Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Click on Santa and print it out for some coloring fun!
Or, for you sicker individuals, have your own caption contest (then send me the winning one!)

I'll put up with just about anything...

for these two.

10 minutes...

Winter break starts in 10 minutes.

My joy knows no bounds!

Thanks, Mamacita, for the trip in the wayback machine!

A post over at Mamacita's place got me thinking about an experience I had:
While in college I waited tables in several resturants. One Fathers' Day I waited on a party of 6 or so, with a 3-4 year-old boy sitting in a highchair at the end of the booth (God forbid you sit at a table when a booth is open, but don't get me started on that particular nonsense!). This kid was too big for the highchair, and was fidgeting. As I delivered the drink order- I still remember it almost 15 years later: a couple of Heinekins, a bloody mary, shirley temple- this little darling grabbed the edge of the tray, causing the drinks to tip and spill all over him. I was able to keep the glasses and bottles from falling on his head, but he was drenched. Naturally, he started to cry, and the little cherub's mother asked me why I had attacked her son.
How could I respond to that?
Another server took over the table, management comped the meal for the party, and the kid's dad took him out to the car to change.
The server who finished the group told me the kid had wanted a grilled cheese or some other age-appropriate fare, but monster mother ordered him the steak and shrimp combo because it was free.
Nowadays, of course, these same folks and their ilk call and ask why I gave their child a failing grade, when all they did was earn a 22% for the quarter, or could I please accept the kid's work late because he had baseball practice and couldn't get to it.
Oh, well. The ability with which stupid people breed keeps me employed.

I love kids... it's just teaching them that makes me nuts!

As individuals, with some notable exceptions, I like every one of my 180-or-so students this year. But en masse, they make me freakin' crazy! They assume that any time there are not actual words coming from my mouth, they have permission to talk. I then spend 3 minutes getting everyone back on task, only to be interrupted by a request to sign something, a phone call, or a p.a. announcement. Actual time spent teaching is probably 3% of the class period.
I don't blame the kids, exactly. I know that there are several things I could do, classroom management and curriculum-wise, that would make things run better. It's a matter of time and energy needed to plan and implement changes, and both are in short supply. The result is frustration for me, time wasted in class, and kids who are being short-changed. Honestly, I love my job... there are kids I am reaching, who are getting something out of the time they spend with me, but I really feel ineffective overall.
What do you do? What works?