Easter is in the books. Next stop May.

It kind of seems that way.

An event here and there has kind of broken up stretches the past month or so. State basketball, St. Patrick’s Day, the NCAA Tournament, Prom and Easter. Those things happened in about a month’s time.

The only thing of significance for the few weeks – maybe May Day?

Things will pick up again a couple weeks into May to the end of the month as high school sports regionals pick up, graduations begin to take place and, yes, school is over. May will end with Memorial Day and the beginning of summer basketball. Busy stuff.

But for now, set the car on cruise control, get on interstate and stay the course the next few weeks.

Oh, and hope for some of those April showers please.

Teacher’s Lounge

I think I should get some supplemental pay from the state. Why, you ask? Thanks for asking.

It is I, and all social studies teachers, that have to craft their own State Assessment for Kansas. Math and English is administered by the state. For social studies, there is a return this year and it is a CBA - Classroom Based Assessment. Grades, 4, 7, and 11.

A rubric is provided and the students need to follow it. It gives you five standards to incorporate. No problem. I got this. For the CBA in my 7th grade Kansas History class I tasked each with the job of writing a paper to defend me as a Kansas Hero. Persuade and present an argument why I am a Kansas Hero. Turn that into the state.

If I have to come up with the assessment, I might as well make myself look good, right? Okay, maybe I didn’t ‘make’ them write about me. Maybe.

And Finally

Students don’t know how good they have it. Teachers have these things called in-service days. It’s not just another day off. It’s a day off for students and work for teachers.

Yep. Easter Monday was one of those for us at Chase High School.

The topic for the morning portion - Defensive Driving. I got this. I know how to drive. No problem.

Steve Billinger, Undersheriff here in Barton County, was the instructor. It was kind of fun for me since I really hadn’t done any kind of driving class in, geez, like 40 years.

Yeah, there is that test you take when you renew your license. I think they still do that. I’m not sure. But, yes, my license is current. Just a couple years back. I’m just old and can’t remember that far back.

Okay, it was 2017. I need a new one next January. I don’t remember things well do I?

Anyway, I did learn a few things while listening to Mr. Billinger. For four hours.

First, the recommended position on a steering wheel caught me off guard. It is actually at hands 9-3 or 8-4 on a clock.

Okay, that is not what I do. So I asked him about the real correct position - left knee at 7 o’clock? I was told, no. That was not acceptable. Who knew? Even an index finger at 6 o’clock isn’t okay.

We also learned about cars with automated features. You know, Adaptive Cruise Control, Electronic Stability Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Forward Collision Avoidance. Cool stuff. But what would my lovely wife have to do on long trips. She handles lane departures, tailgating, blind spots, etc. My lovely, beautiful wife. Did I mention that Crystal is lovely. And beautiful.

Another item we didn’t totally agree on was ‘tailgaters’. If a vehicle is invading your space from behind you should slow down and let them pass. Even pull over to the side of the road if it is bad enough.

No problem. Agree. But I thought at that point you were supposed to pull up behind them and turn your lights on bright and follow them closely to teach them a lesson. It is all about a teaching moment. I’m a teacher after all.

But, no. I guess that is not acceptable.

Finally, there was a section on drunk driving. While most people think it takes about an hour for the alcohol in one drink to get out of your system that is not correct. For a larger person it is about an hour. For smaller folk it is more like an hour and a half. Maybe even two.

So, armed with this information, I suggested we could have two drinks during the afternoon inservice and still be sober to drive home. My Superintendent, Dr. Kylee McDonald, didn’t agree. I thought I made a good argument. It would make the afternoon go more smoothly, I countered.

But, still, no.

Nonetheless, I now feel like I know just about everything there is to know about driving. Probably don’t even need to study up for the open book test coming for me next January.

But I still don’t understand why the left knee at 7 o’clock is not standard. Works great for me, especially while eating a hamburger and French fries.

Mike Marzolf is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune. He can be reached at marzolf13@yahoo.com.