As Brett's pre-return-to-NYC-sendoff, we went to her house to partake in a game night. I love board games. I will shirk off all contact sports and admit defeat before setting foot on a field, (unless I know you - like Michael - in which case, name the game and you're going DOWN!), but in the cardboard sphere of gaming, my fangs will be barred. Especially when the game-at-hand is one of my favorites: Scategories!
Here's the scary part, though. I did well for the round of "M" words, but when I lost ALL credibility when the letter was "T," and the topic "things found in a classroom."
I strategized as the clock ticked. I pictured myself standing at my desk in a classroom. I looked around. I saw books, pencils, desks, chalkboards, paper, erasers, students... nothing with "T"! So I skipped it. I came back as the clock ticked faster, signalling the final moments of think-time. (Thinking! That is found in a classroom!) In a panic, I wrote down "tall kids," with full knowledge that an adjective word would be disqualified. After the buzzer rang, I kicked myself for not thinking of the obvious "test," gosh was I dumb!
Oh; the humiliation had not yet begun.
As we went around the table and came to Michael, I leaned over and looked at his board, then I let out an expletive, (sorry!) while smacking my head. He looked at me, confused, then leaned down and looked at my answer, the "tall kids" one. He laughed, very, very hard. (He also called me a name that inferred my stupidity. It was deserved).
The TEACHER, the ONLY teacher in the group of eleven players, HADN'T WRITTEN DOWN HER OWN PROFESSION AS SOMETHING FOUND IN A CLASSROOM THAT STARTS WITH "T"!!!
Well, HA on him. Because I am not a teacher, I am a FACILITATOR OF LEARNING. So boo on his and everyone else's archaic educational vocabulary. They suck.
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Speaking of being a facilitator of learning, I got another job for the summer, (unofficially). Summer school teacher in North Little Rock for high school kids. I used to kind of feel guilty for quitting ROTC, thinking I'd somehow taken the "easy road" in life, but since then, all guilt has dissolved, and sometimes I wonder where the nearest recruiter is!
