When I was about eleven years old, I got into a little dust up with my brother, Paul. We were the best of friends but there were times when we disagreed. On one of the many occasions, I was extremely outraged at something that he did and I was chasing him. He got so far ahead that I knew that I was not going to be able to catch him so I picked up a large stone to hurl at him. (If he was aware of my actions he would not have feared because I was a notoriously poor hurler.) I threw the rock with all my might and lo and behold, no one had ever informed me that I could throw a 'curve' stone! The stone made a right turn and went through my parents bedroom window. Paul was the definite winner of that fracas.
That was just one of the stone throwing happenings of my youth. It was the missile of choice for most kids. We threw stones into cisterns to hear the echo, threw stones at any target we could find, I do believe I was even hit by a stone or two. Who among us has not skipped rocks at any body of water that we came to.
In History,s accounts of events you will find many occasions of stone throwing. In the Bible you can read about St. Stephen the first martyr of the church who was killed by being stoned to death. In all of the wars waged in the Mid Eastern Countries you saw films of citizens, including children ,throwing stones at the enemies. One time when I was doing one of the readings at church, the passage was about Jesus suffering buffets by his enemies. I accidently read, "bullits" instead of buffets, I quickly corrected myself and re-read the word " buffets" and went on with the reading. When I returned to the sacristy after Mass, Father John was laughing and quite amused by my error. He said, "Bullits hadn't even been invented yet! You should have said stoned!" Weapon of choice!
I've wittnessed many tiny tots pick up stones along the way and hurl them just for the fun of it. Why do we do this? I don't know! It seems to be a human trait. One of my children got into big trouble for throwing a snowball and hitting the car of the pastor of our church. No damage was reported but the pastor was quite upset by the episode and my child was required to write an apology for doing the deed. Doing what comes naturally! I was amused, not by the deed but by the letter of apology: "Please excuse me for disturbing the peace." 'nuff said.
Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me. Old adage that is completely erroneous.
A few nights ago a group of fifteen year boys were celebrating the fact that they were having a sleep over at one of the boy's houses. A final instruct\ion from one of the mom's saying , 'Be good and don't get in any trouble." Her son said. "Ok, Mom. I love you." She responded, "I love you too." Her last words to her son.
A few hours later the boys were, for whatever reason, throwing stones at each other, laughing and having fun. One of the stones hit the car of a man who has felt harrassment by the youth in the area, he came outside with his gun and started firing. The boys were trying to flee the scene and one of the boys was hit in the back with a bullet and died! Did he deserve to be shot? Did I deserve to be shot when I fired a stone at my brother for some minor transgression? I am appalled and I grieve the death of this youth. Did he do bodily harm to anyone? Did the car receive irreparable damage? Was the boy that was shot absolutely, without a doubt, guilty of throwing the rock that hit the car? Were the police involved? Was the elder citizen 's life in danger? Was the citizen responsible enough to own a gun? You tell me! Ciao
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
More
When I signed off the other day I had every intention of continueing my thoughts on education but I went off track and am just now getting back.
Some of the polititions that are abusing us with their egregious ads on TV have jumped on the bandwagon for education, just as pols are inclined to do every election time. If we ever do get our education on the road to improvement the pols will have to get a new dead horse to beat. Every year they come up with the same old song about how they are going to improve education and every year the education system gets worse. This year the local pols are keying in on changing the situation with busing, only because there was such a disasterous first day of school that made all of the local news venues. Assuredly, that was a travesty but even if busing the children was abandonned entirely by Monday morning, that is still not going to improve the quality of education.
It is not a problem that can be solved by passing laws, nor is it going to be solved by rewarding teachers if their students can pass certain tests. Some of the hardest working teachers are trying to teach a population of students that do not want to learn and many that look upon having to go to school as some sort of punishment. Children that are total strangers to discipline, to respect, to acquiring knowledge that would help them be successful in life, children that have no desire to reach goals other than to get out of school. Pity the poor teacher who struggles all day each day trying to convince a student that school is more important than playing Play Station ll or some other video game.
A child's education should begin with the parents, they are the ultimate educators of their own children. Getting the parents involved is one part of the triangle: parents, child, teachers. The child will learn and do his best if he is supported on both sides of his endeavor.If he is supported and encouraged at home,and at school, his chances of succeeding are far greater. Parents need to set goals for their children. Parenting is a skill so maybe we need to establish parent classes as a requirement for parents of failing schools or maybe all schools. Classes for parents of children when they first enter school and then again for middle schooler and then high schoolers. Most colleges and universitys have "parent oreintation" classes for college age students.It should be manditory.
As for teachers, we have some excellent people that have chosen teaching as their life's work, and we have some teachers that do not belong in the classroom. Teaching is a profession that should only be entered into by people who have a calling to teach. Just as we expect to have doctors that have an interest in healing people, clergy that are called to preach, nurses that have the compassity to give loving care to people that are suffering, there are many more that I could site.
There should be a grading system for teachers. School principals, parents and even students at some level should be allowed to assess the teacher's performance. They should be graded on their ability to convey the subject matter to the student, to maintain order in the classroom, to have a thorough knowledge of the subject they are teaching, on their demeanor in the classroom, on their ability to organize the students and on their empathy, on their goals for the individuals and for the class as a whole. They could be assessed by a simple grade of : Excellent, Very Good, Good. or Poor If they don't make the grade in certain subjects then they should be removed from that area, if the overall grade is' poor 'they should be advised to seek another occupation.
