A Question of Queenie

[midget]

Upper and Lower 6th had a General lesson together once a week, mostly prsided over by DR, when we dicussed matters of interest, had quick spot debates: the motion before the house is"---" you (pointing) will propose it and you (pointing again) will oppose it. 2 minutes to think about it and start talking. If you didn't take part you would be called on to speak next time. Once a term we had a formal debate, lasting the whole lesson.
We also had a general English lesson for which we had to write an essay. I remember one term was spent analysing the way different newspapers treated a news item. People doing science subjects got annoyed because we had to do general English, but those doing arts subjects did not have a general science lesson!

[midget]

Returning to the subject of this thread, on "Today" this morning there was a discussion about pupils (even in primary schools) being trained to "monitor" teachers (and sitting in on job interviews). They would sit at the back of a class and then give the teacher a review of the way the lesson had been delivered. After thinking that the kids should be in their own classes doing thier own lessons, my next thought was "What would Queenie have thought of that and how would she have responded to criticism"? Any thoughts anybody?

[kerrensimmonds]

Would anyone have dared to criticise Queenie Blench? Certainly not me.... Her intellect was clearly so far superior to any/all of us that I really can't imagine any of us sitting in the classroom and giving her constructive feedback. The mind boggles...

[Katharine]

The mind boggles at the thought, I'm sure she would have said something quite scathing and told the child to run away.

I have been assessed as a lecturer, which is not much fun! This was just the students giving me a score out of five. It didn't help that I knew more about statistics than the college authorities and the results they gave me were completely impossible!

[J.R.]

It's so nice to see lady's minds 'boggling' as well as mine !

[Angela Woodford]

The mind boggles at the thought, I'm sure she would have said something quite scathing and told the child to run away.

The thought of Queenie being assessed on her teaching.... I have a sudden vision of complete silence, those cold lizard eyes dismissively blank, maybe the impatient tapping of a tiny foot, leather-clad in a scarlet shoe, and then, in her most chilling tones, telling the child to run away.

I can hear the voice! "Run away child. Go and throw yourself out of the window." I hear the voice and I'm very afraid.

Hell, for a moment I'm back in the front desk into which she made me move in Latin for maximum exposure and torture! In for an agonising session today then -

(moan of terror) love, Munch

[Jo]

I can hear the voice! "Run away child. Go and throw yourself out of the window." I hear the voice and I'm very afraid.

I think we've said before that Queenie was ruthless in pruning down her class until it consisted only of those who would get a respectable O level. In our year Sophie Stones was the last person left for whom Latin was a struggle, but she was extraordinarily tenacious - not, I think, out of any fondness for the subject, but simply to frustrate Queenie. Sophie was pretty stubborn (though even she gave way in the end and gave up Latin for something else).

Like you Munch, I can still hear the scathing voice, with a hint of a sarcastic smile on her lips, at Sophie's latest gaffe: "Oh Sophie, can't you run away and cook or something?"

[Angela Woodford]

Jo, I can't think why I wasn't pruned! With ratchet loppers, upside down, and buried outside the School walls... Queenie wrote in my report that 'O' level year "Unfortunately, Angela has no aptitude for Latin". Just that. Of course I failed the 'O' level.

And yet!

On Sunday morning, I visited + daughter + prospective son-in-law the historic NT house where my current husband is working. There was a gilded Latin pronouncement above the front entrance. "What does that mean, Mamma?" asked Susannah. I translated the Latin - no problem - to the admiration of a bunch of tourists. (Oh how sad is this ) I felt a little glow of triumph. Pathetic, really.

The Latin I managed to take in has been really useful to me.

[sejintenej]

On Sunday morning, I visited + daughter + prospective son-in-law the historic NT house where my current husband is working. There was a gilded Latin pronouncement above the front entrance. "What does that mean, Mamma?" asked Susannah. I translated the Latin - no problem - to the admiration of a bunch of tourists. (Oh how sad is this ) I felt a little glow of triumph. Pathetic, really.

The Latin I managed to take in has been really useful to me.

I had exactly the same experience last week in Venice. Real problem was I couldn't translate all the Cs, Ms and Xs in the dates.
Last Xmas my daughter gave me a book she thought would be a send-up funny and turned out to the a Teach Yourself Latin! OUCH

[Jo]

On Sunday morning, I visited + daughter + prospective son-in-law the historic NT house where my current husband is working. There was a gilded Latin pronouncement above the front entrance. "What does that mean, Mamma?" asked Susannah. I translated the Latin - no problem - to the admiration of a bunch of tourists. (Oh how sad is this ) I felt a little glow of triumph. Pathetic, really.

The Latin I managed to take in has been really useful to me.

I can't imagine not having done Latin - even if you can't remember much (and I'm not sure I do), it helps with the etymology and meaning of so many words in English, French, and other Romance languages.

[Angela Woodford]

I can't imagine not having done Latin - even if you can't remember much (and I'm not sure I do), it helps with the etymology and meaning of so many words in English, French, and other Romance languages.

Absolutely, Jo! Sacred music, anatomy and physiology, botanical Latin, interesting gravestones - useful all the time! Clever Maggie has gone on to further Classical studies. I can't actually imagine learning Latin without fear, IMPO, but who knows... one day....

I remember Queenie appearing one day in a terrific purple pinafore dress. She could carry off any look!

I imagine that her obituary would have been most interesting. I should have liked to have read it.

Love from Munch

[jennifer .clegg]

At the time, I would have liked to have been responsible for it...

[hillary]

I never had the honour of Latin - I did German because I was told I wasn't clever enough to do latin (I don't know if that's actually what the teachers said, but it had the same effect). I did get the angst and rote learning by proxy though, and was pretty good at my latin verbs because of all the desparate chanting going on around me.

[Jo]

Picking up from another thread on the Hertford board.....

Because I have Ancestry.com membership for family history research purposes, I can search British birth, marriage and death indexes (be afraid people, be very afraid !! ). I have discovered the following after a quick search for Queenie.

Queenie Marjorie N Blench was born in West Ham in 3Q 1913. Her parents, Stanley M Blench and Nellie L Mears, were married in 1911 at West Ham. She died in May 2001 on the Isle of Wight. There seem to be a number of Blenches in the Hampshire area so some of them may be related.

Someone mentioned that she retired to the IOW to look after her father - he died in 1974 (so the year after she retired), but in Havering (East London/Essex border). So either she went there after he died, or she went there to nurse someone else (not her mother, who died in 1958).

Hmm, this could be addictive. I wonder if Miss Coles is still alive? Works better with unusual names though......

[Fjgrogan]

Great minds think alike, Jo. I had intended to do exactly what you have done on Ancestry, but it is a busy day and you beat me to it. Now if you are interested in researching anyone else, I have a potted version of what little there is of Frances Mercer's family tree - straight from the 'horse's mouth', not via Ancestry, but it might be interesting to check it out! By a strange coincidence she and I were both born in the same hospital!