My bed is Daisy’s bed, and she’s overly protective of her turf. She fluffs pillows, arranges sheets, and pushes me into compliance with her sleeping patterns. All is good with the world when Daisy’s happy, but when Daisy’s not happy, no one sleeps.
I went next door and brought Brownie over after his owner called very late Friday night to tell me that she had left for a few days, shutting him in the bathroom until her return. She assured me he’d be just fine as she left food and water for 3 days, but she turned off the cooler to save money on electric costs while she was gone. It was very late, so I did not go over and get Brownie right then, but he barked all night, perhaps in an effort to let my dogs (who share a fence with him) know how completely unhappy he is with his owner’s decision. I went over at first light yesterday morning and brought him back to my place for the duration of his owner’s absence.
Believe me, no good deed goes unpunished!
Yesterday, I visited a friend out-of-town, and when I returned home, all three dogs greeted me with enthusiasm and slurpy dog kisses. Brownie jumped into my lap when I sat down to extend my greetings to the dogs, and he didn’t move for about an hour. He had not pooped or peed in the house, figuring out the doggie door in about a New York minute, for which I was totally thankful! Daisy, of course, gave him the stank eye, but Mia accepted his visit with calm resignation as she knows I’m a pushover for a dog.
Last night, however, I rued my kindness when Brownie decided that he would share a pillow with me, which is just a touch too up-close and personal for me, but he wasn’t budging an inch. Daisy, protecting her turf, meandered up from the foot of the bed, gave a couple of disdainful sniffs, then did the really low, menacing growl deep in her throat that warned me she was not happy. Brownie, totally threatened by her aggressiveness, licked my face, cuddled closer, and went back to sleep. This went on throughout the night, so this morning I am feeling the aftermath of the battle in the bedroom for Alpha dominance.
Brownie will go back home today, when his owner returns, but Daisy may make me pay for allowing his presence. Daisy loves Brownie on the other side of the fence, in his own yard, but she was not thrilled that I shared her territory with him. She does hold a grudge, and she does have her ways to pay back for what she considers the wrongs in her life.
We’ll see who wins the war, but I definitely lost last night’s battle!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Old Dogs; New Trick
Yesterday, I had a new doggie door installed, one that goes through the wall. The purpose was so I could actually use the slider out to the backyard as it has been blocked off with a patio door doggie door thingy, making the passageway pretty ... slim ... for humans to pass through sideways. The installation went very well, as did the over-the-stove microwave installation necessitated by the repositioning of the doggie door.
However, the dogs aren't too happy about their new door, especially Mia, who has hip issues. We positioned the door to accommodate her size, agreeing that Daisy will figure it out regardless of how we position it. The dogs were not included in that conversation; had they been, they would have argued for the lot of humans in their lives to lose weight, rather than moving the doggie door.
In the middle of the night, when night noises set Daisy off like a car alarm, she took off running from sleeping next to me to full protection mode in a heartbeat. I heard her hit the slider, where the doggie door used to be, followed by a yelp. No, she didn't figure out to take one step to the right and go through the doggie door -- she came slinking back to my bedroom, either chagrined or pissed. She must have explained the situation to Mia because she didn't move from her floor pillow once during the night.
Part of the problem is a double flap, one inside the house and one outside, which is great for inclement weather, but not so great for the dogs to deal with when they are used to one flap. I've used Velcro to fasten the inside flap to the frame until they get used to the new process, so we'll see how that works.
Meanwhile, I'm afraid the dogs of the neighborhood are going to get away with uncontrolled barking and roaming of the streets because neither Daisy nor Mia wants to deal with the doggie door to get outside for neighborhood watch duty. It would be funny, but I love my dogs and don't want them to hurt themselves until they figure out this new thing in their very comfortable old lives.
Addendum: I had to add "ramps" on either side of the wall-through as Mia's hips don't allow her to crawl through as easily as she did the former doggie door, and poor little Daisy can no longer simply soar through the flap and fly out the door. They will get used to the new door, but the meantime is going to be challenging.
However, the dogs aren't too happy about their new door, especially Mia, who has hip issues. We positioned the door to accommodate her size, agreeing that Daisy will figure it out regardless of how we position it. The dogs were not included in that conversation; had they been, they would have argued for the lot of humans in their lives to lose weight, rather than moving the doggie door.
In the middle of the night, when night noises set Daisy off like a car alarm, she took off running from sleeping next to me to full protection mode in a heartbeat. I heard her hit the slider, where the doggie door used to be, followed by a yelp. No, she didn't figure out to take one step to the right and go through the doggie door -- she came slinking back to my bedroom, either chagrined or pissed. She must have explained the situation to Mia because she didn't move from her floor pillow once during the night.
Part of the problem is a double flap, one inside the house and one outside, which is great for inclement weather, but not so great for the dogs to deal with when they are used to one flap. I've used Velcro to fasten the inside flap to the frame until they get used to the new process, so we'll see how that works.
Meanwhile, I'm afraid the dogs of the neighborhood are going to get away with uncontrolled barking and roaming of the streets because neither Daisy nor Mia wants to deal with the doggie door to get outside for neighborhood watch duty. It would be funny, but I love my dogs and don't want them to hurt themselves until they figure out this new thing in their very comfortable old lives.
Addendum: I had to add "ramps" on either side of the wall-through as Mia's hips don't allow her to crawl through as easily as she did the former doggie door, and poor little Daisy can no longer simply soar through the flap and fly out the door. They will get used to the new door, but the meantime is going to be challenging.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Office Depot NOT a Star
I needed some reams of copy paper ($8.95 each), so stopped at the somewhat local Office Depot yesterday. I paid for the purchase, then noticed flyers at the register touting the Star Teacher program. The HUGE "Get 20% OFF instantly" was an attractive lure to a teacher who pays far too much out of pocket for the privilege of having what I need, when I need it, so I asked the cashier if "any" teacher qualifies, to which he said yes, and if my current purchase would get the "instant 20% off," to which he also said yes.
