Aye, Dugald
/I was surprised they were voting actually, because I thought Scotland was already independent.
Read MoreNAPLAN writers have trouble writing a writing test
/As a novelist, I should be grateful ACARA has focused on persuasive writing, as all that seems to damage is our innate capacity for advertising copywriting. I hate to think what teaching to a narrative writing test might look like, for which, apparently, you need “a beginning and a complication” with a conclusion that “may be weak or simple” and “not all words used successfully.”
Read MoreWhen animals are lost
/Cycling home from school dropoff this week I saw, taped to a bikeway sign, one of those notices asking for help finding a lost dog. The dog’s name was Malta, it said, and there was a picture of a regal but not unkindly poodle-like face with a blond bouffant frizz on top. I had the strangest feeling I was going to find Malta so I tore off one of the phone number tabs and set off along the creekside trail.
Read More