Sleepy Town and Shamey Town
Mamacita says: The new Carnival of Education is up, hosted by Mister Teacher over at Learn Me Good. I would hope that by now y’all know all about this guy!
Next week, the Carnival is hosted right here at Scheiss Weekly, so start submitting your posts. Already, I’m putting the Carnival together!
I can’t seem to shake the exhaustion. Driving home from Bloomington last night, I actually pulled over to the shoulder for a few minutes to try and wake up more thoroughly; thankfully, I did make it home without driving off a cliff. It’s just a few minutes past ten thirty as I type here, but I can hardly hold my eyes open and I can’t think of a thing to say that anybody would be interested in. My apologies. I need to go to Sleepy Town for a while.
Sleepy Town and Shamey Town: two places I frequented as a child, and which my own children know well, too.
Perhaps if more parents were not afraid to send their children to Shamey Town, the world would be safer, cleaner, and a lot more fun. Part of our problem these days is that too few parents teach their children that there are some things we are SUPPOSED to be ashamed of. Possibly this is because so many parents don’t feel shame for anything they do, either.
Sleepy Town, now, we all visit regularly. I think perhaps visiting it even more often would be good for me.
It Ain't Rocket Science
Mamacita says: I know it’s not really possible to solve our public schools’ problems with a simplistic approach, but it does seem as if even a little common sense is sadly lacking somewhere.
Why else would schools put up with some of the behaviors and attitudes that seem to rule the school?
Why are certain sets of parents allowed exceptions and privileges for their kids, when other parents can’t seem to “win” no matter what they do or say?
Why are so many kids with dangerous behaviors allowed to sit by innocent, well-behaved children and terrorize them day after day?
Why don’t the well-behaved kids get any perks? The bad kids certainly get a lot, even when they injure another child, do worse than just talk back to the teachers, and destroy everything in their path.
Why do communities put up with highly paid administrators and twelve principals per school when there aren’t enough books to go around and only one of the toilets on the first floor will flush?
Why are janitors who “don’t do vomit” kept on the payroll?
Why are secretaries who “don’t do computers” still sitting in the office?
Why are teachers who don’t grade anything, who have poor basic skills, who can’t construct a simple sentence, who dress like skanks and bums and bag ladies, and whose personal lifestyles are not good examples for young people, in our classrooms at all?
Why do communities build four full-size gymnasiums yet don’t seem to care that their classrooms are stuffed so full of kids that there isn’t room for that many desks?
Why do we as a society allow the lowest common denominator to be the privileged group?
Why are our educators no longer permitted to show small children the affection and love that they so badly need, for fear of misinterpretation?
Why have standardized tests and the drill “necessary” to score big on them, become more important than encouraging the love of actual learning?
Why are students who refuse to do any work at all no longer given the zeros they so rightfully deserve? Some little kids have to work really hard to get a 60%, and here are these willful losers being gifted with points? Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Why do we not rid our schools of those who present a danger to the kids who truly want to learn? Why do we put up with it?
Why are the same kids allowed to disrupt and spoil and ruin the learning experience for the good kids, day after day, year after year? Why do we allow it? Why are we afraid to do anything about it? Why is the self-esteem (don’t get me started!) of a dangerous disruptive kid with no citizenship skills whatsoever more important than the safety, education, and self-esteem (it’s real only if it’s EARNED) of a nice kid?
I’m not finished. I’ve got more.
And it just seems to me that it ain’t rocket science to realize that the inmates have taken over the institution, those who pull in the highest salaries don’t give a tinker’s dam about genuine education, and the badly-behaved kids are valued more than the sweet kids. Say it’s not true all you want; I think most schools are afraid to take back the order they once had for fear of losing state and federal money, being sued by “those” parents, and being labeled “politically incorrect.”
Which, as far as I’m concerned, is a big wad of batshit crazy.
Mister Teacher: Learn Me Good!
Mamacita says: It’s time for some major teacher-friend pimpage here on Scheiss Weekly!
There are many ‘teacher blogs’ in my blogroll, and one of the best is Mister Teacher’s Learn Me Good.
“No, Johnny, 50 is NOT a good score.”
This guy has his fingers in a million pies – and you all know by know how much I love to make pies!
“My students can beat up your students.”
Mister Teacher is funny and smart and tells it like it is; this, folks, is the third grade teacher we all hope our own children have.
“Does Uranus have a ring around it?”
Mr. Teacher’s Spreadshirt Store has some of the funniest T-shirts I’ve ever seen, and his prices aren’t bad, either.
“I teach; therefore, I am. . . poor.”
If you can’t find what you’re looking for at the Spreadshirt Store, try Mister Teacher’s CafePress Store.
“In math class, no one can hear you scream.”
You can read the first few chapters of his book Learn Me Good right here. You can buy the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.com
“No child left befuddled.”
He’s got his own column at Education.com!
“Fractions. Why did it have to be fractions?”
Be serious now; don’t you want to be friends with a guy who has forty children, all with different mothers? I know I do!
“Thank God for recess!”
This guy even has a couple YouTube videos; you can watch them over on his blog. Is there anything he can’t do? I read Mister Teacher’s blog every day. I think y’all would like it, too.
“I love the smell of crayons in the morning.”
P.S. His real name’s a secret, so pay no attention to the ‘by John Pearson’ on his book. Just don’t look at that part, ‘k?
“Houston, we have a WORD problem.”
Mister Teacher writes a great blog. Please check him out.
His BLOG. Check out his BLOG. What’s wrong with you people?
Oh yes, I remember. And I love and appreciate that, too. Never change.
No money exchanged hands in return for this blog pimpage. It was done out of respect, friendship, and a chance to tell my readers about a really good blog. Go forth and experience Mister Teacher for yourselves, young grasshoppers.
