JuicyLesson 237: Fear and Fucking Loathing at Phoenix Alternative High Freaking School: An Exchange With an Over-Protective Aunt, Not With the Actual Student, Her Nephew ..

Scenario:
This all started with the following plea on Facebook from an ex-Phoenix student:

Student: Looking for a full-time job. Anywhere.

This request, plea, whatever, sparked the following exchange:

Comment #1: What u lost yours ?

Student: Yeeep (What is that, “yeep”? Learn to face up to reality.)

Comment #2: Go, bring ur cv at my job,

Comment #3: Kingston, Ontario! Time to make the move Bro!!l

Comment #4: Edmonton AB. $1000 Weekly minimum. Let me know when you’re ready to work.

Sounds like this guy has friends who are interested in, and care about, his welfare. That in itself is an important step in the right direction especially in this case where this guy skipped both the Phoenix Grad Ceremony and the intimate little Phoenix grad party at a teacher’s house – I believe it was at Chris and Mylene’s house, two teachers actually, with two kids – which soirée featured a pot-luck souper where we seven teachers and our beloved principal cooked up a storm for graduates, teachers, and a few guests alike.

Before going any further, I feel it necessary so say that I felt quite close to this student; in addition to teaching him history and economics, I served as his advisor for a semester, and yet this kid did not see it as required – school rules be damned now that he’s a graduate, what can we do about it? Not thing one could we “do” about it and what’s more, the kid knew it – to notify me of his intention to miss the two above-mentioned events.

Later, when I got the chance and I asked him, in person, why he hadn’t been at either one, he just mumbled something incoherently and I decided not to push it. I understand that a teacher really has to pick his battles and this was one I felt wasn’t worth fighting largely because this kid had already graduated** and therefore was no longer in my charge.
**With the prize awarded to the Phoenix graduating student with the highest overall average and he wasn’t even there to receive the honour and a lovely and well-selected made-to-measure as it were book that accompanies it. Come to think of it, I am not sure, to this day, thst he himself even knows that he won the above-mentioned award; I for one certainly never told him.

In addition, he did not show up for our first lunch date. He was there for the next one, though, one also attended by another ex-student, a highly successful business man in this case and a Bialik high school graduate from 1982 I think it was. Anyway, the point is that the older student, with his multiple university degrees and his excellent business acumen is the one who provided our “student” with the info on the hotel and recreation field.^^p

Me: Offers from all over the place, Alberta, Ontario, Asia … I suggested that the person who kindly told the young man, the nephew, to being his CV to her or his job perhaps might want to check and see why this guy lost his job in the first place. I said some other things about the young man which were all true, but by no means complimentary, things that I recall from my one semester as his teacher and advisor (I was his advisor, he/she was my advisee) in Sec. 4 at the now defunct and totally changed Phoenix Alternative in Laval.

He is an extremely smart but lazy kid. He finished with a mark over 90% in the History of Quebec and Canada course, but with a little more effort and study at home, he could have had a perfect mark and been eligible to be honoured at an awards ceremony – presented jointly by the now defunct Provincial Association of Social Studies Teachers [PASST], Jerry Cohen, President Emeritus and by the Ministry of Education [MELS] – which ceremony was held annually between 2001 and 2007 as part of Teachers’ Convention; he/she would have also been presented with a Certificate of Excellence along with about 100 other students. But he didn’t work hard enough even though I informed him, more than once, how much it would mean to both of us for him to become the first Phoenix student ever to be so honoured.

First, the aunt took me to task, still on the public FB, for “embarrassing” her nephew. I then switched to private messaging where the remainder of my “interchange” with the aunt took place.

Me: (Your nephew) is not a baby, he must be closer to 25 than 20 by now so stop babying him. It’s time he grew up.

Me: (Your nephew) gets messed up when you decide that he needs to be protected. I now better understand why parents are not allowed to be involved with their child’s Phoenix experience short of their attending various parent-teacher-student conferences as well as other meetings. How dare you insult me?

The Aunt: Jerry, you started it. Maybe you know the classroom, but if you start in on my nephew (or anyone else in my family for that matter) when it’s in social media, and as Martin had it: PUBLIC, then you are stepping into a domain where your rules don’t apply. How dare you embarrass a young man outside the classroom? I do not want further communication with you, now Jerry. I wish you the best.

My Answer to this misguided, meddlesome soul:
I must respond. You are still protecting him so wake up and die right and please stop annoying me or I will share this whole conversation with (your nephew). Another thing: your use of phrases or clauses like “your rules don’t apply outside the classroom” aside from not making any sense are also gratuitously thrown in there for no discernible reason, except maybe to hurt and if that was your intention, please herein and herewith be informed that you were successful, so please think about what I’m saying instead of getting angry.

Like hell you wish me all the best so why say it? I hate bullshit above all else and my hate list is short – I have a website and I am thinking of using our whole conversation – for now without names – as today’s JuicyLesson. The site can be found at: www.AJuicyLessonPerDay.net. Check it out.

^^I mean no harm. (Your nephew) and I and another much older ex-student had lunch about 10 months ago to help your nephew decide his future career-wise.

At that point he was given some ideas and I’m wondering if he ever acted on them.

I have definite plans to use this exchange as today’s lesson but without your names so that there’ll be no way to identify you. Piss me off, and that may change. In my opinion it speaks volumes that this kid, as savvy electronically as anyone his age that I’ve ever met, this young man hasn’t even bothered to get involved in our discussion, choosing instead the lazy man’s route which is to sit back and watch things unfold before his very eyes,

This intelligent gentleman has a lot of growing up to do and people who feel that they need to interfere to protect him are actually doing him more harm than good by enabling his immature behaviour.

Me still to my readers: I have been forced to use my recall for some of this due to the fact that the aunt has taken down her Facebook posts.

Music today is from Dire Straits featuring lead guitarist and singer-songwriter, Mark (Jew-boy) Knopfler who, with his band, Dire straits, backed up Bob Dylan on a few of Bob’s albums, and Eric Clapton, arguably the best guitarist in the world; for my students saying oh yah, Industrial Disease, the track is NOT “Industrial Disease”. Screw Auntie H. and the horse that she rode in on, right? Whaddya all think?

Buried Betty yesterday; wore my suit with tie for rest of the day in Betty Moscovitch’s honour.

Rest in peace, Betty.

Peace and love. See you tomorrow and many thanks for both the hits and your loyalty. I am up to around 1500 visits which surpasses my original goal by 50%.

Math Question:Using the above data, calculate my original goal.

Remember to check out Brenda Keesal’s site: Burns the Fire. Superior quality material.