This was the song that my graduation class chose as its class song. When you look at the lyrics, they really have nothing to do with graduating, but I guess the title of the song suggests that you have a long and mysterious way ahead, which you do. As we all do. You never know what that bend in the road might bring.
Roads are a great metaphor for the journey of our lives. Follow the straight and narrow. Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". The road by which Estragon and Vladimir wait for Godot. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's "road" movies (just kidding).
May the road on which you are about to embark be long and smooth. May parts of the road present challenges for you that make you do your best and feel proud of what you have accomplished. May there be places along the way to stop and rest, places where you can experience lovely things. May you find kindred spirits to travel with you. And may you find happiness in the journey.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Saturday, 21 June 2014
"Say Not The Struggle Naught Availeth"
Here's an inspirational poem to signify the successful end of a long hard struggle. Arthur Hugh Clough probably was talking about soldiers in this poem, but I think we all can learn from it that we must always fight the good fight and in the end, we will win the battle. Congratulations to all our lovely grade 12 students on having reached this momentous day. I wish you all the best in your future struggles. There will be many of them, as we all know, but as the poet says, they have value and are not in vain.
Say not the struggle naught availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth
And as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars,
It may be, in yon smoke concealed,
Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright!
Say not the struggle naught availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth
And as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars,
It may be, in yon smoke concealed,
Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly,
But westward, look, the land is bright!
Thursday, 19 June 2014
adios espana
A post that isn't about labour issues!
It is a great comfort in these dark days to watch the World Cup. I know many of you are interested and many of you are not. I don't watch soccer at all over the years when there isn't a World Cup, but I watch every game, or at least as many as I can, when the World Cup is on. I usually randomly choose a team and cheer for them until they are eliminated -- last time it was Ghana, this time Chile (because my brother-in-law is from Chile).
I have a soft spot in my heart for Spain, though, since my favourite player is Sergio Ramos (who my brother-in-law calls a "criminal" because he roughed up Lionel Messi in some match between Barcelona and Madrid) and of course, they have been such a great team for quite a long time. I guess their glorious time has drawn to a close though, because Chile beat them soundly yesterday. They tried and tried, but were unable to score against the younger, stronger Chileans and were unable to protect their own goal either. They were noble in defeat just as they have been elegant in victory and congratulated the Chileans at the end of the game. Four years is a long time for an athlete and I expect we won't see many of them back on the world stage next time. It made me think of A. E. Housman's poem - "To An Athlete Dying Young". Here it is:
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears.
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
It's beautifully written, but I'm not sure I agree. When you see the continued effort of the Spaniards throughout the 90 minutes of the game, there's something noble about that. It's like Macbeth at the end of the play. He knows he has lost. He knows that evil forces have conspired against him. There is no hope that he can win, but he fights off despair and doesn't give up and tries to the last:
I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,
And to be baited with the rabble's curse.
Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou oppos'd, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last: -- before my body
I throw my warlike shield: lay on, Macduff;
And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"
It is a great comfort in these dark days to watch the World Cup. I know many of you are interested and many of you are not. I don't watch soccer at all over the years when there isn't a World Cup, but I watch every game, or at least as many as I can, when the World Cup is on. I usually randomly choose a team and cheer for them until they are eliminated -- last time it was Ghana, this time Chile (because my brother-in-law is from Chile).
I have a soft spot in my heart for Spain, though, since my favourite player is Sergio Ramos (who my brother-in-law calls a "criminal" because he roughed up Lionel Messi in some match between Barcelona and Madrid) and of course, they have been such a great team for quite a long time. I guess their glorious time has drawn to a close though, because Chile beat them soundly yesterday. They tried and tried, but were unable to score against the younger, stronger Chileans and were unable to protect their own goal either. They were noble in defeat just as they have been elegant in victory and congratulated the Chileans at the end of the game. Four years is a long time for an athlete and I expect we won't see many of them back on the world stage next time. It made me think of A. E. Housman's poem - "To An Athlete Dying Young". Here it is:
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears.
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
It's beautifully written, but I'm not sure I agree. When you see the continued effort of the Spaniards throughout the 90 minutes of the game, there's something noble about that. It's like Macbeth at the end of the play. He knows he has lost. He knows that evil forces have conspired against him. There is no hope that he can win, but he fights off despair and doesn't give up and tries to the last:
I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,
And to be baited with the rabble's curse.
Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou oppos'd, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last: -- before my body
I throw my warlike shield: lay on, Macduff;
And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"
Monday, 16 June 2014
Hope springs eternal!
