Occasionally, very occasionally, an eleven plus child may
feel inclined to burst into tears in frustration. Suppose we look at a hugely
popular TV show where a chef rants and raves at some poor unfortunate. We may
see a waitress tearful at being picked out. The TV cameras are remorseless as
they zoom in on her poor face. What did she do wrong?
Work in a large restaurant needs interdependence and
co-ordination. There are many stages in the taking of orders, preparation of
food, cooking it and then delivering it to the table. The waitress is the
initial point of contact with the customer. She keeps this contact until the
customer departs – hopefully leaving a
large tip. Any problems the customers may have with anything in the restaurant directed
initially at the waitress.
When the waitress delivers the order to the kitchen the chef
comes under pressure to cook and prepare the meal. The chef is highly important
in the kitchen – but as soon as the waitress picks up the food then her role changes.
It is almost as if she took the order, cooked the meal and then offered it up
for consumption.
The eleven plus child has to help to find the page, try to
understand the working of the mind of the person who wrote the exercise, cope
with the demands of parents and siblings, and possibly even find the exercise
challenging. The pressure may rise and the outburst erupt.
“Good on you! Let it all out and then press on!”
