Back to School

So.

You're in the first staff meeting and there's this old teacher, y'all know that guy.

The guy with the cardigan and the coffee mug he's been drinking out of for 20 years, and he's like, "Nope, we did that back in '74 and it didn't work."

The guy that's all, "Been there, done that." The guy that's so old his cliches make you roll your eyes.

And you're thinking, like, "Old man. Wake up and smell the coffee.Things ain't like the way they used to be."

And he's like, "Sorry honey, but I bin around the block a time or two. I was young like you once, I tried a bunch of new ideas, some of them worked, most of them didn't."

And you're still like. "Yeah but I'm new and my ideas are awesome and no old geezer is gonna tell me what's what."

And he's like, "Take my advice, I am older and wiser. Go down that road and you're gonna regret it."

And you're like, "Old man, give it up, your days are numbered and I'm the future."

So you go ahead and try your funky new ideas and damned if the old man wasn't right and the new ways didn't exactly work but dammit you're not admitting to nothing, cause, you know, you're proud  and you worked hard and maybe you just didn't implement it right or maybe if the goddamned old man would have helped you out just a little, you could have made it work. 

And then...

And then...

You're in the first staff meeting of the year and there's these new teachers, y'all know the ones.

The ones that are cute and fun and have trendy outfits, and they're like, "Let's try this, it would be so fun and cool!"

And you put down your coffee mug and say "This ain't my first rodeo." or "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."

And in the middle of wondering why no one listens to you and why don't they value your institutional memory and how is it you just know that when you say you tried that already and it didn't work, they're just gonna go and do it anyway? And then you think back to that very first staff meeting and you think maybe just maybe years ago you should have listened to the wisdom of your elders instead of doing it your own way. But you know you never would have and they won't either and the wheels keep on being re-invented and it was ever thus and would you really want it any other way?