(Ele)Civil Disobedience

"Yes, yes, please, Mr Civil - tell us a story, please!""Okay kids, what would you like to hear?""Chapter two of Leviathan Rusts, please, Mr Civil!"Seriously, I'm not in the least surprised to learn that Mr Civil upstaged a certain rotund figure clothed in red. He's real, interested, and talented. Game, set and match!

I must agree with Bruin, I'd rather have Mr. Civil juggle and do magic tricks for me than be bounced on Santa's knee, too. I doubt that Santa would hire a hit squad to eliminate our Ele, as he probably thinks he is just an very civil elf.I am more concerned with the cold infiltrating your bones in your apartment and maybe you should ask Santa for some nice elves to help keep you warm.

I, too, am concerned about your temperature. The cold bleeds you of all desire to do anything except get warm. :( Daft as it may sound, go to bed. Or take your blankets/duvet to where you are and wrap up in them.According to one professor from Oxford the world climate follows 20-30 year cycles; mild summers/mild winters, then hot summers/cold winters. He thinks we're now two years into the latter cycle.Keep on keeping on, mate! Camy

I would add to Bruin's list of adjectives the simple word 'cares'. A teacher who cares about his kids, who takes the time to learn each of their names, who learns and remembers what they like and don't like, what embarrasses them and avoids that, and what he can joke with them about, becomes a magnet, a kid maget.I doubt even cling-free washday additives would keep the kids in that school off of him.My advice to combat the cold: move to Southern California. Emergency teaching credentials for reading specialists are easy, easy, easy to get, your skills are in great demand, you'll be working everyday, and as there are many year-round schools, can even work a 50 week year if so desired.And, for the most part, it's WARM. Right now it's very cold. Fifty-five degrees. Brrrrrr.C

Good advice from Cole, Ele.I think if we all had sense enough we all would rush to southern California. But that would probably tip it into the sea.James

I would add to Bruin's list of adjectives the simple word 'cares'. A teacher who cares about his kids, who takes the time to learn each of their names, who learns and remembers what they like and don't like, what embarrasses them and avoids that, and what he can joke with them about, becomes a magnet, a kid magnet.I doubt even cling-free washday additives would keep the kids in that school off of him.

EXACTLY.Kids know whether or not you care, and if they don't think you do, it's trouble. This is what makes or breaks a teacher, in my opinion. I was a bit surprised to see "learn each of their names" on the list - that seems to be the absolute minimum. Heck, I know the names of every kid in my middle school and a good number of the kids in the elementary school that feeds into it. To not know the names of the kids in your classroom just seems like it would make every day difficult for everyone involved.Man, if I didn't take the time to joke around with the kids, my job would suck. Low pay, high stress, long hours with no overtime, no union...jeez.I overheard a rumor among the younger kids that I'm secretly a space alien in disguise. As such, I've started occasionally letting something slip, like...Kid: "Why were you late, today?"Me: "My shuttle wouldn't start this morning. I had to get a jump."Kid: "...Did you say shuttle?"Me: "No. I said...Chevy. My Chevy wouldn't start."Kid: *suspicious look*Me: Well, have a nice solar cycle, fellow human. *Whistles and walks away*Also, I've overheard (and encouraged) a rumor that I can melt people's faces with my eyes. Now, when a kid is acting like a knucklehead, I can simply give them a hard stare with a finger raised to my temple to make them snap back into line.

.Man, if I didn't take the time to joke around with the kids, my job would suck. Low pay, high stress, long hours with no overtime, no union...jeez.I overheard a rumor among the younger kids that I'm secretly a space alien in disguise. As such, I've started occasionally letting something slip,

I like the South Park methodology for this, slipping the word 'hu-man' into random sentences."Hi, Tim, could you lend me one of your hu-man pencils?"

I dunno, I liked Santa, but I liked Rudolph and the elves a lot. I think I liked the under-reindeer. (What? Stop snickering, over there....)

It'd probably never work out with an elf though. Aren't they like, hundreds of years old? Well, I dunno, maybe it could.... The whole midget/dwarf/elf/little-person thing, not a problem.

EleCivil, see, the problem is, you're up there where it gets freezing cold. It hardly ever gets below freezing for too long around here. I think 14 or 19 is the lowest I've ever seen the Fahrenheit around here, and that was unheard of and only for a day or two before getting back into the 20's and 30's. Heck, the 70's and 80's daytime aren't too rare in winter here, but yeah, it's usually 30's-40's-50's-60's-70's. So far this season, *very* few cold days. (Aw, nuts, just look up Houston and Gulf Coast temps over the course of the year.) -- Of course, we had the worst drought and most days over 100*F anyone's *ever* seen this summer just past, but personally, I'd rather be too hot than too cold and worrying about freezing certain parts of my anatomy off. You know, fingers, nose, reproductive organs, all of it's an important part of the anatomy below freezing, if you ask me.

Not that you're likely to move to Texas, Florida, California, or wherever, but hey, it beats shivering, and maybe it'd throw that guy in the red furry suit off your trail....

I thought he hung out at that one uni and rode a trike, though? Huh.

Oh yeah, and good for caring about the kids. Somebody's gotta, or they start gnawing on ankles, and that's never pretty....