Much ABlog About Nothing

Tonight I had homework. No, really, homework. Last night I had homework - but I forgot to do it and had to rush through it this morning before Bean turned it in for me. The night before that I had homework, too. What kind of school gives the parents homework for the first three nights? Sign this, fill out that, Check all boxes that apply on the Checklists for Assessing "How Students Are Smart". Oh, and by the way, Mrs. Glen, you didn't complete this assignment, please do so by tomorrow. (I swear I didn't realize there was stuff on the back, too)

Open House was tonight. Quite a bit different than the B.I. School's open house. First of all, Bath Middle School didn't have to throw a pot luck dinner to get everyone there. There was a terrific turnout althought I don't know what the official headcount was. The baby made me quite a few acquaintances...kids and dogs, I'm tellin' ya, great conversation starters. I even ran into the two people in town that I had actually somewhat met before: the lady who moved here from Wyoming and lives a few streets over and the Priest from the Episcopal Church next door (who's a nice enough guy with a sense of humor and all, but he's no Terry Matthews) No displays, no emergency room cleaning. Just teachers in their classrooms meeting parents and giving out more homework to the parents. Sheesh! It lasted exactly one hour and when 7:00 p.m. rolled around a pleasant, God like voice came over the loudspeaker and very nicely told us all to leave now, please, thank you very much. What? Like teacher's have lives? The kids that were there for open house seemed to be almost excited to be showing off their school and teachers. I even overheard two kids in the courtyard (yep, an honest to goodness courtyard with grass and a tree and everything) discussing what, exactly, they liked best about the physical plant. Which kinda reminded me of Block Island, what with the new school and everything. Except, I have to wonder...while the new building and facilities will greatly improve the day to day experience of the education, it's not changing some of the internal problems that the school has - and probably will continue to have. There are still firmly entrenched teachers there who are not exactly top notch, with complaint files thicker than my wrist but who have "their own houses". There are some fantastic teachers at BIS, but it's no real secret who the not so fantastic teachers are and why they're not so fantastic. Policy in some areas is a bit absurd and a little too much catering is done to teacher's summer employment schedules. (And at the Bath Middle School, teachers are required to show up at least half an hour before school starts - huh!) And I would really like to see something done for the non-athletic kids at BIS. But, then again, that's not my concern now, is it? Except, of course, for my nephew. Who I think will probably fit in well with the BIS. Not meant in an insulting manner. There are some kids who do well in that kind of environment and some who don't. But let's remember while we're bragging about the BI kids who are going on to college, etc., that a lot of that has to do with the kids themselves, and the parents behind them, than it does with the improved teaching curriculum. There are some kids who are just motivated, and there's been quite the influx of them at the school lately. And there are some parents now who don't have a family business to hand down and are really pushing that college degree.

Another unique thing I've integrated into my new life (for lack of a better word) here is the water. As my teenager so adequately expressed in a post, the water here tastes like...well, not good. Tastes extremely chlorinated. So we found this little place just barely over into Brunswick that sells gallons of water for a quarter. Spring water. Tested four times a year. Tell me people anywhere can get this kind of experience! I go to Shaw's. I buy a gallon jug of their water (cuz, folks, there ain't no real difference between Shaw's and Poland Springs except the price) and drink it. Then I take the now empty jugs (I keep three) and twice a week I head over the the water place where I actually get about a gallon and a half for a quarter. Takes me five minutes tops to fill them. So, fifty cents for three gallons of water. Then I run it through the Brita when I get home, just to be on the safer side, and everybody's happy. And here I thought my interesting experiences were all done...

Thank you for all those well-wishing emails I've received. I appreciate the suggestions (even the weirder ones) and the moral support more than I can express. And, yes, it did take me almost four full weeks just to spackle and sand the bathroom walls. But I have managed to paint the ceiling thus far. Maybe I'll get the bathroom walls by Hallowe'en, eh?

And for my family members, feel free to extend invitations for me at any and all times. No, really, don't hold back out of politeness.