Teacher Appreciation Week
 

I just found out...ugh! I'm stepping out the door in 30 mins. Gotta think of something real quick so I can get it while on the road. What y'all do for Teacher Appreciation week?

Wait, should this be in parenting? Well, whatever..sorry. I'm in a hurry. :p

(I may have told this one just recently)

I remember fondly my 7th grade chemistry teacher, who explained the workings of the world in a way I had never seen before.

Halfway through the year, in response to me pushing a classmate's books off the desk - we were just having fun - he ran to where I was, and slapped me in the face so hard I fell off my chair.

Of course, he wouldn't have done this if I weren't the smallest and weakest male in the class. This solidified the bullies' approach to me, and set me up for the worst year of my life.

It also made certain I had no further interest in his subject.

Thank you, Dr. Kip Bollinger.

If the teachers union were on a treadmill...

It's a huge thing at our school. They do homemade pies for all the teachers one day, bring in masage therapists to give chair massages another. Breakfast one day, lunch another, a noteboard where anyone can leave post-its saying nice things about the teachers, people bring in lightly-used books they enjoyed for teachers to choose from. And then individual classes sometime do something When I was class rep, I had the students all bring in a flower or blossom from their garden to make a huge bouquet...

Would steak and a bj be inappropriate these days?

A quarter bag of primo with dust. Oh don't forget to include the DARE officer too

Argh.

In the staffroom, just before Easter. A colleague was taking about what to get her husband for their anniversary. He's one of these scrupulous men who always remember.

"Wouldn't a steak and blowjob do?" was so nearly out of my mouth, for a second I thought I'd said it.

I need to write lines:
The staffroom is not the Cellar
The staffroom is not the Cellar
The staffroom is not the Cellar
The staffroom is not the Cellar

(except Ctrl C & V diminish the gravitas)

Yes, I slipped up with Thor's teacher and sub teacher (another parent in the class) the other day. Acknowledged a double entendre that should have been let lie. Fortunately he's young and usually human.

It's not Teacher Appreciation Week here, but if it was I'd like to acknowledge:

Mrs Hastings - developed a love of poetry in me when I was only nine. Told my Mum I would grow into a woman that stopped men in their track ( a real reach for a scabby little tomboy who already had self-esteem issues)

Mrs Waterfall - such a kind and caring soul. Gave me the cuddles I craved and treated me as if I was special.

Mrs Mortain-Cogar - taught me for two years, was a native French speaker and gave me a flawless accent (I've been told) although I retain almost nothing of the vocabulary now.

Mrs Collinge-Hill - recognised me immediately. I have no idea how. I'd been at school six weeks and she gave me a reading in the school carol concert. I was a 2nd year - readings weren't given to anyone lower than the 5th year. And then cast me as Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cutting lines from other people and giving them to me. She could be a sarcastic bitch, but she used to give me a lift home after late rehearsals, or get someone else to do so. For my first year at the Floyd I had more friends amongst the teachers than the pupils.

And just to add - I was in the town's only independent off-licence at lunchtime, looking for something unusual for Dad. I got him a bottle of Makers' Mark in the end - not common in this country. Anyway, seconds after I'd entered, Katelynn burst in. I volunteered in her class last school year.

(I was so pleased I wasn't reeling about the place looking for tramp-juice)
We had a hug and she told me why she was in town (eating al fresco practically next door - I'd waloked past her oblivious) and I told her I was looking for a present for my Daddy.

My word. Working with children is amazing.

My teachers sucked teh donkey balls. They all felt like the enemy and I was an A-grade student. but bullied. Mr Boyle the biology teacher was OK. But that's about it. The teachers at my kids school, however, rock, in the main. I won't name them though.

Tulip, something made/personal to the kid in question that won't last forever is often a winner. Like help your nephew make cookies. Maybe get some alphabet cookie cutters and spell out the teacher's name?

Or a $10-$20 gift card to a book store.

My nephew has six teachers...yeah, six! One main teacher, 3 PE teachers, one art and one music. I think they all should be appreciated. Anyways, thanks, Monster, for your ideas. I really like your cookie idea of spelling out the teacher's name. :)

cool, thanks. Our kids also have many teachers (we're community oriented), that's why we approach is as a school rather than individually.

Does the school have a mascot/logo? Maybe you could do cookies based on that??

Whiskey.

And valium, but that is best administered to the kids.

