Angry

Today I am angry. It isn't a feeling I enjoy at all. I was actually angry enough to make a phone call about a small matter that irritated me. The small matter was the bus driver speaking on the phone without using a "hands-free". I called the bus company to let them know.

What I am angry about is the continuing lack of text books for certain English classes that I teach. I ordered the books in early August ... well no, I informed The Powers That Be (TPTB) which books and how many of each were needed, where to get them, and left the affair in their hands. To give them credit they have made efforts to order the books, but have not actually ordered them. Classes began in September. Since August I have inquired occasionally about the books.... and things seemed slow but "in progress" so I continued waiting.

Yesterday I got the email suggesting that I look elsewhere for books because no one in Norway, Sweden or Denmark had these books - which come from the USA... Yes dear why are you looking for your pyjamas in the freezer? AHHHHHHHHHHHHH Grrrrrrrrrrr!

Yesterday I was too angry to dare write a reply.

Today I spent the wee hours of the morning (4-7 am)figuring out who I could ask for help, how to ask for help, wondering what strings to pull, where to find said strings, and how to recognized them if I saw them. At nine I met someone who might be the person to help. I explained the situation. At 1 pm I wrote the email. I hope to hear good news, that the books have been ordered, on Monday.

In my current state of mind I feel that nothing less than an armed escort is needed to pick up and bring back the books next week. Yes, I do understand that that would be ever so slightly over the top, and considerably more expensive than airmail shipping, but I am not in the mood to be reasonable. In fact considering some of the actions I have contemplated, the armed escort is exceedingly reasonable in light of the fact that I already needed those books two weeks ago!

As it is, even if the books are ordered next week, and are shipped via airmail, they will still be at least three weeks in getting here. This means that half of a semester will have been wasted merely on getting books, which, if they had been ordered in a timely manner, could have been here aready!

What is so very special about these particular books? Why not substitute another set of books - perhaps more readily accessable? Those are fair questions. These books are intended for a very special audience, designed to include an entire English language arts program for pupils' who already know and use English. They include the spelling and vocabulary building, the grammar, the reading comprehension and reading for meaning, and the written skills to be mastered. They also include math word problems, which tend to give their own challenges. A different series of books would require three or four books for each pupil.