Vent

[Samara]

yes, Che, Quasimodo is baaaaaaccccckkkk... Oh, I'm so silly. Still waiting on the rickshaw.

[Che Gookin]

OH SNAP....

[Froderik]

I still can't figure out who this is...

[Samara]

Hint - I've been to your house and you guys have been to my former abode.

[Che Gookin]

Welp, just so you know.. I figured you out almost immediately. Welcome back to the forums, we've missed having our conversations with you.

[Ursus]

I felt unsafe posting all the details. I felt unsafe posting at all. I have two mouths to feed. No mother is ever really free.  I am also not on the radar. But it kills me other good people are. And that nothing really serves the students.

The only really free place is my mind and maybe inside the sanctuary of home.

Contact Jim Horn. He might be interested in posting them. He might also know some more pieces of that puzzle...

[justonemore]

this is for samara, (city, or parable, or story, any one is good.) also for the Che (best reconsider the character and the man,know what's true)
 well I woke up in a county jail, cross the line in Laredo, had a headache and a deputy starin at me through the door . He said How
you got across that river, alive,  I don't know, but yer wife just made yer bail, so now you're in her debt for sure. I said, Buddy.. you'd be surprised how fast a chevrolet truck can go.
-Steve Earle
Life is not without risk, the battle not always to the strong, the race not always to the swift. ( think that's Cicero, but then again, i think every thing's Cicero, what the hell, I'm a redneck, We don't read near as good as them hillbillies. We ain't sophists neither. ) J.O.M.

[Samara]

I have to get out first with a new prospect.... but actually working here and seeing how the CEO has effectively worked politicians, even hosting their rallies is really disheartening.  I was just talking to someone who may write an editorial in response to a BS PR job the CEO made with a big paper.

I am really beginning to dislike education. It's not the kids - its the parents and the politics.  The kids today are more entitled and less respectful,but they are also more jaded and savvy.  My kids go to a great school, but that is because I make a ton of sacrifices to get into the lowest of the low housing in a rich area so they have access to teachers who are more innovative and thought provoking. And the extreme religious right are trying to infiltrate our board so they can dumb down our schools.  And let's face it, even our best schools have to enforce a level of conformity because they have to pump out the masses. My kids already understand this. We talk about it openly - how education and institutions promotes conformity, and how you have to work the system without losing yourself. One of my kids will do what is asked with the mindset of: I'm going to get this done, and then I can do what I want to do.   The other one can't let go of what doesn't make sense. If a lesson is stupid and way beneath his ability, he has a hard time just going along to get along.  He has an especially hard time respecting lessons that have inherent logical fallacies. On the whole, I have been really lucky that they have award winning teachers who make them feel appreciated as individuals, and recognize their talents. I also am lucky because my kids have mentors within their schools who advocate for them.  But how many people can really say that?

I myself went to "the best" schools and hated it. It wasn't until I found in the last two years of HS, a private school run by hippies who also taught at the universities that I really felt more stimulated.  One was an anthropologist who lived among the Hopis for awhile and he would talk about peyote as an enlightening experience. Could you imagine your kids' teachers saying that in most schools?

I don't know what the answer is because I often get the students who were homeschooled by their parents, and most of the time, their parents are horrendously inadequate.  It would be laughable if it weren't frightening. I have seen wonderful examples of homeschooling, but only with parents who are well educated, disciplined, and driven. They see it as a job to amass the best resources and provide tangible learning  experiences. However, this is not the norm. The HS kids I inherited don't know the difference between the civil war and the civil rights movement, can't construct a paragraph much less a paper, and are often capable of elementary math skills in the 9th grade. Don't even get me started on Science. It is really hard to get them up to speed when they can't surpass primary levels. It is almost impossible to to do it online.

[Che Gookin]

Heh, the school that I manage is all about money. Since tuition drives the school that makes sense. The absolutely absurd lengths I'm forced to go in the name of new students numbs my mind. Yes, I realize its frustrating to everyone, but I'd appreciate the local Chinese princess drama queen teacher not blowing a load of kittens over having a possible future student observe a class she coteachers in front of a potential customer.

Funny though, was asked by the head Chinese teacher, "Old wise che, what would you do if you were her boss?"

"Fire her ass."

Head Chinese Teacher, "(insert gorp about harmony and workplace happiness)"

"(insert rant about customer service and common sense and wanting the rest of us who don't act like we are 4 years old in front of students getting out bonuses)"

Head Chinese Teacher, "Oh yes, bonuses.. yes.. fire her if she does that again."

Sucks to hear about the home schooling thing. I've been a huge fan of home schooling for along time now. If I remember correctly you essentially teach your students via internet, so it would be very nice if these buffoonish parents would get their kids involved in something like your program earlier if they don't have the academic skills to properly educate their children.

Worst, the discipline that comes from learning and task completion is applicable to so many other things in life it bugs me knowing that these two things are being missed by these dumbasses. Again, I like home schooling, but if you are going to pull your children out of public school because you feel its failing them, DON'T turn around and fail your kids yourself for fucks sake.


justonemore: I woke up in jail once in Cambodia, that was interesting.

[justonemore]

I sure would like to hear about that morning in a Cambodian jail. I bet that's a hell of a story. Probly weren't much fun though. Please do re-consider Che, the character and the man, I know a lot of Cubans, lot of fine folk, and they don't think much of him at all. a Lot of those Miami spics are tough and decent and wise and kind. Hear what they have to say. Most of 'em talk better than i do, and hell, i talk good. A lot of them got 50 cals stashed somewhere, and that's worth listening to, don't ya think.
J.O.M.