They eat, tell jokes, and discuss school, work, and the importance of being a close family.

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Jimmy is a college-educated version of Stanley Kowalski, a working-class bloke who learned enough in school to make jokes about T.

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Issac Sheppard's head teacher, Jim Otto, half-jokes that officials from the school district do not come to the school much, so concerned are they for their physical safety and that of their cars.

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Yet, his Instagram avatar was boldly flirting with a girl, prolifically posting inside jokes about his crush and inviting commentary not only from his school friends, but also from a far-flung social network of kids from Connecticut to New Jersey who I am certain he's never met in person.

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It's hard to describe quite how excruciating this was - imagine an under-rehearsed school play without the benefit of a friendly audience to laugh at the awful jokes.

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My wife often jokes that if I spent the same amount of time on my career as I spend on the school we could afford to send all our children to Eton.

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