I know the schools have failed miserably at math and science, as I stated way back in my first blog, the Chinese have been so far ahead of us in math for years but I'm sure if the truth be known they are far beyond us in speaking our own language when they learn it in their schools. Not only the Chinese but other countries ,also. I have a friend from India that speaks English perfectly. Correct usage of noun,verb agreement, proper use of adverbs, and gramatical syntax etc. When I asked how he became so proficient in our language, he said the Jesuits had taught him in India and they were"the world's best teachers". We are sorely in need of some Jesuits. Talk to many graduates of our high schools and hear them say,"Me and my dad," "We come here to play," "He should have went," "I done what I could," those are just a few examples of their egregious language skills. How did they spend 12 or more years in school and still speak this way? Their teachers speak this way ,too in some cases and even if they do speak correctly they ignore the poor usage by their students! Why does this matter? I've known people that have lost the opportunity for good jobs because their poor grammar usage tags them as "uneducated"!
Watch the news and see the subtle message when the news people want to characterize an interviewee as an uneducated person, they will choose a person that uses poor grammar. So also do job interviewers and many others. Let's teach our students to speak English!
There are different styles of teaching and certain students that adapt better to one style than another, try to group the students to 'fit' with the teacher they are assigned to. Some teachers prefer the Socratic method of teaching because it teaches the student to think, others prefer rote teaching first and then go for the in-depth analysis of the subject. Language skills are very important in teaching math concepts, ,and math comprehension; math computing skills can be taught by rote teaching.
There are three types of learners, visual learners, auditory learners, and tactile learners. Teach the teachers to determine which kind of learners he/she needs to teach to so that the students have a greater chance of accomplishment. Success is the greatest motivator.
We need an overhaul of education in this country so that we can compete globally! Let's get going! There are many other ideas for change but once again I'm hungry and need to move on! Ciao
Some of the polititions that are abusing us with their egregious ads on TV have jumped on the bandwagon for education, just as pols are inclined to do every election time. If we ever do get our education on the road to improvement the pols will have to get a new dead horse to beat. Every year they come up with the same old song about how they are going to improve education and every year the education system gets worse. This year the local pols are keying in on changing the situation with busing, only because there was such a disasterous first day of school that made all of the local news venues. Assuredly, that was a travesty but even if busing the children was abandonned entirely by Monday morning, that is still not going to improve the quality of education.
It is not a problem that can be solved by passing laws, nor is it going to be solved by rewarding teachers if their students can pass certain tests. Some of the hardest working teachers are trying to teach a population of students that do not want to learn and many that look upon having to go to school as some sort of punishment. Children that are total strangers to discipline, to respect, to acquiring knowledge that would help them be successful in life, children that have no desire to reach goals other than to get out of school. Pity the poor teacher who struggles all day each day trying to convince a student that school is more important than playing Play Station ll or some other video game.
A child's education should begin with the parents, they are the ultimate educators of their own children. Getting the parents involved is one part of the triangle: parents, child, teachers. The child will learn and do his best if he is supported on both sides of his endeavor.If he is supported and encouraged at home,and at school, his chances of succeeding are far greater. Parents need to set goals for their children. Parenting is a skill so maybe we need to establish parent classes as a requirement for parents of failing schools or maybe all schools. Classes for parents of children when they first enter school and then again for middle schooler and then high schoolers. Most colleges and universitys have "parent oreintation" classes for college age students.It should be manditory.
As for teachers, we have some excellent people that have chosen teaching as their life's work, and we have some teachers that do not belong in the classroom. Teaching is a profession that should only be entered into by people who have a calling to teach. Just as we expect to have doctors that have an interest in healing people, clergy that are called to preach, nurses that have the compassity to give loving care to people that are suffering, there are many more that I could site.
There should be a grading system for teachers. School principals, parents and even students at some level should be allowed to assess the teacher's performance. They should be graded on their ability to convey the subject matter to the student, to maintain order in the classroom, to have a thorough knowledge of the subject they are teaching, on their demeanor in the classroom, on their ability to organize the students and on their empathy, on their goals for the individuals and for the class as a whole. They could be assessed by a simple grade of : Excellent, Very Good, Good. or Poor If they don't make the grade in certain subjects then they should be removed from that area, if the overall grade is' poor 'they should be advised to seek another occupation.
I know the schools have failed miserably at math and science, as I stated way back in my first blog, the Chinese have been so far ahead of us in math for years but I'm sure if the truth be known they are far beyond us in speaking our own language when they learn it in their schools. Not only the Chinese but other countries ,also. I have a friend from India that speaks English perfectly. Correct usage of noun,verb agreement, proper use of adverbs, and gramatical syntax etc. When I asked how he became so proficient in our language, he said the Jesuits had taught him in India and they were"the world's best teachers". We are sorely in need of some Jesuits. Talk to many graduates of our high schools and hear them say,"Me and my dad," "We come here to play," "He should have went," "I done what I could," those are just a few examples of their egregious language skills. How did they spend 12 or more years in school and still speak this way? Their teachers speak this way ,too in some cases and even if they do speak correctly they ignore the poor usage by their students! Why does this matter? I've known people that have lost the opportunity for good jobs because their poor grammar usage tags them as "uneducated"!
