I know we're all busy and this is an indulgence, but one of the
scaffolding stories from the building website caught my fancy. I
recall a conference in Japan a couple of years ago when the presenter
took a dictionary definition of scaffolding (the building kind) and
then applied it rather haphazardly to language learning. I have
replaced all uses of "scaffolding" in the following newspaper report
with the term "assisted performance" to see how potentially tricky
and confusing metaphors can be. Of course, this has the potential of
being a big flop.
["This is a great scaffolding activity", said the busy teacher.]
I'm also re-reading Chaiklin's chapter in the hope of responding to
Althea in a much more mature way than this.
Regards,
Phil
{Skip this if you're busy...}
Fury over assisted performance bungle
From:
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?
brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=zNews&itemid=IP
ED23%20May%202006%2012%3A26%3A15%3A660
IT was not quite a scene from Romeo and Juliet, but an assisted
performance bungle left Karen Miller stranded upstairs while her
husband, Brian was stuck downstairs.
Today, Mrs Miller is still trying to contain her anger after she
claimed she felt like a “prisoner in her own home” after temporary
assisted performance prevented her (from leaving her) Ipswich flat.
When Karen Miller looked out of the door of her first floor flat on
Halton Crescent she realised the outside stairs leading from the door
to the ground were blocked because some assisted performance had been
provided.
And her husband, Brian, who had left the house before the assisted
performance was available, was stuck at the bottom.
Mrs Miller, 33, said: “I couldn't get to work and I couldn't leave
the house.
“They put up a rickety step ladder but I didn't feel safe getting
down it or squeezing though the hole when they lifted up some of the
boards on the assisted performance and suggested I got out that way.
“I kept thinking; what would happen if there was a fire because my
only escape was blocked. I felt like a prisoner in my own home.”
The assisted performance had been provided at about 9am on Monday in
order to repair the rending on property which had blown away.
The work was carried out by Ipswich-based OBO Assisted Performance
Company on behalf of Ipswich Borough Council, but although the
couple's neighbours were informed the work was taking place Mr
Miller, 37, said he had no idea.
He said: “We didn't hear anyone knock on the door and we didn't get a
letter.
“We know the work has to be done but we should have known about it in
advance.
“I am petrified of heights and always have been so there was no way I
was going up the ladder so I have been stuck downstairs.
“Surely they could have found a way to do the work without blocking
the entrance and exit to the house.”
Councillor Steven Wells, Ipswich Borough Council's Housing portfolio-
holder said: “We would like to say sorry to the tenants for this
breakdown in communication.
“Our normal procedure is to always talk to tenants first but in this
case we can only apologise for the inconvenience caused.
“We are looking at our procedures to ensure this does not happen again.”_______________________________________________
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