Sign me up! When the cashier, however, tried to adjust the purchase to include the discount, the register would not allow that to happen, so he called over the store manager. Oh, she explained, this discount only applies to "qualifying in-store purchases." Well, I responded, I cannot think of any teacher supply that would qualify more than ... paper.
Not true at Office Depot: they decide which in-store purchases qualify. It also specifies that the 20% discount is available only "during [my] event week," so it's not an on-going discount card!! And, even though it also says on the flyer that the reward for ink, toner & paper is 10% back "every day" for Star Teachers, I also did not get that reward.
I did, however, receive a nice gift bag with appropriate office supplies included, so it was not for naught that I signed up for Star Teacher discounts. I'm just not sure that I'll be able to keep track of the coupon book for the next year so I can purchase special Star Teacher items, such as August's "free" border when I purchase one full size Carson-Dellosa bulletin board, as well as 25% off Carson-Dellosa Notepads, Nameplates, and Cut-Outs. As great as these offers are, what I really need at the secondary level is copy paper, not cute wall decor for the classroom I share with a dozen other faculty members on a rotating basis. Thankfully, there are many other, more appropriate coupons for those of us who teach at the secondary level and in which I am interested for future purchases.
The Star Teacher program offers all teachers who sign up for it discounts that they may be able to use a throughout the year, but NOT at their discretion. Therefore, I cannot walk into Office Depot when I need to purchase school supplies and get a 20% discount, although that is what the promo flyer appears to say on the surface. Additionally, if I want to feel really special, I have to wait for "my event" to be scheduled, and then stop at the store to see what items qualify this time for discounts, and then decide whether it's something I need for my classroom. All in all, it's not worth the effort I need to make and/or the cost of the gasoline to make a trip to that location.
It's not a big thing, but it's indicative of why so many businesses are failing: truth in advertising should be transparent, not hidden in the size 2 font disclaimer.
Sign me up! When the cashier, however, tried to adjust the purchase to include the discount, the register would not allow that to happen, so he called over the store manager. Oh, she explained, this discount only applies to "qualifying in-store purchases." Well, I responded, I cannot think of any teacher supply that would qualify more than ... paper.
Not true at Office Depot: they decide which in-store purchases qualify. It also specifies that the 20% discount is available only "during [my] event week," so it's not an on-going discount card!! And, even though it also says on the flyer that the reward for ink, toner & paper is 10% back "every day" for Star Teachers, I also did not get that reward.
I did, however, receive a nice gift bag with appropriate office supplies included, so it was not for naught that I signed up for Star Teacher discounts. I'm just not sure that I'll be able to keep track of the coupon book for the next year so I can purchase special Star Teacher items, such as August's "free" border when I purchase one full size Carson-Dellosa bulletin board, as well as 25% off Carson-Dellosa Notepads, Nameplates, and Cut-Outs. As great as these offers are, what I really need at the secondary level is copy paper, not cute wall decor for the classroom I share with a dozen other faculty members on a rotating basis. Thankfully, there are many other, more appropriate coupons for those of us who teach at the secondary level and in which I am interested for future purchases.
The Star Teacher program offers all teachers who sign up for it discounts that they may be able to use a throughout the year, but NOT at their discretion. Therefore, I cannot walk into Office Depot when I need to purchase school supplies and get a 20% discount, although that is what the promo flyer appears to say on the surface. Additionally, if I want to feel really special, I have to wait for "my event" to be scheduled, and then stop at the store to see what items qualify this time for discounts, and then decide whether it's something I need for my classroom. All in all, it's not worth the effort I need to make and/or the cost of the gasoline to make a trip to that location.
It's not a big thing, but it's indicative of why so many businesses are failing: truth in advertising should be transparent, not hidden in the size 2 font disclaimer.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Paradigm Shift
Kim K and her huge Armenian family are spending at least $10 million dollars for a lavish "royal wedding" at a posh estate in one of California's wealthier communities, Montecito. Single-handedly, the Kardashians are doing more to stimulate the local economy than the sitting President has done in almost 3 years.
What's the thanks for this family's economic effort? Bank of America is laying off an initial 3,500 employees, with more unemployment to follow. B of A has benefited several times from the political generosity of open-ended economic bail-outs and they still cannot keep employees employed, so let the Kardashians figure this out for the bankers and the politicians.
Give the economic stimulus money to the Kardashians and let them spend us out of this economic mess. The President doesn't seem to have any ideas left in his playbook and all his political opponents do is talk, talk, talk, while the Kardashians have built a financial empire.
You go, girls!!
What's the thanks for this family's economic effort? Bank of America is laying off an initial 3,500 employees, with more unemployment to follow. B of A has benefited several times from the political generosity of open-ended economic bail-outs and they still cannot keep employees employed, so let the Kardashians figure this out for the bankers and the politicians.
Give the economic stimulus money to the Kardashians and let them spend us out of this economic mess. The President doesn't seem to have any ideas left in his playbook and all his political opponents do is talk, talk, talk, while the Kardashians have built a financial empire.
You go, girls!!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Licking for Love
It occurs to me when I am awakened by Daisy's diligent licking of every square inch of exposed skin surface, that I fervently hope that there are medicinal powers in poop, which seems to be her favorite snack these days.
