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category archive listing Category Archives: fools

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

March 10, 2010 – 6:19 pm

Mamacita says:  At the risk of exposing my Harry Potter obsession to the world – and it’s no doubt far too late to worry about that – I have been looking at the series with my teacher-eyes lately and have noticed some pretty awesome things.
At age eleven,  children were expected to know the basic skills [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, English, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, Things Nice People Already Know, children, etiquette, schools, teenagers | Comments (5)

Quotation Saturday: Gumption!

February 13, 2010 – 5:37 am

Mamacita says:  Well, well, well, another Saturday has sneaked up on us!
“Gumption” is an old-fashioned word, but gumption itself is a quality that seems to be old-fashioned, too.  Schoolkids aren’t given time to prove they’ve got gumption or not, because before they can even comprehend that they can’t comprehend something, an adult is right there [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Jobs, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Quotation Saturday, Scheiss Weekly, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know, children, parenting, quotes, schools, work ethic | Comments (0)

It’s Outrageous: Not Everyone Deserves A Real Diploma!

February 3, 2010 – 3:36 pm

Mamacita says:  Does anyone else wonder why parents and teachers are spending so much time on topics such as red ink, dodgeball, and T-shirts, when it seems to me a much better topic for discussion might be, “Why are we allowing illiterate people to actually graduate from high school?”
Because I can’t think of a single [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, It's Outrageous!, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Jobs, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Oh No She Dinnit, Political Correctness, Politics, Scheiss Weekly, The Things We Do For Love, Things Nice People Already Know, children, parenting, schools, work ethic | Comments (2)

Quotation Saturday: Censorship

January 30, 2010 – 3:51 am

Mamacita says:  If I owned the biggest and best thesaurus in the universe, I still would not be able to find a word accurate enough to fully express my disgust and loathing of censorship, nor of the mentality of those who censor.  Yesterday’s post touched on this topic – or perhaps, more accurately, [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Books, Censorship, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Literature, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Political Correctness, Quotation Saturday, Scheiss Weekly, The real Mamacita, quotes | Comments (5)

Public Behavior: Ma Says To Rein It In, Kids!

January 16, 2010 – 8:53 pm

Mamacita says:  Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls knew how to raise her children so that they would know how to behave themselves properly no matter where they might find themselves.
In Little Town on the Prairie, a teen-aged Laura is invited to a party. She had gone, years ago, to a little girls’ party, [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Books, Family, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Literature, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Oh No She Dinnit, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know, children, love, parenting | Comments (1)

Limited-Vocabulary Readers are the Devil. Yes, THAT Devil.

January 6, 2010 – 10:46 pm

Mamacita says:  I don’t think there are any words coined yet that would adequately describe the complete and total loathing I have for simplified, edited versions of good books.
I’ve heard quadrillions of elementary teachers argue that small children learn best when there are few challenges, but I have to disagree with that, too.  How condescending!
I [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Books, Censorship, Education, English, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Literature, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, My daughter, My son, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, Things Nice People Already Know, children, love, parenting, schools, work ethic | Comments (13)

Fifi Says “Thank You,” Too.

December 8, 2009 – 3:22 pm

Mamacita says:  She looks pretty good to be 32 years old and full of superglue, doesn’t she.
A few years ago, I thought I would try something new, so I put a twinkly-lights-covered star on top of my tree. It was beautiful, but after a few days, I took it down and hung it from [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Christmas, Family, Humor, Indiana, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, My daughter, My son, Scheiss Weekly, The Things We Do For Love, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know, Traditions, children, holidays, love, religion | Comments (4)

Everybody Needs A Hero

November 28, 2009 – 11:58 pm

Teaching at any level requires an energy level many people do not have. Teachers don’t even have it at the end of many long days. People who don’t understand this like to mention vacation days and summers off, usually with “that look” on their faces. They don’t understand. When teachers get [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, Family, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Scheiss Weekly, Steve Spangler, schools | Comments (2)

Quotation Saturday: Stupidity

November 21, 2009 – 12:54 am

Mamacita says:  What’s that?  STUPIDITY?  How intensely politically incorrect!
Gotta love something that’s politically incorrect!  Well, I do, anyway.  Euphemisms are for the weak.  Euphemisms cheapen our language, and draw our attention away from important things.
1. Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. — Albert [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Education, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Political Correctness, Quotation Saturday, Scheiss Weekly, quotes | Comments (3)

Dear Parents: Every Child Deserves An Audience. Stay In Your Seat. And Shut Up.

November 20, 2009 – 3:46 pm

Mamacita says:  I’ve posted about this subject before, but with the approach of holiday season, it’s on my mind again, so I’ve written a new post about this same thing.
We’re tired.  We work all day and in the evenings, we deserve a few hours to rest, eat, and just, well, unwind. We deserve some time [...]

By Jane Goodwin | Also posted in Christmas, Education, Family, Jane Goodwin, JaneG, Mamacita, Mamacita Jane, Mamacita Says, MamacitaG, Not the imitation Mamacita, Oh No She Dinnit, Political Correctness, Scheiss Weekly, The Arts, The Things We Do For Love, The real Mamacita, Things Nice People Already Know, children, etiquette, holidays, love, memories, music, nostalgia, parenting, schools, work ethic | Comments (4)