Some People Really Are This Stupid

I probably should be working, but I guess that's one of the advantages of having your own office, and a laptop, and a working phone line. Part of my new job description, starting today, is to be an assistant dean, I have been stripped of my 5 classes a day and left with just three, for two periods, I sit in this/my office and wait for teachers to bring bad ass kids here so that I can give them a talkin' to. I guess working all of those years in the "big bad ghetto" got me somewhere after all, (it may have something to do with me getting my Masters in Educational Leadership but, since that isn't finished, I prefer to believe it has to do with me working in Bushwick). Anyway, I much prefer not having to teach five classes everyday and these children are NO WHERE next to bad. I've taught BAD and CRAZY kids, these children are just teenagers, working their way through some hormonal shit and trying to prove how "down" they are in front of the other teenagers. Since I am only one of FOUR black teachers in a school that is all black and latino, I have been given this duty. Miraculously, the other three black teachers have also been given some kind of "with the kids" assignment. Two of them have been appointed "rap" counselors, to talk to the kids twice a week during a group session (their schedule has also been cut to do this). And the other black teacher, the only male, has been assigned lunch/recess duty, it is supposed to be against our contract but he doesn't seem to know that, I think he's new. I'm debating whether I will saddle up to him and tell him about it later.

So anyway, was talking to a fellow educator, not one of the four. I'll call her Pippi Longstocking becase she is walking around with these fucked up pigtails even though she has to be like 35. Now, I am not against pig tail wearing, I rock them OUTSIDE OF WORK. I wear them to the store, to THO's house, while I'm cleaning up and while I'm pretending to exercise. I might even wear them to work if we were having a sports day or some type of fun event, but not on a Monday, the first day of "real" classes, with a bunch of teenagers who are just looking for some excuse to cut you down. Come on. So anyway, Pippi Longstocking and I have this "conversation"

PLS: My goodness, did you hear about what happened down in New Orleans?

Me: (Thinking somethning worse had happened between watching the news this morning and getting to work, and bracing myself for it) Oh my God, what happened?

PLS: You know, hurricane Katrina

Me: Uh, yeah, I heard. (What am I, an idiot? Who HASN'T heard about this you moron?)

PLS: All those people, it really sucks

Me: (Not wanting to be bothered, she is now in my mind an idiot and I don't want to waste time, effort, thought or breath on her) Yeah.

PLS: My friends and I usually go to Mardi Gras like every other year or so. We're definitely going in February, it's probably going to be so crowded, everyone's going to want to see what happened, like at Ground Zero (where the Twin Towers where in NYC)

Me: ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Like half the city is gone dude. In NYC, it was just that one spot that got hit. This is like more than half of the city. Mardi Gras is the least of these people's concerns. There are like 4,000 bums left in the city anyway, who are you going to Mardi Gras (using it as a verb) with?

Some Random Teacher butts in: Yeah, what are talking about Pippi?

PLS: You think it's that bad? (this question sounded pretty genuine)

Me:

Some Random Teacher: Are you serious?

PLS: I'm sure they'll have it fixed by then, that's like 4 months away.

Me:

Some Random Teacher: Actually it's like 5 but did you see the news? It's like totally devastated down there.

PLS: But, the French Quarter seemed okay.

Me:

Some Random Teacher: Like 60% of the city is under water.

Me: Well, I've got a class, gotta go.


I'm sure Pippi has a Masters degree. I mean, she's teaching high school literacy. What the Fuck is wrong with her? And, she's teaching someone's child? This is some bullshit. I swear, when I have my son/daughter, I don't want to be nasty but, I'm going to be up in the teacher's ass. I wouldn't want someone doing that to me, but then again, I'm not an idiot man.


I think I'm going to like this job. Other than the traveling, which is awful, it's pretty easy and I get an office I can fuck around in for like three pweriods a day (2 periods of assistant dean duties, plus my prep) this just might kick ass.