It's time for the morning walk, but my body hurts from the tip of my head to the tingle in my toes, and I REALLY DO NOT want to go for a walk. I'm going to ignore the girls with the promise that I'll take them out in the early evening, but that's going to be a hard sell -- and require gallons of patiently applied dog saliva.
Most days, I feel like a walk, but today, I just don't.
It's time for the morning walk, but my body hurts from the tip of my head to the tingle in my toes, and I REALLY DO NOT want to go for a walk. I'm going to ignore the girls with the promise that I'll take them out in the early evening, but that's going to be a hard sell -- and require gallons of patiently applied dog saliva.
Most days, I feel like a walk, but today, I just don't.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Short Fuse + Ignition =
Today, I drove to the post office as I was leaving for my class, put my key into the box, and it would not open. Because I pay annually, I knew there was no rent due, so went to the window, stood in the long line, waited my turn and ...
was told that I had "ignored" a direction to complete a rental application for the box, so the box was locked until I complied. No, I replied, I did not ignore a direction to complete a rental application for the box: I filled one out when I rented the box and have faithfully paid the annual rental fee on time and in full since January 2000.
No, he assured me, we put those applications in every box every year, but we have no record that you ever completed yours and returned it to us.
BLAST OFF!!
Are you kidding me???? He told me that my box would remain locked until I completed the form THAT WAS INSIDE MY BOX AND TO WHICH I HAD NO ACCESS. If I failed to comply within 10 days' of notification, my rental agreement for the post office box would be terminated and my box would be rented to another patron.
Second stage rocket thruster in full GO mode.
I could not just fill in the form at the counter, get my mailbox unlocked, and move on. Nothing is ever that easy! In order to "prove" that I am a US citizen, as well as a bonafide local resident, I must provide a driver's license, current passport, and one other proof of my residence address, such as a mortgage or lease agreement.
By now, I'm in total orbit and know that if I say anything, it'll be ugly. I took the application home with me, completed it, then drove back to the post office with my current driver's license, my current passport, a copy of my monthly mortgage statement, and my receipt for the rental of the post office box paid in full through December 31, 2011.
I asked to speak to the postmaster and was shown into his office. I sat, presented him with the completed application, as well as the required identification, and then told him that (1) there was NO WAY for me to comply with a request which I had never received and which was securely locked into my mailbox to which I had no access; and (2) my rent is fully paid on the box until December 31, 2011, so there is NO WAY anyone at the post office can void that agreement and reassign my box to another patron.
When he assured me that an application HAD been put into my box and I had failed to complete it, I was so pissed I could hardly hold back the urge to smack his smug face. "Nope, not true," I told him. "I renewed the rent on the box I have held since January 2000 last December, a renewal that DID NOT require anything except my check. Had there been a request to update my application attached to the reminder notice to pay the box rent, I would have completed it and returned it as requested," then handed him my receipt for payment/renewal.
Well, he explained, there are lots of new regulations SINCE 9/11 -- at which time I stopped him to clarify THE 9/11????? We're on the 10th anniversary of that event -- and at no time during the PAST DECADE have I been requested to submit an updated application for the box I've held for all of that time!!
When he assured me that "lots of patrons" ignore the application that is put into their boxes, I assured him that I would NOT ignore it had I received it, but my main concern is ... WHY DID YOU LOCK MY MAILBOX after you put the form into it?? How the hell was I expected to complete the form if I could not access the form????
At that point in time, I'm so ready to go ballistic that I simply said, "Are we done here?? I've returned the form with 3 different forms of local identification and expect my box to be unlocked forthwith."
Locking the box is offensive, especially when the rent is fully paid and the notification of a required application update is INSIDE THE LOCKED BOX, but putting the blame for your employees' failure to do their jobs onto my shoulders really pisses me off.
And, if I were a minority, instead of a big blonde Viking woman, I would go to the media and make such a stink about the "proof of residency" requirement being first, a driver's license or state id, followed by a passport.
What ya gonna do with the illegals who are renting boxes?? Deport them?? Yeah, I didn't think so, but you have to hassel everyone to find those who are not complying, right?
was told that I had "ignored" a direction to complete a rental application for the box, so the box was locked until I complied. No, I replied, I did not ignore a direction to complete a rental application for the box: I filled one out when I rented the box and have faithfully paid the annual rental fee on time and in full since January 2000.
No, he assured me, we put those applications in every box every year, but we have no record that you ever completed yours and returned it to us.
BLAST OFF!!
Are you kidding me???? He told me that my box would remain locked until I completed the form THAT WAS INSIDE MY BOX AND TO WHICH I HAD NO ACCESS. If I failed to comply within 10 days' of notification, my rental agreement for the post office box would be terminated and my box would be rented to another patron.
Second stage rocket thruster in full GO mode.
I could not just fill in the form at the counter, get my mailbox unlocked, and move on. Nothing is ever that easy! In order to "prove" that I am a US citizen, as well as a bonafide local resident, I must provide a driver's license, current passport, and one other proof of my residence address, such as a mortgage or lease agreement.
By now, I'm in total orbit and know that if I say anything, it'll be ugly. I took the application home with me, completed it, then drove back to the post office with my current driver's license, my current passport, a copy of my monthly mortgage statement, and my receipt for the rental of the post office box paid in full through December 31, 2011.
I asked to speak to the postmaster and was shown into his office. I sat, presented him with the completed application, as well as the required identification, and then told him that (1) there was NO WAY for me to comply with a request which I had never received and which was securely locked into my mailbox to which I had no access; and (2) my rent is fully paid on the box until December 31, 2011, so there is NO WAY anyone at the post office can void that agreement and reassign my box to another patron.