Watch the news and see the subtle message when the news people want to characterize an interviewee as an uneducated person, they will choose a person that uses poor grammar. So also do job interviewers and many others. Let's teach our students to speak English!
There are different styles of teaching and certain students that adapt better to one style than another, try to group the students to 'fit' with the teacher they are assigned to. Some teachers prefer the Socratic method of teaching because it teaches the student to think, others prefer rote teaching first and then go for the in-depth analysis of the subject. Language skills are very important in teaching math concepts, ,and math comprehension; math computing skills can be taught by rote teaching.
There are three types of learners, visual learners, auditory learners, and tactile learners. Teach the teachers to determine which kind of learners he/she needs to teach to so that the students have a greater chance of accomplishment. Success is the greatest motivator.
We need an overhaul of education in this country so that we can compete globally! Let's get going! There are many other ideas for change but once again I'm hungry and need to move on! Ciao
Friday, October 1, 2010
Education Nation
NBC has devoted this whole week to education in America. It was featured on the Today show, and other venues of NBC all week long. It was very good and thought provoking. Some of the information was shocking and some was encourageing. I have known for quite a long time that we did not rank up very high in the world in math. I used to tell my people about tests that were showing that we were very far behind China and other countries. At least ten years ago and maybe more than that, tests were conducted in most of the major countries around the world that showed first graders competentcies in math. We fared very poorly. We were fifth, and now how shocking it is to learn that the U.S. ranks 24th in math among the developed nations of the world today!
Math is not the only area where we are failing. Reading, writing, language skills, science, social studies and all of the rest are falling behind. The focus is more on teaching the tests than about teaching the materials and skills necessary for success in life.
We've listened to educators, parents, teachers, professors, legislators, successful journalists, and many others this week giving their testimony on what can be done to bring us up out of the hole. Some of the theories are valid and some are 'more of the same' or 'who can we blame' type comments.
There are many,many reasons why the schools are performing way below standard. and we waste time trying to come up with some simple statement that will cover it all. Statements about the inability to remove the many inadequate teachers from the class rooms, and the way to resolve that would be to reward the teachers that have students that perform well on the tests! How absurd!
What about the classroom that has students that are suffering from sleep-deprivation,(watching late night TV shows or playing video games well into the night) children that are not well nourished, and children that are concerned about personal problems at home. Children that are living with parents or a parent that is not focused on the child's education, but rather more concerned about getting their own lives straight or on existing until the next paycheck. Children whose parents are alcohol or drugs addicts and could care less about what their child is doing in school. A teacher should lose her job because she can't teach these children
how to do long division?
Schools should be considered 'safe places' and most of them are, in that, they lock all of the doors, have video cameras located at the accessable entrances so as to be able to see any potential intruders,and have safety drills on a routine basis: fire drills, tornado drills and intruder drills. The students and teachers are given a code word that will be announced over the PA system in the event that an unwanted person should slip past the security measures.
All of this is well and good, however; there is one area that is not covered and that is the protection from bullies. One of the worst deterrents for learning, for individual students, is the fear of being the target of a bully, sometimes not just one but many. Children are notoriously cruel when it comes to taunting and degrading a classmate. It only takes one bully to affect the entire population. Some children think they must join in on the bullying or become one of the bully's targets. For the most part they are terrified of becoming a target so they must avoid being a friend of the 'target' lest they become one. This has been a problem in schools for many years and so far there have been no solutions. The administrative staffs seem reluctant to take action, only under the threat of legal action on the part of the 'target''s parent, is it effectively dealt with. Most frequent tactic is to tell the target to 'just ignore it', have you tried to ignore being taunted and made fun of? I have! Most frequent defence is, "I was just having fun!" If it is not fun for both the taunter and the victim, then it is definitely not fun!
Some of the schools in New York have decided if the teachers' salaries are elevated then the level of instruction will be enhanced. They instituted a bonus of $30,000. for master teachers. One of the teachers that received the bonus said it surely motivated her to go above and beyond what is expected of her. Was it successful ? She said she actually saw very little improvement in her classes. Another New England state tried the bonus system for three years and did continuous testing and evaluation and there was no noticeable change after three years.
One of the Charter schools in a large city that has almost all African American students,(almost 40% of of whom drop out of school) hired a black male teacher that came into the school with a plan. First of all he made parent attendance at a meeting before school even started ,mandatory. He informed the parents that if the student did not show up at school there would be a knock at their door and the student would be expected to get to school, the students were required to sign contracts as to what was acceptable and what was not acceptable. If the contract was broken, the student and parent were called in to discuss it. No exceptions, homework was given and expected to be handed in. If that rule was violated the student made up the time on Saturday morning or after school hours. The dress code was inforced. The first lesson was to learn to spell and define RESPECT. So far that teacher has met with success, videos of his classes showed a class of attentive, participating, neat, happy students. Not a single drop -out or dicipline problem since he took control. Absences are no longer a problem. It can be done!
Throwing money at a school is not the answer. Well trained teachers, and trust me they are plentiful, parents that are supportive and students that are motivated by success could raise the scores in all schools.