I know many of you think I am naive and overly optimistic, but what can you do? I continue to hope that we will find a way to a deal, although it does seem quite dark at this point. Sometimes the darkest hour is before dawn! We teachers met today hoping to discuss the government's offer, but no offer has been forthcoming. The BCTF made a number of concessions in our position about wages and presented a number of ideas about how to achieve our class size and composition demands, but the government countered with no ideas about class size and composition, and a lower salary offer than their last offer, so teachers are pretty disappointed by all of that. We will be on the picket line tomorrow, instead of celebrating the last day of classes and Sharkfest. It is a very low moment for many of us and I feel very blue about the whimper of an ending for Grade 12's especially, who will not be able to "go out with a bang"! I wrote to Mr. Fassbender (the minister of education) and to my MLA but received two of the most disappointing responses -- they are "too busy" to read my letter at this point and hope to reply when they can. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write when you have a concern. If they get a deluge of letters, somebody will get through to them. I wrote to my local paper as well about how my MLA wants my support when she runs for office, but then has no time for me when I want her support. I hope the paper will print it, because then I might get her attention. Look for Mr. Mikulin's latest letter in the Richmond Review. He really expresses the teacher point of view well.
I do hope to see you all in class sometime this week. I will be on the picket line all this week until we get a deal! If you drive by, be sure to honk. If you walk by, come and visit. There are often doughnuts and other things to eat and we don't bite! (except into the doughnuts!!)
Solidarity forever! (An old union slogan my dad sang to me in my cradle.)
I do hope to see you all in class sometime this week. I will be on the picket line all this week until we get a deal! If you drive by, be sure to honk. If you walk by, come and visit. There are often doughnuts and other things to eat and we don't bite! (except into the doughnuts!!)
Solidarity forever! (An old union slogan my dad sang to me in my cradle.)
Saturday, 14 June 2014
Dark side of the moon
It's called the dark side, not because it is never lit, but because we don't see it. Did you know that it has fewer craters than the side we do see? Scientists are theorizing that it is because the earth and the moon was one celestial body until it was struck by a Mars sized object resulting in the moon breaking off from the earth. So the dark side of the moon is less vulnerable material than the side we see.
I am truly hopeful that the labour dispute between teachers and the government may be dealt with this weekend. Certainly, that's what both sides are saying in the press. In that case, I won't say, in the mournful voice of the little gremlin at the end of "Just for Laughs", "it's over".
In the meantime, we have a rainy weekend ahead of us, it seems. Sunday is Fathers' Day. My dad was an interesting person. He was the youngest of ten children and his mother died shortly after he was born after which his father remarried and proceeded to have 15 more children! This was in Saskatchewan in the early part of the 20th century. My father detested his own father, who was a harsh, brutal man and for that reason, he left home when he was sixteen. He embodied the young, directionless man of the 1930's riding freight trains around western Canada looking for work. When the Second World War started, my father volunteered for the army and spent 1939 to 1946 as a soldier. He had all sorts of stories about the war, but they were all funny -- he never talked about the horrors of what he had seen and done. My uncle told us that when he came back from Europe after the war, he hardly spoke for a year and woke up every night screaming. We'll never know what he was dealing with.
When we were growing up, my dad was not an affectionate person and was uncomfortable with emotional displays of any sort, unless it was about a Lassie movie or Tommy Douglas (who was named "the greatest Canadian" a few years ago). When he got angry, he would stop speaking for days at a time. We knew he loved us, but he never said so. I guess he had learned his parenting techniques from his own father, even though he didn't admire him at all.
Later in life after my sister and I had become adults and moved away from Saskatchewan, my father had an epiphany. I guess he realized all the things he had been missing by being so closed to an emotional life. I remember when my sister and I first realized it. We were quite a close family, thanks to my mom, and my sister was talking to my dad on the phone one evening and at the end of the conversation, after she'd said goodbye, he said "I love you". It was the first time she had ever heard him say that. She stammered out, "I love you, too". Then they hung up. She phoned me right away.
"Guess what? Dad said 'I love you'!" she told me.
"What?" I was flabbergasted. "What did you say?"
"I didn't want to scare him or anything, so I tried to act like it was an everyday thing and I said, 'I love you, too'," she said.
And from then on, he was quite different. Hugging us and telling us how much he cared about us. It was really an extraordinary change. My sister said that she had carried a lot of resentment toward him before that (she wrote a novel called The Drum King which is partially based on her dysfunctional relationship with him - I don't know if it is still in print), but that she was really proud of him and how he had faced up to his shortcomings and managed to change so drastically. It is a testament to the ability of people to learn and change and also to the wonderful willingness of children to forgive their parents for their mistakes.