When he assured me that an application HAD been put into my box and I had failed to complete it, I was so pissed I could hardly hold back the urge to smack his smug face. "Nope, not true," I told him. "I renewed the rent on the box I have held since January 2000 last December, a renewal that DID NOT require anything except my check. Had there been a request to update my application attached to the reminder notice to pay the box rent, I would have completed it and returned it as requested," then handed him my receipt for payment/renewal.
Well, he explained, there are lots of new regulations SINCE 9/11 -- at which time I stopped him to clarify THE 9/11????? We're on the 10th anniversary of that event -- and at no time during the PAST DECADE have I been requested to submit an updated application for the box I've held for all of that time!!
When he assured me that "lots of patrons" ignore the application that is put into their boxes, I assured him that I would NOT ignore it had I received it, but my main concern is ... WHY DID YOU LOCK MY MAILBOX after you put the form into it?? How the hell was I expected to complete the form if I could not access the form????
At that point in time, I'm so ready to go ballistic that I simply said, "Are we done here?? I've returned the form with 3 different forms of local identification and expect my box to be unlocked forthwith."
Locking the box is offensive, especially when the rent is fully paid and the notification of a required application update is INSIDE THE LOCKED BOX, but putting the blame for your employees' failure to do their jobs onto my shoulders really pisses me off.
And, if I were a minority, instead of a big blonde Viking woman, I would go to the media and make such a stink about the "proof of residency" requirement being first, a driver's license or state id, followed by a passport.
What ya gonna do with the illegals who are renting boxes?? Deport them?? Yeah, I didn't think so, but you have to hassel everyone to find those who are not complying, right?
Euro-Peeing Humor
I don't know who wrote the copy for Anderson Cooper's RidicuList piece on Gerard Dee-par-dew, but it is hilarious! Hard to believe that there could be as many puns made on a well-known French actor's urination on the plane's carpet when he was denied permission to use the nearby toilet, but whoever wrote the piece did a masterful job of punning for almost 4 minutes. I laughed right along with Anderson and totally appreciated that he finally cracked and laughed himself silly, too.
Seriously, I've been on a plane that sat on the tarmac far too long and I suddenly had to pee. Sometimes, I cannot hold it, so I got up from my seat and headed for the toilet. When I was told that I had to return to my seat immediately, I told the flight attendant that I either had to use the toilet or embarrass myself by peeing my pants. She warned me that the airline would not be liable if the plane suddenly moved and I was injured, but I assured her that if she did not allow me to use the toilet as we were still on the ground and not moving, the airline would be held liable for my personal embarrassment, as well as potential urinary tract infections/issues caused by holding it too long.
What a ridiculous rule: when you gotta go, you gotta go, and an adult should be able to make the call when there is no option but to use the toilet. The actor's actions caused the plane to be delayed by 2 hours; if the flight attendant had allowed him to use the toilet, it would have taken maybe two minutes, and I'll bet donuts to dollars that the plane would not have pushed back during that two minutes!!
I'd love a transcript of Cooper's piece just because it's so cleverly composed. We'll see if the old adage, any publicity is good publicity, pertains to an airline that won't allow even the very famous/rich passengers to pee at will.
Seriously, I've been on a plane that sat on the tarmac far too long and I suddenly had to pee. Sometimes, I cannot hold it, so I got up from my seat and headed for the toilet. When I was told that I had to return to my seat immediately, I told the flight attendant that I either had to use the toilet or embarrass myself by peeing my pants. She warned me that the airline would not be liable if the plane suddenly moved and I was injured, but I assured her that if she did not allow me to use the toilet as we were still on the ground and not moving, the airline would be held liable for my personal embarrassment, as well as potential urinary tract infections/issues caused by holding it too long.
What a ridiculous rule: when you gotta go, you gotta go, and an adult should be able to make the call when there is no option but to use the toilet. The actor's actions caused the plane to be delayed by 2 hours; if the flight attendant had allowed him to use the toilet, it would have taken maybe two minutes, and I'll bet donuts to dollars that the plane would not have pushed back during that two minutes!!
I'd love a transcript of Cooper's piece just because it's so cleverly composed. We'll see if the old adage, any publicity is good publicity, pertains to an airline that won't allow even the very famous/rich passengers to pee at will.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Not That Anyone Asked
This past week, a radio session with Dr. Laura, the proponent of “any idiot” can do a better job by home schooling children than useless, incompetent public education teachers, set my teeth on edge. Really? That’s the message you want to send to both parents and students? You really want young people to walk through the public education classroom door convinced that “any idiot” can do a better job of teaching them than the well-educated, trained professional educator? That mindset is so helpful, and instilling that kind of disrespect from an early age certainly facilitates the teacher’s job performance.
Imagine that parent bringing that child into the public classroom: nothing the public education teacher says or does will matter because … s/he’s a useless, incompetent public education teacher who cannot perform the job for which s/he is well-trained, hired, and paid. The parent/teacher conference is a waste of time because, using the Dr. Laura educational philosophy, rather than discussing the child’s failure to perform to standardized educational expectations, the conversation needs to be about how incompetent and useless I am. It’s obvious to “any idiot” that, if s/he can do my job better than I do it, s/he needs to run the meeting and school me in how to handle the child’s unique educational needs, including a wide array of alternative learning activities that more appropriately support their child’s personal relationship with learning.
I see the flip side of those parental “idiots” who do feel that they can do my job better than I can do it. Unfortunately, it often results in a student who earns straight A’s on official transcripts, but who has never read a novel, never written a formal essay, never had an intelligent, self-generated conversation because the home-schooling parent believes that alternative kinds of “educational activities” are more valuable than teaching solid basic knowledge. For the student who has no specific foundational skills, the challenge to go beyond basics is overwhelming.
