by George Dimitriadis

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

Every teacher will admit to having at least one lesson that promised nirvana but instead delivered purgatory.

Semester examinations were over, reports were written and holidays were teasingly around the corner. There was a disquieting sense of calmness permeating throughout the school.
This was ominous. It reminded me of the calm preceding the Spring Offensive of '05, when misguided students rendered inoperative the school's public address system.

"Sir," Lino proposed at the beginning of one lesson, "Can we do something fun for a change?"

His request was echoed by others with cries of "Yeah, please sir! You're the greatest."

Intoxicated by their platitudes and suffering from mental aberration, I relented.

"All right, we'll construct a geodesic dome to represent a Platonic solid," I suggested.

"But it has to be done correctly," I added. "Our worst enemy will be gravity. The whole structure will be dependent on the gravitational forces being in equilibrium with the dome's connections."
"What are Platonic solids?" Helda enquired, displaying her usual ambition to learn.

"The five Platonic solids are three dimensional shapes that were admired by the ancient Greeks for their beauty."

I grabbed a shape from the display cabinet, held it up and said, "We'll make this 20 sided shape, an icosahedron, tomorrow."

The following day was overcast and windy. Tree branches swayed rhythmically and the school flag snapped at each attempt to break free from its pole.
I led the class to a patch of grass adjacent to the gymnasium. Each group collected their ration of building materials and retired to their allocated construction zone to begin the project. I meandered from group to group, witnessing animated conversations and rivalry as each crew raced to be first to finish their section of the work. Occasionally I called out instructions, but they were drowned by the wind.

To herald the completion of the last section, a prolonged session of cheering ensued, with students from a nearby class room whistling as accompaniment.
"We haven't finished," I reminded them, "That was the easy part."

I was trying to make myself heard above the roar of the wind.

"Now we have to put all the sections together. Remember, team work is required. Let's go."

However, what worked well at the intragroup level did not necessarily portend global success. There was argument concerning which group should be first, ineffectual cries for ladders and colourful instances of quarrelling and haranguing when disagreements arose.
"My

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