My dad never met his grandchildren and that is very sad, because I know he would have been able to enjoy showering them with the love and affection that he wasn't able to give to my sister and me when we were little. Have a happy Fathers' Day, everyone.
I am truly hopeful that the labour dispute between teachers and the government may be dealt with this weekend. Certainly, that's what both sides are saying in the press. In that case, I won't say, in the mournful voice of the little gremlin at the end of "Just for Laughs", "it's over".
In the meantime, we have a rainy weekend ahead of us, it seems. Sunday is Fathers' Day. My dad was an interesting person. He was the youngest of ten children and his mother died shortly after he was born after which his father remarried and proceeded to have 15 more children! This was in Saskatchewan in the early part of the 20th century. My father detested his own father, who was a harsh, brutal man and for that reason, he left home when he was sixteen. He embodied the young, directionless man of the 1930's riding freight trains around western Canada looking for work. When the Second World War started, my father volunteered for the army and spent 1939 to 1946 as a soldier. He had all sorts of stories about the war, but they were all funny -- he never talked about the horrors of what he had seen and done. My uncle told us that when he came back from Europe after the war, he hardly spoke for a year and woke up every night screaming. We'll never know what he was dealing with.
When we were growing up, my dad was not an affectionate person and was uncomfortable with emotional displays of any sort, unless it was about a Lassie movie or Tommy Douglas (who was named "the greatest Canadian" a few years ago). When he got angry, he would stop speaking for days at a time. We knew he loved us, but he never said so. I guess he had learned his parenting techniques from his own father, even though he didn't admire him at all.
Later in life after my sister and I had become adults and moved away from Saskatchewan, my father had an epiphany. I guess he realized all the things he had been missing by being so closed to an emotional life. I remember when my sister and I first realized it. We were quite a close family, thanks to my mom, and my sister was talking to my dad on the phone one evening and at the end of the conversation, after she'd said goodbye, he said "I love you". It was the first time she had ever heard him say that. She stammered out, "I love you, too". Then they hung up. She phoned me right away.
"Guess what? Dad said 'I love you'!" she told me.
"What?" I was flabbergasted. "What did you say?"
"I didn't want to scare him or anything, so I tried to act like it was an everyday thing and I said, 'I love you, too'," she said.
And from then on, he was quite different. Hugging us and telling us how much he cared about us. It was really an extraordinary change. My sister said that she had carried a lot of resentment toward him before that (she wrote a novel called The Drum King which is partially based on her dysfunctional relationship with him - I don't know if it is still in print), but that she was really proud of him and how he had faced up to his shortcomings and managed to change so drastically. It is a testament to the ability of people to learn and change and also to the wonderful willingness of children to forgive their parents for their mistakes.
My dad never met his grandchildren and that is very sad, because I know he would have been able to enjoy showering them with the love and affection that he wasn't able to give to my sister and me when we were little. Have a happy Fathers' Day, everyone.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Have you ever watched a moonbeam?
Driving to school this morning on my way to picket at 6 a.m. (!) I was feeling a bit stressed and worried (as many of us are these days, I know), and Lee Rosavere (on the CBC) played "The Moonbeam Song" by Harry Nilsson (who is one of my favourite singers) and it made me feel so positive and peaceful and sure that everything will turn out okay. If you have never listened to it, you should. It's really a lovely song and rather absurd and makes you think about moonlit nights and the small beautiful things that make our lives glorious.
At this point, you know that we teachers voted 86% to escalate our job action. With a strong vote like this (we were joking this morning that we got an "A"!), our hope is that the government will make a better effort to truly negotiate with us and that we will be able to get a deal that we can live with. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has reported that if people in BC who earn more than $200,000 paid 1% more in income tax, the government could fund the improvements in class size and composition that we are demanding. It seems fair, since all taxpayers in BC pay 50% of the cost of every child who is enrolled in a private school.
The union has not yet issued 72 hours notice of any plans regarding the escalation of job action, so that means we will have school on Monday and perhaps even Tuesday, so that takes a little pressure off trying to get everything done by the end of Friday. If you have a monologue or a journal lurking in the back of your mind, now is the time to get that done!
I am sad that I was locked out and not able to attend awards night. I hope it was a positive experience for everyone. Let me say, it is always very difficult to decide who should receive the awards and I would dearly love to hand out a lot more in the way of acknowledgements for all your work, but I really feel that the award winners do exemplify the qualities I hope to instill in theatre students -- creativity, thoughtfulness, leadership and teamwork, and a willingness to take risks in rehearsal and in performance. Congratulations to all of you.
