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Unqualified Negotiaters

What if the USA tried sending real diplomats to meet with Iran? Sending a real-estate investor and Trump's son-in-law hasn't worked multiple times.
Recent posts

Aldi Shopping Cart

I had some trouble at Aldi today. They thought I was trying to steal a shopping cart, when I was trying to put it in my car. But I wasn't. I paid a quarter for it.

Levelheaded

Vote for Grayson

Please keep voting! Grayson needs your support... https://americasfavstudent.org/2026/grayson-4 VOTES COUNT DOUBLE TODAY! GRAYSON IS CURRENTLY 2ND IN HIS GROUP. THIS IS THE FIRST ROUND OF "PLAYOFFS." TODAY DETERMINES WHO IS IN THE FINALS!

Happy Earth Day!

The Goal is Student Success

Two decades ago, I was working in a school detention room. The problems of student behavior have not improved since then, because lots of people can't handle the truth. Now, as a substitute teacher, I see students of all ages and all races and ethnicities. Not every group is the same. We like to say we embrace different cultures, until an inconvenient issue arises. Then it is blamed on the system. The reporting is altered. And subsequently, year after year, students go through a system that is afraid to change for the better, because someone might be offended. I would rather see all of my students succeed. Even those who prefer to act out, rather than standout. Of course, there is some overlap, but in general, my more recent immigrant, Somali students, are well-behaved. And yesterday, I had a couple of them help me to teach math. But, many of my African American students, disrupt learning, are defiant, and don't want to participate in class. If we can isolate the reasons for th...

Beef Roast

Theology, is literally the Pope's job...

Strategically Left Out

It's ironic, when being the only one who didn't miss the event, you miss the party, because you didn't know about it in time.

Student Behavior Prevents Learning

Yesterday, I went back to a full day of substitute teaching, fourth graders. It was a new district as I had taken some time off, because the district I was working at previously, banned me after I stopped a student from assaulting his classmates. So yesterday, at a new district, in a new school, with different kids--within the first 30 minutes, a fight broke out, and I had to stop it. That's kind of risky, because once you make contact with the kids, even to pull them off of each other, someone can lodge a complaint and you can lose your job. Also, notable about yesterday, was the level of disrespect and lack of discipline. Their teacher had been absent for a while, so they closed the door of the classroom and then started throwing things, running around screaming and playing games on their computers. There was no making them stop, and there's not enough support from the school. I'm not working today, and I don't miss it. And I don't miss being told by a 10-year-...

Why School Behavior Issues Don't Get Fixed

The issue of bad behavior and violence in schools has gotten worse not better. And it could be, because the trend is to manipulate the numbers on spreadsheets, rather than to address the issues of the bad behavior. Because certain demographics show up more often for behavior problems, the answer from governing bodies and echoed by administrators, is to stop targeting those individuals. The result is that teachers have to play the "game," of not reporting incidents, or asking for help. Because if they do, the behavior problems are often "thrown back at them," as if it is due to their (lack of) teaching ability. The true answer lies in finding out why certain groups have more behavior issues, rather than not reporting them—just to manipulate the numbers. The fix involves trying to understand and alleviate the problems at their source. So far, many people won't accept this, because it shifts the responsibility back onto the students (and families), who have difficu...