Around election time the crazies on both ends of the spectrum start coming out. The campaign spending goes through the roof, and people say a bunch of crap that they do really mean, only because they want to gain the vote of more extreme crazies.
• Why spend 100 million dollars to get a job that pays $435K? Unless you of course you mean to steal it back with interest (thank you Richard Pryor)
• Who cares if you put a jimmy on your Willy, or take a pill so you do not have a baby? Are these stupid politicians going to take care of all these babies? Simple economics you moron!
• The issue is not gay marriage (unless you are gay) it is marriage equality. These extremists are using the same dumb argument that was used 40 years ago that would have prevented my marriage today to my Caucasian wife. If you do not like gay marriage do not marry a gay person, and I guarantee you gay folks to not want to get married in your bigoted church. In fact, what the heck has this got to do with the economy at all? Bubkis!
How are these extreme ideas going to create jobs? How are these “social conservative issues’ going to help the poor, the middle class, or anyone? Where is all this money for campaigns from? Do you realize they could balance the budget of many states with the money being spent on campaigns?
Stop the madness you crazy tossers, if I see you in the street I am liable to kick your ass for stupidity! You are not being paid to be stupid! Remember you represent the people or want to, and the people do not give a hand about your crappy extremist crap!
YEAH I SAID IT! KISS MY BOTTOM!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Politics
"We must defeat Obama, that is the priority", "I am pro-life", "I want smaller government and lower taxes", "vote for me becasue the other guy is evil and a socialist", etc, etc
Where is the economy in all this? What about jobs? What about the american dream? Politicians, please shut the fuck up you make too much unecessary noise!
Where is the economy in all this? What about jobs? What about the american dream? Politicians, please shut the fuck up you make too much unecessary noise!
Accomplishment
There is something fundamentally satisfying about achieving a goal, especially one with so many obstacles thrown in front of you.
Set the goal, set a Target, see the finish line, and the your biggest detractors will not be able to do anything!
Haters, incompetents, doubters, and there were some majot supporters:
Doctorate of Education baby!
Set the goal, set a Target, see the finish line, and the your biggest detractors will not be able to do anything!
Haters, incompetents, doubters, and there were some majot supporters:
Doctorate of Education baby!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Death of common sense
An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly true:
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will
be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and Maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from
school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could
not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an
abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar
in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his
wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,
Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will
be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and Maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from
school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could
not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an
abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar
in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his
wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,
Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Why teachers are sick
Note: Dr. Mindy Sloan, who wrote this piece, is Director of Accreditation and Associate Professor of Special Education, Brandman Univeristy, part of the Chapman University System. She has authored “Say It Now: Thank You to a Teacher”, a book that recognizes teachers who effectively meet the needs of students and provides a program to begin teachers on a path of self-care. You may contact her at msloan@brandman.edu
I have been teaching teachers for over 10 years. During that time I’ve seen some who should have never gone into the profession, and others who are gifted. That hasn’t changed. What has changed in recent years is the number of teachers who are describing sleepless nights, migraines, upset stomachs, backaches, chronic illness, and even cancer. The personal cost of teaching may be becoming too high. As someone who cares about children, and sees the necessity of having healthy teachers to support them – I can’t help but feel compelled to understand why teachers are getting sick. Here are the reasons I have identified thus far.
Why is teaching making teachers sick?
1. Unrealistic Expectations: One reason may be that we place unrealistic expectations on teachers. Classrooms are a place in which every societal challenge presents itself. If a community is impoverished, violent, or drug infested, it is expressed through the children in the classroom. If a family is going through illness or divorce, it appears in the classroom. If there is trouble outside the classroom, in the streets or in our homes – the problem will surface in the classroom. It is society’s expectation that the teacher in the classroom must be prepared to remediate any societal problem we present, and teach each child to read at the same time. It seems unlikely that any individual can be prepared to address all the challenges that society as a whole seems unable to fix.
2. Changing Requirements: The requirements to keep a teaching credential keep changing. The requirements to keep your teaching credential may change at anytime, even if you have been teaching 20 years of more. As the needs of California’s children change, the training required to teach changes as well. For example, you may be a special education teacher who has been effectively teaching children with autism for 20 years, but unless you go back to school and earn the new Added Authorization, Autism Spectrum Disorders, you will not be able to continue. While the motivation for refining and revising the requirements to be teacher is noble, the impact is ultimately a sense of instability and lack of security for teachers.
