School Logic

Yes, I’m still alive. All is pretty well, even...it’s just been crazy, and now it’s been so long since I posted that it seems like whatever goes up next should be of major significance!  This really isn’t, but no better time than the present to get back on the horse, so I’m going with it. 

Thing One is finishing up his freshman year of high school (yikes.)  With this comes finals, and with that, the final for his math class.  Mercifully, Himself has been able to keep up with the curriculum and work with him where he needed help with it at home so far.  I also got well past what he’s currently studying back in the Stone Age sometime (think the last math class I took was in 1992 or 1993) but I have no desire whatsoever to relearn it all now, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to!  Anyway, this is review week in class, but due to unfortunate family circumstances, his math teacher is out on leave.  His class has a sub who has some basic math skills, but is essentially there just to maintain order.  The kids are supposed to be working on the review material on their own. 

I asked him what happens when somebody has a question.  I was told (which utterly floored me) that they are supposed to go out into the hall and ask the hall monitor, who is actually a math teacher.  

I didn’t even bother to ask him the obvious question: i.e., why the hell the math teacher isn’t subbing for the math class as opposed to sitting in the hall making sure nobody does drugs in the bathroom or randomly wanders the halls or whatever it is hall monitors do in large public high schools these days.  

I strongly suspect that the answer has something to do with union regulations.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has had a positive experience with any major teachers’ union, but the one here seems to have elevated the pursuit of mediocrity to an art form.