Below are the 3 most recent journal entries recorded in mr_chalk's LiveJournal:

Monday, May 29th, 2006
11:07 am	Sausages All done now, book finished and I'm off to http://frankchalk.blogspot.com/ Hopefully I will have a bit more time to write some poisoned thoughts for my own amusement. (I still haven't got the faintest clue whether anybody reads these things.) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006
7:36 pm	Well, the book is nearly finished now, although the proposed cover of myself dressed as Mohammed, swigging from a bottle of Carlsberg has just been rejected by the publishers for reasons not clear to me at the moment. “The Adventures of Mr. Chalk” should be in the bookstores on September 1st, but I will keep you informed if there are any changes. It’s basically the story of my teaching career (I struggle to say the word ‘career’ with a straight face) trying and failing miserably to deal with a bunch of kids whose names are like a bad hand at Scrabble and whose parents would regard joining the underclass as a much sought-after promotion. I’d just like to say a heartfelt thanks to all those who have expressed their support. Writing the book has taken a great deal of time and effort (much more than I’d first imagined, I must say) And no jokes about looking for it in the ‘Three for one’ bucket at Waterstones either… (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
8:37 am	Sorry, I've taken all the postings down, but the Adventures of Mr. Chalk will be hitting the bookstores next September. I’ll keep you informed of progress in the meantime. If you are a humble classroom teacher, feeling unsupported by those above you then remember this. Yours is one of the three most important professions (along with the upkeep of law and order and the provision of medical care) so walk tall. Remember that you are a hero so act like one. You do a job that the vast majority of people could never cope with so make today the day when you track down some little toerag who has been a pain in your lesson and teach them not to mess with you again. If you are in the Senior Management Team then go and find a pupil who has been making some poor teacher’s life a misery and tear a strip off them, then make them beg that teacher to allow them to stay in their lesson. If you have the courage, phone up the kid's parents and tell them to teach their brat some manners. The teacher will appreciate what you have done. If you are the Head then stop what you are doing right now and go and expel your worst pupil. If you can't dream up a good excuse then what on Earth are you doing leading a school. Then tell all the staff what you have done. They will respect you and support you in return. So good luck to you all and by the way, don’t forget that you can pay for my book simply by selling the next mobile phone or baseball cap you confiscate on ebay All the best! Mr. Chalk Num malum ex decem due (8 Comments |Comment on this)