Hoorah for Capitan Smarty!

We are eeking through this last week when all of the sudden a memo hits our school mailboxes.

A fellow teacher (who, to protect him, I will refer to as Smarty Smarterson) has given us all a full page manifesto on how we need to follow the district attendance policy (that is, the deduction of points for absences and tardies). He has veiled his diatribe loosely recounting how his class told him he was the ONLY teacher who followed the policy and how this revelation led to an active day of learning for all his students. Mr. Smartyson's classes are onto us!!! And he is memo-ing to document!!! Look out!!!

Now, I follow this policy. I hate it and make no bones about it, but I follow the stinking policy. What bothers me most about Mr. Smarterson is his willingness to gossip with his students about other teachers (I have serious ethical issues with this and have more than once put the kibosh on such talk. Often, these near disasters involve Mr. Smarterson himself!!). I also wonder if Mr. Smarterson believes this talk. I am often told that I am the ONLY teacher who limits hall passes, doesn't allow CD players in class, stops IV drug use in class...you get the idea.

Did Mr. Smarterson use district computers or copiers for his manifesto? I am so calling Phyllis Schafley.

Blessings upon Jill and the fruit of her womb! Word has come that my chance at a namesake is seriously decreased as we have a boy! He will carry the name of his father (Charles) and so all that is left to be debated is what diminutive of Charles this child will bear. Conversation with Jill has Chico as a frontrunner if only for the inherent singability of the theme from Chico and The Man as a lullaby. For the record, Chachi is also a consideration. Also to be noted is the fact that during our discussion on this topic via cell phone, Abby (the present baby of Jill's family) was singing her own version of London Bridges. Her version was something like "All the Bridges falling down" which made us think of a Manson like movement predicting that all the bridges would fall down on blackie and whitie and then it would be Helter Skelter.

4 more days, kids.