I have much more to write about so I'm going to continue this tomorrow. (I'm hungry) Ciao
Math is not the only area where we are failing. Reading, writing, language skills, science, social studies and all of the rest are falling behind. The focus is more on teaching the tests than about teaching the materials and skills necessary for success in life.
We've listened to educators, parents, teachers, professors, legislators, successful journalists, and many others this week giving their testimony on what can be done to bring us up out of the hole. Some of the theories are valid and some are 'more of the same' or 'who can we blame' type comments.
There are many,many reasons why the schools are performing way below standard. and we waste time trying to come up with some simple statement that will cover it all. Statements about the inability to remove the many inadequate teachers from the class rooms, and the way to resolve that would be to reward the teachers that have students that perform well on the tests! How absurd!
What about the classroom that has students that are suffering from sleep-deprivation,(watching late night TV shows or playing video games well into the night) children that are not well nourished, and children that are concerned about personal problems at home. Children that are living with parents or a parent that is not focused on the child's education, but rather more concerned about getting their own lives straight or on existing until the next paycheck. Children whose parents are alcohol or drugs addicts and could care less about what their child is doing in school. A teacher should lose her job because she can't teach these children
how to do long division?
Schools should be considered 'safe places' and most of them are, in that, they lock all of the doors, have video cameras located at the accessable entrances so as to be able to see any potential intruders,and have safety drills on a routine basis: fire drills, tornado drills and intruder drills. The students and teachers are given a code word that will be announced over the PA system in the event that an unwanted person should slip past the security measures.
All of this is well and good, however; there is one area that is not covered and that is the protection from bullies. One of the worst deterrents for learning, for individual students, is the fear of being the target of a bully, sometimes not just one but many. Children are notoriously cruel when it comes to taunting and degrading a classmate. It only takes one bully to affect the entire population. Some children think they must join in on the bullying or become one of the bully's targets. For the most part they are terrified of becoming a target so they must avoid being a friend of the 'target' lest they become one. This has been a problem in schools for many years and so far there have been no solutions. The administrative staffs seem reluctant to take action, only under the threat of legal action on the part of the 'target''s parent, is it effectively dealt with. Most frequent tactic is to tell the target to 'just ignore it', have you tried to ignore being taunted and made fun of? I have! Most frequent defence is, "I was just having fun!" If it is not fun for both the taunter and the victim, then it is definitely not fun!
Some of the schools in New York have decided if the teachers' salaries are elevated then the level of instruction will be enhanced. They instituted a bonus of $30,000. for master teachers. One of the teachers that received the bonus said it surely motivated her to go above and beyond what is expected of her. Was it successful ? She said she actually saw very little improvement in her classes. Another New England state tried the bonus system for three years and did continuous testing and evaluation and there was no noticeable change after three years.
One of the Charter schools in a large city that has almost all African American students,(almost 40% of of whom drop out of school) hired a black male teacher that came into the school with a plan. First of all he made parent attendance at a meeting before school even started ,mandatory. He informed the parents that if the student did not show up at school there would be a knock at their door and the student would be expected to get to school, the students were required to sign contracts as to what was acceptable and what was not acceptable. If the contract was broken, the student and parent were called in to discuss it. No exceptions, homework was given and expected to be handed in. If that rule was violated the student made up the time on Saturday morning or after school hours. The dress code was inforced. The first lesson was to learn to spell and define RESPECT. So far that teacher has met with success, videos of his classes showed a class of attentive, participating, neat, happy students. Not a single drop -out or dicipline problem since he took control. Absences are no longer a problem. It can be done!
Throwing money at a school is not the answer. Well trained teachers, and trust me they are plentiful, parents that are supportive and students that are motivated by success could raise the scores in all schools.
I have much more to write about so I'm going to continue this tomorrow. (I'm hungry) Ciao
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (This is the second amendment)
If you look up the word 'militia' in the dictionary you will see that a militia is any army composed of citizens rather than professional soldiers, called up in time of emergency.
Yesterday's paper stated that State Representative Mike Harmon, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, said that he plans to introduce legislation during next year's General Assembly session to allow Kentuckians to carry concealed weapons without a permit!!!! Phil Moffett a Louisville business man is his running mate. Moffert is running for Governor.
They want to lower the price for gaining a gun permit because some law abiding citizens find the price prohibitive. Harmon wants to find a balance to restoring Second Amendment rights while at the same time not putting people in danger! (Huh?) He said every law abiding citizen " should have the right to carry a gun if they so choose, to protect themselves". They will be required to attend a training course on gun safety and gun laws and apply to the local sheriff's office.
How about the law abiding citizen that has had alcohol or other substances before deciding to "protect" themselves? What about the law abiding citizen that chooses Not to carry a gun, because of the danger to themselves as well as others?
A twenty year old kid had a gun and alcohol and a deadly hunting knife and had the charges dismissed. He had a few other unsavory incidents before he became a 24 year old but was given his freedom to carry a gun
Over the weekend we had a very sad happening here in Louisville. A young man that had a reputation of being a good citizen, helping the young, attending church, having a clean record, no signs of criminal activity in the past, a team player and a young man that was in line for a long productive life, was shot dead on a downtown street.
His funeral was attended by people from near and far, hundreds of people, business men, leaders of communities, past school mates, past team mates, past coaches, all along with his family and friends from surrounding communities, attesting to his good character and to his potential for good in his life. He had a bachelor's degree in justice administration in 2009. He was shot dead on a down town street.