There are also many parents who do not home-school their children, but who send them to public school grounded in the belief that Dr. Laura posits: all teachers are useless and incompetent, and public education is a waste of time, money, and effort. If I were a doctor or a dentist, I could strap the patient down, anaesthetize him/her, and get the job done without interference, while a well-trained aide stands next to me to do the grunt work – but I’m a teacher. My client is most often a younger person, currently primarily 18-30 years of age, perhaps minimally successful in public education not because the teaching wasn’t provided, but because that demographic prefers to be anywhere/do anything other than attend school, complete homework assignments, and pass competency tests. And, stating the obvious, I don’t have the luxury of dealing with one patient at a time: in public schools, even academic core classes have 40-45 students every teaching period. Makes the job much more challenging when the single teacher in the room has to reach and teach 40-45 totally unmotivated students who have been taught by both their parents and society that the professional educator standing in the room is incompetent and useless, according to Dr. Laura!
Students spend far more time planning how to avoid being at home and not completing school assignments than they spend actually completing homework. Students spend far more time using electronics to manipulate their public media social status than they do using the same tools to ensure a good education. And while all of this avoidance of educational responsibility is occurring, where are the “idiot” parents, the ones who can educate their children better than the best professional public educator? They are often downstairs, believing that their child is upstairs in their well-appointed, closed door bedroom, doing homework. No fact-checking is done because … my child would not lie to me: if s/he says s/he did the homework and turned it in, that’s what happened. Often boldly stated, as often strongly implied, is the corollary: YOU must have lost his/her work because YOU are a useless, incompetent public school teacher!
My concern is not that I am not well-qualified to do my job, but that far too many parents and their off-spring share Dr. Laura’s perception that I make no difference in the big educational picture because the student’s parent, the “any idiot” Dr. Laura supports, could do a better job than I.
If a parent looks back on his/her own educational experiences, s/he will realize how hard teachers work to perform their jobs. Teachers aren’t just communicators of factual material, but attendance clerks, disciplinarians, emotional support systems, educational counselors, in-class room decorators and motivational speakers, as well as custodians and extra-duty supervisors.
If Dr. Laura will think about the tremendously negative message she sends daily to parents, as well as to immature, impressionable young people, perhaps she could alter her scathing condemnation of public education and start pointing other fingers in different directions, rather than always falling back on the “bad teacher” excuse that has become the mantra for today’s society.
Imagine that parent bringing that child into the public classroom: nothing the public education teacher says or does will matter because … s/he’s a useless, incompetent public education teacher who cannot perform the job for which s/he is well-trained, hired, and paid. The parent/teacher conference is a waste of time because, using the Dr. Laura educational philosophy, rather than discussing the child’s failure to perform to standardized educational expectations, the conversation needs to be about how incompetent and useless I am. It’s obvious to “any idiot” that, if s/he can do my job better than I do it, s/he needs to run the meeting and school me in how to handle the child’s unique educational needs, including a wide array of alternative learning activities that more appropriately support their child’s personal relationship with learning.
I see the flip side of those parental “idiots” who do feel that they can do my job better than I can do it. Unfortunately, it often results in a student who earns straight A’s on official transcripts, but who has never read a novel, never written a formal essay, never had an intelligent, self-generated conversation because the home-schooling parent believes that alternative kinds of “educational activities” are more valuable than teaching solid basic knowledge. For the student who has no specific foundational skills, the challenge to go beyond basics is overwhelming.
There are also many parents who do not home-school their children, but who send them to public school grounded in the belief that Dr. Laura posits: all teachers are useless and incompetent, and public education is a waste of time, money, and effort. If I were a doctor or a dentist, I could strap the patient down, anaesthetize him/her, and get the job done without interference, while a well-trained aide stands next to me to do the grunt work – but I’m a teacher. My client is most often a younger person, currently primarily 18-30 years of age, perhaps minimally successful in public education not because the teaching wasn’t provided, but because that demographic prefers to be anywhere/do anything other than attend school, complete homework assignments, and pass competency tests. And, stating the obvious, I don’t have the luxury of dealing with one patient at a time: in public schools, even academic core classes have 40-45 students every teaching period. Makes the job much more challenging when the single teacher in the room has to reach and teach 40-45 totally unmotivated students who have been taught by both their parents and society that the professional educator standing in the room is incompetent and useless, according to Dr. Laura!
Students spend far more time planning how to avoid being at home and not completing school assignments than they spend actually completing homework. Students spend far more time using electronics to manipulate their public media social status than they do using the same tools to ensure a good education. And while all of this avoidance of educational responsibility is occurring, where are the “idiot” parents, the ones who can educate their children better than the best professional public educator? They are often downstairs, believing that their child is upstairs in their well-appointed, closed door bedroom, doing homework. No fact-checking is done because … my child would not lie to me: if s/he says s/he did the homework and turned it in, that’s what happened. Often boldly stated, as often strongly implied, is the corollary: YOU must have lost his/her work because YOU are a useless, incompetent public school teacher!
My concern is not that I am not well-qualified to do my job, but that far too many parents and their off-spring share Dr. Laura’s perception that I make no difference in the big educational picture because the student’s parent, the “any idiot” Dr. Laura supports, could do a better job than I.
If a parent looks back on his/her own educational experiences, s/he will realize how hard teachers work to perform their jobs. Teachers aren’t just communicators of factual material, but attendance clerks, disciplinarians, emotional support systems, educational counselors, in-class room decorators and motivational speakers, as well as custodians and extra-duty supervisors.
