The best things about teaching are: July and August

Do you remember those sheets of thick black lines you used to get given at school? Guide-Lines they were called, and they were a handy tool to help your writing stay on relatively straight lines rather than crawling up and down the page like a seasick spider.
Do you remember what used to happen if the seasick spider made an appearance when you were using the Guide-Line? Some well-meaning individual, in the belief that they knew more than you would gently (or not so gently, depending on the individual and how their day was going) ask "Why are you doing that? I've given you the Guide-Line, but you are still doing your own thing. I want you to stick to the Guide-Line please."

Applying that theory to modern life gives us an insight into the true meaning of a guideline. It's a rule, but dressed up in a party frock, with the spider sick wiped off, so as to appear less forboding, and maybe even to give you the misguided notion that you still have some control over what you are doing.

My particular bug bear is "non-statutory guidance". Basically, it tells you what to do, but with the disclaimer that you don't have to if you don't want to. But be prepared to be quizzed at great length on your reasoning, because they really want you to do it, which is why they have suggested you do it, but they can't say you must, because it goes against what they want you to do, which involves a large amount of illusion concerning freedom of choice.

It's all rules really. And rules are something that I have always considered to be for pushing against, testing and often outright breaking. But when the rules are for how to become a rulemaker yourself, I guess you have to roll over and let your tummy be rubbed.

Current thinking also dictates that marking should be done in green, as it is not as aggressive and threatening as red ink all over a book. I was given a box of 20 green pens today. They inspired more terror in me than a page of red corrections ever did. They are a tangible tie to a career that I can't bring myself to agree with.