"I'm happy to hear that," I told him.
"I knew it was gonna be terrible," he said. "She came in at 9:25 and just kept shaking her head. She walked out at 9:38. She was still shaking her head. I knew it would be awful."
"Are you sure about the time?" I asked him.
"Yes," he said. "I looked at my watch."
"Then the observation is invalid," I told him. "She needs to stay at least fifteen minutes. Let's file a grievance."
"I would," he said. "It's just that I don't give a @$%&."
"Yes, but I do. Let's file a grievance."
"Okay," he said. "I'll do it as a personal favor to you. But I still don't give a @$%&."
"Thank you," I said. We filed a grievance and won. The observation was tossed.
I thought about that when I was counseling another member. He was very upset. I told him the story.
"Try to channel Mr. Blister," I told him.
"You're right," he said. "I DON'T GIVE A @$%&! HOW COULD THOSE IDIOTS DO THAT? WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?"
"No, you're not getting it," I said. "Take a deep breath. Good. Now try it again."
"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING @$%&. WHAT THOSE MORONS THINK!"
"No. You need to channel Mr. Blister. Think about this," I said. "What's the opposite of love?"
"IT'S HATE. I HATE EVERY ONE OF THEM. I DON'T GIVE A @$%&!!!"
"The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference. Mr. Blister really didn't give a @$%& about that observation report. He would've been fine if they wrote 200 more. That's the approach you have to take."
I started making peaceful, calming gestures. After a while he got it.
"I don't give a @$%&," he said, finally with calm.
I hope he can keep that up. I probably wouldn't give that advice to a new teacher. But when you have enough years in, and you have Boy Wonder for a supervisor, it could be the best way to go.
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