Never mind the homework, here's the Vegan Teacher

I subbed in a Jr. High Art class today. It was ok. Had to take some 7’s to an art exhibit (which I thought was fascinating) and try to get them interested in it. This had mixed results. Most kids lost interest after 20 mins or so, sitting under the tables, pissing around with the smartboard in the room. Then I had to screen the old version of Romeo and Juliet for some 8’s who were interested in everything but the movie. I couldn’t blame them, it was wicked boring save for the butt scene which triggered many “ewwwws”.

There was a kid in one of my classes with a Replacements hoodie. This lad decided to call me out on the shirt I was wearing; a shirt I had given to me from the Juno nominated band F’d Up, after I put on their show a couple years ago. He was trying to get me to say the name of the band (which isn’t mentioned on the shirt), but I wouldn’t bite. I’ve always like wearing the shirt, the front print’s got a very renessance vibe to it, but I can’t have kids going home telling their parents their teacher was wearing a Fucked Up shirt. Alas, the shirt must be retired.

Anyways, you may have noticed that the blog has been less of a teaching journal as of late, and more of a general diary of my goings on. To tell you the truth, things are really easy going with my new job and there just aren’t many humourous anecdotes to report. I’ll be putting the book out this summer and I still plan on keeping this interesting, but with my Ed degree finished and my foot in the door to a teaching career, it can get tricky to discern what is appropriate to publish on here and what is not.

My students right now face tremendous challenges, many of which I don’t entirely feel comfortable reporting on. A bit of this has to do with privacy issues, but sometimes I feel like I might be representing myself as someone who comes off better than he really is. I’m just still a relatively clueless twenty-something trying to find his way around, it just so happens that I work with this kids who struggle way more than I do. By that I mean every day is humbling. Subbing, it’s easy. Put on a movie and basically babysit. My home instruction gig has put me in a position where I’ve become very emotionally invested in these kids, and when I hear about things like my 12 year old who’s getting electroshock therapy to try to improve her mental condition… what can you say, right? This blog has always been a source of good natured entertainment for me, and I intend to keep it that way. There is no sense talking about doom and gloom. I will say that one of my students has healed up enough to return to school. I was as happy as a Dad watching his kid ride away without training wheels when I heard this one. Know what I’m saying?

Anyways, so I spend most of my afternoons these days drinking PBR and Miller High Life in the sun, enjoying the absolute radiant beauty of my surroundings, friends and feeling thankful for the cards I’ve been dealt.

In other news, the record the band made last week is something I’m truely proud of. Never before have I been so stoked about something I’ve had a hand in creating. It’ll be good to go in 2-3 months and you’ll all get a copy.