Sox and I were taught at a young age to shoot to kill or don't bother pulling the trigger.

yah, yah. I usually sided with the 'don't bother' part though. Still - apocalypse skills:

- can keep us from going back to olde englyshe spelling. - can fit in tight places and HIDE. - can join in the baby wranglers. - can reassemble a querty keyboard (though, really, I think there's a better one out there).

also,
- can use a compound bow, aforementioned firearms, tie almost any knot one handed, splice, sail, climb a tree, float for hours, swim a mile, fish (if they're not all boiled or walking), pitch a tent, make teenagers think that they really want to do something, CPR, First Aid, WSI, and do amazing things with popsicle sticks and gimp.

... oh wait, that's summer camp.

ION - Erin McK concert last night was a howl. Very small room - acoustic, which is ok, but she has a really talented drummer. Everyone put requests (including U2's 'with or without you') and questions in a bowl and she picked at random. One of the questions was 'how short are you?' and her response was: "6'4", motherfucker". Which I loved because she's just a touch taller than me (which is a way under 6 feet), and had said something at the bar long before the show about height that just rocked. She has an amazing voice. The woman who opened for her was also really good - Nicole Reynolds? (asking DH for the last name) - and very funny...

Aimee - all my ~ma to L. I hope they can do something quickly and restoratively.

Ooh! I can haz apokalips skillz!

Hm, I've got living off the land pretty much covered. I know what plants to forage for, the best ways to plant and process crops, how to skin and tan hides, brew beer, and how to store foods over winter. This is all assuming that we have no technology or power, of course, because once that comes along I'm pretty useless. Go prehistoric skills! Choose prehistoric skills!

Fay - It sucks that you have to deal with a dickish cow-orker. At least it's only one guy, though, and not the system that sucks in this school? Can you maybe request that you work with him a bit less next school year?

Aimee - Best wishes and all the ~ma to L.

Holy crap.

All my -ma are belong to them. That's just awful.

Oh, Aimee, how awful! Much ~ma to them.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I'm completely heartsick over this.

Or else I use it to reinforce learning about our nutrition topic, and give each kid a different thing - but some of them are vegetables, some of them are carbohydrates, some of them are proteins, so when I call 'proteins' I'm expecting the kids who were told 'fish', 'beans', 'bacon' etc etc to jump up.

Fay, I think this is the made of awesomecakes with awesome sauce. What a great tool to help them identify and name things. When Joe and I win the lottery, we're going to fly to the states, put you in a great awesome place and pay you a ridic amount of cash to teach our kids.

And speaking of great tools, your co-worker needs a serious smiting.

Oh, Aimee, shit. ~ma, thoughts, and prayers headed their way, and yours too.

And speaking of great tools, your co-worker needs a serious smiting.

What. She. Said.

((Fay)) that's so uncool. You sound really clear on the issues though. Is there some way to stuff your co-worker in a closet? Or ask your principal for help? No matter what pseudo-experience he has, it can't compare to 'I've been the one working with these kids. And I know them.'

ETA: Better yet. Tell co-worker he can have the parents all to himself.

Aimee, lots and lots of ~ma to L's husband and to their whole family.

Fay, there has to be a way to... something. Get the information out of this guy that you need, or get someone to pound it into his skull that his job with you is to help you develop your SKILLS rather than replace yours with his own. Can you explain to him that you need to understand the rationale behind what he says, so that you can handle it yourself in future, rather than merely being told what to do? If I had been in your shoes with the maths planning, I would have said, "Ok, you want me to have them go back to the simple addition that they have already mastered - is that because it is standard UK procedure to spend x days on that particular concept and I spent x-1, or is that it is standard UK procedure when the kids are having trouble mastering one concept to abandon that concept and go back to the previously mastered concept and drill them on that without working on the one they are not getting? Is that specific to this set of concepts or a general principle?" I'd bombard the guy with mounds of respectful, innocent, trying-to-learn-from-your-wisdom questions that also demonstrate that you have a brain and a fair bit of competence of your own?

Someone in work just sent me this with the subject header "here's what we all assume you do in your lab all day..."

[link]

It's funny, because it has my face.