Teacher Tonya Neff, 40, of Toro Canyon Middle School is the subject of a curious charge: teaching while drunk. She is accused of taking prescription drugs and alcohol before teaching.
Coachella Valley school district Superintendent Ricardo Medina says there was never a threat to Neff’s seventh-grade students. Neff has been placed on leave.
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Rumor has it that a 3rd grade teacher in the Bowie, Maryland Elementary School area comes to school drunk everyday. This is so wrong. What can we do as parents to change this situation and get the teacher the help she needs? As well as protect our children. The school administration is looking in the other direction and appears to be ignoring the situation.
Gyges: LOL…you have me on the electricity.
Everything else but the books (oh the dust!) is doubtful so please don’t call the code inspector. We haul in 21 gallons of water a week.
Some proofs we are collapsing: the return to slavery: Marxism, and the soon to be legal polygamy (via homosexual marriage law).
No civilization is economically vigorous and expansive which practices it (according to the Cambridge anthropologist J.D. Unwin).
The Ruskies had it right long ago during the heat of the Cold War: America is decadent. And we were. And we are. Of course, who are they to speak now?
But the point is this isn’t something I’m making up since foreigners even pointed it out before you and I had the opportunity to chat on the internet.
Friedrich Hayek predicted the destabilization of Europe by socialism. He was completely correct and ran for his life to prove it. Sadly, most ignored his warnings. Still, it seems there are universal laws operating that we can see at play regarding the rise and fall of civilizations if we are careful to notice.
I’m telling you about the collapse as it is beginning to happen in earnest. The foundation was laid in the 1960s. Those who overthrew the culture back then are in power now.
Tootie,
O.k. so without making any assumptions, I’ve still got you on: electricity, and while accessing the largest collection of information every assembled. Without making huge assumptions, I’ve got you on indoor plumbing, structurally sound building, well lit, and the books thing.
Civilization is not crumbling, and the very fact that you have access to the internet means you are far from being on it’s fringe. But I’m willing to be proven wrong. Show me something OTHER than unsubstantiated rhetoric.
An increase in violent crime might be a place to start, as would a decrease in overall literacy. I’ll even give you one for free, the countries basic infrastructure is woefully under maintained.
Buddha is Laughing:
You said:
“Even if you want to latch on to the word “coercive” since teabaggers….”
I’m wondering? If you can continue to insult people by using the word “teabagger” in your posts, can folks repeatedly use the terms “dick head” when posting to you?
Teabagger defined @ the Urban Dictionary Online:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabagging
Further Reading:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dickhead
Gyges: You don’t know a thing about my surroundings so don’t be so sure that the luxuries you have, I have.
When we institute Marxism, which we are doing right now, we are reversing progress. That means we have come to a full stop (the screeching halt) and head backwards. In this case to slavery.
The collapse just hasn’t reached you yet. Those of us on the margins of civilization before the screeching halt occurred are falling in first.
Your time will come.
Patience.
Elain,
Who do you believe should be the “deciders” who determine WHICH parents don’t have to send their children to school?
That’s an excellent question. Who is qualified? I don’t know. I think if there are rare cases of sick parents who don’t want their kids to learn how to read, write, or do math, then those kids should be given the choice. If they want to learn, I think the state has every right to override the parents’.
That said, it’s such a rare thing, that I wonder if it’s preventable. There will always be mentally ill parents who harm their kids in one way or another, but I think it’s easier to spot them if our resources aren’t tied up in the assumption that most parents are mentally ill.
Why do you think not all children should have the opportunity to be educated?
This is a misunderstanding. I believe all children should have the opportunity as my above answer shows. I just don’t believe that all children should be forced to be educated in the way the state has determined is the best way, because not all children learn in the way the state had determined they should learn. And because once a child becomes an adolescent, they are, I believe, deserving of all the rights of an autonomous individual, so long as they don’t display negative behaviors.
Why do you think it isn’t necessary to educate ALL children?
Because many children educate themselves. Many children do not learn in the way we wish to “teach” them. I do believe that it’s necessary for ALL children to learn.
We talk about “education” as if it naturally leads to learning. But it’s objectively true that millions of children who complete all compulsory education have learned very little. There are as many reasons for this as there are personalities, but it is a fact, nonetheless.