3. Debt: California is one of the few states that will not allow you to earn a bachelor’s degree in education. To earn a preliminary teaching credential, you will need a bachelor’s degree and at least 1-2 more years of college. Following that you will have 5 years to complete more college coursework and/or professional development to keep your credential. The expectation for most teachers is that one should eventually earn a masters or higher degree as well. By the time you have “finished” your education you will have student loans equal to those of many attorneys, physicians, and other professionals. However, your income is not going to be as high as that of most attorneys and physicians. Paying off your student loan debt will take a large chunk of your paycheck over many years.
4. Teaching Bashing: Teacher bashing has become politically correct. In an instant, knowing that teachers may be our greatest hope to improve student learning and ultimately prepare our nation to become more competitive on the global market, changed to blaming teachers for the current economic condition. “If only teachers did a better job, businesses would have better prepared U.S. employees to hire and fewer jobs would go overseas.” “If only teachers did a better job, our prisons would not be over crowded.” “If only teachers didn’t want more money, our schools would be financial sound.” Teacher failures can’t explain the Wall Street bailout, mortgage foreclosures, violence in our streets, child abuse, homelessness, or drug wars. We as a society must take responsibility for those conditions.
5. Teacher Evaluation: Teacher evaluation has become personal. Many of you may be aware of the LA Times articles last summer, Grading the Teachers: Valued-Added Analysis. New York City Schools has followed suit, releasing rating of 12,000 teachers. In both cases, each individual teacher is ranked based on the performance of the students in his/her classroom. While some ineffective teachers may be identified using this approach – there is no distinction between ineffectiveness and those competent teachers who are willing to take on the most challenging learners. Indeed, the message of the approach is clear. If you care about all learners, even those who have the most challenges – you will be identified as a bad teacher. For those who choose the profession because they love children and teaching, such a label is devastating.
6. Lack of Support Systems. There is no argument that the focus of our educational system should be on children, first and foremost. Caring for our children however means we must do what we can to give them the kind of adults they need to succeed. Some of these adults must be teachers, teachers who are not only academically prepared, but teachers who are emotionally and physically healthy as well. Thus far teacher preparation programs focus on academic knowledge and skills. There is little to no mention of self-care or preparing for the emotional realities of working in today’s schools. Likewise, district funding does not include teacher support groups or systems to facilitate emotional health in current teachers. It should stand to reason that teachers who struggle with their own emotional and physical health cannot provide the kinds of environments students need to succeed. Indeed, one may consider that it is the emotionally unhealthy teacher who can be the most damaging to children.
In my experience, teachers are internalizers. They do not tend to complain, and are not particularly good at advocating for themselves. They tend to put their own needs on the back burner, considering others first. The importance of healthy and effective teachers cannot be overly stated. As a group, they see every child. They impact every child. If we want to support our children, we must support their teachers.
I have been teaching teachers for over 10 years. During that time I’ve seen some who should have never gone into the profession, and others who are gifted. That hasn’t changed. What has changed in recent years is the number of teachers who are describing sleepless nights, migraines, upset stomachs, backaches, chronic illness, and even cancer. The personal cost of teaching may be becoming too high. As someone who cares about children, and sees the necessity of having healthy teachers to support them – I can’t help but feel compelled to understand why teachers are getting sick. Here are the reasons I have identified thus far.
Why is teaching making teachers sick?
1. Unrealistic Expectations: One reason may be that we place unrealistic expectations on teachers. Classrooms are a place in which every societal challenge presents itself. If a community is impoverished, violent, or drug infested, it is expressed through the children in the classroom. If a family is going through illness or divorce, it appears in the classroom. If there is trouble outside the classroom, in the streets or in our homes – the problem will surface in the classroom. It is society’s expectation that the teacher in the classroom must be prepared to remediate any societal problem we present, and teach each child to read at the same time. It seems unlikely that any individual can be prepared to address all the challenges that society as a whole seems unable to fix.
2. Changing Requirements: The requirements to keep a teaching credential keep changing. The requirements to keep your teaching credential may change at anytime, even if you have been teaching 20 years of more. As the needs of California’s children change, the training required to teach changes as well. For example, you may be a special education teacher who has been effectively teaching children with autism for 20 years, but unless you go back to school and earn the new Added Authorization, Autism Spectrum Disorders, you will not be able to continue. While the motivation for refining and revising the requirements to be teacher is noble, the impact is ultimately a sense of instability and lack of security for teachers.
