Curb my enthusiasm

Blargh.

It's the doldrums here at Lockney High. OAP is over, it's still two weeks until TAKS, and something like 50 percent of my students are gone every other day for track, tennis, golf, orthodontics, or birthin' babies.

I pledged to keep myself busy through the end of the week on the pile of ungraded papers which have been threatening to eat my desk since at least St. Patrick's Day or so. About 10:30 AM yesterday I finished those, and now I can only sit idly by as my few remaining kids scramble madly to finish a project I assigned them on Wednesday, which is due Monday. The idea was to keep them busy learning while I finished grading their papers... which I did. Yesterday. Like I said.

I love Pandora. Who would have known that I actually liked a Donny Osmond song?

I can feel myself slipping back into the madness of addiction. It's a good thing I don't have broadband at home--I'd never sleep.

Did you ever have a day when you actually felt guilty for getting paid for doing your job? Honestly, JoJo the talking ape could have shown up today and done what I've been doing, for a lot cheaper. True, I'm a lot less likely to throw my feces at the students when they make me mad, but still...

I guess it's days like today that make me really question why I got into education. My teachers probably thought I'd be freakin' president, or cure cancer or something. But, a high school teacher? Am I really doing my students a favor by being the one who yaks at them about mold and molecules day after day?

What would it be like to have a "real" job, working 50 weeks a year, 40 hours a week? I guess I'd probably get bored there too, and I wouldn't have crazydramafunnypervert teenagers around to cheer me up.

Oh yeah. That's why I'm here. The kids. I love the kids. How do I seem to forget as often as I do?

Like Audrey tells me to do, I should probably stop "gimping" about it and get back to work. I'm sure I can go plan... something.

My wife's family is coming for Easter. I love those guys. It's going to be fun.