One of the eulogists at or outside his funeral said,"It used to be that someone got in an altercation, someone got a bloody lip," he said. " Now people carry guns,and Smith & Wesson is undefeated."
He was shot dead on a downtown street.
The authorities have been reluctant to name the man who did the shooting. The information is that the authorities have already said, the man will not be charged because it was self defence! As the situation is described both men with friends had visited a downtown bar separately. They had passed each other during the evening but did not interact with each other. The dead man is a former U of L football player and the shooter is a former U of L baseball player. After leaving the bar the men, each with one friend in his car, were supposedly driving home. They happened to stop at the same traffic light and one of the men in one of the cars shouted a remark to the other car. It is alleged that it was a racial epithet that was shouted. The light changed and one car followed the other. Once again they were stopped at a light and one of them jumped out of their car and accosted the men in the car that did the shouting. These men were in a closed, locked car with a lowered window. The accoster reached in through the window and battered the two men aboard. Where upon the driver pulled out a gun and shot, not only the attacker but shot his car mate in the hand. The man that had been shot, died about a half hour later. Self defence??
He was shot on a downtown street.
The Kentucky Legislator passed a law saying that the same rules that apply to a person's home apply to his car. The Castle Law. Your car can now be considered your castle and you have the right to protect it!
The information gathered on the 'shooter' thus far is that when he was 20 he was charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon and possession of alcohol by a minor after he was stopped for driving on an expired plate and police found a hunting knife under his seat and a bottle of gin. The charges were dismissed. That was in 2004. Last year he was charged with alcohol intoxication after he was found walking away from a car that had run into a tree. The citation said he was "manifestly under the influence of alcohol and a danger to self." He was assigned to 10 hours of volunteer work, and the charge was dismissed.
In January, he was charged with disorderly conduct and alcohol intoxication after police stopped a car driven by a friend of his who was charged with DUI.The police heard that there was a gun in the car and they asked the two men to step out of the car. The alleged shooter of the football player became "verbally abusive and belligerent." He reportedly told the officers they "couldn't do anything to him because his father is an attorney," This information is in the police report. :His friend that was driving paid a $709 fine and court costs. Obviously, his dad is not an attorney.
If licences to carry are going to be granted to anyone that can scrape up the fee and take lessons then we must all be advised to drive around in our Castle" on wheels with our windows closed and our doors locked and the ability to quickly "duck"
I do wonder when sanity will be restored to this country.
When are we going to learn the lessons of the past. I listened to a Chicago Policeman state one day that he had taken more guns out of the hands of dead people, that were trying to protect themselves, than out of the hands of criminals. Caio!
When are we going to learn the lessons of the past. I listened to a Chicago Policeman state one day that he had taken more guns out of the hands of dead people, that were trying to protect themselves, than out of the hands of criminals. Caio!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Peggy and I
Have any of you seen the commercial that has a caller trying to access a service representative and he reaches a very disheveled man in a totally trashed looking office who claims to be, "Peggy". He is a little thrown off when the obviously male voice identifies himself as ,"Peggy" "Peggy"?he responds and the voice says "Yes". He says he would like to talk about his account, Peggy says, "Yes?" He asks one question and Peggy says, "Yes" When he asks if this means she/he knows about his account, Peggy says, "Yes." He tries to continue on but Peggy chooses to just hang up. He did not ask if Peggy was in India, but I'm sure she/he was!
Well, in the last two days I have encountered a Peggy or two and have become so frustrated, stressed out , angry,and defeated that I am exhausted.
I am having some problems with my e-mail. I changed companies so my address changed. Seems like a simple thing to me to make this change. I e-mailed all of the friends on my list and they handled it perfectly. They continued e-mailing me but used my new address. It's not like I changed the whole address I just changed the supplier. However, the companies that I depend on for services of one kind or another can't seem to adjust to the change.
I thought it would be a simple thing to call and bring them up to speed on my change. I failed to take into account that human beings are no longer in vogue. We are in the automated era. I was given choices of numbers to press to get the help I was seeking. None of the choices were even slightly related to the information that I wished to impart to them. I've been advised to sit quietly and wait and eventually someone will answer. Not so! A recording answers and tells me that I have not responded in the amount of time given and I will have to hang up and try again or press some number to return to the main menu.
This is when my invective language begins. I do try again but the outcome is the same. I dial the phone number that they suggest that you call and guess what? Automation rears its ugly head again. WELCOME! (We are so glad that you are stupid enough to call us again)Please press...
My head is beginning to hurt at this point but never say never, Right? I persist and try every trick in the books and try to reach someone . I would even settle for Peggy!
The 'machine' no longer asks me to press numbers they pull out the big guns now and say,"Are you calling from your home phone?" "Say ,"Yes" if you are and "No" if you are not. (Me) "Yes", She ,"I'm sorry, it sounded like you said, "Lass." I will try again, "Are you calling from your home phone?" I shout, "YES!" "Is this a private home or a business? Answer, Private if it is private and business if it is business." Is this a private home or is this a business?" " I say, Private!" " I'm sorry,.. I don't wait this time, I don't shout, I scream, "PRIVATE! PRIVATE ! P-R-I-V-A-T-E" Now not only my head hurts but my throat ,too. I hang up, take an Advil and go lie down.
