I know Tyrkon will identify!

I'mGatMan! · Jun 4, 2008

Last day of school!!!

Thank God. This past year has been awe-inspiring in it's ability to drain every last bit of energy and creativity from me.

To all of you who have children: Imagine your frustration...and multiply it by at least 150. For everyone else...thanks for reading my rant.

Signing off for now...

J

mymindisamob · Jun 4, 2008

I'm ramping up to repair the damage of a school years worth of kids, weather and vandalism. School district Summer projects on a $1.9 million budget deficit, WooHoo!

Tyrkon Lawson · Jun 4, 2008

I hear you brutha! I have 2 1/2 weeks left. Discipline and Safety have really gotten bad here so I am more than ready for summer. Of course I'll be teaching summer school here as well but that is usually more kick back.

Congrats on making it through yet another year.

mymindisamob · Jun 4, 2008

I hope you guys have a good Summer. Mine will be busy, but more relaxed without students under foot.
Tyr, are you teaching Science in Summer school? Are you teaching other subjects through the year, or is your plate full with that subject?

Adding some Busse content.

trestle · Jun 4, 2008

Congrats Gat Man. Non-teachers rarely understand how hard the job is. My mom was a teacher and principal, my wife teaches, and I'm working on a degree in Education. Enjoy your summer and your INFI!

(I want to see pics of your SFNO! You're making me want one!)

Tyrkon Lawson · Jun 4, 2008

mymindisamob said:
I hope you guys have a good Summer. Mine will be busy, but more relaxed without students under foot.
Tyr, are you teaching Science in Summer school? Are you teaching other subjects through the year, or is your plate full with that subject?

Adding some Busse content.

All Science for me. During the normal school year I teach Physical Science which includes some chemistry, physics, and earth/space science. For summer school I often teach life science/biology. But just science for me. :thumbup:

mymindisamob · Jun 4, 2008

Tyrkon Lawson said:
All Science for me. During the normal school year I teach Physical Science which includes some chemistry, physics, and earth/space science. For summer school I often teach life science/biology. But just science for me. :thumbup:

Cool! Science teachers were always my favorite back as a kid. They were the only teachers who could keep me out of trouble as well.

:thumbup:

Gentle Ben · Jun 4, 2008

Brother J: take a deep breath. let it out. get in your car. drive over to the East Siiiiiide. turn your bass down so you don't piss off my neighbors. partake of the sacred scotch. help me roast some helpless woodland creature on the grill. partake of more scotch. partake of some more scotch. eat grilled woodland creature.

ETA: more INFI content...

BubbaThud · Jun 4, 2008

Big Grats to ya Gatman. The wench still has almost 3 weeks to go. Then a week off, and then 6 weeks of summer school. Bleh! Honestly I feel kind of guilty....we were talking about if she would teach summer school this year, and I told her we had enough money, and she didn't need to....which meant that if she did she could spend the money she made on Busses, so summer school it is.

Hogwash · Jun 4, 2008

I was a lab assistant for High School physics and one day a chemistry teacher was using the ancient giger counter to see if the chunks of uranium ore (?) were still hot when the new guy biology teacher walked in and sat down.

So, he measures the next chunk "krh, krh, ki, ki" (giger counter sounds) then picks it up and throws it in the new guy's lap. That was funny. He almost fell over in his chair.

I'm sure that ore wasn't anywhere near an unsafe exposure level, well not unless he carried it in his pocket for a few weeks.

Tyrkon Lawson · Jun 4, 2008

We just finished a week of 2 liter bottle rocket building. Man those suckers went high. We are having the finals this Friday. I was able to get 3 other teachers to participate. The kids loved it. Great way to cover Newton's 3 Laws of Motion. But we are limited on space so it was a challenge to keep the rockets from landing in the staff parking lot. One of my fellow teacher's demo rockets hit another teacher's new BMW.

This next 2 1/2 weeks will be full of trash can fires, fights, graffiti, false fire alarms, etc...

:grumpy: Because the kids not passing figure they might as well go crazy. Every year it's the same old crap.

But the good kids make it sooooooooo worth it. :thumbup:

I'mGatMan! · Jun 4, 2008

Funny story, HogWash. Very funny.

Ben, I'm down, brother. When I'm done, we'll link.

Ty, Bubba...sorry to hear you guys still have so much work left. Man, I can't wait til Friday. The rub is that I have a writing workshop for the next two weeks, but anything is going to be better than dealing with the kids for any longer. This year, after coming back from Cancer, has been the worst of my teaching career. I've had no creativity, no energy, etc...

I'm looking forward to planning my entire year for 08-09 this summer so that next year is MUCH better. If I can't get back into the groove next year, it will be time to look for a new career. The good thing is that I will be fully vested in the Florida retirement system, so that whatever I've earned will be available when I'm 65. If I ever decide I want to teach in Florida again, I can do so and add to my retirement.

I'mGatMan! · Jun 4, 2008

Tyrkon Lawson said:
We just finished a week of 2 liter bottle rocket building. Man those suckers went high. We are having the finals this Friday. I was able to get 3 other teachers to participate. The kids loved it. Great way to cover Newton's 3 Laws of Motion. But we are limited on space so it was a challenge to keep the rockets from landing in the staff parking lot. One of my fellow teacher's demo rockets hit another teacher's new BMW.

