The Rumor Mill

Various interesting tidbits have come to the Rumor Mill lately.

• Duke Roger's end of the year letter once again very sincerely stresses the great importance of intercultural proficiency. (Not a rumor - read the letter here )
• Next year all 9th graders will have to take a 2 semester course in intercultural proficiency - which is not on the AIMS. (rumor)
• At intercultural proficiency meetings, below the level that Duke Roger attends, the main concern is with the lack of intercultural proficiency in faculty and staff. (rumor)
• Most people feel that the way to tackle intercultural proficiency is in early childhood, kindergarten might already be too late. (unsubstantiated - can't quickly find the research)
• A certain gap-toothed ex-Bored member is widely known for interfering in Duchy affairs whenever there is a perceived breech incident of bigotry or racism.
• An excellent Anglo candidate for the Library Coordinator job was just rejected by Duchy Human Resources because her Arizona fingerprint card is out of date...because she has been working at the university level out of state...her out of state fingerprint card was current. This rejection was made by Human Resources without notifying anyone on the hiring committee. (rumor)

All of this raises a LOT of questions. Was the rejection "reverse discrimination" or SHEER OVERWEENING INCOMPETENCE on the part of HR? How would GapTooth have reacted if the rejected candidate had been non-Anglo? How many of GapTooth's past crusades have been motivated by incidents caused not by lack of intercultural proficiency but SHEER INCOMPETENCE? Could all relationships in the Duchy be improved by just insisting that a) the entire faculty and staff do their job competently and b) that the operations of the Duchy be conducted with public oversight instead of always sweeping everything under the rug, thereby attracting the attention of community watchdogs like GapTooth? Does anyone believe that the Duchy doesn't NEED WATCHING? Why doesn't Duke Roger know what the inhabitants of the Castle are DOING? Will the new yearlong course in intercultural proficiency be overseen by Curriculum under the Black Queen? In fairness, the Black Queen is equally incompetent in both cultural and intercultural proficiency. This does not seem like a good recomendation for her position.

Other interesting rumors...

• The Lime Green Knight is miffed because he thinks Silver and Idea have been deciding the Duchy's Destiny without consulting him. (rumor) (A lot of nerve on his part since he picked Destiny without consulting them or anyone else for that matter. Maybe he feels that it's HIS TOY and he shouldn't have to share.)
• The previously sighted Library Coordinator Job beast is being dismissed. Supposedly the beast will reappear "soon" in even finer plumage. (Good thing, that last plumage was piss-poor.)
• Idea will be seen in Dotland erratically (or a least as erratically as Idea can be) until the new Job is permanent. Care to join the pool on when THAT will be?
• The Library Technical Coordinator Job beast will not be seen until after the Library Coordinator Job beast. (rumor)
• The Duchy appears to have sprouted two new departments - Student Services and Teaching and Learning. (Not a rumor - see Job Openings for the two assistant superintendent postings.) (I think Teaching and Learning is a LAME NAME, it lacks flow, also lacks meaning.)

Enough rumors. Happy Memorial Day!