I am CuTRis

As bad as it is that someone tried to attack government officials and journalists in a ballroom in Washington DC, my sympathies are more with the students and teachers around the country, who live with the day to day realization that a gunman could attack their school. And in that case, there would be no secret service agents to intervene. On the subject of the secret service, it certainly seems lucky for everyone, that these brave, well trained people were not replaced by Fox News, anchors or other television personalities. On the issue of the White House ballroom, with its secure bunker underneath it. We're hearing it now needs to be completed, because it is a security risk. Until every school gets a secure bunker, I'm not in favor of it to protect politicians who continue to ignore school shootings and real resolutions that could help to stop that. Whoever ordered the side of the White House knocked down, without proper authority, exhibited poor planning and poor judgment. T...

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...

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-...

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...

See if you can follow this bit of dysfunction. A student assaults other students at school. The substitute teacher intervenes. The parent complains. So, the school district administration, blames the contracted substitute teacher. The company that employs the contracted teacher, clears that substitute teacher of all wrong doing. The school district bans the contracted substitute teacher from working in that district, to avoid conflict with the parent who complained. What do the students learn from this? Especially the one who committed the assault? Perhaps hurting people is his right? Also noteworthy, is that contracted employees are disposable.

https://youtu.be/gShGrkzlrW0?si=UjKKot1qXDu67jOm

If you know my wife, you probably recognized that she is a big personality in a small package. She teaches art in a public school. Today, she was attacked by an ASD student. She is the third person on staff at that school, that this same student has sent to the hospital. Being a teacher is not only difficult, sometimes it's dangerous. And not enough is being done in my opinion, to keep staff and students safe from incidents like this.

RICHFIELD, Minn. — Richfield Public Schools confirmed federal agents were present on a school bus route Thursday.

Today, I jumped headfirst into substitute teaching. Just to make it more interesting, I did a full day in middle school, in math class--which was my least favorite subject when I was that age. With the Tech industry laying off workers, and needing a job with flexibility, this is currently my solution. -Mr. C

Trump supporters, I get it. A few years ago, Liberals were getting out of hand and there wasn't much truth in what they said. Black Lives Matter was gaining momentum, and again, it started with the truth, and then wandered away from it. By the time the news media started talking about Asian Hate, my Asian relatives had been talking about it and sharing stories on social media for a couple of years. Then I realized why. The news media refused to broadcast anything about Asian Hate unless white people were the perpetrators, which wasn't usually the case. Yes, it seems that perhaps white people were under attack as being the cause of all of the ills of society, and Donald Trump was going to be your savior. But I think it's obvious now, that he is criminally motivated, and your best interest is not his priority--even if he's harming the immigrants and brown-skinned people that you are upset with. This is now about our rights and our freedoms, and our democracy, which we ...

Donald Trump exhibits the behavior of someone covering up for their lack of academic ability. There is the bullying, inflated ego, bait and switch, making up alternative realities, and attacks on anyone who opposes his views. The attacks on education and his habit of promoting unqualified department leaders, also reinforces Trump's desire to make sure that smarter people won't interfere with his policies that lack intelligence and moral judgment. More recently, there is also age-related cognitive decline. Someone needs to "take away the keys," from this impaired individual, but instead, they just watch the accidents pile up.

When you spend a lot of time in wild places, you learn things. Things like what might not look like a trail to most people--because it wasn't made by people, most certainly is a trail. And if you follow it, you will probably be better off than if you try crashing through the brush. If you pass by a grove of trees, and you catch the sight of a coyote trotting through, you will see that coyote again in your mind the next time you pass that grove of trees; and every time after that. You learn to navigate brambles, and nettles, and whether you can climb that bluff or cross that stream. But it isn't like textbook learning. It's much more real.

Today the clinic told me my cloth mask isn't good enough anymore, the school district is talking about no longer requiring masks, and I think the Federal government is planning to send us all N95 masks. I'm so glad everything has been thought through and all are on the "same page..."

Just to reiterate something I've said before because some people don't seem to understand. If I make a negative comment against either the Democrats or the Republicans, that does not mean I am siding with the opposite. If I make a statement about liberals or conservatives, that is not an endorsement for the other side. Once you go too far either direction, you enter what I consider dumb land. Basically, I think both sides are full of crap. The extremes are filled with people who tell lies for political gain. It is very damaging. The only real truth lies somewhere in between. The current trend is to take 10% of the truth and use it to propagate the 90% of lies. This is why we can't get past race, and we can't get past covid-19. Ask yourself who is benefiting from all of this fighting. It is all political. And some of it is even starting from outside of our borders. If people don't become a little smarter, things are going to start to hurt even more. You can make a po...

Perhaps my feeling would be different if I lived in a country like North Korea. But since I live in the United States, I see any theory that says that one group of people is unable to better themselves because of another group of people, to be dangerous to the idea of creating one's own destiny. Instead of lifting someone up, such ideas if embraced, should only serve to keep someone from achieving their best.

Charcoal Grilled Cheddar Brats, Choice of Dill Pickel or German Sauerkraut. Plantain Chips Mandarin Orange Milk

My wife is a teacher, and this year, teachers are being asked to teach virtual classes, and also in person classes, and follow even more new safety protocols than before, while wearing a mask, making sure students and families are treated fairly, while juggling technology and riding a unicycle that's on fire. If you think they aren't doing enough, then by all means, get up off your butt and show us all how it's done.