I have access to at least 6 Bacardi party favors, with ribbons tied on it and everything. I think they'll appreciated it. :D :lol:

Our teachers aren't allowed to accept alcohol.
I'm not sure of the exact reason why. Obviously there are already rules in place re not being under the influence of drink or drugs on the premises, so it's not that.

They go into a locked cupboard and are brought out for staff parties. Which oddly enough it seems CAN be held on the premesis (leaving do's, Quiz Nights etc - all held in the evening and with no children present).

Colour me puzzled.

Heheheh....I was only kidding around. :p: Having alcohol on school grounds hardly seem appropriate.

Sorry - I seem so clueless recently whether people are serious or joking.
When I was in secondary school (12-16) it was customary for the teachers involved in the school plays to get gifts of wine & flowers (the female staff) or whiskey (the Music Director).

And that was with money contributed by the pupils!

well, who knows. Maybe it would be okay. I can try ask the teacher. :D

No alcohol allowed on school premises, period. Opened, unopened.....none. I occasionally read British books where the parents slope off to the beer tent on sports day -and the beer tent is run as a fundraiser! :lol:

We have a beer tent at the May Fayre!
They sell lager, bitter, cider, Pimms and wine.

There is a pub at the end of the road the school is on, and they bring an outside bar. I understand - I may be wrong - the school charges them a flat fee, as on a hot day it's a real draw for Dads and encourages them to spend more money elsewhere!
It's a good deal for the pub anyway, as they also give away promotional vouchers. This encourages family diners (who are valuable) who see the pub every day but might not think to eat there because they associate it with the school run.

It's not seen as any different to having an ice cream van at the Fayre. Although they are forbidden (I think by law?) to ply their trade near the school at any other time.

The BBQ & hotdogs and soft drinks are all run by the PTA as fundraisers of course.

ETA - Monster! No bottle Tombola?!
Years 2 and 6 traditionally supply these prizes, although Muslim/ teetotal families are assured they can bring any other items in.
It's something to see a 10 year old walking into the office insouciantly carrying a bottle of Baileys or a four-pack of Stella.

no Tombolas here at all

Sigh.

Front porch, neighbourhood music festivals - tick
Progressive schools - tick
Great swim teams and ice hockey - tick
No TOMBOLA? Argh - cultural wasteland!

:lol: yeah. But it's gambling, doncha know..... gambling and alcohol.....works of the devil!

Catholic school festivals: beer and gambling.

Need I say more?

But Catholic Schools are separate from the state........ where's rkz? ;)

Ahhh, good. Because I like beer and gambling. ;)

Wonderful teachers:

Sister N: elementary school principal. What a lady!
Mrs G: 5th grade
Mrs S: 8th grade literature
Mr G: high school math
Mr W: high school history and current events
Mr M: high school advanced english and french

And I don't want to forget the wonderful high school librarian. He got a lot of crap from people, he was not a great looking man, and he had a beautiful wife. Looking back, he was probably a hippie in his day. He would lead me towards books he thought I'd like.

Not good teachers:

Sister F in 3rd grade (after coming back to school after my kitty got hit on the road and I rode in the back of the station wagon with him and he was all smashed up, but I said it would be OK because he went to heaven and she starts yelling "ANIMALS DON'T HAVE SOULS..." Mom talked to her, this poor child cried for two days straight. Have you no empathy?

Mr G: freshman english. Meh
Mr P: high school world history. Meh
Mr G: high school political sciences: always challenging me to argue. Then would say "why don't you tell your mom and have her come in and yell at me?" to which I replied "my mom taught me to fight my own battles, thank you very much. Now, about how you're wrong." (WEll, except for the 3rd grade incident...mom fought for me then! I was just a little kid.)

To all the dedicated, good teachers out there...good on you. It can't be easy.

Re alcohol and gambling - this is a C of E school!
What can I say, we Brits just hate our children.

handjob in a stationary closet?

So, I thought I'd treat the teachers to pizza for lunch. Called the school, first lady: yes, all kindergarten teachers eat at the same time. Art, Music, and PE teachers? I don't know, please call back at 8AM. Okay, so I called back at 8. Another lady told me: No, the teachers don't eat at the same time. Who is your kid's teacher? She eats at 10:55PM. You should talk to her. Art, Music, and PE teachers? Let me transfer you. It went to voicemail. I don't leave messages cuz hardly anyone ever returs my call. :rolleyes: So I figured, screw it. They're getting cookies. Takes some of my time but will save me money. The teachers got cookies from me for Christmas, and they will get them again now. I'll be known as C***'s cookie aunt. :D Hmm....actually, only his main teacher knows I'm the one who gave the cookies. Rest of his teachers thanked his parents. Oh wait, except for the PE's TA. She came to the classroom and thanked me personally. I think teacher's assistants are underappreciated.

