One of the most subtly irritating aspects of modernity is the whole business of communications in the context of work. Who was it, I'd like to know, who thought it would be a good idea to generate numerous platforms for sending messages as to what suddenly needs to be done or undone or might be done in the event that somebody else in the chain thinks it would be a good idea to do it?
When I started teaching in the last century most messages were conveyed by word of mouth (supremely efficient) or written down on pieces of paper and delivered well in advance of whatever 'events' were in the offing. We managed to get lots of things done - pretty much all the stuff that schools do now - and, on the whole, things remained calm, even when busy, because people knew they needed to make their messages clear and avoid last minute changes.
These days even what might appear to be a firm date for something turns out to be speculative and pretty much everything seems open to renegotiation until it's actually happening (or not.) I'm sure someone, somewhere is going to tell me that this is all mysteriously efficient and boosts productivity (a word that should be banned from serious educational discourse, methinks.) I intend to avoid that person.
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