Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Truth about Teaching

The alarm rings and you’re ready for another day not knowing what to expect; the years have gone by and many personalities have come your way. There are times you wish you had decided on something else but what your heart held was something you knew you had to do; such is teaching as I would say and many have other opinions but just like there are many doctors, the same applies with teachers.
Many teachers say they love their job and others reserve their comment. However, if teaching were all it’s cut out to be, you wouldn’t have so many leaving the profession or realizing that isn’t what they thought, get hit with an eraser or punched in the face? When a student goes at them and treats them like dirt, when vicious words come out of the very one they’re trying to teach, when you go into a classroom and see students jump from one desk to the other and realize you have to have a little more patience than yesterday remembering those students are mentally challenged, or when the strawberry on the cake is having a parent that thinks he/she can throw their weight around forgetting their child may be a mess and just may be driving the teacher insane, that’s the reality of teaching. These are the real stories, the stories that some may not want to talk about because they may be admitting defeat, but there’s no defeat in honesty and there’s definitely no defeat when you have to deal with a child on a daily basis that’s been raised to be disrespectful as many are today.
In private, colleagues talk to each other about who did what, who doesn’t want to do what their supposed to and what teacher got hurt. They also talk about whom to keep your eye on and who are the future convicts or thieves.
I have read wonderful happy go lucky stories about teaching and wonder what planet they’re on and my congratulations to those that have such exceptional students; I’m not saying there aren’t, but let’s be real and not fool ourselves. Then again what grade level are you talking about and where exactly do you teach? You’re not going to compare elementary to one that comes from the hood, has already seen death at an early age, been around parents that are poor role models, have drugs for dinner, neglect their children and care more about how they look and hitting the street.
Those are the ones that come to school and take out their anger and frustration on the one that’s trying to educate them or worse when they’ve been subjected to abuse, incest or the teacher is doing a good job of teaching but in a more personal way. So why isn’t this put on the table? Why isn’t it thrown out there as raw as a piece of meat or injury so that everyone can see that’s also the reality of education and may be the main thing people steer clear of. Why do so many fail to mention that the ones who claim to love students make thousands a year and care more about their paycheck than a child’s education? That’s also a reality that many cities are facing and they fair badly thinking they can bring someone to replace another when the situation is so widespread it’s become an epidemic; a rotten apple spoils the whole bunch and so does a rotten mentality. I think those who are in charge of school systems need to get their act together and stop believing a change in administration means everything will be okay. Please don’t insult our intelligence; maybe they’re the ones who need to be educated.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Chaz and Dancing with the Stars

Yesterday I was watching “Dancing with the Stars” and saw when Chaz was eliminated. I’m not going to say I agree with the decision he made because it’s not my place to decide for him. I will say I don’t agree with the judges being so offensive. It almost seemed as if they were repulsed every time he got in front of them and decided they were going to reprimand him.
I have a problem with Bruno and his metaphors. He can be extremely cutting when he gives his comments. I think he forgets he flares up and throws his arms in the air with his crooning voice and no one says anything. I also think Len forgets he was young at one time and what may be behind all his fault finding is envy towards the dancers. And I think that Carrie Ann who found Maks disrespectful towards Len has forgotten the times that Len AND Bruno have disrespected the rest. She’s also guilty of doing the same thing. The only time she gave Chaz a better score and cried after tearing him apart the week earlier was when Cher was in the audience, thus I don’t believe anything that comes out of her mouth.
Chaz proved his point whatever he was trying to prove. He said teens could be whatever they want. I know he didn’t mean teens could go on a show and be mocked, rejected and made out to look like fools for a decision they made. I think he didn’t mean that. I don’t think he ever had a chance. People made their mind up from the beginning and they weren’t going to change it.
What I saw in “Dancing with the Stars” was a show that was full of hypocritical people all vying for the first place. I know JR said, “Everyone wants to win but no one wants it more than I do.” Yeah okay. Try telling that to the rest that practice endlessly pushing their body just to learn the dance; I think that statement was wrong.
I know it’s a dancing competition but we also know that people have favorites and no matter how bad they dance, they’re voted in. I also believe the judges have their favorites and sometimes the person’s title means a lot to them. They may as well rename it, “Voting for Your Favorite regardless of how they Dance.”
Ricki Lake is a very good dancer and her personality makes you warm up to her. Nancy Grace is a prosecutor and the judges respect her for that. However she proved to be ruthless when she told Tristan if anyone had every told him he sounded like a troll. Tristan who’s the new kid on the block didn’t say anything; I was embarrassed for him. Hope Solo is an athlete that’s not sexy enough in their eyes. They even told Maks to teach her how to walk. Who’s being disrespectful?
Rob Kardashian is just wonnnnnderfullll; his mom and sisters are there in the audience and you can always hear one of them yelling out to the judges what score to give him. I’m sure he has a lot of people that vote for him, but as much as I try to see what they do, I can’t seem to find it. I wish he would stop saying he’s not a man yet because people will start to see him like a mama’s boy and not give him any credit. One day Cheryl Burke even called him a boy; pretty embarrassing.
I don’t think much of Arquette; many people think he’s funny, the judges like him, go figure.
This year “Dancing with the Stars” tried to show everyone they’re inclusive and they only did that for ratings. It was the same bickering you always have with the same dance routines and boring songs. I didn’t find anything interesting about ballroom dancing because one pretty much knows what to expect.
The only thing I hope if Chaz learned anything is not be in a situation where you’re a public display of indirect verbal abuse; you will have to endure weeks of ridiculing and insults from people you don’t even know, have met for the first time and will probably never talk to again. Didn't he know that's what he was going to get? He was the only one that never really lost any weight and it’s because of all the tension he was in. If you’re going to go on a show and go through that you may as well say, “No thanks.”

