It's Oh So Quiet!

Viewpoint From A Staff Member at Xmas Time: Richie

Do you hear that?! No?? The wonderful sound of silence? As I sit here in the office I can clearly hear my colleagues typing, some preferring to smash the keyboard, others jab incessantly at the letters, some perhaps rubbing their fingers lightly over the keyboard in a vain attempt to appear deep in work mode - all observances you could not possibly note during Term time. Yes the students have broken for their Xmas break and the simplistic pleasure of sitting at my computer while not being asked for a loan of a stapler, pencil or any miscellaneous stationery (that never gets returned) brings a smug smile to my face!

I answered a phone call this morning and found myself forcibly having to remove my left index finger from my ear - old habits die hard - there was no need for me to shout, no asking for repetition, no putting on hold while desperately yelling for some peace - it was eerily easy, I could hear the customer word for word.

Now don't get me wrong - we love our bunch of students here, the enjoyable banter is what makes it easy for us to get out of bed in the morning. Most of the time they are charming, considerate and downright funny, hallway conversations filled with gossip and topped off with a ryle are commonplace, while again most will know when enough is enough. But this still does not stop a sense of relief when they finish their final showcase, knowing that the following Monday morning will be a somewhat low key affair rather than the usual cacophony of bassonic warm-up noises mixed with shrieking monologues.

I wonder if there might be a way of viewing our work out-put over the Xmas break versus the 9 months that our little time-bandits are in session!? Then again, it may make for scary reading and I would fear a cracking of a whip from certain management – best leave that one alone for now….

However I begin to question if indeed it is the students that make this school such a… well how should I put it…interesting place to work? The hot pressure cooker of noise and movement that plagues any notion of starting or indeed finishing a project may not stem soley from our herd of actors, but from sources slightly closer to home. As I sit here in the office typing this, Patrick – our esteemed leader, has entered and found the tin of Roses kindly donated by a teacher. As he feverishly rummages through the tin, clattering it against the desk, he lets out grunts with his disdain at not being able to find the desired sweet. Added to this, Frank The Machine (our franker!) is going ninety-to-the-dozen getting our Xmas cards ready for posting while a timely appearance by one of our not so meek tutors has lended a zoo like atmosphere to the office, and all this time Ciara our Marketing Manager is furiously mashing on her poor keyboard so loudly you swear there’s a freight train approaching!

Maybe I was wrong – maybe the buzz of this place is what keeps us all ticking over. Perhaps we need the students present, a not so subtle reminder of why we are all here. I don’t know whether nostalgia has snuck up and whacked me with a ruler on my head (that may have been Patrick) but there is that feeling something is missing, its now the lack of distractions that is distracting. However I can take solace that at least one factor never changes here as I finish typing this article with my left index finger firmly lodged in my ear.