At Fenstanton I was above average at Mathematics, which dissatisfied my father. During Year One at Tulse Hill, the work was easier than expected, but A1 in my School Report still did not please him. When Year Two began, I saw Dr. Ridd as an opportunity to bring the best possible School report home. My plan was to keep getting first place by blasting through every book he would place before me.

When I visited Bharat’s home a tall bearded man joined us briefly and asked him several questions regarding homework and Mathematics in particular. I assumed it was his Dad – but no, that was his brother.

Upon receiving end-of-year School Reports some envelopes, including mine, were unsealed, so I had a preview. I was top of the class overall, and top at Maths, our author writing that I asked probing questions and I was a pleasure to teach. Objective achieved, I floated home and presented The Document, which its intended recipient studied after dinner.

“Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. You didn’t do very well at Sports, did you?”

Sport? My pocket contained ephedrine tablets for asthma. Nothing that happened in a classroom received less than B1 – Biology, which I detested – I voted in five General Elections before eating my next egg. He never told me he was unpleasable, so I had to learn the hard way.

What educational standards do the Australian people honestly expect? I suggest the answer constantly fluctuates because most families are still adjusting to the fact they can influence such matters.

For over 1000 years the Bible was the only book ever seen by 99% of the population. Englishmen, including a blind man, were hung for possessing one printed in English. Access to knowledge was effectively a matter of Us and Them, and it takes a long time for people to adjust to the opposite. In most countries, the practice of compulsory education is barely a hundred years old.