What’s to become of the children who aren’t educated?
There are, of course, a wide variety of possibilities. Some bad, some good. I would want every kid who wants an education to have one. But again, what do we mean by “educated?” Reading, writing, math? Chemistry? Modern art? Shakespeare? Moby Dick? What about ethics? What about critical thinking? Theology? I think these are vital questions, but they’re ignored in favor of things like “standards,” which are almost completely arbitrary and do nothing to address the demonstrable differences in learning among individuals.
I had this thought recently that I’ll bounce off of you. You know that show, “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” Well, every time they have a successful, happy, productive member of society miss the answer to a “4th Grade Science” question like, “What kind of star is hottest? A. A Red Giant? B. A Blue Dwarf etc, etc.,” they’re demonstrating that this knowledge is unnecessary to lead a successful, happy, productive life.
It makes me think that everything besides reading with understanding, writing with clarity, and performing math (everything up to algebra) with precision, should be an elective. And I say this as someone who loves history and science.
If we’re going to force kids into taking classes that will more universally affect their lives, I think it’s reasonable to force subjects like ethics and critical thinking. Then they can use their extra time to learn things that actually interest them and which they won’t forget soon after.
I honestly don’t think our worst and most pressing problems are for lack of general knowledge, but rather lack of general curiosity, empathy, and compassion.
Thanks for your patience.
I don’t have a low opinion of people. The purposefully and willfully ignorant are another matter all together.
Well, there’s nothing wrong with being willfully ignorant, so long as you don’t pretend not to be. If G.W. Bush or Sarah Palin were just regular folks who didn’t want to be in positions of power, and didn’t pretend to know things they don’t, that would be fine. But it’s important to remember that some of the kindest, best people in the world wouldn’t pass a 3rd grade geography or science test and some of the very worst people in the world have PhD at the end of their names.
As for the rest of your post, I’m not sure how it justifies forcing every individual to become “educated” in the way the state has determined is the best way. You can opine about lessons learned and regret, but it doesn’t really get to the hard question of when it’s appropriate to force autonomous individuals to undergo state sanctioned “education.” In some cases, I think it’s appropriate, having experienced them, first-hand. But people are too different to force one kind of education on all of them.
Einstein said, “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”
Again, because it seems like you don’t believe me, I’m not against education. I’m for it. I just don’t think it should be against the law to not be “educated” as measured by the arbitrary standards of the state. I’m against indoctrinating children in non-scientific beliefs, I’m against corporal punishment, I’m against adultery, I’m against emotional neglect, I’m against the Republican Party Platform (and the Democratic Party Platform). But I don’t think any of these things should be illegal.
LJM–
“When I criticize public education, people on the left think I’m against public education.”
You didn’t have anything good to say about public school education. From your comments, it appears you believe not all children should be educated. You spoke of “mind-deadening classes the state forces them to sit through” and about compulsory education being “just one of the many profound problems with our education system.” Did I misconstrue your comments?
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I’ll repeat the following questions for you:
– Who do you believe should be the “deciders” who determine WHICH parents don’t have to send their children to school?
– Why do you think not all children should have the opportunity to be educated?
– Why do you think it isn’t necessary to educate ALL children?
– What’s to become of the children who aren’t educated?
I thought you sounded like a person who had a negative attitude about public schools–and about many of the students who attend “compulsory” education classes. I think such individuals make poor teachers.
I agree about those individuals. I taught at non-public, non-profit schools that took in the special ed students the public schools couldn’t handle. The violent, the severely emotionally and learning disabled. (Kids that needed to go to school!) At their worst, they would spit in my face and threaten to rape my mother. At their best, they were, like most kids, full of love and curiosity, and I still love them intensely and worry about them to this day.
It’s funny. When I criticize the military, people on the right think I’m against the military. When I criticize public education, people on the left think I’m against public education. I’m against neither and I actually believe some of the best people in society work in both fields but are prevented from accomplishing all they’re capable of by arbitrary ideological constructs.
EC,
Thank you. As ever one lives to be of service.
“I don’t know how arguing that forcing all individuals to go to school is “seeking that lowest common denominator.” This implies a low opinion of the average person, who, without being forced to, would still choose to be educated.”
