5: An Object LessonJack was conducting an object lesson. He held up an empty glass jar and asked the children two questions: what it was and how it was made. There were only a few raised hands for the former and a resounding silence for the latter. He chalked up an explanation of the essential ingredients and processes involved in glassmaking on the blackboard as the boys copied the notes into their exercise books. He was about to embark on a discourse on glassblowing, the various applications for glass, its impact on society and its contribution to history, when the schoolroom door opened and Sister Callista came in. She nodded to him and waved her hand to indicate that he was to continue the lesson and took a seat at the back. The pupils were unperturbed – it seemed the nun was a familia
