You've Been Tagged

Well, I hate to admit this to some of you. You were/are right.

Yep, you've been tagged.


In the 1990's in Rockdale County (don't think it's not happenin' in other counties), student folders were being passed from elementary school to middle school with color coded tag information on them. Such as:

1) Male
2) Female
3) High learner
4) Low learner
5) Caucasian
6) African-American
7) Hispanic
8) Disability
9) No Disability

ETC. You get the picture.

They did this to keep teachers from having to read through the entire students files to compose a diverse classroom and not have it too one-sided in any direction.

As a support teacher, I was helping homeroom teachers create their classrooms for the next school year. I don't remember all the colors for the categories above but they were normal colors yet one color stood out to me and I asked about the tag color. A general classroom teacher told me that those tags were for "disagreeable parents."

If you ever thought that a teacher came into a parent conference with a chip already on her/his shoulder before you even spoke a word, this may be the reason. I am sure I have been tagged at some point and time in my career as a parent. Now we all know why.

Famous Last Words

You've probably already read in previous posts about my love for National Lampoon's parody of a 1964 high school yearbook. It was published in 1974. If you just read the "Yearbook Signing" vignette about Mack Neal's famous words, then here are some from the parody yearbook...enjoy!


"Calm Down" written by student Stud Byers.

"The only true human waste is waste of time" by Principal Humphrey Cornholt.

"Good luck through the coming years and have a wonderful, carefree summer as soon as you turn in that MAKE-UP COMPOSITION (must fill out final report cards tomorrow morning!) " by English teacher, Mrs. Evelyn Hampster.

"To a really swell guy! (Sorry about the prom; I really DID think I had to wash my hair!)" by student and cheerleader Tammy Ann ("Twinky") Croup.

"Best in all you do. Are you SURE you washed them?" by student Maria Teresa ("Quickie") Spermatozoa, KL-5-4063.

"Glad to see you came out for football again this year. You really gave it a good try. Hey, you know we were laughing WITH you...not AT you." by Coach Vernon Wormer.

"To a good quitter who knows how to take defeat like a man." by Mr. Duane Posteum, track and field coach.

"To a really swell guy! It really sure was a shame that you and the Twink never got together. She was REALLY close to her aunt and really thought she'd have to go to the funeral on Prom night. Luv ya!" by student and cheerleader Patricia Ann ("Pinky") Albright.

"To a really swell guy! REALLY sorry about that prom mix-up. Twink was REALLY SICK that afternoon - she must have thrown up a ZILLION times! Luv ya!" by student and cheerleader Wendy Ann ("Winky") Dempler.

Clean up on aisle 6

My own children attended the same school where I taught. One afternoon, my youngest son, who was then in the first grade, asked me "Who is Anita?" I had no idea who he was referring to and asked him for more information. He said, "They just asked over the intercom for Anita's mop and bucket!" Now I really had to think about this one and it finally dawned on me that the office was making the following announcement over the intercom that afternoon..."I need a mop and bucket in room 23!"

Same school, different announcement (1980's)..."Will all teachers with aides report to the theater!!"

Signing Yearbooks

Of all the gushy "Remember the time...blah, blah, blah" sentiments in my high school year books, my favorite came from a no-nonsense fellow graduate: Mack Neal. Now let me tell you first, a funny little ditty about Mack Neal.

One day when we were in middle school (oh, we called it Junior High back in the 1960's), we had a substitute teacher. A MALE substitute, too. He didn't look at the student roll the teacher left for him to use, I guess. He just asked us our names for some reason. When he got to Mack, Mack answered his name. Of course he said, "Mack Neal." But for some reason the guy thought he said, "McNeal."

"OK, son, I've got your last name. What's your first?"

"Mack Neal."

"No. I need your FIRST name."

"It's Mack Neal."

The class had to straighten him out.


Mack and I had gone through the same elementary, the same Junior High, the same high school, some of the same classes, known each other since we were 5, played in the summers while in elementary and Junior High school under the street lights on Turner Street while I spent the night with Gayle Robinson, and just really grew up together. Mack wrote the MOST PROFOUND AND UNFORGETTABLE thoughts when he signed my Senior annual and he said,

"It's been real."

Hoppin' Mad

The ONLY time in 30+ years that I was ever "called" to the principal's office as a faculty member occurred in the 80's in a small, rural elementary school in central GA.

I had been teaching the different locomotor movements (jump, skip, hop, etc.) to my classes. When I was summoned to the office via the school's intercom, no less, I had no idea what to expect.

As it turns out, I had asked my students to "hop like an Easter bunny" and one of my students happened to be a Jehovah's Witness (unbeknown to me!). There sat the child's Mother, principal and me in his office while I was being blasted about this "bunny issue!"

I basically just apologized and went on my merry way. I knew better than to argue with the Mother's set mentality.

As years have passed in my teaching career, I have often wondered WHY that principal just didn't take care of that silly issue himself rather than bring me in, totally unaware of the problem and allow me to be belittled in such a way.

Priorities

After changing my major twice in my Freshman year of college (music - piano; music - voice), I again changed to being an art major. I stuck with it a year, too. But then Spring quarter rolled around and when I was drawing and studying in an art lab - you remember those...2 or 3 hours classes ...I changed again. I had good reason, too:

There I was in my art lab, looking out the window for inspiration, when all I saw were my friends lying out getting some rays and drinking beer.

I was inspired alright.... :-)

Child Abuse Week

Yeah ~ that's what the posters all around our Middle School read one year for Prevent Child Abuse Week.