3. Debt: California is one of the few states that will not allow you to earn a bachelor’s degree in education. To earn a preliminary teaching credential, you will need a bachelor’s degree and at least 1-2 more years of college. Following that you will have 5 years to complete more college coursework and/or professional development to keep your credential. The expectation for most teachers is that one should eventually earn a masters or higher degree as well. By the time you have “finished” your education you will have student loans equal to those of many attorneys, physicians, and other professionals. However, your income is not going to be as high as that of most attorneys and physicians. Paying off your student loan debt will take a large chunk of your paycheck over many years.
4. Teaching Bashing: Teacher bashing has become politically correct. In an instant, knowing that teachers may be our greatest hope to improve student learning and ultimately prepare our nation to become more competitive on the global market, changed to blaming teachers for the current economic condition. “If only teachers did a better job, businesses would have better prepared U.S. employees to hire and fewer jobs would go overseas.” “If only teachers did a better job, our prisons would not be over crowded.” “If only teachers didn’t want more money, our schools would be financial sound.” Teacher failures can’t explain the Wall Street bailout, mortgage foreclosures, violence in our streets, child abuse, homelessness, or drug wars. We as a society must take responsibility for those conditions.
5. Teacher Evaluation: Teacher evaluation has become personal. Many of you may be aware of the LA Times articles last summer, Grading the Teachers: Valued-Added Analysis. New York City Schools has followed suit, releasing rating of 12,000 teachers. In both cases, each individual teacher is ranked based on the performance of the students in his/her classroom. While some ineffective teachers may be identified using this approach – there is no distinction between ineffectiveness and those competent teachers who are willing to take on the most challenging learners. Indeed, the message of the approach is clear. If you care about all learners, even those who have the most challenges – you will be identified as a bad teacher. For those who choose the profession because they love children and teaching, such a label is devastating.
6. Lack of Support Systems. There is no argument that the focus of our educational system should be on children, first and foremost. Caring for our children however means we must do what we can to give them the kind of adults they need to succeed. Some of these adults must be teachers, teachers who are not only academically prepared, but teachers who are emotionally and physically healthy as well. Thus far teacher preparation programs focus on academic knowledge and skills. There is little to no mention of self-care or preparing for the emotional realities of working in today’s schools. Likewise, district funding does not include teacher support groups or systems to facilitate emotional health in current teachers. It should stand to reason that teachers who struggle with their own emotional and physical health cannot provide the kinds of environments students need to succeed. Indeed, one may consider that it is the emotionally unhealthy teacher who can be the most damaging to children.
In my experience, teachers are internalizers. They do not tend to complain, and are not particularly good at advocating for themselves. They tend to put their own needs on the back burner, considering others first. The importance of healthy and effective teachers cannot be overly stated. As a group, they see every child. They impact every child. If we want to support our children, we must support their teachers.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wisdom from a 6 year old
Watching a scene in Karate kid II, Mr. Miyagi and his old girlfriend are “falling in love again”. My wife says to my son, “isn’t it great that they can fall in love again at that age?” He replies: “anyone can fall in love at any age”. “Even 6 year old?” asks my wife. My son answers: “well I am in love with all of you”.
There is wisdom about love to be found everywhere…especially in our children.
There is wisdom about love to be found everywhere…especially in our children.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
They drank the kool aid
There is a peculiar phenomenon that happens sometimes, and I have yet to find a credible explanation for it.
This one company I used to work for has a lot of people I thought were my friends, and some them even acted that way for a while. However, no sooner did I leave most of them became unavailable, like they were CEOs or something. Not that they were consciously trying to avoid me, because occasionally I would see them around town, but it was more like I became invisible. I have been lucky enough to climb up the ladder with every job change, and I find myself with more time to try and see these friends now, but when I try they never reply.
I realized something important, I used to drink the same kool-aid they did, and when I left the company I no longer had access to drink it, but that is good because it was dangerously addictive. They are junkies drinking the kool-aid and I am free.
Funny though, I always here from them after their access to the drug gets cut off, usually they are looking for a friend to help them get them a job:))
This one company I used to work for has a lot of people I thought were my friends, and some them even acted that way for a while. However, no sooner did I leave most of them became unavailable, like they were CEOs or something. Not that they were consciously trying to avoid me, because occasionally I would see them around town, but it was more like I became invisible. I have been lucky enough to climb up the ladder with every job change, and I find myself with more time to try and see these friends now, but when I try they never reply.
I realized something important, I used to drink the same kool-aid they did, and when I left the company I no longer had access to drink it, but that is good because it was dangerously addictive. They are junkies drinking the kool-aid and I am free.
Funny though, I always here from them after their access to the drug gets cut off, usually they are looking for a friend to help them get them a job:))
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