I'd like to hear more about Luigi. Was he a Mexican Red-Knee like the one in the photo? What did you feed him? Was it live food or dead? Did he care about the difference? Did he have soil to make a hole and a nest in? Did you ever think of getting him a mate? Was he tame enough to handle? How did you avoid irritation from the shedding hairs? If he bit you, how painful was it? Were there any other symptoms? How long did he live? What did he die of? Did you conduct a funeral ceremony for his burial? What attracted you to having him as a pet? If he was good company, how did you communicate and what kinds of conversation did you have?
I remember my science teacher had some snakes and stuff in his lab too. It was always funny,, but not so funny, on the rare occasions that one would get loose. Rumor had it "the big one" swallowed an old lunch lady whole one time. like, WHATEVER! He was a funny guy. I recall when we were studying insects he would always make us walk over to the poor little pinned down specimens and personally apologize to them any time we inadvertently called them bugs. I remember it clearly..."I'm so sorry I called you a bug, Mr. & Ms. Insect." LOL! Good grief. Ya know, I also toilet papered his house a couple of times too, because he lived near my neighborhood. It was never done maliciously. We kids loved him and I think he enjoyed all the attention. Not sure if he enjoyed cleaning up a yard full of Charmin though, but hey...that's what you get with a bunch of rowdy high schoolers. But you didn't hear me say any of this because I was a good boy!
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at July 29, 2019 5:31 PM MDT
Our principal disliked critters, so she onl visited my classroom when necessary. I had a rowdy girl student who asked if she could hold the garter snake while she worked. Of course. She settled down immediately. After that I just let her go get it without asking.
It took lots of practice and a good sense of humour. I could go on and on, but it would sound a bit like bragging. Let's just say I learned how to be a good actor.
Acting - yes - I always felt that good teaching had a lot to do with being a convincing actor - like knowing when to laugh would build rapport and when it would only egg the nutters on. Or like putting personal issues and feelings aside to meet the demands of the moment and the needs of the curriculum. or like putting on a show of abundant energy even when feeling worn-out and pessimistic. Or playing the diplomat in the staff room and with parents.
It was the energy part that caused me to retire. I was just tired of working. I finally admitted I was doing a crappy job and had to move on as I was not doing my best for the students. I miss them greatly.
I feel sad hearing that. I know the energy thing is a huge issue. It takes top form to manage a class of 30 or so hormone-mad students. Physical pain and age can erode otherwise excellent skills.
I left teaching earlier than you. I didn't like some aspects of the art syllabus. Teaching Aboriginal art was great. It helped reduce racism and build cross-cultural understanding, and provided a bridge for Aboriginal kids to embrace and feel proud of their culture. But teaching Post-Modernist Art in order to ensure that kids who later became artists would grow into good little clones of the capitalist system - that rankled with me. It struck me as the opposite of genuine creativity, and it hid the truth behind what powers the commercial systems of art in the west. I could use art as a form of therapy, and help the graffiti lovers find a constructive outlet for their impulses, teach the art of lateral thinking as a means of problem-solving and inventing. I could use art to help kids understand the ruses of advertising and how not to be gulled. I could teach art history and theory as a vehicle for understanding our culture.
Maybe it was my own depression that got in the way. I came to believe that what I was doing was useless - unlikely to make one iota of positive difference to their future lives.
This post was edited by inky at July 29, 2019 6:33 PM MDT
You were reacting to a faulty system, just as I was. When I first started in 1994, I stuck to the curriculum, but found it unsuccessful. I changed. When I closed my c/r door, I did it my way. I decided I already know what they need to know because I remember what I needed to know when I was their age. Lesson plans went into the trash. The texts we had were worthless, so I rarely used them. I did stuff most teacher wouldn't even think of...product testing, label reading etc that had practical uses. I used to do an experiment with fries (What you call chips) to determine fat content. I couldn't get the health teacher to do that. In other words, I made it up as I went. If today's lesson didn't work, so be it. I'll re-do it a different way. I did cool demos, too. I'll send you one
If I'd kept a snake in the classroom to keep the headmistress out I might have got away with similar. Harder to justify on the ground of Art, though - even if Joseph Beuys did spend a week in a cage with a dingo in the NSW Art Gallery.
Unfortunately, the way our exam system is designed, I couldn't get away with not teaching the curriculum without getting caught and sacked.
I am glad that I left of my own will though. Getting sacked would have left a bitter-sour taste.
Dang...that's what ended it all. They wanted me to teach what some professor who has never been in a classroom filled with students from poor families who barely knew how to read thought they needed to know. I had students who couldn't read a clock if it wasn't digital.
Maybe I can't know from this distance - but I think I sense it - the love deep as oceans, high as Venus and Mars, wide as the Milky Way - and mutual between you - loving each other as whole people as well as romantically and sexually. Your playfulness and creativity would set him on fire. I was so thrilled when I realised you two had become an item. I'd invite you both to dinner if I could, frequently, to enjoy conversations about the arts, ecology, politics, love, everything under the sun.
Maybe he could find a caretaker for his goats - yep, I know they bond and need someone familiar - and the tow of you could come by palane or yacht for a visit. We'd guarantee to make the holiday a pleasure for you both - king size bed in private room - bushwalks in pristine wilderness, art galleries, poetry nights, plays, live music, dinner parties, and meeting with other local gays if that takes your fancy - even trips to the Church of your choice if you want.
Were they pythons? If they were venomous species, how did you prevent bites? Did you have to do a course in herpetology and have a license to keep them? What happened to them?
Garter snakes...quite harmless. Brown snakes (Obviously not the same as the brown snakes down there.)...tiny and harmless. A Fox snake...I had one try to bite me...I picked it up Steve Irwin style. It didn't and just curled up around my arm. All are local; most of them caught by students for extra credit. No license needed. I have studied reptiles since I was a wee one and they have always fascinated me. I have only encountered one venomous one. It was on a golf course. A copperhead. I picked it up with a golf club and tossed it in the woods.
Not exactly pet... Back when living in the inner city (Glebe, Sydney, Australia) big, black cockroaches used to fly in through open windows and doors in May. I'd see them tail-to-tail, locked in coitus. I'd see the egg cases glued in crevices. I began to wonder just how quickly they bred, what their life cycle was like. So I kept a couple in a large jar for a few months - feeding them a lovely variety of healthy foods and cleaning out their excrement. I discovered that they lay four egg cases per breeding season, containing 50 eggs each. With few predators other than humans (they don't taste very good unless dipped in chocolate or fried with salt), the 400 nymphs rapidly grew to breeding age. No wonder the critters were so prolific!
This post was edited by inky at July 29, 2019 2:44 PM MDT
I bought a very extrvagent insect when I went on holiday abroad once.....it was so expensive that I had to get it on Tick and then take it to the vet to make sure it was up to Scratch.....:)D
WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH 