Happy New Year 2011

Movie Monday – The Summer School Incident

Welcome back for the next installment of Movie Monday! Here is yet another reason why I failed at teaching (or maybe it failed me, I’ll let you decide).

When I graduated from college, I found a job right away. And to top it off, I was also offered a position to teach 11th grade English at summer school. WIN!

Which quickly became Loose.

Again, the demographic for this position was the same as my junior high school teacher position: middle to upper middle class with a HUGE sense of entitlement.

Here are a few things you should know before watching the movie:

- I made all the students sign my procedures so they knew what to expect.
- I was twenty-one and many of these students were eighteen.
- Little Johnny’s father was a lawyer.
- Because the original version was too risky for YouTube, he did call me a fcuking bitch and and he did say he wanted to kill me (not hurt me that is in the movie).

Seriously?! I was twenty-one right out of college! How was I supposed to know what to do?! I am pretty sure there were procedures that were ignored.

Epilogue Part 1:
About three or four years after The Summer School Incident I saw that administrator at a wedding. After indulging in who knows how many several adult beverages, I approached him and asked him why he let someone who threatened to kill me stay at school. He was a little fidgety and his memory didn’t quite retain this specific incident. Luckily, I remembered it quite clearly and after much “gentle prodding” (or loudly recalling the details with much valor and conviction), it seemed to rumble up some recollection. Because the next thing I knew, he said he didn’t want to talk about this here or ever again. Then he excused himself, and I haven’t seen him since.

Epilogue Part 2:
About five years after that, Little Johnny was in the local paper for being seriously injured in a fight that involved copious amounts of alcohol and a girlfriend and some other guy. I am not sure of the details of the altercation, but I do remember he was badly hurt. I share this part of the story because it is another example of his personality. For a long, long time, I felt like I did something wrong in this story. Why else would they not protect me and get him out of there? (I am pretty sure it had something to do with his father being a lawyer and the school’s numbers for graduation). But he was volatile and scary and dangerous.

And I thank God that I didn’t end up dead.

The Debut of Movie Monday: Cheerleader Coach vs. The Parent

I have an announcement to make, everyone I have an announcement! I think I am going to post an xtranormal video every other Monday, hence the name Movie Monday!

Today I am going to focus on an exchange I had with a parent during my first year of teaching. Remember when I said I would tell you why I just couldn’t cut it as a teacher? Well, why rehash that in a blog post when I can make it funny in an xtranormal video. (Anything is funny with those awesome little actors and voices, right?)

So let me set up the scene: I coached seventh grade cheerleading my first year of teaching. It was . . . challenging. The girls were, well, very confident with them. And the parents were, how can I say this nicely, uppity? No, that’s not it. Bossy? Not quite either. My-princess-can-do-no-wrong-toddlers-and-tiaras-crazy? Yes, that is more like it.

The demographic of the school is mostly white, middle to upper-middle class students that harbor a great sense of entitlement.

This is key because the incident involved an African-American, special-ed student.

So without further ado, I bring to you Movie Monday:







End scene.

I was stunned that she had the audacity to wag her finger in my face. It was my first year of teaching, I was only 22 years old, and I was scared shitless that this lady was acting so aggressive towards me. For upholding school policy.

And just so you know, I did get a talking to about not using the word “shut up.” The cheerleader and her mother in question, to the best of my knowledge, were never reprimanded.

Yikes, right?

Got any stories of injustice in the workplace you’d like to share in this public forum?

Feel Good Friday – Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Check out The Girl Next Door Grows Up and her Feel Good Friday post!

In attempt to lighten the mood after my two gratuitous self-realization posts, I am going to talk about some things that made me smile this week.

First this xtranormal video by Mompetiton. Check it out.

Did you see the comment about asking for an interview? Well, it happened, and here it is.

It makes me smile that someone can speak the truth in such a funny way AND get recognition for it. I think that is awesome!

The other thing that made me smile was this:

This was not a get-on-the-dog-statue-and-smile-for-the-camera pose. This was not a pose at all. The Babes just played and laughed together. And I just so happened to get a picture of it. This totally makes me feel good. Remember when I was stressing about whether they were going to get along or not? Now Marie is offering Thomas things like parts of her lunch or toys because as she says, “She’s thinking of him.”

You can’t see it, but there’s a puddle in my chest where my heart used to be.

On that note, have a great weekend!