A smug feeling of satisfaction.

My Italian true love is a good teacher. One of the best. Because she tries to make learning interesting. And fun. Two great attributes. She becomes frustrated. Over the educational bureaucracy. It can be very aggravating. In Italy. And I suppose in America, and all over. I don't envy her being a teacher. I wouldn't want the job. I'll settle for being a writer instead. She teaches English and English literature at the high school level. Not all teen-agers are ready to learn. No matter how good the teacher. But she's also teaching unemployed adults English. In an effort to enhance their job opportunities. It's part of an Italian government program. And among other things, the government dictates things about the class structure. For instance, a day's class is supposed to last for 5 hours. My true love thinks that's far too long. Better to break up the classes. Maybe into 2 hours. Because the students have diminished learning results after 2 hours. Of course, she has to adjust, and follow the rules. No mattter how stupid. But she can improvise in the 5 hours. Maybe by giving frequent breaks. And there are trade-offs. The class sizes are relatively small. Which allows for more individual attention. I encourage her to focus on the good things. And to try to make the best of the bad things. Such as the dictates of the educational bureaucracy. Life is a matter of coping. One way or another. I love to skirt the bureaucracy. She does, too. Gives one a smug feeling of satisfaction. --Jim Broede