Today, I have another go at it. I have two companies that I have issues with. We again start off on the same foot as I started on yesterday. Please key in your identification number. Where will I find it? Let's see is it my social, my birthday and date, my customer #, or my ten digit phone number, or some obscure number that is filled with zero's? I struggle through and for a change I encounter a human. I knew he was human because, I'm taking no chances, I asked, "Are you a human being?" He admitted to being one so we went on from there. When he asked for my current e-mail address I proceeded to give it to him. I kid you not he said I didn't get that last part could you repeat it, please? I said, It is; a-t-t-dot n-e-t- He was very polite, but again said, "I'm sorry, but I still can't get it." I was also very polite, no shouting or screaming today, I said, "You know, BIG company ATT.net" He laughed aloud, and said, "Duh!" I laughed also and said, "Now, do you get it?" He said, "Yeah, I have it now!" We ironed out our difficulties and all was well. What a difference a human makes!
I still had one more to go. It was pretty hairy but I had no need to shout, I just needed all the patience I could muster up. I was finished for the day finally and decided to take my wounded spirit outside with my book and a glass of wine and sit on the deck and becalm myself. The weather is perfect, sunny, cool a slight breeze, and the birds were enjoying the feeder food and swooping around over head. I pulled a chair up close to the one I was sitting in so I could prop my feet up. (that's always therapeutic) and I sat back and started reading my book. Ah, peace at last. I looked up just in time to see a kamikaze fly swoop down into my glass of wine!!!
Is there no rest for the for the ...Ciao
Well, in the last two days I have encountered a Peggy or two and have become so frustrated, stressed out , angry,and defeated that I am exhausted.
I am having some problems with my e-mail. I changed companies so my address changed. Seems like a simple thing to me to make this change. I e-mailed all of the friends on my list and they handled it perfectly. They continued e-mailing me but used my new address. It's not like I changed the whole address I just changed the supplier. However, the companies that I depend on for services of one kind or another can't seem to adjust to the change.
I thought it would be a simple thing to call and bring them up to speed on my change. I failed to take into account that human beings are no longer in vogue. We are in the automated era. I was given choices of numbers to press to get the help I was seeking. None of the choices were even slightly related to the information that I wished to impart to them. I've been advised to sit quietly and wait and eventually someone will answer. Not so! A recording answers and tells me that I have not responded in the amount of time given and I will have to hang up and try again or press some number to return to the main menu.
This is when my invective language begins. I do try again but the outcome is the same. I dial the phone number that they suggest that you call and guess what? Automation rears its ugly head again. WELCOME! (We are so glad that you are stupid enough to call us again)Please press...
My head is beginning to hurt at this point but never say never, Right? I persist and try every trick in the books and try to reach someone . I would even settle for Peggy!
The 'machine' no longer asks me to press numbers they pull out the big guns now and say,"Are you calling from your home phone?" "Say ,"Yes" if you are and "No" if you are not. (Me) "Yes", She ,"I'm sorry, it sounded like you said, "Lass." I will try again, "Are you calling from your home phone?" I shout, "YES!" "Is this a private home or a business? Answer, Private if it is private and business if it is business." Is this a private home or is this a business?" " I say, Private!" " I'm sorry,.. I don't wait this time, I don't shout, I scream, "PRIVATE! PRIVATE ! P-R-I-V-A-T-E" Now not only my head hurts but my throat ,too. I hang up, take an Advil and go lie down.
Today, I have another go at it. I have two companies that I have issues with. We again start off on the same foot as I started on yesterday. Please key in your identification number. Where will I find it? Let's see is it my social, my birthday and date, my customer #, or my ten digit phone number, or some obscure number that is filled with zero's? I struggle through and for a change I encounter a human. I knew he was human because, I'm taking no chances, I asked, "Are you a human being?" He admitted to being one so we went on from there. When he asked for my current e-mail address I proceeded to give it to him. I kid you not he said I didn't get that last part could you repeat it, please? I said, It is; a-t-t-dot n-e-t- He was very polite, but again said, "I'm sorry, but I still can't get it." I was also very polite, no shouting or screaming today, I said, "You know, BIG company ATT.net" He laughed aloud, and said, "Duh!" I laughed also and said, "Now, do you get it?" He said, "Yeah, I have it now!" We ironed out our difficulties and all was well. What a difference a human makes!
I still had one more to go. It was pretty hairy but I had no need to shout, I just needed all the patience I could muster up. I was finished for the day finally and decided to take my wounded spirit outside with my book and a glass of wine and sit on the deck and becalm myself. The weather is perfect, sunny, cool a slight breeze, and the birds were enjoying the feeder food and swooping around over head. I pulled a chair up close to the one I was sitting in so I could prop my feet up. (that's always therapeutic) and I sat back and started reading my book. Ah, peace at last. I looked up just in time to see a kamikaze fly swoop down into my glass of wine!!!
Is there no rest for the for the ...Ciao
Friday, September 3, 2010
David and Golieth? Which one is David?
During the Civil War there was major consternation in our country about which side to be on. Some were clearly for the North and some were just as passionate about the cause of the South. There is not anything unusual about that, but it did cause great rifts in families that were divided. Brother against brother.
We have a modern day situation like that each September and December in Kentucky. History does repeat itself except this time it is not played out on the battlefield (thank, God) but it is played out on the football field!