As a society people have become extremely mean spirited and cold. They will go to the extreme to hurt you if they don’t agree with you. The days are gone where a person thought before they talked. Now it’s at all cost and no mercy. The result of that has been people have gotten killed and we need to step back and see if our behavior is aggravating the situation or helping it. We are accountable for our actions and I don’t care if you’re a judge like they said; they don’t have a right to tear someone apart and think their words don’t have an effect on the person.
Are you doing everything in your power to be kind to others or do you get online and type brutal and disparaging remarks about someone else, someone you don’t even know? Are you guilty of the same thing and talk down to another person just because you may not like them? Have you ever thought that could be you? How would you feel?
I know no one wants to have someone else’s blood on their hands...


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Yes Steve Jobs, There is A God

Steve Jobs co-founder of Apple sadly lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011. He was 56 years old.  He was a magnate and mastermind when it came to technology. Many doctors said if he would’ve had the operation 9 months earlier when his cancer was detected he may have lived longer, sadly he sought other ways to treat it; “he didn’t want his body to be opened.”
We may never know what he was really thinking about but he did leave a lot to ponder with his own words; “he questioned if God really existed”. The further he got into his illness the more he thought about an afterlife. I guess a person that’s facing death starts realizing the existence of a supreme being, someone who’s higher than the rest of us, who’s more intelligent than we’ll ever be, and if there is an afterlife what’s that like. Do you really get to the golden gates of heaven and if you do are you welcomed with harps and angels? It sort of sounds imaginative but movies and books portray it like that so that’s what many envision.
The stark reality is that as much as man creates and wants to solve things, he can’t help someone facing a terminal illness. And even though money is needed to make a living and people dream of winning the lotto, paying all their bills and going on vacation, money can’t help you if you’re dying. Steve Jobs was a billionaire and all the money he had wasn’t able to save him; pretty sad if you think about it.
Why do people go after fame and fortune?                                                                                   
They may have the need to be onstage and idolized, hear the scream of their name, the thunderous applause and walk the famous red carpet, but when you get right down to it, that’s insignificant. For someone who was so brilliant when it came to the creation of the iPhone, Steve Jobs said, “He should’ve listened to his doctors.”
If I would’ve talked to Steve Jobs I would’ve assured him there is a God not because I say so but because the scriptures do. I think at a time when people are seeking answers, you need to stop being sarcastic like many have the tendency of doing and rain on your parade. “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Psalms 83:18
One day I went to visit a neighbor who was ill and tried to comfort him with my words unfortunately he was a bit obstinate and didn’t care to hear much. I had to respect the fact he was frustrated. Today I saw him sitting in the courtyard and he was waiting for a cab. I think he was going to the doctor. I didn’t even recognize him but did see his wife. When he got up he was already using a walker and looked quite frail. I saw him from a distance and felt extremely sorry for him.
It would be great if people weren’t so cold, if they wouldn’t fly off the handle so fast, if things were easier but we know that’s not a reality. It doesn’t take much to smile and offer someone a hand but we also know that’s not a reality at least with some people. I know people are searching for something better or else they wouldn’t put their hope on someone else to govern. When it comes to living and dying that’s not where it ends. Many say there’s a beginning and an end but I will never accept or believe that.
There are many people who have been masterminds in their field, who created music for all of us to enjoy, who invented things to make life easier; they didn’t just die and that’s the finale, nor were they welcomed in heaven with harps and angels. I know people believe that because that’s what they’ve been taught but if you don’t have clear cut answers to something of course you will believe what you hear.  When a person dies he ceases to exist. His spirit doesn’t fly off somewhere.
 All of us are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. When Adam was created from dust “….the breath of life was blown into his nostrils and he came to be a living soul.” Genesis 2: 7
When man perishes, they’re not aware of anything, “…the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they any more have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten.” Ecclesiastes 9: 5
If you really think about it, what would people be if they didn’t have answers to questions and just lived their life haphazardly? If they didn’t have any hope? We can see the state we’re in now because people are agonizing over their condition thus they question their future.
The time will come when there will be a better government than the one many complain of. The day will arrive when everyone will live together in true peace and security. Famine will be eradicated and wars will end. Everyone will see an end to disease and they won’t have to go through operations or chemotherapy. All who have lost loved ones will one day see them again on earth.  What a wonderful prospect to hold on to. The beauty is that it’s for all of us.
“Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” John 5: 28-29

