A reflection:There is no covid in Malta during the electoral campaign

 Maltese society thrives on showing different facets to people, depending on who they are and also depending on what is occurring in the country.

Covid cases are on the increase again, especially since mass gatherings have been allowed again due to Malta being in a short electoral campaign. The party leaders and political candidates held mass rallies, and threw parties, dinners and shows, depending on the candidate's pocket. Photos are strewn on social media of people next to each other, crammed in places, with no masks, and touching each other, posing for photos.  An alien from Mars  would surely think that Covid does not exist on this tiny island. However, this is far from the truth. Covid exists here and the cases are going up again.

The only place where Covid remains is in schools. That is the laughable matter in this whole saga. In schools we are forced to wear masked all the time, students have to stick to their bubbles and all the protocols are applied. It is no wonder that students are at the end of their tether and that parents are frustrated. A  parent phoned to ask why her child was punished because she had changed places with her friend. Upon hearing my stock reply that it was covid protocol, she immediately protested, saying that outside, in the weekends, everybody was having fun. How does one convince such a parent that schools are different?

Will Covid be the talk of the town again, now that the election has passed? Only time will tell. It is a sure fact that Covid is here to stay, but all precautions should be everywhere the same, for the sake of fairness- if not for anything else.

KidVenture: Twelve Weeks to Midnight Blue

 
This book is a useful tool to persuade young children to become entrepreneurs. It teaches that everybody is capable and that mistakes can be done. The book teaches the reader about new ventures and to be bold, think and to never give up, even when the going gets hard.

The plot of the story centres around Chance and his family, with the mostly mentioned characters being his dad and his sister Addie, who then becomes Chance’s business partner in the pool cleaning business. The story takes us through the 12 weeks of summer and how their pool cleaning business,  evolves. It guides us through the mistakes, like when Chance had to clean Old Man Lee very dirty pool (as he had not asked about the state of the pool) or when he asked Francine for 30 dollars to clean her pool, and she turned down his offer. There are also the jubilant points in the kids’ venture, like when Chance went to Sir Larry’s home for the first time.  Chance was very happy when he felt the 20 dollar note in his hand. He felt encouraged and satisfied to do this work. Another high point was when the kids  got new customers, thus increasing their revenue.
 
The book also looks at friendships and how such friendships are impacted when business is involved. An example is when Amit started working for Chance, and he turned up late for Luisa’s first cleaning appointment. It also looks into how one can negotiate, and that one must not expect to have his way all the time. There are also examples of how the relationship between Chance and Addie works; the business partnership was built on trust, they had business meetings together and discussed their course of actions.

The books is a gold mine for jargon used in the business world. It introduces the young readers to such words as leverage, marketing, profit and expenses. I strongly urge that students read this book as it is very inspirational.