“One is never alone with a rubber duck.”
– Douglas Adams
Meet Dougal, Dougal Macduck. He was a present from Karina, one of my lovely Year 10s, who went up to Edinburgh during the Easter holidays. Every time I look at him, all I can think of is the (ever so slightly paraphrased) quotation; “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduck! Beware the Thane of Fife!” This is made even funnier in my head by the fact that one of my current Year 10s insists on pronouncing Fife as FeeFee. I know, I know, but as a teacher, I’ve learned to get my giggles where I can.
Dougal shares the space behind my desk with Super Dinky, a form mascot from a couple of years ago, a gift from Layla, wearing, of all things, a Superman outfit, COVID duck (he, very sensibly wears a face mask), Librarian duck (complete with glasses) that was a gift from Lucie, the three colour coded ducks that live on the ends of my pink, purple and green pens, and a myriad of tiny, multicoloured plastic ducks, gifts from numerous students, that adorn the base of my visualiser.
I’m not entirely sure how this started. I’m really not particularly obsessed with rubber ducks. But I love the visual representation of the relationships I build with my students. I love the fact that the ridiculous characters remind me of students, past and present. I love that they make me smile on the days when no one’s listening, and I feel like I’m a terrible teacher.
I am the General of a duck army. Maybe, one day, we’ll conquer the world ….
absolutelynotnormal 