See you tomorrow!
At this point, you know that we teachers voted 86% to escalate our job action. With a strong vote like this (we were joking this morning that we got an "A"!), our hope is that the government will make a better effort to truly negotiate with us and that we will be able to get a deal that we can live with. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has reported that if people in BC who earn more than $200,000 paid 1% more in income tax, the government could fund the improvements in class size and composition that we are demanding. It seems fair, since all taxpayers in BC pay 50% of the cost of every child who is enrolled in a private school.
The union has not yet issued 72 hours notice of any plans regarding the escalation of job action, so that means we will have school on Monday and perhaps even Tuesday, so that takes a little pressure off trying to get everything done by the end of Friday. If you have a monologue or a journal lurking in the back of your mind, now is the time to get that done!
I am sad that I was locked out and not able to attend awards night. I hope it was a positive experience for everyone. Let me say, it is always very difficult to decide who should receive the awards and I would dearly love to hand out a lot more in the way of acknowledgements for all your work, but I really feel that the award winners do exemplify the qualities I hope to instill in theatre students -- creativity, thoughtfulness, leadership and teamwork, and a willingness to take risks in rehearsal and in performance. Congratulations to all of you.
See you tomorrow!
Friday, 6 June 2014
Fashionistas, all!
Your final journals (and all the rest) are due now! Grades 12, 11 and 9: It is about your role plays. Grade 8: Write about one speech you heard in the show and tell exercise. What impressed you about it?
Grade 8's: Learn your lines for Aesop. Think about how you can create an animal character - vocally and physically.
Grade 9's: Learn your Mr. Young Scenes. We will see them on Friday of this upcoming week.
Grade 11's and 12's: Learn your lines for your one act plays. Tell your parents we will be performing in C Block on Friday (and perhaps Thursday -- we are a bit long for 75 minutes). I would be so happy to be able to perform your scenes for your families, even under the circumstances.
I wish so much that I could have seen the "fashion" show. Obviously, I need as much help in that department as I can get. I hear that Sylvie was a very stylish and lovely Ms. Kosar! Thank you, Sylvie!
Grade 8's: Learn your lines for Aesop. Think about how you can create an animal character - vocally and physically.
Grade 9's: Learn your Mr. Young Scenes. We will see them on Friday of this upcoming week.
Grade 11's and 12's: Learn your lines for your one act plays. Tell your parents we will be performing in C Block on Friday (and perhaps Thursday -- we are a bit long for 75 minutes). I would be so happy to be able to perform your scenes for your families, even under the circumstances.
I wish so much that I could have seen the "fashion" show. Obviously, I need as much help in that department as I can get. I hear that Sylvie was a very stylish and lovely Ms. Kosar! Thank you, Sylvie!
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Fair looks and true obediance
For those of you who are finished with the role plays -- write about how you developed your own character. What did you do as your character that was different from what you would do as yourself? Did you find anything in common with your character? (we should always be able to see things we share with characters we play) What interactions did you have with other characters? Explain anything that happened that you think I would benefit from knowing. It is chaotic, but I think it's a great exercise and I really learn a lot from it. Tell me what you learned.
It is not a secret that some kids are considering a walkout tomorrow. Obviously, I can't stop you from walking out -- there is only one of me and many of you. But think about your actions before you do anything. I haven't walked out on these rotating strikes without a great deal of thought. If you ask people who are on strike (including your teachers), they don't do this eagerly. Most working people avoid going on strike at all costs. It is scary to lose pay and it's no party to walk on a picket line and see people crossing and going in to the place where you should be working. I understand that it is frustrating for you to face this uncertainty and miss school, but then, if you walk out, you're missing more school! What does that say?
Ask yourself if you really understand the issues and the process. I grew up in a very political family and we discussed our ideas and argued our different points of view and read the newspaper. My dad had some very uncompromising opinions and so we had to be pretty well informed to be able to stand up to him. Do you think you're well informed? If someone from the press asked you why you are walking out, could you provide an articulate answer? Make sure you know why you are doing what you decide to do. Make sure you make choices that you can defend.
It is not a secret that some kids are considering a walkout tomorrow. Obviously, I can't stop you from walking out -- there is only one of me and many of you. But think about your actions before you do anything. I haven't walked out on these rotating strikes without a great deal of thought. If you ask people who are on strike (including your teachers), they don't do this eagerly. Most working people avoid going on strike at all costs. It is scary to lose pay and it's no party to walk on a picket line and see people crossing and going in to the place where you should be working. I understand that it is frustrating for you to face this uncertainty and miss school, but then, if you walk out, you're missing more school! What does that say?
