Tales from the Steppes

2005-08-31

7:39 a.m.
Wednesday, August 31

Though the world is my oyster
It's only a shell full of memories
- Roxy Music

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water....

I was immediately suspicious last night when both the MM and EM were eager to tattle on their little brother when I asked about school. Such unity is rarely seen in my house and can only be the precursor of something I don't really want to hear. The first issue that came out was that the school patrols on the bus wanted us to know that he was the worst kid on the bus. The driver had to speak to him, the patrols made the MM sit next to him, in an effort to control him, and he said something bad about the kid next door's teacher. Exactly what he said is in dispute, much less why he said it. Either he said she was nice or had a fat ass, depending on which mongol you choose to believe. Of course, this was on the bus so apparently the only people that actually heard what he said were the YM himself and the kid next door.

Further talking yielded a confusing story about the YM having to be walked down to his brothers class, teacher and principal in tow. It seems that the YM could not find his snack in his backpack, so got out part of his lunch - his sandwich. He is not allowed to have peanut products at snack time (due to allergies in the class) so he found a knife, washed it off, and scraped the peanut butter off the bread into the trash. Clever, yes, but not exactly what the teachers had in mind. So when lunch came around, he did not have enough food to eat and was still hungry. So he had to find his brother and ask for some of the MM's lunch. But then there was also this really cool toy someone brought in for Show and Tell and he really really really wanted his brother to see it. So they brought the MM back to the class for a few minutes to see this toy and I have no idea what happened as far as the food is concerned.

Unfortunately, I was unable to ask the MM about this story because he went to bed early (before dinner!) with a headache. This morning he is running a substantial fever and is staying home, so I only get to work here until noon.

Wait.

Didn't I already deal with this particular virus this last weekend?

Oh, that's right. That was a DIFFFERENT mongol, the YM, who had this. The other two had the puking thing.

The SU will have the pleasure of convincing the YM to get on the bus without his brother. I have already suggested that he give him a piece of gum and turn him over to the patrols. Really, gum may work for this. The treat of gum may distract him for the necessary few minutes for the YM's mood to change or the bus to pull off.

This year the SU has the daily responsibility of getting the MM and YM off to school. So far, it has been interesting. Ok, it has only been one day, since I was there for the first day of school. Will he remember to put the YM's nametag on him? Will he remember a separate labelled bag for snack vs lunch? I would feel a little more sorry for him if the YM were our oldest child, not our youngest. But this wake-up call was long overdue. Last night, after grocery shopping, he asked me if I was coming to bed. I said no, I would actually like to sit down for a few minutes and besides, I had forms to fill out. He actually did not know that the school sent home massive amounts of forms to be filled out each year and when you multiply that by 3, it is hours of work.

Just yesterday, I was reflecting on the fact that an entry level teacher with a bachelors makes more money than I do with a masters and experience. For far fewer hours of work. If I want to meet with a teacher, I have to take off from work to do so. If anyone wants to meet with me, I have to stay late to meet them on their schedule - that's what civil servants do. So what if you have to take work home. Doesn't everybody? But then there is the issue of dealing with pesky students and their parents. Would I trade my engineers, lawyers, and irate citizens for them? Hrrrrm, not so certain.