If Dr. Laura will think about the tremendously negative message she sends daily to parents, as well as to immature, impressionable young people, perhaps she could alter her scathing condemnation of public education and start pointing other fingers in different directions, rather than always falling back on the “bad teacher” excuse that has become the mantra for today’s society.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Prince$$: Living on the American Dime
I was transfixed by a TV show the other evening, entitled Prince$$, the goal of which is to confront a person who lives well beyond her means with the reality that a lifestyle demands a way to pay for it that does not involve leeching off one’s friends. The Prince$$ is a mid-thirties woman with literally no means of support who relies on her friends, as well as a now ex-boyfriend, to support a very lavish lifestyle to which she proudly claims she is entitled as she waits for her career as a famous singer to happen for her. An intervention was staged by people close to her, and a potential benefactor confronted the Prince$$ about her failure to realize just how close she is to total financial collapse and to living on the streets.
I have difficulty processing that there are people who live off the generosity of others and expect to do so as one of their God-given rights in their personal pursuit of happiness. When it was pointed out to Prince$$ that she needs to generate at least $2,500 a month in income by actually getting a job and going to work, she laughed because she doesn't work. It was also pointed out that her current lifestyle choices demand a monthly income of closer to $12,000 a month, a sum that the former boyfriend was partially paying out of pocket for her, including a current $900 cell phone bill, until he finally tired of being her ATM.
As an example of how totally out of touch with reality the Prince$$ is, after making sandwiches in a soup kitchen, then delivering them to the homeless living on the city streets, Prince$$, who failed to generate even a single dollar of actual income during the six weeks of taping, hailed a taxi to take her home!
The Prince$$ did audition for a job singing in a bar, but failed to show up for work because she didn’t want to take time away from her future singing career by working hours that could be spent in pretending she was already a successful singer. She arrived almost 2 hours late for a recording session arranged by the benefactor. The recording engineer told Prince$$ during the session she's just not that good, but the Prince$$ dissed his ability to recognize talent when he hears it. After being told by an agent that her voice is not professional quality, she became more determined than ever not to waste time even thinking about looking for a job, but to spend more time ... spending money she doesn't have for a career she also doesn't have.
After 6 weeks of being shown the future reality of literally living on the streets, the Prince$$ was shocked when her potential benefactor, who had offered a prize of $5,000 if the contestant came to understand that to pay for her lifestyle, she has to generate income, told her that because the benefactor had seen absolutely no behavioral changes whatsoever, there would be … nothing given to her in return. The Prince$$ screamed at the camera, "This is NOT the way this is supposed to end!"
There was no other way this episode could end: no free ride on the benefactor's dime and all the local homeless shelters are already filled beyond capacity.
A recent newspaper's very biased, unscientific poll asked readers to determine who is responsible for the downgrading of the US’s credit rating: Republicans, Democrats, or other. My choice: other, including each and every one of us. An individual’s early lifestyle often determines the financial decisions s/he makes as an adult, including rising above one's circumstances and achieving the American Dream or giving in to fate and living on the American Dime.
All too recently, the American economy bent and almost broke by picking up the mortgage defaults for all the people who wanted the million dollar mansion on a tract home budget! This kind of person’s thinking seldom goes beyond the “I want” stage because this individual does not hear the word no. If I am the type of person who believes in saving others from themselves, then I can be dragged into the morass with the Prince$$. The missing piece, however, is the individual’s impulsive emotional choices, rather than a decision-making process based on factual information. And one fact is that there are far too many government programs, such as Welfare, that allow people an income without requiring anything in return.
People have received entitlements since The Great Depression, entitlements that were meant to be a hand up, not a permanent hand-out. However, generations of families live on money provided by the government for food, subsidized housing, child care, and medical care. What these lifelong recipients often fail to realize is that the programs were meant to be short-term assistance funded by the taxes workers pay on their earned income. A person who does not pay taxes, but receives the benefit from those who do, drains the system dry. The system only works when entitlement programs help workers who temporarily need a short-term helping hand, not when people build a lifestyle based on public assistance.
When Congress repeatedly votes to extend benefits, it does so all the while knowing that there is no money to pay for those benefits in the long-term. Once a person receives the benefit, there is always a way to extend it far beyond the original intent of the program. There is no way to continue to pay for these programs without raising taxes, but no politician worth his voting record is going to just say NO to a potential voter who is living on the American Dime or ask a working supporter to pay more out of pocket for free entitlement programs!!
In order to receive Social Security, for instance, a person should have to pay into it, but Social Security has become a money pot for far too many other reasons than a retirement benefit for workers who paid into it for a minimum of 40 calendar quarters. Once an individual learns that s/he can receive free of charge what working people are required to pay for, it is not a big leap to accept the hand-out, rather than the offer of a temporary hand-up. Why leave the front porch when money can be earned by staying put?
It’s challenging for me to accept that politicians refuse to cut unnecessary spending from the country’s budget especially because they personally benefit from the bloated budgets. My free MediCare actually costs me $3649.90 annually, but my Congressional representatives pay nothing for their medical care. Let them pay a portion of their medical care, pay for their haircuts, purchase and drive their own cars, fill the gas tanks out of their salaries, and provide their own cell phones/usage plans – just as the rest of us have to do to stay within our personal budget constraints. Our leaders need to be the example they expect the rest of us to follow, rather than trying to blame [me] for wanting a Social Security benefit into which [I] have paid during a lifetime of working one, two, and even three jobs simultaneously.
