TM4T Using Your System 2.2.2.2 - Elves

A short case-study (as always, the names have been changed...)

Detentions

It took Mary a while to figure it out, but when she did it solved a big problem. She noticed Abby, her Department Head, walking towards the school hall and asked where she was going. 'Thursday' Abby said cryptically, then explained 'It's my turn to supervise after school detentions'. Mary passed the hall on the way to the staff-room to collect her post. There were about a dozen of students there sitting silently, a sanction for some serious breach of behaviour rules. Mary was surprised to see Kylie Jones there - she was not usually a troublemaker, and that gave Mary an idea. She asked Abby's permission first, then asked Kylie if she would prefer to do a working detention on her very best behaviour. Mary ended up taking Kylie and another girl from a different year across to her classroom. There, the two girls sorted the folders in each of Mary's coursework crates into alphabetical order and checked them against printed class-lists. They opened each folder and made sure that any unmarked work was on the top ready to mark. Then they did the same for each pile of exercise books - each in alphabetical order and ready to mark. Mary is on a roll now - she has a pile of Year 7 homework sheets which have been handed in. Kylie sorts them into order and writes down the names of the students whose work is missing. While this is going on, Mary is able to mark an entire class of GCSE term exams.

It is important to understand what Mary has gained here. She has not just got her folders and exercise books organised - that was going to happen anyway, she was going to do it herself. She has not gained any marking of her GCSE term exams - she was going to do that at home anyway after tea. She has gained a slow luxurious relaxing bath after tea, with scented candles, instead of doing the marking. Good work, Kylie.