The Tiny (aka Nathan Scott Phillips, aka Bounce-Bounce) has gotten decidedly less tiny. This week I'm calling him Brown Bread, for his incredible weight and density.
For the most part the Major tries to stay out of their way, but the two of them together are a hoot. You can get a sense of their general dynamic here:
That kid I was talking about last time finally got transferred. Did he stab someone, you ask? Commit armed robbery? No, his final offense, the one egregious enough to warrant explusion, was walking out of his IEP meeting.
There's a lot to get upset about there, but whatever. He's gone.
I'm going to [gritted teeth] Stanford next weekend for a school retreat. As a non-improving PI school we're required to have an outside provider come in and magically solve the problems we're too stupid to solve ourselves - you may remember how much I hated our last Outside Provider. I wasn't alone, and collectively we chased them out, only to have them replaced by Stanford. Now, the Stanford ed school is the home of outspoken Program-hater Linda Darling-Hammond, so they can't be all bad, but so far their whole plan for the school involves spatial redesign, and since our school is already so cramped with additional buildings and "bungalows" (what we would have called "portables" back home) and there's no time or money to rebuild, their entire plan consists of "signage." You know - banners and umbrellas and such. Mostly banners. They were paid $2 million by The District for this plan. Not for banners and umbrellas, even - just for the mere notion of banners and umbrellas.
Anyway, I'm there Thursday through Sunday evening. If you're slumming it in Stanford those days, hit me up.
Overheard at work:
One maintenance man to another, heatedly: And they want us to empty trash, and spot-mop, and de-gum, and clean the sodas off the floors, and work as a team!
A kid (next to the side gate, lately closed to students, forcing them to walk all the way to the front of the school to leave): Let my people go! Let my people go!
7 comments:
i wonder how many of the school´s problems could be fixed with an adequate amount of funding...anyway...
happy birthday!!
Happy birthday!
Your apartment must be so cute right now, teeming with three cats. They must be so fun to watch.
Why. are. you. going. to. be. in. Stanford. two. weeks. after. I. leave.
Alan and I are now living less than 2 miles away from [gritting teeth] "Stanford". We have a new little apt. Please give me a call when you are in town!
OMG walked OUT of an IEP meeting? incredible.
your school is so whacked.
am i showing my ignorance by asking who nathan scott phillips is? it's such a big name for such a small kitty.
No, not ignorance at all. It's a fairly obscure reference to a season two episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, in which Meatwad, at Master Shake's urging, attempts to make his own customizable bunny rabbit out of a giant snake, pipe cleaners, a stapler, and a pound of human hair. He names the "bunny" NSP. Clicking the link will allow you to watch the whole episode, if that is what your heart desires.
Yeah, he up and walked out of his IEP. Not his scene, I guess. The messed-up part to me is that this is viewed as a greater offense than beating someone bloody. The new plan is to root out the serious, dangerous gangsters and transfer them based on low credits. We're all kinds of Al Capone around here.
How many problems could be fixed with funding? Many, if not most, assuming the money was spent correctly. For starters, we could solve a ton of problems by hiring more security guards, 24/7 if possible, and paying them enough to keep the good ones. As it is, they work 3 or 4 hours a day for minimum wage. $30 to throw myself directly into harm's way? I'm there! Similarly, I suspect that paying our staff more would prevent the "loss" of certain, crucial room keys and the further "loss" of thousands of dollars' worth of technology.
But if I start playing Fantasy Budget, I'll be here all night.
J , I timed it this way out of spite. Pure, undiluted spite.
M, I talked to Alan last night. He's supposed to call me Friday or Saturday so we can meet up - and if he doesn't, expect me to text you from my undoubtedly boring professional development. Congrats on the new place!
Those of us who have seen said mediocre film and know what happens in the future wonder how some idiot director can cut so much of the essential script for length's sake. Has he NOT seen the size of the books? Clearly Potter fans are not daunted by length.
And same guy is directing the 6th one. I'm quite upset.
I recently started work at a teaching supply school so I'm extremely aware of the budgeting problems/what they can and cannot solve. Most teachers I've encountered are pretty peeved about students peeling lamination off of everything right before they leave [which is quite tepid compared to your problem].
I hope you had a fabulous birthday!
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