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Man's Worse Enemy

You saw bears, lions, lionesses and tigers ready to take on society not knowing their violence and rage was seen every day. One by one as they made their way towards humans they were shot. They laid there lifeless, eyes staring ahead. Their bodies were wounded, riddled with bullets after being stopped from any destruction they could’ve done. Those were the forty-eight animals that ran loose in the streets of Ohio as if it was a jungle. People were told to stay inside their cars, homes and schools until they were captured or rendered silent. Terry Thompson was the owner of those wildlife animals and set them free before taking his own life. He owed more than $68,000 in unpaid taxes and had recently been in prison for possessing unregistered weapons. It was obvious he was under a lot of pressure and had more than enough.

 We hear of people being killed, children raped or sodomized, elderly being hurt, companies being ripped off, hard earned savings lost because of greedy and corrupt individuals, teens beating each other into the ground, priests accused of child molestation and popes moving them around to avoid prosecution; those acts are committed by humans, that’s the society we live in. Sometimes people who walk with two legs behave worse than animals. 

History has shown that people have been tortured and burned alive, wars have been fought trying to gain freedom, the holocaust took the lives of many to preserve one race, and many people have been used as guinea pigs injected with a disease to see how they react to a drug; those acts are committed by humans, that’s the society we live in.

 The depraved mindset of many with their sex toys and games, the living for today and doing what feels good making spectacles out of themselves when they undress in public and parade the street as if it was nothing; the lascivious behavior that is accepted by many, pictures posted on Facebook or YouTube displaying their outrageous and scandalous conduct, texting and sexting that goes on by individuals that have lost all control. The very ones who do this may be your neighbor, friend, boss, employer or family member. This is the 21st Century, the age of technology, where the World Wide Web has reached places one reads about in books. The one we know too well where news travels at the speed of light and people are there to inform you of violence and disgraceful acts. 

Today many are disenfranchised and forgotten, many have chosen to stake out days and months on end to protest to the world that they’re sick and tired of their circumstance; like a domino effect its spread from state to state, country to country. Sometimes you ask them what they’re protesting and many don’t have an answer they just want to be part of the crowd, they want to be part of history. The history they’re talking about is the condition the world is in. There are others that come up with something worth listening to, they’ve been out of a job for too long, are broke and have nowhere to turn. 

A woman stood outside where she worked and said she didn’t understand how sitting out and protesting would get people jobs. She had one they didn’t. Would she like to trade places? Would she like to feel the desperation many do knowing they can’t feed their family? Would she like to have those bills come in and not be able to pay them? Would she like to stand in long lines just to fill out an application? Would she like to go to interview after interview and hear the same thing, “We’ll get back to you?” Would she like to go to sleep at night and worry about not having any money? Would she like it if she wondered how she was going to pay her medical bills? 

 These are the fools that don’t understand, the very ones that get on the radio and spew their stupidity about how everything seems to be okay. These are the same idiots that see how people are polluting the environment and animals are losing their habitat because of global warming yet in their eyes it doesn’t exist. 

Politicians know exactly how bad things are yet they say they can do better than the one whose running things. Sadly many believe that someone else can make it go away; that will never happen.  Man has become too greedy and self- absorbed to care about others. 

History will continue to repeat itself until the lesson is learned. What lesson hasn’t been learned? Man is his worst enemy.