[jpetito]

Teachers, like students, have their own homework. If your'e one of those who go to the classroom by day and then the robot shop by night, you gotta find ways to manipulate the time in your favor; I mean, there's only so much of it, and when your time's up…

When you must twiddle your thumbs, waiting for Joey or Janey robot builder to affix some widget on the robot before you can weld on that list bit of shooter strut, you've gotta be on the phone ginning up the next crew of volunteers, or calling for quotes on getting a bus, or hotel reservations, or the parent who forgot to bring food for 25. Five minutes here, seven or eight minutes there can be put to use updating the grading program (when the kids look over your shoulder and see the gradebook open on your digital device, they slink away and leave you alone) or calling Freddie's mom to tell her he's been a stinker today if fifth period. Again.

School, like the military, is full of hurry-up-and-wait, full of down minutes at odd intervals. Take that Wait and put it to use, hacking on the lists you've made to do the tasks that keep the team functional, will keep all of them in the game. Somehow, in the end, it's all worth it. You wear the grey hair with a sense of accomplishment.