My sister is in Qatar for work. It is 48 degrees. She was outside for ten minutes and a) got sunburned and b) had to take off her watch as it was starting to burn her wrist.
Archives for June 2010
The Irony Continues Unabated
I had to mind the children and was unable to attend a talk entitled “Assessing Unequal Treatment: Gender and Pay”.
Specifically, the paper which I missed (but a copy of which I have in my sticky little paw) covers several enticing areas including “measuring the gender pay gap: quantile regressions and the glass ceiling” and “measuring the ‘family gap’: evidence on maternity breaks”. It will come as no surprise to any woman who has ever had children that the author, Professor Mary Gregory, says that “the emergence of a substantial gender pay correlates closely with women’s childbearing and childcare years” and that “family status directly explains 40-50 percent of the gender gap in the US and the UK, with a further 30-40 percent attributable indirectly, through the effect of employment interruptions on human capital”. The author comments that in “a number of countries, but not universally, the market has generated its own response to women’s wishes to combine work with family, in the form of the growth of part-time jobs.” However, alas, in Britain (though who knows what the situation is here – I’m sure its all good on this side of the Irish Sea) “..while women in full-time work have been narrowing the gender pay gap through their rising educational attainment, labour market attachment and occupational diversity, women working part-time have conspicuously failed to match this progress.” “occupational downgrading [is] an important concomitant of the switch to part-time work in Britain, with major adverse implications for future earning trajectories, even following a return to full-time employment.” Oh I can’t stand it any more. I’ve picked out depressing highlights, there are encouraging trends in..um…Sweden. You can read the lot here.
Weekend Round-Up
Yes, yes, I know that this is very dull for you but, if I don’t record it here, how will I ever remember what we did with our lives?
So, on Saturday we went on the church outing. I never thought that going to mass was going to help me to get to know my neighbours but it seems to be an unintended consequence. We went to an adventure playground, the sun shone, the children played with each other, we sat in the shade and chatted and the whole thing passed off peacefully except for an incident involving herself and the water slide (she wanted to get on it, we wanted to have lunch first).
Then today we had friends around for lunch and the weather was so clement that we were able to sit in the garden. Surely this is not what the Irish summer is about. Rain is forecast.
Malingering
The Princess was sick during the night but completely restored in the morning. We let her stay at home because we are merciful. She was unaware of our decision to be merciful and was dragging herself around saying, “I’m too ill to eat.”
She came into the kitchen and said to me, “What’s 4+4+1?” “9,” I said. “Oh, I couldn’t work that out, I’m too ill to do maths or to read, I’m going back to bed.
When I went up to check on her she shoved “Horrid Henry” under the bedclothes but realising that she had been spotted she said, “I’m still too ill to do sums, but I can read now.”
No sooner had I departed with the boys than herself conceded that she was not, in fact, sick at all and she spent the morning happily reading.
One of her brothers is to get a school prize for attendance. I think she has her eye on a different prize.
Another Year Over
Today was the children’s last day at school before the summer holidays. The boys are finished their first year of school which is a big landmark.
We have school reports. They are all clever little bunnies, insofar as it is possible to tell at this young age, but Daniel is the only one with any application. The Princess’s report begins with the rather ominous pronouncement that she “has the ability to excel in all subjects”. She got top scores for reading and maths on her standardised tests. She doesn’t try because she doesn’t have to. Unfortunately, I can’t see this working indefinitely. Her teacher this year is lovely but perhaps not very strict, the teacher and I enjoyed the following conversation recently:
Me: I hope that she doesn’t read under the desk at school.
Teacher: Under the desk?
Don’t they crack the whip any more in primary schools?
Daniel got top marks in everything except punctuality (which isn’t really his fault) and writing (his lack of success there is not, I assure you, for the want of trying). In her written comments, the teacher said that he is very good at his work and he always tries really hard, even when he finds things difficult. “He likes to do his work properly.” She enjoyed teaching him and he is a lovely child. He is his father’s son.
His brother and sister on the other hand demonstrate something more of their mother’s laissez faire attitude. While the teacher’s written comments about Michael were very positive also, they were positive in a different way, he is ” a lovely, funny, caring boy who loves to make people laugh. He has a great sense of humour.” She also comments on his elephantine memory.
Oh well, they’re all small and they have a lot of growing and changing to do yet. I think we’re all looking forward to the holidays.
