Here you go IP!!! I'll start with one of the funny things that has happened to me. When I first started teaching, I began in a Trainable Mental Retardation class. Very sweet and loving kids.Our classroom was in a trailer, didn't complain because it was the only air-conditioned classroom. The story I'm going to tell you made me run out of the door and laugh. One of my kids came in and started telling me that his mom and dad were sick. I asked him,"What's wrong with them?" That was my mistake. He said,"I went in mom and dads room and they were under the covers, dad was on top of mom and they were sweatin'!" I said What?? And he told me again and thats when I ran out of the room. Even today, 30 years later when I see the kids mom, I want to say,"I'm sorry you've been sick!"
I'll throw one out there as told to me by the student about my dad at his funeral. One day back in the 70s my dad was giving a test one day and said student got a bad case of the hiccups. He couldn't get rid of them and continued throughout the first part of the test. My dad wrote some stuff on a piece of paper, casually wadded it up and walked around the room and dropped it by the kid's desk. Upon his next time around the room (kid still has hiccups), he leans down, picks up the paper, unfolds it and reads it, and asks the kid what it is. Of course the guy didn't have any idea what was going on and starts pleading his innocence. My dad informs him that he will not tolerate cheating under any cost and is going to make an example of him to the class. He makes the kid come to the front of the room, gets his paddle, and tells him to bend over the desk. The kid is borderline freaking out at this point. My dad draws back like he is going to paddle him, stops just before he hits him, and asks if he still has the hiccups. The kid thinks for a second, says no, and my dad tells him to go sit down and finish his test.
My 2nd year teaching I had taken my class to PE. We were in there with some 10th and 11th graders. These 2 boys got into a fight. I told coach I would break it up. He said no, let them get it out of them. They fought for about 10 minutes and finally stopped. Coach then walked over to the two and told them to follow him. He didn't take them to his office or the main office, he took them to the bleachers and made them sit next to each other and put their arms around each other. They had to sit there for about 35 minutes like that. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Of course you couldn't even dare to do something like that no days.
To really get the full effect, you would need to know the boy who told it! He came in one day and said that he had went grocery shopping with his mom. They had went to a bigger city to shop. He told me as he held his hands about a foot apart, that they had the biggest crawdads that he had ever seen!
I'm interviewing Monday for a teaching position. The opportunity to get back into coaching is too good to pass up.
Good luck! I miss coaching just not all the film. I think if I ever walked back into a locker room, the smell would try and get me back into it. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but when your around it for a long time it just has a smell you come to love!
Dude, you know that I hope the very best for you, but I am discouraging anyone I talk to from going into education. Yeah, I'm a total burnout at the moment. I guess my big gripe is that my county is totally screwing the high school teachers starting this year. On top of that, we also have one of the lowest salaries in the whole state. I think maybe 4-5 counties are lower. Wish me luck. I have an application put in in Kingsport City. I'm a bit long in the tooth to be starting over, but 15 minute longer drive equals $12,000 raise on regular teacher salary and another $2-3,000 coaching supplement raise. I hate to do it, but my hand is forced. If that's what you really want NY, best of luck to you. Just stay away from my county.
Thats why so many teachers in Alabama, that live close to the boarder, retire and go to Georgia. For a 35 minute drive, I'm making about $20,000 more a year than I made in Bama. They pay you for experience in Georgia. In Bama a 25 year teacher makes the same as a first year teacher with the same degree. Plus you get your retirement check too, Double dippin'.
I'll share a story that really let me know what I was getting into by teaching today's kids. Had a conference with a student early in the year, while the year was still young, because he was acting like an idiot while I was lecturing. Mind you, this kid is 13 years old. After some talking I asked him what he wanted to be when he got older. His answer - I want to be this town's biggest drug dealer. His life ambition is to be the biggest drug dealer in a town of 2300. After that, I buckled my seatbelt for what I knew was going to be a long year.
You are a science guy, right? If so sell him that he needs to know the composition of his drugs so he knows that they are quality. That will facilitate his rise as a drig kingpin...Make it relevant to him. . j/k......