Archive for the ‘teachers’ Category
08
To be honest with ya, I’ve been fortunate to meet some great people in my life. From awesome teachers and professors to great fellow students and coworkers. From grade school all the way up to today. With the advent of Facebook, people who I have known for over 40 years have reconnected with me. Some of these people grew up in the same neighborhood that I did. Some of them I met in elementary school through high school, and some I worked with. But even though I don’t have that many “friends”, the ones I do have hold special memories for me. But I have one friend who is not here. I lost him in junior high school. His name was Chuck.
In my area of the planet, when you graduate from elementary school, you go to a junior high school that brings kids together from a fairly wide area of the city. So for me, I met new people at Lemon Grove Jr. High. One of those people was Chuck. He was a year older than I was, but we hit it off immediately!
I don’t know if Chuck was gay but he had effeminate characteristics. It didn’t matter to me, I just liked him. He was one of those people who always had a smile on his face and made you feel good. He was smart and funny and you liked to be around him. He had lots of friends and EVERYONE knew him. If you need a visual of what Chuck was like, picture Jack McFarland from Will and Grace, MINUS the narcissism! I remember dancing with him at the school dances and laughing with him in passing in the halls in between classes. He was one of those people who you thought would be successful if only on his personality alone.
Yeah, I remember people saying he was “gay” or calling him a “fag” on many occasions, but it seemed to roll of his back. I don’t know the extent of any physical bullying, but since it was the late 70′s, I wouldn’t doubt that it didn’t happen to Chuck. Again, because he was funny, he was always able to turn torment into laughter. He just had that knack!
The summer after the 7th grade, when we came back to school, the school was hit with the news. Chuck had committed suicide. Many people speculated that he got tired of being harassed, both in his neighborhood or at home and at school because of his “feminine ways.” Either way it was a huge blow to me. I didn’t know what a “Lesbian” was, but I knew I liked girls. And I knew I was “different”, just like Chuck. Chuck was the first of 8 suicides of people that I knew personally. Not ” a friend of a friend” but people I cared about. People who for whatever reason, we connected. On a spiritual level.
With the rash of teen suicides in the last month, at least nine if I count correctly, Chuck has come rushing back to me. That nine teenagers, who haven’t really had the chance to enjoy life, are no longer here. That they saw no other outlet for the bullying except to commit suicide. And that the torment Chuck went through is now global. And how you can be humiliated and have it seen by millions of people, in seconds. Little did I know, I would face something similar myself.
At San Diego City College, there was a rumor that I was a lesbian. No one ever said they saw me with another woman. No one ever said they saw me do anything with any women. What was said is that I “looked” at other women. YUP, that was my crime! Not like Jack Tripper used to look at Chrissy, Janet, and Terry, just looked at them. And I endured semesters of whispers, murmurs, and pointing. And should someone not have known about my “crime”, it was quickly brought to their attention. Luckily for me, most of the people who were “told about me” didn’t seem to care. They continued to talk to me and it didn’t matter. But yes, there were times when I didn’t want to go to class. And times where I was ready to toss people off of the second floor of the building we were on. But I was in my mid twenties and saw the bigger picture. And the fact that I was usually one of the people who always “fucked up the curve”, I was able to get my revenge that way! No one had the balls to come up to my face and say anything. But the murmurs and other crap were aggravating just the same.
Continue reading “Chuck” »
12
I admit it. I’m a NERD and proud of it! I’ve always been a NERD and I fully embrace my NERDINESS. Learning came fairly easy for me so school was never a problem for me. I certainly had classes that gave me trouble, like Calculus. But I never felt the need to cheat. I felt that if I applied myself, I would at least be able to get a “C” and have the basic knowledge of what that subject was about. And while a coupIe of “C’s” did lower my overal GPA, I am pleased at having a 3.2 GPA throughout my high school and college education. Could it have been A LOT higher? YES! Should it have been higher? YES? I guess I was born about 24 years too soon. Because in the state of North Carolina, students can BUY points that can be added to a test and raise the grade. That means a student who might have failed a test can buy enough points to raise that grade to passing. All this is being done to raise money for a cash strapped school district. This takes “buying and education” to an all new level!
The “point policy” for Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro, NC, says that for $20.00, a student can apply 10 points to a test of that students choice. So a “B” can become an “A”, and an “F” can become a “C” or a “D.” I’m at a COMPLETE loss as to what kind of lesson we are teaching these kids. A lesson that says instead of studying, you can just buy ten points and keep them in reserve just in case you need them? That if “mommy and daddy” will “kick in” the student can put the book down and continue surfing Facebook or playing with their WII?
Continue reading “Buying an education” »
24
There was an article recently in the news that stated there are thousands of teachers, NATIONWIDE who are being paid, with full benefits, including medical, vacation and holiday pay, for literally sitting around in a room during school hours doing nothing. This new kind of Rubber Room, is a holding tank for teachers or administrators who are waiting for their disciplinary hearings. Some of these teachers have been accused of major infractions lik esexual conduct to minor infractions like insubordination and everything in between. While I certainly wouldn’t want to have a teacher suspected of sexual misconduct to be allowed to teach in class, this idea of paying someone a full salary to sit around, for months, is just plain silly.