This next 2 1/2 weeks will be full of trash can fires, fights, graffiti, false fire alarms, etc... :grumpy: Because the kids not passing figure they might as well go crazy. Every year it's the same old crap.

But the good kids make it sooooooooo worth it. :thumbup:

Oh, man...I just got a new Infiniti G35. If that had been my car I would have gone postal.

As for the kids, my kids this year were fine, I just feel like I began to bore them. I blame their attitudes on me. Just been a rough year. My principals said I could take more time off if I needed it, seeing that I had been in the hospital the week before school started, but I wanted to work. Maybe I should have taken the time off.

On the other hand, my creative writing kids made it all worth it. They're just phenomenal. Another good thing is that I was able to recruit more creative writing students this year, so next year I'll have two classes instead of one. More work for me, but definitely a worthwhile payoff.

Tyrkon Lawson · Jun 4, 2008

Man I'mGatMan! You are one tough HOG to go through all that and still keep at it. Kudos to you bro!

xaman · Jun 4, 2008

uh-oh, we're going to have more daytime competition at the trough and exchange...

Congrats guys on finishing another one, hope it's a great summer for you all.

I'mGatMan! · Jun 4, 2008

Tyrkon Lawson said:
Man I'mGatMan! You are one tough HOG to go through all that and still keep at it. Kudos to you bro!

Thanks, brother. Last year was actually the second time I've had to leave school early. In '04 I was run off the road on the way to work one morning, hit a 40ft palm tree, and was ejected from my vehicle. I was airlifted to the trauma center, but not before I told the EMT I wasn't leaving without my sidekick AND my iPod. She told me that if they found them, they'd mail them to me. Nuh-uh...not leaving. iPod took a real beating but kept on working. You can bet the EMT tech was frustrated.

First thing I had told the good samaritan who stopped to help when I regained consciousness was to call my school and tell them I wasn't coming in. By the time I got into my room that evening I already had messages waiting from the kids. Apparently the rumor at school was that I'd broken all the bones in my body. Gotta love the kids.

My father drove past the accident that morning on the way to work but didn't know it was me because the emergency trucks were blocking his view of the mini-van. Funny thing is that had I been driving my 1985 Mercedes Benz 300sd, I wouldn't have even gotten into the accident because the Benzo had ABS. My father was taking the Benz in for brakes, and so I was driving his junker minivan. Of course, I paid him back for the minivan, AND gave him the Benzo when I bought my VW. 3 months after the accident I got a letter from Miami-Dade County asking me to pay 1700$ for the freakin' tree that almost killed me.

Yeh...right. :thumbdn:

And to add insult to injury, when I got thrown outta the car, I landed in an ant-pile. How's THAT for funny. :thumbup:

Tyrkon Lawson · Jun 4, 2008

I'mGatMan! said:
And to add insult to injury, when I got thrown outta the car, I landed in an ant-pile. How's THAT for funny. :thumbup:

Oh man. That is dark comedy right there. Sounds like my luck.

You just have to have better times ahead after all that. :thumbup:

new · Jun 4, 2008

I'mGatMan! said:
Oh, man...I just got a new Infiniti G35. If that had been my car I would have gone postal.

As for the kids, my kids this year were fine, I just feel like I began to bore them. I blame their attitudes on me. Just been a rough year. My principals said I could take more time off if I needed it, seeing that I had been in the hospital the week before school started, but I wanted to work. Maybe I should have taken the time off.

On the other hand, my creative writing kids made it all worth it. They're just phenomenal. Another good thing is that I was able to recruit more creative writing students this year, so next year I'll have two classes instead of one. More work for me, but definitely a worthwhile payoff.

sorry to take this thread even further off topic.......

but, how do you like your G35???

i was in the market for a new car myself and the choices were narrowed down to :

1. infinity G35
2. lexus IS250
3. nissan 350Z
4. audi A4

i went with the audi.....

now back to your regularly scheduled program....

here's some busse content:

I'mGatMan! · Jun 4, 2008

New,

I'm very happy with the G35. 306 hp, the full technology package, moonroof, etc... And I can drive it like a stick (tip-tronic, paddleshifters, etc...).

I always loved the A4 (all Audis after watching Ronin), but after driving an '04 Jetta GLS 1.8t, I probably won't own another VW/Audi for a VERY long time. My experience with the Jetta and with VW service was not a good one. Multiple suspension and AC issues, and bad service (including two dents which had to be repaired while I drove around in a rental). After awhile, my wife was like, "dood...please get rid of your car and buy something else." I was all too happy to comply.

Hope your experience is the EXACT opposite of mine. Enjoy driving your car around. Oh, and especially that little turbo whistle.:thumbup:

J

Grimspoon · Jun 4, 2008

Glad to hear it GatMan!

My dad is a teacher (elementary school) and is only a few days away from retirement, I've witnessed first hand all the torment and frustration that goes along with being a teacher, so truely; good luck to you!!!