Harrods and heartache

The Jehovah family was on good form today. They are off to Harrods for haircuts. Apparently the girl wants to have a shampoo with crushed diamond in it. 

Harrods really is a tacky theme park extravaganza. They have over a hundred Harrods points to spend which means they have spent several thousand pounds in store at the very least. 

I am really curious about the nature of their father's business. They seem to have a lot of funds going through foreign bank accounts. 

What is interesting is how quickly the family has let down their guard in terms of their behaviour. I suppose it gets to a point where you can't hide everything that happens from people like teachers, cleaners and nannies who come into your home. I see the mother terribly upset sometimes, although today I had the privilege to see their very sick child, who suffers from a genetic disorder, lift her own cup and drink by herself. This was the first time she had done this. It was very moving to see. 

It reminds me that I must not dismiss these families out of hand. For all their money, they are not protected from the heartache that life shovels out from time to time. 

A few positives...

Ok, I know the last few posts may have painted a somewhat negative picture of tutorial agencies and the business generally, so here are a few positives just to play devil's advocate. 

There is perhaps something to be said for parents from low income backgrounds who have saved and taken time to invest in a few extra sessions for their kid. I have taught a few of these students over the years and while they represent a minority of those I have tutored, they have certainly benefited from one-to-one guidance. No matter how gifted the teacher, you can do a lot more specific and student-centred learning when it is just one or two kids. 

I have also found these students to be among the best motivated and they understand the value of education. 

As someone whose politics is left of centre, there is perhaps a positive in exposing the students to views they perhaps don't normally get to hear. I recently had a student who was looking at countries recovering from war and I laid into oil companies who went straight into Iraq, only to find out that the student's daddy was a lawyer for the said oil firm and was often on little jaunts to Iraq. However, the downside is that I suddenly realised where my salary was coming from. Ok, so not so positive. At least the student has no desire to do law and I think I've convinced them to do something useless like art history or classical art instead. 

Students who engage with learning are fun to teach. It is exciting to watch anyone begin to take an interest in a new subject and question the world around them. 

That is really all there is to say. The negatives would take much longer to discuss.