I Have Gas Problems

Friday is supposed to be a fun day, a relaxed day, and a day to start the weekend. I know not of anyone who dreads a Friday. Today is Friday. I am excited for the weekend and ready to relax. I have my students researching atomic theory issues for presentations next week. This is fun for me and a good way to start the weekend. So how is my Friday so far?

First, Liz and I woke up late, at 6:12am, and we got to school at 6:35am, a mere 30 minutes before school starts. I like to get to school at least an hour before my first class. My friend Cat calls it “ramping up" time. So now I am rushed, but I still have a smile, and I know I will have a great day. It’s Friday! I noticed my department chair and his daughter standing outside of my door as I walked up to my classroom. My door was wide open as were my windows, and the venting fans were on at full blast. Come to find out, one of Alex’s students was working on a project yesterday at the end of school involving the distillation of an alcohol based liquid called “chicha.” Apparently, this “AP” student turned off the flame but failed to close the gas valve. So this flammable gas leaked into my classroom and 80% of the entire high school throughout Thursday night.

School is supposed to start in ten minutes but the high school has too much gas in it to have class. All of the classes had to be evacuated to the flag patio outside. The maintenance men are fanning the gas out of the school but this takes thirty minutes. Word spreads and I become the hero of the students and the bane of the teachers. Not my fault, but why take the time to explain. Classes resume for the high school after thirty minutes but my class is still outside. There is still too much gas in my room. So what can I do? I send groups of my students throughout the school to the five different computer labs across the four schools of CNG so they can do some research. I am stuck in my room trying to clean out the remaining gas. Amazingly, they went to the computer labs and researched their topics. So far, so good and one class down two to go. Friday is still looking good.

The gas is gone from the room by the time my second class starts. Yeah, but now the internet goes down. It seems more like a Monday than a Friday. So now what do I do? My computers in the lab can be used but no internet to research. So now I send my class to the library to try to find material for their presentations. All that is available in book form are some textbooks, periodicals, and encyclopedias circa 1970. I now have a permanent smile and headache both from the gas I was inhaling all morning, my students are making “high on drugs” jokes, my colleagues are giving me the “evil” eye, and the librarian is “ssshhhing” me as I am trying to help my students navigate through ancient texts for modern technology. But, it is Friday. And Fridays are always fun. Right?

So now I am in my third and final class for the day. They are in my room using the internet, when it is running, and searching the ancient text when it is down. For them, the weekend has begun, while I am still counting the minutes to lunch. I have no class after lunch. So that is a plus. I think I will call it a day, breathe some fresh air, and go home to rearrange my lessons for next week. It is Friday. It is the weekend. Enjoy your Friday with or without gas.