Ask yourself if you really understand the issues and the process. I grew up in a very political family and we discussed our ideas and argued our different points of view and read the newspaper. My dad had some very uncompromising opinions and so we had to be pretty well informed to be able to stand up to him. Do you think you're well informed? If someone from the press asked you why you are walking out, could you provide an articulate answer? Make sure you know why you are doing what you decide to do. Make sure you make choices that you can defend.
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Rotating Strike Day Tomorrow
As you all know, we won't be in class tomorrow, for the second of our rotating strike days. And as you also know, we are locked out of school in the morning, afternoon and at lunch on the other days. It doesn't feel like school at all to me. I think the people who decided this lockout was a way to proceed don't really understand how school works at all. It isn't something you can put a time limit on -- "learning stops . . . now!" It is so demeaning to think that that's how our government officials think it works -- do any of them remember what it was like to be in school? It really does feel like we're limping to the end of the year -- sometimes it's hard for Grade 12's to stay focused in these last days before the end of their high school careers and this year, I think it will be hard for all of us. It seems like these days in which we should be making these final minutes count and remembering all the great things we've done are being shadowed by the spectre of the demise of public education as we know it. I hope I'm not overstating it, but I feel quite demoralized these days.
I am hopeful that somehow things will be resolved (hopeful, but not optimistic, I'm afraid) and that we can get back to a state of normalcy before the end of June. Stephen Smart (an old London student) and Justine Hunter, who talk politics on the CBC, seemed to think that it will hang on over the summer and begin again in the fall, which just filled me with horror. The government's appeal of the court case, after which the judge said that the government had "goaded teachers into a strike" last time (in 2012) and which upheld our demand to be able to negotiate class size and composition, will be heard in October of this year, so that is a reason for everyone to practice a "wait and see" attitude.
Mr. Mikulin has written a very strong letter to the Richmond News and it really expresses how I feel about the impasse -- I tried to copy it here, but was unsuccessful. It is easy to access if you go to the Richmond News website and then click on "Opinions". It is entitled "Stop Playing with our Future", I think. I think his letter clearly describes our struggles as teachers at this really difficult time.
See you on Tuesday -- Grades 9 - 12 -- we will be doing our extended role plays -- remember, you need to cooperate with the teacher. If you say "no" to her (or him), it really makes it impossible for the role play to continue. Think of how many times you've heard a kid actually say "no" to a teacher. Sometimes they don't do what the teacher says, but they rarely say a blatant "no". Teachers can do a number of things if a kid does, on a rare occasion, say no. We can call home or send him to an administrator or kick her out of class, but your role playing teacher doesn't have those options, so play your role with that in mind. If I have to intervene as the "real teacher" and talk to you about it, it does tend to ruin the activity.
Grade 8's -- we're going to get one more day to practice "The Creation of the World" and then we'll see your performances on Wednesday. Bring music on Tuesday, so you can work with it.
I am hopeful that somehow things will be resolved (hopeful, but not optimistic, I'm afraid) and that we can get back to a state of normalcy before the end of June. Stephen Smart (an old London student) and Justine Hunter, who talk politics on the CBC, seemed to think that it will hang on over the summer and begin again in the fall, which just filled me with horror. The government's appeal of the court case, after which the judge said that the government had "goaded teachers into a strike" last time (in 2012) and which upheld our demand to be able to negotiate class size and composition, will be heard in October of this year, so that is a reason for everyone to practice a "wait and see" attitude.
Mr. Mikulin has written a very strong letter to the Richmond News and it really expresses how I feel about the impasse -- I tried to copy it here, but was unsuccessful. It is easy to access if you go to the Richmond News website and then click on "Opinions". It is entitled "Stop Playing with our Future", I think. I think his letter clearly describes our struggles as teachers at this really difficult time.
See you on Tuesday -- Grades 9 - 12 -- we will be doing our extended role plays -- remember, you need to cooperate with the teacher. If you say "no" to her (or him), it really makes it impossible for the role play to continue. Think of how many times you've heard a kid actually say "no" to a teacher. Sometimes they don't do what the teacher says, but they rarely say a blatant "no". Teachers can do a number of things if a kid does, on a rare occasion, say no. We can call home or send him to an administrator or kick her out of class, but your role playing teacher doesn't have those options, so play your role with that in mind. If I have to intervene as the "real teacher" and talk to you about it, it does tend to ruin the activity.
Grade 8's -- we're going to get one more day to practice "The Creation of the World" and then we'll see your performances on Wednesday. Bring music on Tuesday, so you can work with it.
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