So having my zipper down during the evaluation was the least of my problems
I'm in a little trouble at work.
First off, when classes resumed on the eight, I was sought out at lunch by one of the asst. principals. She said that one of my students had become very ill after first period and she wanted to know if anything had happened during class. This kid acted the same-- lazy, didn't do a goddamn thing, but he was nice about it.
The A.P. calls me into her office after school. Turns out this kid had smuggled straight Vodka in a Dasani water bottle and downed the whole thing during my class. Shitloads of kids drink water in class. Plus I didn't smell anything off. I was also getting over a cold/strep throat, but somehow I don't think the A.P. believed me. Some people that I've told this story to have said that Vodka doesn't have a smell. I wouldn't know, I don't drink it. I'm more of a whiskey and bourbon drinker. And I'll say this-- the fact that that kid drank the whole bottle without gagging or puking in class is amazing. I drank less than a pony shot of bourbon the other night to calm my nerves (you'll see why in just a minute) and I retched from drinking it straight from the bottle.
The story is that while he was ok in class, he never made it to second period. He grew ill and had to be taken away in an ambulance. I'm surprised and not surprised. I had that kid's older brother four years ago and he was the same, but more sarcastic. Those boys are like politicians and people buying Ex Lax--- no one does shit. And the older one had a bit of an Ex Lax effect on me as he irritated the shit out of me. The younger brother said the older one is locked up and after a search in the county records, I found out that he's been put away after a few arrests for drug possession. The boys have a sister who happens to be in my junior class and she's not bad. Annoying as fuck when her little friend is with her. The little friend, despite being a sixteen year old junior, is horrendously immature. And annoying. It's like breeding a hyena with The Sarah Silverman Program in its final episodes and adding a bit of Down Syndrome to this cocktail of annoying. Actually, pardon the political incorrectness of this, I can say without hyperbole that I've worked with special needs students who behave better than that annoying little friend. And some days I wish that I could say that to her, but not in this politically correct-happy day and age. And I've spoken to her soccer coach about her (since she tends to blow off her work in class) and this kid has issues at home. So I basically just deal with her like a hemorrhoid-- she's not going anywhere for a while and try to focus on something else.
Tuesday my supervisor calls me in. Between several shitty evaluations, the drunk kid, and having some of the worst failure rates, she wants me evaluated for the professional development records despite me being exempt this year. And I have to submit two weeks' worth of lesson plans to her so she can help me out with suggestions etc. She wasn't being a bitch about it, and she was very open and supportive. I also went in with the typical "I'm open to whatever you have to say and I will work to improve to meet your standards" attitude. Going in with a poor attitude would not have helped my case.
This has been a real bad year, worse or just as bad as my first. The failure rates-- most of those kids just don't want to work. They don't make up assignments despite me taking late work, they don't show up for tutoring. And with the new lesson plan formats and the shorter class periods, I get frustrated and confused so quite a bit of lessons have been awkwardly executed. So it's not entirely the kids' fault. When I read the evaluations from walk-throughs, I would alter whatever was criticized. But I ran into the snag from hell on Monday. I was going to show the presidential debate on the white board and the bulb burned out. Then my supervisor walked in for a surprise evaluation. I got nervous and altered the assignment best as I could, but it wasn't good. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I think if things don't improve or if they let me go or toss my ass to the freshmen center from hell, it's a not-so-subtle sign that it's time to leave this profession. And I have been looking through job sites for back up. Only problem is I'm pulling up jobs that want experience that I don't have, or it's truck driving, etc. I refuse to work in a school so I'm not adding education to the keywords when I search. I think the best one I pulled up was a pharmaceutical sales rep that could potentially go to a six digit income.
In a sense, I've got a good chunk of money in savings. If I'm fired, I plan on getting a master's in library science through U of North Texas. It'll be a bit of a blessing as I'll have more time to devote to my studies since I won't be working full time. I will have to find some sort of income, but I'm ok with stocking shelves at night or filing paperwork or shoveling spent brass casings at the gun range. Just something to bring in a little extra cash. The only other non-academic skill I have is with firearms, but what the hell am I going to do, join the circus as a modern day Annie Oakley?
