Mr.Q

Well things were moving along quite nicely for me now in Florida. I had a job I liked building pools, I had moved into Bridget's home with Kaylee and Megan and learning the in and outs of being a dad. And, I was enjoying myself very much. Mr. Grant caught wind of my new living arrangements and had some questions about my new Girl Friend and the little girls I was helping raise. He had two daughters himself. He had some advice and gave me a raise. He was just that kind of guy. But he also shocked the shit out of me. You see he was about the same age as my dad and he had taken me under his wing you might say and he always had something to say about a college guy doing construction work. This is when he dropped a bomb on me. He sat me down and said listen if I was your father I would be a bit disappointed that you are not using the education that you earned playing football. So here's the deal you have six months to start looking for a teaching job, and if I don't think your looking hard enough your fired!!!! I had a teaching certificate from NY and had no intentions of using it but, WTF I guess I had no choice now I had to try and be a teacher. So I got busy getting my teaching credentials here in Florida. I studied some books you get online for two weeks and passed the teaching test for Florida quite easily with very good scores. So now I was ready to go get a job teaching. I applied to many different places and got many offers as male elementary school teachers are hard to come by I think I was a hot commodity. But, as luck would have it I met the Assistant Principal From Toledo Blade Elementary School, at the North Port Boys and Girls Club where I was volunteering my time with kids. I told her about my applications and she said come apply at her school. Two weeks later I was a third grade teacher at Toledo Blade Elementary School in North Port Florida. Mr. Grant was real proud of me and he said well guess I don't have to fire you now. But, you can work for me every summer and that's exactly what I did. But, I can tell you going from working down in a hole with construction guys to working with about 90 women was a bit of culture shock. I had a lot to learn about the educational system. But, lucky for me I was about to met some really cool people and begin a career that would become very rewarding. I am proud to say in the course of my teaching career I was teacher of the year for Toledo Blade in regular education and then ESE Teacher of the year for the entire County of Sarasota the following year. And that is a record folks. LOL