Close the books, thats 14

Yet another successful close of a school year. Deranged parents 0, me 1. I won again. I still like my job. Look forward to doing it again next August:). Sure, I'll relax a bit before my summer job starts.

I'm going to be mentoring preservice teachers to better prepare them for what lies ahead. Fill their heads with lame theories and impractical requests? Hell no. Just espouse this theory and sit on my ass? Doubtful.

I plan on teaching groups of kids with them watching and then invite them into a dialogue where their voice is equally as important as mine. Me be a sage on the stage? Not in my nature.

They will see the whole gauntlet of what works for me: humor, rapport, genuine interest in the life of teenagers and anything else I can pull out. Hell, I might even go into the world is flat rap that I do! Can I share it with you? I knew you would say yes:). It really works like a charm.

A little background first, whenever I am dealing with an audience that seems to be dissociating from reality and their role in future times I do the following: show them a picture of my 4 kids and say, "I want to show you a picture of four ppl they may be working for in the future." Insert shocked looks here. I relate to them that I got four individuals who are motivated, push themselves and want to give directions rather than take them. I tell them all this stuff about competition is bad is crap because in the global economy they are competing with people in India, China, and all other points on the compass.

Competition is not bad. Making people fearful of competition is horrible. Not giving people the tools to compete is a total disservice to that individual and our society in general. Lack of support for education reference would fit here:).

If you ever enter the realm of parenthood and if you might be there already, I sincerely hope you work your ass off in conjunction with your childs teacher. If you get a teacher that just seem to be going through the motions, future 33% blog here, demand accountability. I don't care if you are tired, if you had a hard day, if going on SL is more appealing: tough shit. Sit at that table or couch with your kid or kids and compete! If you can multi-task, you are a far more evolved being than me. Show them that you value their education and their future. It is not only a worthwhile endeavor it is a responsibility you undertook when you decided/created a new life on this planet!! Just do it!!