The Buzzer
• Why The Little Farm House did not have a buzzer for 15 years
Yes, there was no school bell or a buzzer to signal the start of every class period. The teachers had to be experts on time management and should have a built-in alarm system for them to know the flow of minutes and hours in a day. What I tried to develop was the intuitive sense of every child and teacher in the school. The new teachers had difficulty with approximation but while experienced teachers may boast of a developed sense of time, those who did not plan the day, will not manage a class broken down in 45 trickling, agonizing minutes in spite of a piercing reminder from a siren.
• Every period starting this year is signaled with a beginning and an ending time- one of the firsts for AY ’08-’09. There are two buzzers that scream. The teachers may no longer have to worry about the beginning and end of time but will still have to have to be CONCERNED with planning and preparation or the lack of it.
• As we progress through the year, it is hoped that everyone learns the art of listening inwardly and be able to tell when something has to end in order to begin without the jolt from the electric-powered bee.
• Yes, the buzzer serves a noble purpose as the bugles have honorably served theirs. But even wars end and when they do, we must start relying on inner alertness and sensitivity whilst we resume peace and serenity within ourselves.
eog @ July 8, 2008