, she does not play the cute little friendly kitty, but throws a cold look at the intruder and then disappears until the strange person has left. Sometimes she grants the great privilege of her presence and people feel flattered when she comes. Nobody takes her for granted, not even I, her main food giver, can do that.

Her pride and elegance in every situation is something I would love to have as well. She knows very well that she is the most beautiful creature on earth. Never does she stand in front of the mirror scrutinizing her face for wrinkles or her aging body for fat. In fact, she ignores mirrors. Last year she reacted to the winter by extensively cleaning her fur which had the effect that she lost almost all her hair on her hind legs and stomach. A human woman would never go out of the house looking like this, but my cat walked around, tail raised proudly, totally ignoring the fact that she might look, hmm, “ugly” - and I am worried about a few wrinkles and pounds too many?

We women could learn a lot from cats !!!

About a real man

What is a real man ? Apart from the obvious biological differences - what makes a man a man ?

A few months ago I was on a sailing trip with a group of 18/19-year-old students . On the first evening the chores on the ship had to be organized. One young man, very masculine appearance, made it very clear that he would do a lot of things but not clean the toilets. In his opinion a real man did not clean toilets. In fact, he refused to do anything that made it necessary for him to let his hands touch water. A real man is allergic to water !?

Another young man was (well, still is) a completely different type and a lot calmer. But in his quiet and modest way he made a deep impression on me. For example, he quickly learned how to steer the ship, and he was so good at it that the captain called him whenever things got complicated. One morning I got my chance at the wheel and I made a real mess at first, until this student came and stood next to me for about an hour, quietly explaining and giving tips. Suddenly he was gone and that meant he felt I could cope on my own.

Now, who is a "real man" ... someone who does not clean toilets or someone who can steer a big sailing ship with 25 people on board safely into the harbour ?

Animal Farm and a Lesson

In my 11th year English class I am reading George Orwell, Animal Farm, with the kids. You may know that it is a sort of political fable about a revolution and the subsequent establishment of another dictatorship, until at the end the pigs (the new rulers) and the humans cannot be distinguished any more. Orwell wrote this under the impression of Communist dictatorships, particularly that of Stalin.

It was funny, when we started reading and the students read that the animals were talking, they at first did not know what to make of it. They soon realized that this was not a children's book ("No pictures!") and then someone mentioned the word "fable" and another one "Russian Revolution" and so we got on the right track.

Today we discussed chapter three. The revolution has taken place and life is better for all the animals on the farm. No more oppression, no more being exploited. But already in this second chapter after the rebellion you can see how the three leading pigs establish a privileged position on the farm. It is interesting to see how they do that: a subtle mix of fake altruism ("we are doing this for your good") and threats ("the farmer will come back if we, the most intelligent animals, are not there").

I asked my students if we could learn something from this for our own lives. Because the names are different, but the system of establishing and preserving control is the same, so we can recognize a lot of our politicians' behaviour if we look closely. What I want my kids to do is to be critical and vigilant.

In the break I talked to a colleague teaching politics and we found out that the state curriculum sees the independent critical citizen as the goal of our education. But, of course, there is the "hidden curriculum" of economy as advertised in the media: what is wanted is the obedient consumer slave. It is hard work being a teacher...

But, I have yet to come to a point where I want to give up.