Opus 2014-325: The Biggest Problem in Education

I am sure I have mentioned it before but recently it has been beating me in the face.  The hardest thing for me to take as a teacher is the drop-of-the-hat dishonesty of the students I work with.  You would think it might be violence or administrative foolishness.  In reality, I have never felt any fear on campus and I have learned to work around administrators. 

No, what stops my roller coaster is the way a student will look at you with total innocense and say, “I don’t have any gum in my mouth.”  This could be technically the truth.  It might be a spit wad they are working on.  This could be a manufactured truth.  They might have quickly swallowed the gum.  It could be a conditional truth.  They may have slipped the gum into their hand.  Since they know what I am talking about, it is still a lie.

They lie to protect a piece of chewing gum.  It can even be hanging out their mouth and they will lie.  It does not bother them.

This is just a low hanging fruit.  It could be that I asked them if they turned some homework in.  They will usually say, “Yes.”  Only when I go to check will they change their story.  When sent by an administrator or another teacher to see if they can be out of class that day, they invariably say, “Mr. Admin says you are supposed to send me to their room.”  Use your imagination.  If you can imagine it, they will lie about it.

To be honest they learned this from the adults in their lives.  It starts with their parents.  Just on what I see and hear in parent meetings gives me a clue to what happens at home.  Then they get to school and soon begin to realize that they can’t really believe what the school tells them either.  It could be something as blatant as denying a promise that was made.  It is prevalent in the announcements made about policy and the law and then totally disregarding the statement.  It can be giving the idea that everyone needs algebra in the eighth grade. 

They see it in their entertainment.  It has been a long time since I have watched TV but I would guess that the main characters are still regularly telling lies and the laugh track is reminding you it is supposed to be funny.

They see it in their politicians.

Lies are destructive.  That is why God chose honesty as one of the final ten rules.

(Exodus 20:16 KJV)  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Short and sweet.  Worthy to repeat.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-324: A New Flavor of Spam

I had an interesting piece of spam today.  There was only one and it started like it was a genuine post.  I keep thinking that a legitimate comment might get shuffled over.  I was again disappointed.

The robot told me that some of my pictures were not loading well and suggested that he might have a solution for me at his web site.  The big problem with this is that I have not yet tried to put pictures on my blog.  I am thinking about it but life is too short to learn new skills.

So if you do have pictures, be aware that all helpful comments are not helpful comments.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-323: Who Is Mr. Brown?

In Atlas Shrugged we keep hearing about John Galt.  Our news media has a different hero.

I keep reading about Mr. Brown.  It seems that he was a jolly young man who was brutally murdered while minding his own business by a thug policeman just because Mr. Brown was black.  Interesting, since I have met “Mr. Brown,” many times.

The Mr. Brown that I have met does not always match the stereotypes I keep reading.  He is not always a man.  He is only jolly when he is getting his own way.  He comes in many racial types.  He is rarely minding his own business. 

Mr. Brown is the product of our schools.  I have had him in my class, of and on, for years.  He tends to come to class late and do no work while he is present.  He is self centered and disrespectful to everyone.  He disrupts the environment and makes it impossible for others to learn.  If you kick him out he swaggers in the next day and you start again.  He is taught by the school administration that there are no consequences for his behavior and he can get away with anything.  That is fine until he meets someone who is not impressed with him.  Then we read about him in the newspapers.

Mr. Brown is the product of a home.  Everyone thought his behavior was cute the first few years but eventually it started getting obnoxious.  Some people think a two year old swaggering, cussing and giving you the finger is darling.  They don’t feel that way when he turns 21.  It is almost a sure thing that his father does not live with his mother.  Usually they were never married.  Often no one is even sure who his father is.  His mother cries a lot at meetings but never does anything to teach the child self control.  She has a nice phone, lots of gold and a fine stereo at home.  What she does not have is the time to train Mr. Brown to be a responsible adult.  That is fine until he meets someone who is not impressed with him.  Then we read about him in the newspapers.

Mr. Brown is the product of our culture.  We live in a world of double standards.  Justice means different things depending on the color of your skin.  The law is interpreted based on your genetic make up.  Equality is as Animal Farm described it, “Some are just more equal than others.”  Discrimination is evil tied to Jim Crow but blessed under the title of affirmative action.  We have a generation that discards facts and reality and declares that the world is supposed to bend to their desires.  That is fine until Mr. Brown meets someone who is not impressed with him.  Then we read about him in the newspapers.

Who is John Galt?  Who is Mr. Brown?  One is a sign of responsible liberty.  The other is the result of self-destructive narcissism. 

