Poke 'em in the eye Put their fingers in the socket and watch them fry

My car is having some work done this week so I've been at the mercy of family and friends. As a sensible teacher, who does believe in some degree of personal life, I don't live and work in the same town. It's been mostly manageable, but I've been on a course and always seem to have meetings, after work, at other venues.

Had to get a taxi from work to the Teachers' Centre this evening. When the driver realised he had a cative teacher audience, he launched into a journey-long diatribe against the education system, which had failed his children, and teachers in particular.

Apparently:
- we can't manage behaviour
- we only work 9-3
- we only teach the kids two hours a day
- we waste our time deciding what to teach and planning lessons because you can just go on the website and find work to do. His wife did and is now homeschooling his kids in the morning and they play on the X Box in the afternoon. It's ok, because they don't have to do exams anyway. Why didn't I think about that?
- we pick on the kids
- we back each other up against complaints and lie about the kids
-we're paid too much

Well, mate. I hope you appreciated the way I listened to you without poking you in the eye. I hope you appreciate the fact that, tomorrow morning, I will be changing our school taxi contract to your company's competitor.