The passing of great men has often captured the imagination of the popular masses. Less so the great women of this world. Certainly the contributions to society of Queen Victoria in the early 20th Century, and Mother Theresa late last century have been well acclaimed and recognised.
Perhaps the years to come, one may recall the life of one Estee Lauder. Born Josephine Esther Mentzer, she developed and nurtured her passion for cosmetics, and introduces the concept of having free sample displays in retail outlets. Her understanding of the market’s desire to ‘try before you buy’ propelled her company to expand across 118 countries that currently controls merely 45% of the US market. Until recently, Estee Lauder would personally launch new retail outlets as far flung as Easter Europe. Her focus on creating opportunities to allow women to feel beautiful has remained constant throughout. Indeed, what Estee Lauder has stood for during her 97 years of life continue through product lines such as Prescriptives, Clinique, Origins and Aramis.
Mary Poppins has arguably been one of the most talked about children’s books since the first book was published sometime in the 1930s. Yet its Australian-born creator has always maintained that she had never intended to write specifically for children. During interviews (which were infrequent, and never about her private life), P. L. Travers would say that her books (eight in totally for Mary Poppins series, amongst many poems and other literary works) were written for people who have not forgotten the child within. The film, created by Disney, popularised the first book, although details such as the many years that it took to arrive at an agreement with Travers, and her often-strident position against distorting her prized work via film, were often communicated in hushed whispers.
Probably much less recognised and celebrated than Estee Lauder or P. L. Travers, is the work of Gloria Channon. In a book entitled ‘Homework’, she outlines a first-person account of the trials and tribulations of being in what was then often regarded as the noblest profession; in these times it is often reviled and mocked. Despite shifts in public perception, the demands of the occupation have constantly required willing candidates to possess what could conceivably be termed as masochism. Industry demands have more often than not subjugated governments to shape the future of children in the moulds of cogs in the never-ending wheel of production. Growth and progress, it is trumpeted by politicians worldwide. In our beloved island nation, the distinction between government and industry can arguably be akin to a morning fog that is lifting ever so gradually in the warmth of a seven-am sun. In this climate of turbulent uncertainty, industry-shaped curriculum is at best a desperate measure to plug holes in a porous dam that continually and incessantly springs new leaks once the initial ones have been arrested. Teachers bear the brunt of training mere boys and girls to perform the work of, not men and women, but faceless programs, in a nameless, resource-greedy, and recognition-blind, system better known as the Economy. The authorities have a definition for this insanity: education.