The members of the family are very firm about their allegiance to one team or another. Their support is a steadfast devotion of an unquestioning kind of loyalty. Even though in recent years it has taken great fortitude to support the miserable showing of their beloved teams at one time or another.
One of the teams, on the football field , for a number of years had a very difficult time winning games, however: they found new ways each week to lose games but, not to worry, their stadiums were still filled with loyal fans each week. A phenomenal statement of loyalty. Win or lose, the fans are with you. The team climbed up out of the hole and began to win games for their fans to show them that all was not lost. They are up and running again with a joker in the pack.
The other team had the blush of success and awards for their efforts and basked in their glory when alas, it all came tumbling down. What a difference a coach makes! The dedicated, adoring fans went to games still, but the gnashing of teeth and tears of frustration were evident each and every game. Out of the South came a' strong 'contender with the offer of hope to the fans. Could it be?
Tomorrow the die is cast and we shall see who survives. Will it be University of Kentucky who half of my family are awaiting the chance to gloat over, or will it be the University of Louisville which the other half of my family are hoping for a new beginning. Stay tuned!Caio.
I am cheering for my family!
We have a modern day situation like that each September and December in Kentucky. History does repeat itself except this time it is not played out on the battlefield (thank, God) but it is played out on the football field!
The members of the family are very firm about their allegiance to one team or another. Their support is a steadfast devotion of an unquestioning kind of loyalty. Even though in recent years it has taken great fortitude to support the miserable showing of their beloved teams at one time or another.
One of the teams, on the football field , for a number of years had a very difficult time winning games, however: they found new ways each week to lose games but, not to worry, their stadiums were still filled with loyal fans each week. A phenomenal statement of loyalty. Win or lose, the fans are with you. The team climbed up out of the hole and began to win games for their fans to show them that all was not lost. They are up and running again with a joker in the pack.
The other team had the blush of success and awards for their efforts and basked in their glory when alas, it all came tumbling down. What a difference a coach makes! The dedicated, adoring fans went to games still, but the gnashing of teeth and tears of frustration were evident each and every game. Out of the South came a' strong 'contender with the offer of hope to the fans. Could it be?
Tomorrow the die is cast and we shall see who survives. Will it be University of Kentucky who half of my family are awaiting the chance to gloat over, or will it be the University of Louisville which the other half of my family are hoping for a new beginning. Stay tuned!Caio.
I am cheering for my family!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round...
If you keep up with current events, you have no doubt read or heard about the fiasco of Louisville's first day of school for the JCPS. I really don't have a dog in this fight but as a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, citizen of Louisville, former teacher in private schools, a lover of children and a person with common sense and wisdom, I have much to say about what transpired on opening day.
There has never been a reasonable explanation for the current superintendent's desire to deviate from the rest of the country's decision to recognize the fact that 'busing' as we know it is no longer needed in this city or for most other cities in the U.S. I'm sure that when the results of the census are finally tabulated it will show that cities the size of Louisville are gradually becoming more and more diverse.
If you were to visit each home on my street you would meet, a Japanese/American couple, a Caucasian/African American couple, with three African American children, an Hispanic couple, three or four Jewish couples, three or four Catholic couples, a Baptist/Catholic couple, a number of Protestant couples a Mid-Eastern couple, and an African American. That is just one street. Diversity is evident if you shop at the small group of stores at one of the intersections. We have a Mediterranean restaurant, a great Mexican restaurant, a Chinese Restaurant and a Mexican grocery store, a Greek Church, Catholic Church, Methodist Church a Baptist Church. Do you think we need to put our five year old children on a bus and drive them for one or more hours so that they can see people that are not just like them?
There are so many things wrong with the plan that was foisted upon the Louisville people that I have a hard time knowing just where to begin to list them. Under the guise of keeping 'what is best for the children' in mind it was decided that if the youngest among them were to be exposed to other cultures and children with different skin color they would grow to be more accepting of those "people" as they grew older. What hog wash! The method by which they are going to accomplish this fete is to put the kindergarten children on buses and drive them through morning rush hour traffic across town or down town at 7:30 in the morning so that they can mingle with children that do not live in their neighborhoods.
School begins at 9:00 A M and the children have to get an early start because it sometimes takes one or one and a half hours to get to their destination. Remember these are five year old children! ( Are we there yet?) They have their lunch at 11:00 or 11;30 and then at 3:45 they are back on the buses and headed for home. Even under the best conditions they will not reach home until 5:30 or there-about. There is a great effort being made to get them all home by 6:30PM. They boarded the bus at 7:30 and arrive back home TEN hours later. Mom and Dad were probably gone from their home about eight or nine hours max to complete their day's work. The children have six hours of instruction, one half hour for lunch and three hours, (if all goes well) of bus riding. Tell me how this can possibly be a good thing.
Last year there were so many complaints because the children that averaged so much more than three hours on the buses that the decision makers though it would be solved if they bought more buses, so they spent SIX MILLION dollars buying more buses so that they could have more buses on the road to expedite the riders thereby getting them home quicker.