If every American adult, working or not, donated $10 to pay off the debt, [as NetFlix said about their recent price increase, about the price of a Starbuck's latte], especially those who are receiving "free" government assistance, it would get the ball rolling in the right direction. Everyone needs to feel part of the problem if we ever expect to see a solution. As long as individuals feel entitled to free goods and services, there will continue to be free goods and services; if, however, anyone who receives an entitlement has to pay for it by donating time, labor, or services back to the community, we could turn this train wreck around. But, the ball has to roll downhill, not be pushed uphill on the workers' backs.
Verizon workers are striking because they refuse to give up even one cent of their salary or benefits: evidently, they’d rather see people lose their jobs than bend a bit themselves so others can continue to work. One of the most rabid of the union leaders averred, “We aren’t going backwards,” but to me, that’s the most backward of all our thinking.
Isn't that also the lesson we learned from our government leaders and Prince$$ this past month? No one is willing to budge from stuck on stupid.
I have difficulty processing that there are people who live off the generosity of others and expect to do so as one of their God-given rights in their personal pursuit of happiness. When it was pointed out to Prince$$ that she needs to generate at least $2,500 a month in income by actually getting a job and going to work, she laughed because she doesn't work. It was also pointed out that her current lifestyle choices demand a monthly income of closer to $12,000 a month, a sum that the former boyfriend was partially paying out of pocket for her, including a current $900 cell phone bill, until he finally tired of being her ATM.
As an example of how totally out of touch with reality the Prince$$ is, after making sandwiches in a soup kitchen, then delivering them to the homeless living on the city streets, Prince$$, who failed to generate even a single dollar of actual income during the six weeks of taping, hailed a taxi to take her home!
The Prince$$ did audition for a job singing in a bar, but failed to show up for work because she didn’t want to take time away from her future singing career by working hours that could be spent in pretending she was already a successful singer. She arrived almost 2 hours late for a recording session arranged by the benefactor. The recording engineer told Prince$$ during the session she's just not that good, but the Prince$$ dissed his ability to recognize talent when he hears it. After being told by an agent that her voice is not professional quality, she became more determined than ever not to waste time even thinking about looking for a job, but to spend more time ... spending money she doesn't have for a career she also doesn't have.
After 6 weeks of being shown the future reality of literally living on the streets, the Prince$$ was shocked when her potential benefactor, who had offered a prize of $5,000 if the contestant came to understand that to pay for her lifestyle, she has to generate income, told her that because the benefactor had seen absolutely no behavioral changes whatsoever, there would be … nothing given to her in return. The Prince$$ screamed at the camera, "This is NOT the way this is supposed to end!"
There was no other way this episode could end: no free ride on the benefactor's dime and all the local homeless shelters are already filled beyond capacity.
A recent newspaper's very biased, unscientific poll asked readers to determine who is responsible for the downgrading of the US’s credit rating: Republicans, Democrats, or other. My choice: other, including each and every one of us. An individual’s early lifestyle often determines the financial decisions s/he makes as an adult, including rising above one's circumstances and achieving the American Dream or giving in to fate and living on the American Dime.
All too recently, the American economy bent and almost broke by picking up the mortgage defaults for all the people who wanted the million dollar mansion on a tract home budget! This kind of person’s thinking seldom goes beyond the “I want” stage because this individual does not hear the word no. If I am the type of person who believes in saving others from themselves, then I can be dragged into the morass with the Prince$$. The missing piece, however, is the individual’s impulsive emotional choices, rather than a decision-making process based on factual information. And one fact is that there are far too many government programs, such as Welfare, that allow people an income without requiring anything in return.
People have received entitlements since The Great Depression, entitlements that were meant to be a hand up, not a permanent hand-out. However, generations of families live on money provided by the government for food, subsidized housing, child care, and medical care. What these lifelong recipients often fail to realize is that the programs were meant to be short-term assistance funded by the taxes workers pay on their earned income. A person who does not pay taxes, but receives the benefit from those who do, drains the system dry. The system only works when entitlement programs help workers who temporarily need a short-term helping hand, not when people build a lifestyle based on public assistance.
When Congress repeatedly votes to extend benefits, it does so all the while knowing that there is no money to pay for those benefits in the long-term. Once a person receives the benefit, there is always a way to extend it far beyond the original intent of the program. There is no way to continue to pay for these programs without raising taxes, but no politician worth his voting record is going to just say NO to a potential voter who is living on the American Dime or ask a working supporter to pay more out of pocket for free entitlement programs!!
In order to receive Social Security, for instance, a person should have to pay into it, but Social Security has become a money pot for far too many other reasons than a retirement benefit for workers who paid into it for a minimum of 40 calendar quarters. Once an individual learns that s/he can receive free of charge what working people are required to pay for, it is not a big leap to accept the hand-out, rather than the offer of a temporary hand-up. Why leave the front porch when money can be earned by staying put?
It’s challenging for me to accept that politicians refuse to cut unnecessary spending from the country’s budget especially because they personally benefit from the bloated budgets. My free MediCare actually costs me $3649.90 annually, but my Congressional representatives pay nothing for their medical care. Let them pay a portion of their medical care, pay for their haircuts, purchase and drive their own cars, fill the gas tanks out of their salaries, and provide their own cell phones/usage plans – just as the rest of us have to do to stay within our personal budget constraints. Our leaders need to be the example they expect the rest of us to follow, rather than trying to blame [me] for wanting a Social Security benefit into which [I] have paid during a lifetime of working one, two, and even three jobs simultaneously.
If every American adult, working or not, donated $10 to pay off the debt, [as NetFlix said about their recent price increase, about the price of a Starbuck's latte], especially those who are receiving "free" government assistance, it would get the ball rolling in the right direction. Everyone needs to feel part of the problem if we ever expect to see a solution. As long as individuals feel entitled to free goods and services, there will continue to be free goods and services; if, however, anyone who receives an entitlement has to pay for it by donating time, labor, or services back to the community, we could turn this train wreck around. But, the ball has to roll downhill, not be pushed uphill on the workers' backs.
