For EleCivil

[Guest Dabeagle]

There are a few professions out there that constantly need folks to remember their true worth - nurses are one, because in America they are there to advocate for the patient and frequently catch things like drug interactions that a doctor may miss, etc. But along with them are teachers, people that - as a group - I have a lot of respect for. I had some favorites in my day, and still remember them fondly. But this? Oh yes, this!

[Lugnutz]

He didn't link to a comic, he linked to a life story. to Beagle for finding this.

[Cole Parker]

Now, I'd like to know, does E/C get in people's face like that?

I know he'd like to!

C

[EleCivil]

Nice find!

I hadn't seen that comic before. It's based off of a performance poem by Taylor Mali - a classic in education circles. Check it out:

There are a few professions out there that constantly need folks to remember their true worth - nurses are one [...]

Nurses are true badasses. They're up there with teachers as far as their "important split-second decisions per minute" ratio and their days of never sitting down. Some of my aunts are nurses, and in college, I picked up tuition money by tutoring all the nursing students in their non-nursing classes. Nothing but respect for nurses, here.

Now, I'd like to know, does E/C get in people's face like that?

Much like Mr. Mali, I've got an "If you ask for it, I'll give it to you" policy. But most people know better than to come at me like that. Here's the thing:

I asked students to write poems/raps about the topic we're studying in science. A kid says "Will you do one?" My reply was "I'm a dignified man with a college degree and a necktie. Do you think I would stand up here and humiliate myself, looking like a fool, trying to rap in front of all these people? Just to get you to learn? ...Of course I will. Someone give me a beat."

Some kids tell me at the beginning of the year that they hate the subject that I teach. It's a month into school, and they're saying "Can I transfer to more of your classes?"

When a kid spent an entire class period trying to shake me, tearing my room apart, I held him after class and taught him to play chess, insisting that he pause and think several steps ahead, predicting the outcomes of his actions. I spoke softly and calmly, making no threats, and he broke down in tears and told me about his home life.

When I force students to stay after school in detention, I teach them to juggle, because it's something they thought that they couldn't do, and self-doubt has no damn place in my classroom. My students learn that even gravity can be overcome with practice and determination.

When my students come to my class, they learn science, but they also learn the words "please" and "thank you" in a dozen different languages, because gratitude should be universally understood.

When I get an idea for a great experiment just before I fall asleep, I get dressed, run to the nearest store, purchase supplies out of my own pocket and spend the rest of the night assembling them, just so I can tell myself that I have done everything within my power to educate those entrusted to me.

When it comes time for my students to leave my room, I remind them not explode anything that I wouldn't (though that is an admittedly short list), and more importantly, to love every second they spend between that moment and the one in which we next meet.

So, yes, when people try to step to me with that "Teachers aren't real professionals" and "Any idiot can pick up a teacher's edition and teach" and "Lazy teachers with their bloated union" bull, I do that which I do best. I exercise the craft that I have spent years of theoretical study and practical experience sharpening. I school their asses.

[Cole Parker]

That's absolutely beautiful.

C

[Lugnutz]

Where were you 30 years ago? That's excellent.

[The Pecman]

Wow, that's a great essay! Congrats, Elecivil -- I don't doubt you make a huge difference for the better with your students. There are damn few of those in the world these days.

[Merkin]

I fear that sooner or later we are going to lose EleCivil to the world stage. Someone sometime is gonna take notice of what he is capable of.

[Cole Parker]

I think he'll always feel the love for him that radiates from this site, and will always come back.

C

[Guest Dabeagle]

Unless you ask for the next chapter of Leviathan Rusts.

[EleCivil]

I think he'll always feel the love for him that radiates from this site, and will always come back.

C

Most likely. I've been here for 9 years - it'd be weird to leave. Haha.

Unless you ask for the next chapter of Leviathan Rusts.

Heh. No, Lev. Rusts isn't happening. I've got some ideas for a new story, but right now, I'm writing a Master's thesis, which is taking up all my free time.

[Steven Adamson]

Given the shortage of recent Elecivil fiction, who else here would like to see this Master's thesis published in full on Awesomedude?

[Cole Parker]

I'll vote for that!

C

[colinian]

As a serial, of course. With appropriate cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter.

Colin

[Bruin Fisher]

I vote yes. Actually, if EleC wrote a shopping list I would read it...

[EleCivil]

As a serial, of course. With appropriate cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter.

Colin

"A statistically significant variance was discovered upon further examination of the available data. TUNE IN NEXT WEEK WHEN WE ANALYZE THE IMPLICATIONS!"

...Aw, who am I kidding? I've never finished chapters within a week of each other. Six to eight weeks, maybe.

[EleCivil]

I vote yes. Actually, if EleC wrote a shopping list I would read it...

8 aluminum cans.

1 candle, large.

1 lighter and/or book of matches.

1 pair heat-resistant work gloves.

1 pair fireproof tongs.

1 bowl, ceramic.

2 boxes baking soda.

1 gallon distilled vinegar.

1 bottle isopropyl alcohol (90% pure).

1 box salt.

110 balloons (large, oblong).

1 pair safety goggles.

(True story.)

[The Pecman]

I thought that was Walt's list for supplies he needed to make crystal meth on Breaking Bad!

[Cole Parker]

8 aluminum cans.

1 candle, large.

1 lighter and/or book of matches.

1 pair heat-resistant work gloves.

1 pair fireproof tongs.

1 bowl, ceramic.

2 boxes baking soda.

1 gallon distilled vinegar.

1 bottle isopropyl alcohol (90% pure).

1 box salt.

110 balloons (large, oblong).

1 pair safety goggles.

(True story.)

Can I get a seat far away from the assembly bench, please?

[Guest Dabeagle]

I was actually wondering what it was for and, if I were to assemble and use it with directions, if my nine year old would think it was cool.

[Cole Parker]

Cool, yes. Explosive? Definitely. Mad scientist props? Heh heh heh.

C

[Bruin Fisher]

8 aluminum cans.

1 candle, large.

1 lighter and/or book of matches.

1 pair heat-resistant work gloves.

1 pair fireproof tongs.

1 bowl, ceramic.

2 boxes baking soda.

1 gallon distilled vinegar.

1 bottle isopropyl alcohol (90% pure).

1 box salt.

110 balloons (large, oblong).

1 pair safety goggles.

(True story.)

That's a great shopping list.

You're manufacturing carbon dioxide? I'm just not sure I can identify what this lot is for?!

[Cole Parker]

Unless he's careful, the balloons aren't the only thing that's going to pop.

C

[EleCivil]

I was actually wondering what it was for and, if I were to assemble and use it with directions, if my nine year old would think it was cool.

Probably!

This was a shopping list for 3-4 experiments. Here's some of them that my students have been recreating at home (I know this because of all the confused parent phone calls the next day):

(Parents hate that last one.)

The balloons were just for fun.

Because...well, I'm an adult with a job, so if I want 110 balloons, I can get them. Ha!

[Cole Parker]

Ah! I thought you were going to generate enough CO2 to fill the ballons to bursting.

C