adrasteia wrote:I am not supporting what Katherine has written, but would suggest that as the editor - I think she's still the editor anyway- of 'The Spectrum' she has to be seen to tow the party line and may have been asked to write this article in praise of 'the great man', she may have enthused without meaning a word of it- the spectrum is full of such articles. In this case I feel it is a shame that she doesn't feel able to stand up for what she believes, ie. refuse to write the article herself- the SES influence at work.
However, if she does believe what she has said in the article then I've for one have definately been wrong about her position. Maybe I was mis-reading her posts?
I agree. In my opinion ( note:OPINION) The Spectrum is littered with hypocrisy or atleast presents an imaginary view of the school - I remember being asked to contribute to it and this simply became another creative writing exercise, with us competing to include as many "key" words as possible. I have always secretly suspected that they picked them based on the average length of words used in an article. If these words included "magnanimity" and "generosity", so much the better (as opposed to "misogynistic " for example). I think the same applies to various thank you letters and other corrspondence to the "outside world". And yes, this can be seen as cheap propaganda for the school, but is also a feature of much of middle class Britain and is not exclusive to St James. However, St James's involvement with the SES and its philosophy provides the means to introduce a more varied range of ideas and compliments.
Dr Watson may also have a genuine respect for Mr Debenham, despite his notable flaws. Frankly, this site can only benefit from her involvement - not only does it temper the more emotional postings on this site, but she is a woman of convictions that has clearly deeply impressed me and many others of you. Her mild approach is commendable (habit of using long words - sorry! -but I do mean every word of it) and she does add balance to the debate. Her interest in philosophy ( understatement) may aid many members in challenging and debating issues on the highly emotive of the SES and St James.
In conclusion: COME BACK DR WATSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME BACK!!!!