I don’t have a low opinion of people. The purposefully and willfully ignorant are another matter all together.
Emotional strawman? No, a factual assertion. Learn to distinguish modes of argument. FACT: People have emotional responses to experiences unless they are damaged. This is a physiological fact that can be measured in a PET scan. FACT: One of these responses, totally natural, is regret. FACT: The nature of regret is exactly as I stated – it is the disappoint of suffering caused by a lesson not learned beforehand.
It is often said that regret is a wasted emotion and this is true but only with this qualification: regret is only wasted emotion if one does not learn from the mistake.
And mean does not equate to untrue.
Some people are better thinkers than others and some people are better at their jobs than others. Created equal has never equated to equally created. Just like all choices are not created equal nor do they have equal consequences. Being well educated is a choice with no downside other than some truths are unpleasant no matter how much you don’t like them. Being ignorant, another word for stupid by choice, has lots of downside.
Namely being stupid.
LJM–
“Maybe it’s a good thing you’re a ‘former teacher.'”
Maybe it was a little mean. I may have inferred something from your comments about education and children that I shouldn’t have. If so, I apologize. I thought you sounded like a person who had a negative attitude about public schools–and about many of the students who attend “compulsory” education classes. I think such individuals make poor teachers.
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“I’m arguing that the vast majority of parents will, indeed, force their kids to go to school, but that the state shouldn’t force ALL parents to send their kids to school, because it’s not necessary.”
Who do you believe should be the “deciders” who determine WHICH parents don’t have to send their children to school? Why do you think not all children should have the opportunity to be educated? Why do you think it isn’t necessary to educate ALL children? What’s to become of the children who aren’t educated?
I, too, was a teacher–for more than three decades. Do you really think that children as young as five or six or seven should decide whether or not they go to school to get an education? I didn’t want to leave the warmth of my home and start school when I was five years old. I would have been happy to stay at home with my mother, entertain myself with my toys, and play outside.
But your mother, in her wisdom, wouldn’t have let you stay at home.
I’m not arguing that parents shouldn’t be allowed to force their children to get an education. I’m arguing that the vast majority of parents will, indeed, force their kids to go to school, but that the state shouldn’t force ALL parents to send their kids to school, because it’s not necessary.
IMO, mind-deadening classes are the fault of the teachers who teach them. Enterprising educators find ways to engage, excite, and inspire their students.
I completely agree with you.
Maybe it’s a good thing you’re a “former teacher.”
Well, that’s just a little mean, isn’t it?
So let’s seek that lowest common denominator as a cogent social policy.
I don’t know how arguing that forcing all individuals to go to school is “seeking that lowest common denominator.” This implies a low opinion of the average person, who, without being forced to, would still choose to be educated.
So please, regale us of tales of how every single solitary lesson a person learns in life is voluntary no matter how obstinate and that only the voluntary ones ever EVER have a positive result.
This is just an emotional strawman. I’m simply saying that it’s wrong to force otherwise lawful individuals to go to school. That has nothing to do with lessons one learns in a long and varied life. I’m not saying that education shouldn’t be strongly encouraged. I’m not saying that education isn’t valuable. But most people don’t need to even be told to get educated because most people know that it’s valuable. The people who don’t see value in education will either change their minds or they won’t. There are ways to do so without using force.
It’s funny that we really don’t even know how to clearly define “education” and how much or what kind is the right kind for every individual, but still every individual is forced to get an “education” (whatever that means) by the state.
LJM–
“As a former teacher, I can assure you that people who don’t want to be educated don’t get educated, no matter how many mind-deadening classes the state forces them to sit through.
Education should be available to all who want it, but compulsory education is just one of the many profound problems with our education system.”
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I, too, was a teacher–for more than three decades. Do you really think that children as young as five or six or seven should decide whether or not they go to school to get an education? I didn’t want to leave the warmth of my home and start school when I was five years old. I would have been happy to stay at home with my mother, entertain myself with my toys, and play outside.
IMO, mind-deadening classes are the fault of the teachers who teach them. Enterprising educators find ways to engage, excite, and inspire their students. Maybe it’s a good thing you’re a “former teacher.”