You will see more of both.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-322: Changing Christmas Traditions, part 9 of 9: Removing the Tree

The wrapping paper went out in the trash the next day.  The celebration goodies are being consumed.  The gifts are put away or being used.  Now comes the big question:  When do we take the tree down and what do we do with it?

The “when” is easy.  We take the tree down whenever my wife says to do so.  It is a tradition that keeps morphing.  Some years we take it down on December 26.  Some years we make it into the new year.

The “what” has become easy.  We simply haul the tree out to the curb.  Eventually the trash people pick it up.  I assume they have some kind of program that takes the trees and makes them into mulch, but it disappears.

Then comes the task of getting all the pine needles out of the carpet and we are on to another year.

Happy New Year.  I hope you had a merry and blessed Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-321: Rigor and High Standards = Smoke and Mirrors

Whenever you hear educators talk about the high standards they have and the rigorous approach to education they take you need to get out your baloney meter.

Let me relate an example.  For purposes of protecting the innocent and calming the guilty I will call the teacher Mr. Smith and the student John.

We have a “holiday” program like most schools.  Kids are pulled out of class to practice and prepare.  The school made a clear statement outlining the standards that would be expected to be able to participate.  The one the relates to this post is that the student could not participate if they had any “U’s” in citizenship.  That means unsatisfactory, in case you were wondering.

We give grades four times each semester.  It is easy to see who has unsatisfactory citizenship.  You do a data printout and there it is.  It would seem easy to determine who is not eligible.  That should end the process of qualifying.  Not so in public education.  I was first harassed by John to sign a paper saying he no longer had a “U”.  He promised to change and do better.  I said “No.  You have been tardy consistently all year.  Live with the responsibility of your actions.”  Next, Mr. Smith came to me with a list of students who wanted to participate but were banned by their behavior.  Generally these were students who had multiple “U’s”, not just one. 

So I went through the list with Mr. Smith and agreed to change the ones that appeared to be one time grades.  Some students had been fine for two grading periods and only had a problem with the last.  I can be reasonable.  John had been consistent all year.  John came pleading again.  I again said “No.”

Then Mr. Smith told me that the principle and assistant principle would be talking to me about John and seeing if something could be worked out.  While this was going on John continued to be tardy two and three times a week.  I never heard another word.  Two days before the performance I asked Mr. Smith if John would participate.  He said yes.  The powers that be had decided to allow him to do his thing.

One issue here for me was that none of the others on my list were given the same exemption.  Only one parent came and made an issue.  Only one student was exempted.  Since parents make an issue we abandon the myth of standards.  It is easier to talk standards than uphold standards

The biggest issue for me is that this child has been taught, again, that he will never need to be responsible and that the rules do not apply to him.  He has learned that he will always be given a waiver.  If this were a one time thing I could live with it but it is an ongoing pattern.

We are destroying a generation.  You wonder why the young man in Ferguson thought he could attack the cop?  You wonder why the young man in Florida thought he could beat up a member o neighborhood watch?  You wonder why so many young people think that the rules don’t apply to them?  One big reason is that their education has taught them that.

Keep in mind that you elected the school board.  You elected the politicians that appointed the judges.  In most states, you reelected the judges. 

I wonder who is to be blamed.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-320: Headlines: We All Need Connections

Liberty is slipping away.  The Progressive fascists in government (aka liberals, moderates, Rinos, socialists, communists) are working overtime to protect us from ourselves.  This ranges from taking away our ability to defend ourselves, limiting our movement, and forcing us to the doctor of their choice.  It also includes protecting us from information that might upset us and even make us think.  In extreme cases it might make us vote the suckers out.  Remember, they care and want us to be happy.

Another important statement to this effect was made by Tammy Bruce in The Washington Times, National Weekly, November 24, 2014, p. 30.  You can find a slightly different version at the on-line link

“This is why the political establishment hates the Internet — it allows regular people, individuals, to change the world. This in itself presents a danger to tyrannical regimes everywhere, and to American administrations that rely on keeping you in the dark.”

You may notice the headlines that have congress trying to “make the internet available to everyone.”  To do that they need to limit access and control costs.  You may have missed that the control of granting domain names has moved from American control.  The United Nations wants to do for information what they have done for economic growth:  Tax, control and limit.

So stay alert.  This is another litmus test.  Anyone who wants to put the government in control of the internet needs to be voted out.  It is a good question to put to presidential wannabees.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-319: Help the Robots

As I was deleting spam I had a thought.

Why don’t the spam robots just try sending out a “Merry Christmas!” with no invitation to check out their blog?  I think it might draw in a whole slew of victims who are not impressed by their attempts to tell us how good our blogs are or sell us Viagra. 

Of course they might be attacked by the anti-Christmas spam robots.

Merry Christmas.

I am not a robot, but then you would expect me to say that, wouldn’t you?

homo unius libri