Skewed columns from FRED, a monthly newsletter published by the Worcester County Teachers Association. Editor, Gwendolyn Lehman Skewed Gwendolyn Lehman I tell you what I like about the "powers that be." They've got a sense of humor. And after all, if you haven't got a sense of humor, what have you got? It's not that they're funny like, say, a Robin Williams or a Louis Black or the Wayans Brothers. The "powers that be" are not that kind of funny, but they're funny all the same. Take, for instance, their idea to build a building. "Let's build a building," they say to the public or themselves or to nobody in particular, "and let's put a flat roof on it. Hahaha-hahaha!" Or, "Let's give teachers a computer and put a program on it to do their grades and hook it up to this thing called the internet and then let's tell them they can access their grades from home by usingthis thing called the internet and then let's BLOCK it! Hahahaha-haha!" Kidders! What kidders. Oh, and I bet they debated about this one for awhile. "Let's put automatic doors on our flat-roofed buildings but let's make them not work automatically! Hahahahahaha!" See what I mean? Who would do these things except someone with a really good sense of humor and a camera watching all the people who push the automatic door opener button when their arms are full and they HAVE A BROKEN FINGER! Hahahahahaha! Oh, and what about this one? "Let's plan an inservice on differentiated instruction and then let's give every teacher thirty-two kids in a class and make every kid have to take the SAME TEST! Hahahaha-hahah!" Kidders! What kidders! And I bet they laughed their bowties off when they thought of this one. "Let's give them a pension and let's make it the worst one in the civilized world. Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Pretty funny, wouldn't you say? Everybody loves a kidder and these guys ~ you gotta love 'em. DECEMBER 06