No, it was very moving.
Yes we are!

I burned the last teacher's name....ARGH!!! I'm almost out of time and out of batter. :mad2: I lost track of time after putting the last batch of cookies into the oven because my nephew's fever spiked up to 104. Gonna eat a burn letter cookie, have a smoke and try to cut out a long teacher's name with whatever left of the batter. :(

Whew! I had just enough to make the last teacher's name although it's thinner than the rest. :p: Icing tonight. Gotta run now cuz I'm late for service!

service?

Prayer and meditation

Did all y'all have teacher's assistants? I never did...not through elementary school or high school. Is this a newer thing?

apparently so. i never had one either. then again, we're old, remember? :p:

Yeah...all the grades in one classroom. Filling the stove with wood. Yep. ;)

you got to fill the stove? i had to walk 20 miles through 6 feet of snow out back to go cut and chop up the wood!

But that was back in the days when you could count the number of students in class on one set of fingers and toes (even allowing for frostbite issues from all that walking in the snow). Now they need at least two sets, and they can only just count the number of Asperger's and ADD/ADHD on one set of fingers and toes, not to mention the psycho kid who -in the good old days- woulda been locked up somewhere else entirely

I don't know. I seem to remember classes that weren't like, tiny. Probably 25 students. And I remember a kid we called "hyper" who most surely would be diagnosed with ADD these days. Still, no helpers. Not even helping parents. Ever. Well, unless a mom brought in snacks for a birthday. That was it.

Those teachers must have really had it rough!

Class sizes here are heading for thirty, with approx half a dozen ADD/Asperger's diagnoses in each class who (allegedly) don't need an assistant, and then one kid that does -full time- -in almost every class. Eight years ago, when Hebe first started, they were around 20 and there was one kid in the entire school who had a teacher assistant assigned to them, and they were fairly severely physically diasbled.

I think in the old days in the UK, they would either have been written off as a little in the stupid side or put in a special ed class. But no, we didn't have teacher assistants either.

Yeah, I think the recognition and mainstreaming of certain conditions would require more help in the classroom.

Half a dozen in each class? Yikes!

Thanks for the info. It just struck me, and I was curious.

To be fair, our school philosophy makes it easier for these kids to be mainstreamed, so i think we have a higher proportion than other schools, but I am comparing the same school over eight years here. There are more diagnoses, and class sizes are getting bigger.

The other thing is, whilst many of the teacher's assistants are great and an asset to the classroom, some are failed wannabe teachers who were failed for very good reason :(. There seem to be very few hiring criteria here. We have one who really doesn't seem to like kids at all and is very short tempered and mean to the kids, picking favorites and making little secret of it, and we had another whose charge was explosive and occasionally needed restraining. She was too overweight/unfit to move fast enough to get to him in time. Fortunately she got reassigned. She's a lovely person, but really, that was a poor match-up.

I wondered about that too. Too many cooks and all.

Well, I couldn't do it, either way. I love kidlings, but I don't have THAT kind of patience.

Here's the finish product. I just got an email from the teacher thanking me for the cookies. She said all the teachers really liked it. Made me feel better for spending way much more time than I anticipated. In the picture, y'all notice on the lower hand corner of each name? It's a teacup card with a teabag and a tag with a teacher's name on it. Inside is a note and I had my nephew signed his name. I'm proud of that since I stayed up making them. :D

Nice, tulip!

Excellent!

Great Job! :D

When is dwellar appreciation week?

That was in Feb.

Groundhog Day.

We kept appreciating Dwellars over and over and over and over and over, until Bill Murray exploded.

everyone was assigned a partner and they had to appreciate each other in every thread possible until they made someone throw up. Or was that blow up? me 'n' infi are still going, as are ali and merc..... :bolt:

(pam and mort won the competition, though :lol:)

RATS! Foiled by mort and pam. Again.

But I'll be BACK. You will rue the day, RUE it, when pam appreciated mort more than I appreciated monster. RUE IT.

luv ya, sweetcheeks!

When is hobo appreciation week?

Next week. It's always next week.

Thanks, you guys. :D This is in response to teacher's assistants. The elementary school that my nephew goes to has two main teachers and one assistant for P.E. What other T.A.'s they got, I don't know.