Verizon workers are striking because they refuse to give up even one cent of their salary or benefits: evidently, they’d rather see people lose their jobs than bend a bit themselves so others can continue to work. One of the most rabid of the union leaders averred, “We aren’t going backwards,” but to me, that’s the most backward of all our thinking.
Isn't that also the lesson we learned from our government leaders and Prince$$ this past month? No one is willing to budge from stuck on stupid.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Short-sighted
Penny wise and pound foolish: the US Postal Service is going to close post offices, rather than remove the ridiculous stationery stores in the lobbies nationwide. I did not believe it when the "store within a store" concept was implemented as it often meant closing a service window so an employee could wait at the stationery supply counter for the rare customer who needs that service -- and the already far-too-long lines for postal service grew even longer.
To further justify the extra counter that takes up floor space, as well as an employee's time, our post office became a passport office, too, including the camera for instant photos!! That is a service that should be available at city hall, not at the post office.
Take out the stationery store, send the passport seekers to another site, and keep the post offices open!! Return the post office to what it's supposed to do: supply stamps and postal money orders, figure out how much it costs to send packages, and deliver the mail. Period.
To further justify the extra counter that takes up floor space, as well as an employee's time, our post office became a passport office, too, including the camera for instant photos!! That is a service that should be available at city hall, not at the post office.
Take out the stationery store, send the passport seekers to another site, and keep the post offices open!! Return the post office to what it's supposed to do: supply stamps and postal money orders, figure out how much it costs to send packages, and deliver the mail. Period.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Doggone It
This morning, Mia would not go for our daily walk. As she approached the nearby corner, she stopped, turned to look back at the house, and refused to move forward. Twice I took her back, then tried the walk again after adjusting her harness, but it became obvious that she was not going to walk today, so I took her back home, then resumed the walk with Daisy. All day, I've wondered what was happening back at the house that had Mia on high alert, but I have confidence that when Mia digs her heels in, she has a reason, andI pay attention.
Walking two dogs is easier than walking one, once the walking pattern is established. Leaving Mia home this morning meant that Daisy walked alone, and she really wasn't sure how to do this. She went behind me, then crossed in front of me, which concerned me as I really don't need another fall to deal with as the new semester starts next week -- and I want to be firmly on both feet for a change!
Anyhoo, as we walked, Daisy finally took her place to the right (Mia walks on the left), which put me on the edge of the asphalt roadway. Sure enough, Daisy faltered, which destabilized my balance, and I rolled my left foot on the uneven surface between desert sand and asphalt roadway. Yes, it hurt, but I didn't fall, so I kept walking. My philosophy is to see first if I can "walk it off" because going into crisis management mode is never my first response. When we returned home, it was time for the cleaning ladies to arrive and for me to hit the shower, so I didn't sit down for close to an hour after rolling my ankle.
At first, no big deal, but as the day wore on, my left ankle began to hurt more and started swelling. I've used ice, elevated, alternated heat, and massaged the area, but the bottom line is that I turned my ankle and I'm going to guess that tomorrow it will feel a lot worse than it does tonight. Perhaps there will be a bruise, which is good because that usually means no serious damage -- just a rolled ankle and a few days of discomfort.
For almost 2 years now, I've lived with 24/7 pain, primarily from my waist down: both hips, both knees, and lumbar spine. Pain pills make the world rosier, but do little to relieve the pain and nothing to help me with basic mobility. I am tired of dealing with this, but there is no changing what it. I do my best to avoid situations that could potentially lead to a fall, but the road bested me this morning. Ice pack, pain pill, and some really boring TV show tonight and we'll see how things are in the morning.
UPDATING: Ankle is fine, so no excuses not to walk the dogs daily!!Doggone it :-)
Walking two dogs is easier than walking one, once the walking pattern is established. Leaving Mia home this morning meant that Daisy walked alone, and she really wasn't sure how to do this. She went behind me, then crossed in front of me, which concerned me as I really don't need another fall to deal with as the new semester starts next week -- and I want to be firmly on both feet for a change!
Anyhoo, as we walked, Daisy finally took her place to the right (Mia walks on the left), which put me on the edge of the asphalt roadway. Sure enough, Daisy faltered, which destabilized my balance, and I rolled my left foot on the uneven surface between desert sand and asphalt roadway. Yes, it hurt, but I didn't fall, so I kept walking. My philosophy is to see first if I can "walk it off" because going into crisis management mode is never my first response. When we returned home, it was time for the cleaning ladies to arrive and for me to hit the shower, so I didn't sit down for close to an hour after rolling my ankle.
At first, no big deal, but as the day wore on, my left ankle began to hurt more and started swelling. I've used ice, elevated, alternated heat, and massaged the area, but the bottom line is that I turned my ankle and I'm going to guess that tomorrow it will feel a lot worse than it does tonight. Perhaps there will be a bruise, which is good because that usually means no serious damage -- just a rolled ankle and a few days of discomfort.
For almost 2 years now, I've lived with 24/7 pain, primarily from my waist down: both hips, both knees, and lumbar spine. Pain pills make the world rosier, but do little to relieve the pain and nothing to help me with basic mobility. I am tired of dealing with this, but there is no changing what it. I do my best to avoid situations that could potentially lead to a fall, but the road bested me this morning. Ice pack, pain pill, and some really boring TV show tonight and we'll see how things are in the morning.
UPDATING: Ankle is fine, so no excuses not to walk the dogs daily!!Doggone it :-)
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