If you had read this blog before, you know that I had lost a job that I loved working with kids, because the new administrator didn’t like me. But I didn’t take it personally. She singlehandedly got rid of at least 8 other people. And because of her dirt, the Non Profit organization lost the contract with the San Diego Juvenile Probation Department to do Teen Drug and Alcohol Counseling. I guess you could call that Karma! And in reading this article, some of the excuses used to get rid of these teachers seemed pretty flimsy. Using the term “insubordination” is another way of saying “no reason at all, it just sounds good.” That was the excuse that was used to fire me. But when pressed by the Employment Development Department, my boss gave some many contradictory reasons that the Mediator sided in my favor. So listening to some of the reasons these teachers are in “purgatory” sounded familiar. One teacher is in the “room” because she allegedly allowed a student to sing in class while wearing a hat. Another teacher was there because he pushed another student while breaking up a fight. Another teacher is there because he blew the whistle on an Assistant Principal who was fudging test scores.
Continue reading “A new Kind of Rubber Room” »
07
Let me begin by saying this. I have been in a similar situation that this young lady was in. But unlike her, I did not create the situation. It was created for me. And I probably felt just as bad as she did. The difference is that I am still here and she isn’t. Maybe age had something to do with it. Or maybe the fact that I’m not going out like that is the reason I’m still here. But either way, I feel little sympathy for her. I just DON’T!
I just read an article that stated a young girl committed suicide because of a “sexting” incident. For those of you who don’t know what “sexting” is, it’s sending sexy, nude, or pornographic pictures over your cell phone or other wireless device. This young lady sent the pictures to her then boyfriend, who after they broke up, sent those pictures to other girls, and you can bet the guys already saw them, who proceeded to make her life miserable. Miserable to the point that she hated going to school. And this is where the similarities begin.
At San Diego City College, there was a rumor that I was a lesbian. No one ever said they saw me with another woman. No one ever said they saw me do anything with any women. What was said is that I “looked” at other women. YUP, that was my crime! Not like Jack Tripper used to look at Chrissy, Janet, and Terry, just looked at them. And I endured semesters of whispers, murmurs, and pointing. And should someone not have known about my “crime“, it was quickly brought to their attention. Luckily for me, most of the people who were “told about me” didn’t seem to care. They continued to talk to me and it didn’t matter. But yes, there were times when I didn’t want to go to class. And times where I was ready to toss people off of the second floor of the building we were on. But I was in my mid twenties and saw the bigger picture. And the fact that I was usually one of the people who always “fucked up the curve“, I was able to get my revenge that way! No one had the balls to come up to my face and say anything. But the murmurs and other crap were aggravating just the same.
Continue reading “Prepare to be offended … Oh Well!” »
15
Let me say this first. I have always loved school and loved, and still love, to learn new things. I’ve been fortunate in my life to have the ability to learn things fairly easily and the subjects that didn’t come naturally to me, the brains to figure it out. Why I am certainly no genius, I could have done whatever I wanted to do. While my father was DEFINITELY one of the biggest assholes god ever created, he was no dummy. Any my mother was one of the first African American women that I knew personally, who refused to “play dumb” to make anyone feel better about themselves. The second was a teacher that I had at Lemon Grove Junior High, named Mrs. Coleman, who was my English teacher. She would always tell me that I was being very “loquacious” today. Not knowing what that meant, she told me to look it up. It meant that I was talking to much. Go figure. Me talking too much! LOL The confidence that I acquired from these two women is immeasurable and I thank them both! While I certainly had teachers who had “been on the job too long“, I have been blessed to have sat in classrooms with teachers/professors who loved what they did and it showed. That, beginning in elementary and up through college, is the reason I have love school and respect teachers. So it pissed me off to no end that THREE IDIOT JUDGES in Washington State said that it was OK for a teacher to have sex with a student if that student is over 18 years old!! WTF!!
The teacher, Matthew Hirschfelder, YUP I have no problem calling his sorry, triflin ass out, was initially charged with First Degree Sexual Misconduct with a graduating senior in 2006. What was his explanations for his actions? Not that as a teacher, he had NO RIGHT to even go there. Not that he was in a position of power whether expressed or implied over her. Not that what he did was UNETHICAL and IMMORAL. His defense? She was over 18. At the time, he was 33 years old. Yeah, OK. What a loser! Oh, and did I mention that one of the judges is a woman????
My former high school, Helix High School in La Mesa, CA, has had at least four incidences of teachers or coaches who have had sexual relationships with students in the last two years alone! A kid who lives on my block and attended Helix in the last two years, a neighbor, and I were talking and he said that those four were just the “tip of the iceberg.” That many other teachers quit or moved before they could be charged for their actions. YIKES!! At Lemon Grove Junior High, a teacher was arrested for having Child Porn on his computer. My high school basketball coach was alleged to have had “relationships” with many of his players. While I have no proof of this, I did hang out with him and other teammates where alcohol was around. And he did eventually marry a former player after she graduated from high school. So how far of a leap does anyone need to take???