Onward into the fourteenth century!

One colleague admitted to me this morning that my suggestion that we introduce Chaucer to the hapless pupils in the equivalent of our second form has left her with nightmares.

As far as I could make out from the welter of Spanish descending into Catalan that was the meeting that I went to at the end of school last night, the area of concern for the project that the kids are going to have to complete covers a period of some 400 years from the 11^th Century to the 14^th or 15^th!

Chaucer was the obvious writer of distinction – who is also interesting to read.  Having given the assembled company my rendition of the opening lines of The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales in my own version of Middle English they stared at me with expressions ranging from incredulity to outright horror!

The most outraged was a fellow member of the English Department who had sudden visions of having to pretend knowledge of a writer who she had not dipped into!  I will have to provide a “Chaucer for Dummies” handbook.  Though I have to admit that my knowledge does not extend to the story that I have not and will not read “The Tale of Sir Topaz”, that long drawn-out ironic joke at Chaucer’s expense.  That is the sort of literature for which life simply is not long enough.  And after all, even his character in the Tales was interrupted and told to shut up.

I was thinking more along the lines of the play version of The Pardoner’s Tale.  This is a fairly simple moralistic story and the background to the character of the Pardoner will afford the kids hours of innocent fun.  Or something.

Nothing has been finalized, but as everyone knows that Suzanne is my “friend” and as she is the “Big Cheese” in Project Based Learning there is a fair chance that Chaucer will make it to the final cut!

Unfortunately this means that I will have my own work cut out to produce something that can act as an introduction to the work and the sort of language that he used.  Though I do envisage the use of Middle English being kept to an absolute minimum!

I think that other members of staff were equally shocked by the range of ideas that seemed to be flowing – all of which de-skilled colleagues and hinted at the range and extent of work that would have to be done if the project was to succeed.

It is a real and painful truth that that meeting, like ever other meeting in the world of education that I have ever attended, did not make my life easier.  Always by the end of the assembly there is more work to do and no consequent lessening of the work that you already have.  Still after more than thirty years why should I expect any difference just because the country is different!

Hope springs eternal!