The first day of school they aimed to get all the children home by six o'clock, (remember they got on the buses at 7:30 AM) but the gods were not kind to them. Some of the kids did not get home until 7 or 7;30. Some of them did not get home until 9 PM!!! The HIIC *said they did pretty well because ONLY 200 children got home after 6:30. (There seems to be a slight controversy about whether it was 200 or 400.) One little girl was still on the bus at 9:00 and they had no idea who she was! Her parents were frantic and had other relatives stationed at various bus stops trying to find her. One parent became so frantic that she called the police!
Five year old kindergartners!! Imagine the trauma they will probably be dealing with for years! Why is it allowed to continue? I enquired as to whether there were monitors on the buses. No! How is the bus driver supposed to deal with a bus load of 5 year old children and drive in morning and late afternoon traffic? What if one of them throw up, fall off the seat, get a scratch,a bumped head or get in a fracas with another child? Have you heard about bullying? A great percentage of it happens on the school bus. It is so appalling and so senseless, how can it be stopped?
Why doesn't each bus have at least one monitor with a clip board listing the name, address and phone number of each and every child. A child of that age should not be expected to have all of that information readily handy. This may surprise some of you but children have been known to lose their name-tags, lanyards, and many other possessions.
The HIIC* has answered all complaints by saying how much the schools have improved and boasts of the new programs and so on. Never mind that we spent an added six million dollars to support a failed venture. Law suits have been filed and lost, there's been an exodus of students that are being enrolled in private schools but still the pleas fall on deaf ears. Some one, please explain this to me! I'm baffled! Caio
*Head Idiot In Charge
There has never been a reasonable explanation for the current superintendent's desire to deviate from the rest of the country's decision to recognize the fact that 'busing' as we know it is no longer needed in this city or for most other cities in the U.S. I'm sure that when the results of the census are finally tabulated it will show that cities the size of Louisville are gradually becoming more and more diverse.
If you were to visit each home on my street you would meet, a Japanese/American couple, a Caucasian/African American couple, with three African American children, an Hispanic couple, three or four Jewish couples, three or four Catholic couples, a Baptist/Catholic couple, a number of Protestant couples a Mid-Eastern couple, and an African American. That is just one street. Diversity is evident if you shop at the small group of stores at one of the intersections. We have a Mediterranean restaurant, a great Mexican restaurant, a Chinese Restaurant and a Mexican grocery store, a Greek Church, Catholic Church, Methodist Church a Baptist Church. Do you think we need to put our five year old children on a bus and drive them for one or more hours so that they can see people that are not just like them?
There are so many things wrong with the plan that was foisted upon the Louisville people that I have a hard time knowing just where to begin to list them. Under the guise of keeping 'what is best for the children' in mind it was decided that if the youngest among them were to be exposed to other cultures and children with different skin color they would grow to be more accepting of those "people" as they grew older. What hog wash! The method by which they are going to accomplish this fete is to put the kindergarten children on buses and drive them through morning rush hour traffic across town or down town at 7:30 in the morning so that they can mingle with children that do not live in their neighborhoods.
School begins at 9:00 A M and the children have to get an early start because it sometimes takes one or one and a half hours to get to their destination. Remember these are five year old children! ( Are we there yet?) They have their lunch at 11:00 or 11;30 and then at 3:45 they are back on the buses and headed for home. Even under the best conditions they will not reach home until 5:30 or there-about. There is a great effort being made to get them all home by 6:30PM. They boarded the bus at 7:30 and arrive back home TEN hours later. Mom and Dad were probably gone from their home about eight or nine hours max to complete their day's work. The children have six hours of instruction, one half hour for lunch and three hours, (if all goes well) of bus riding. Tell me how this can possibly be a good thing.
Last year there were so many complaints because the children that averaged so much more than three hours on the buses that the decision makers though it would be solved if they bought more buses, so they spent SIX MILLION dollars buying more buses so that they could have more buses on the road to expedite the riders thereby getting them home quicker.
The first day of school they aimed to get all the children home by six o'clock, (remember they got on the buses at 7:30 AM) but the gods were not kind to them. Some of the kids did not get home until 7 or 7;30. Some of them did not get home until 9 PM!!! The HIIC *said they did pretty well because ONLY 200 children got home after 6:30. (There seems to be a slight controversy about whether it was 200 or 400.) One little girl was still on the bus at 9:00 and they had no idea who she was! Her parents were frantic and had other relatives stationed at various bus stops trying to find her. One parent became so frantic that she called the police!
Five year old kindergartners!! Imagine the trauma they will probably be dealing with for years! Why is it allowed to continue? I enquired as to whether there were monitors on the buses. No! How is the bus driver supposed to deal with a bus load of 5 year old children and drive in morning and late afternoon traffic? What if one of them throw up, fall off the seat, get a scratch,a bumped head or get in a fracas with another child? Have you heard about bullying? A great percentage of it happens on the school bus. It is so appalling and so senseless, how can it be stopped?
Why doesn't each bus have at least one monitor with a clip board listing the name, address and phone number of each and every child. A child of that age should not be expected to have all of that information readily handy. This may surprise some of you but children have been known to lose their name-tags, lanyards, and many other possessions.
The HIIC* has answered all complaints by saying how much the schools have improved and boasts of the new programs and so on. Never mind that we spent an added six million dollars to support a failed venture. Law suits have been filed and lost, there's been an exodus of students that are being enrolled in private schools but still the pleas fall on deaf ears. Some one, please explain this to me! I'm baffled! Caio
*Head Idiot In Charge
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