A Day in the Life of an LA High School Teacher

Ok, not a normal day maybe but a day nonetheless. So, we wannabe artist types are known for trying anything to kickstart the creative juices. Some Artist Way morning pages sounded like a good idea, but to have time for that I'd have to get up at 5:45. Oh well, the price of fame. So on Tuesday, I get up at quarter to six, write three pages, make some coffee, a sandwich, grab a bottle of water and head off to work by quarter to 7. Once at work, I have all six periods, incuding basketball. I want the kids to do well on their assessment essay, which hardly anyone finished in the previous lesson, soooo take some time, finish up. I had my service workers make copies and enter grades. I graded work, and tried to do some meaningless BTSA busy work during my conference period. I let the kids play 5 on 5 scrimmages during the Tuesday shortened basketball period. Mind you, we have yet to receive permission for a local gym, so we're out on the dirty playground behind the school right next to the 101 freeway. Mmm, nothing like some good exhaust in the bronchi. It's time to announce who's on varsity and who's not. Problem is, one kid's suspended, another is on the verge of being expelled. We don't have jerseys yet ($170 each) and I'm trying to collect cash for those. Half the varsity hopefuls don't have their paperwork turned in, and two have no health insurance (mandatory), and are taking their sweet old time getting it. I also have 35 kids in the class. I don't want to dirty any of the newly donated basketballs on this dirty surface. Anyway, the JV kids play hard, try to impress. The Varsity consists of a mix of hard players, prima donnas, emotionally unstable first-timers who can't take criticism or hard fouls and immediately act out. Afters school, I did some grading, read some Bill Simmons on espn.com then headed to the rec center to meet some players for shoot around and pick up games with the Chinatown locals. We spent about two hours there, then I dropped a student off in Pico-Union and headed home. Here's where it gets interesting. My friend Jeremy Seifert from No Little Kindness calls me up with VIP tickets for the Neil Young concert at Nokia Center. Hmmm. I'm tired and achy from basketball, getting up early, the long work day. It's 8 o'clock. I could conceivably be in bed in an hour and a half. But I haven't seen Young live. I haven't been out for a while. How much again? Free. Alright. I'm there.