First off, when classes resumed on the eight, I was sought out at lunch by one of the asst. principals. She said that one of my students had become very ill after first period and she wanted to know if anything had happened during class. This kid acted the same-- lazy, didn't do a goddamn thing, but he was nice about it.
The A.P. calls me into her office after school. Turns out this kid had smuggled straight Vodka in a Dasani water bottle and downed the whole thing during my class. Shitloads of kids drink water in class. Plus I didn't smell anything off. I was also getting over a cold/strep throat, but somehow I don't think the A.P. believed me. Some people that I've told this story to have said that Vodka doesn't have a smell. I wouldn't know, I don't drink it. I'm more of a whiskey and bourbon drinker. And I'll say this-- the fact that that kid drank the whole bottle without gagging or puking in class is amazing. I drank less than a pony shot of bourbon the other night to calm my nerves (you'll see why in just a minute) and I retched from drinking it straight from the bottle.
The story is that while he was ok in class, he never made it to second period. He grew ill and had to be taken away in an ambulance. I'm surprised and not surprised. I had that kid's older brother four years ago and he was the same, but more sarcastic. Those boys are like politicians and people buying Ex Lax--- no one does shit. And the older one had a bit of an Ex Lax effect on me as he irritated the shit out of me. The younger brother said the older one is locked up and after a search in the county records, I found out that he's been put away after a few arrests for drug possession. The boys have a sister who happens to be in my junior class and she's not bad. Annoying as fuck when her little friend is with her. The little friend, despite being a sixteen year old junior, is horrendously immature. And annoying. It's like breeding a hyena with The Sarah Silverman Program in its final episodes and adding a bit of Down Syndrome to this cocktail of annoying. Actually, pardon the political incorrectness of this, I can say without hyperbole that I've worked with special needs students who behave better than that annoying little friend. And some days I wish that I could say that to her, but not in this politically correct-happy day and age. And I've spoken to her soccer coach about her (since she tends to blow off her work in class) and this kid has issues at home. So I basically just deal with her like a hemorrhoid-- she's not going anywhere for a while and try to focus on something else.
Tuesday my supervisor calls me in. Between several shitty evaluations, the drunk kid, and having some of the worst failure rates, she wants me evaluated for the professional development records despite me being exempt this year. And I have to submit two weeks' worth of lesson plans to her so she can help me out with suggestions etc. She wasn't being a bitch about it, and she was very open and supportive. I also went in with the typical "I'm open to whatever you have to say and I will work to improve to meet your standards" attitude. Going in with a poor attitude would not have helped my case.
This has been a real bad year, worse or just as bad as my first. The failure rates-- most of those kids just don't want to work. They don't make up assignments despite me taking late work, they don't show up for tutoring. And with the new lesson plan formats and the shorter class periods, I get frustrated and confused so quite a bit of lessons have been awkwardly executed. So it's not entirely the kids' fault. When I read the evaluations from walk-throughs, I would alter whatever was criticized. But I ran into the snag from hell on Monday. I was going to show the presidential debate on the white board and the bulb burned out. Then my supervisor walked in for a surprise evaluation. I got nervous and altered the assignment best as I could, but it wasn't good. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I think if things don't improve or if they let me go or toss my ass to the freshmen center from hell, it's a not-so-subtle sign that it's time to leave this profession. And I have been looking through job sites for back up. Only problem is I'm pulling up jobs that want experience that I don't have, or it's truck driving, etc. I refuse to work in a school so I'm not adding education to the keywords when I search. I think the best one I pulled up was a pharmaceutical sales rep that could potentially go to a six digit income.
In a sense, I've got a good chunk of money in savings. If I'm fired, I plan on getting a master's in library science through U of North Texas. It'll be a bit of a blessing as I'll have more time to devote to my studies since I won't be working full time. I will have to find some sort of income, but I'm ok with stocking shelves at night or filing paperwork or shoveling spent brass casings at the gun range. Just something to bring in a little extra cash. The only other non-academic skill I have is with firearms, but what the hell am I going to do, join the circus as a modern day Annie Oakley?