For The Record

1. The Results Are In...

I got the results from the second group of testers.....three passed from the second class. So out of around 25 kids, I had 5 pass. Disappointing. However, I found out that the other teachers who teach the lower level freshmen had the same results I had. So while we obviously need to rethink the way we did things this year, because these kids can do it if they put their mind to it, I am not alone in feeling frustrated. Is it bad that I felt a little better knowing I was not alone??

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2. Things I Do Not Have Patience For

The very first thing that people tell me when they hear I teach is "Wow. I don't know how you do it. I don't have the patience." I always tell them that it isn't really a matter of patience. Crazy 14 and 15 year olds, while they drive me crazy, don't make me really lose my patience. What I do not have patience for is crazy adults.

Case in point-

I just took Jake on a walk. Jake looks like this:

Now that's scary isn't it? I didn't think so. Granted it is kind of a whack picture but hopefully you can tell that he is small. Weighing in at less that 15 pounds and with a mouth so small he has to play with an extra small Kong.

Not scary at all. But some freak I just met on the street sure thought so.

I walked Jake to the top of a nearby hill where there is a huge field. I let Jake off of his leash and let him run around. On the way home, we were heading back to the road and before I could get Jake back on his leash, he started running down towards the street. It's not a busy road or anything. No cars. But there was this freak of a woman walking down the street. I called Jake's name and he turned around to look at me. But not before this woman ran to the side of the road and bent down. I thought she was picking up a puppy or some small dog thinking Jake might be going after it. But no. She picked up a brick. And proceeded to raise it above her head and prepare to hurl it at my dog.

I started yelling at her this time! Not Jake. Because Jake is sitting there, wagging his tail and hoping this woman is going to pet him! And she continues to wave the brick above her head. I'm yelling "HEY! Put that down! He won't hurt you!"

And she puts it down as I put Jake on his leash. She said she wasn't going to hit him once she saw me coming down the road yelling. I don't really care if she was or wasn't. If she had, I'd have hit her with the brick. Instead she said she just didn't know the dog. I get that. I get that you can never be too careful. And I get that I should have put him on his leash before we got back to the street, or better yet, left him on it. I get that. I really do. But what I don't get, and what I don't have patience for, is why people have to overreact so severely. Jake is roughly 18 inches tall. Come on. And I also don't get why, once she passed me on the sidewalk, she had to mumble under her breath something along the lines of "You damn right I would have hit that dog." Come on, lady. Get a grip.