What To Do With This Broken Educational System?

I recently wrote yet another letter to President Obama, this time giving him a suggestion on fixing the school system.

Basically, the argument goes like this:

1Teachers get laid off due to a lack of funding.
2School year and school week gets shortened.
3A band aid fix could be dumping more water (money) into a broken glass (the school system).

This is a bad solution because it really doesn't fix anything for more than one year and adds debt.

Instead, why not go ahead and allocate that money to a lasting solution. There is already talk of making broadband available to everyone as a new communication standard. Put this into action now! Get computers in homes and wireless broadband for all. Do it well and right the first time.

Pay would decrease with teachers working from home, but they wouldn't need to drive to work (less gas) and also wouldn't be contributing to global warming. Suddenly, electric cars, even these early ones with shorter ranges seem a more viable choice for many people.

You could adapt this to other industries I suppose, but education is due for an overhaul.

Cutting jobs is a bad idea.
Shorter days is another bad idea.

Get families involved in their child's education, help them plan to get all their work done and take pride in their children.

For those of you still reading, here's my letter:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Obama,

I am a former tenured teacher for a local BOCES. I lost my job last year and have learned to live with less on the unemployment checks I'm so glad to have coming in.

There was a time when I would scoff at a paycheck like my unemployment, but now I have learned to live happily with less.

As a Christian, I have discovered that Faith is something I at least have enough of to get me through and it grows stronger every day.

I worked as a teacher in jails, and in Alternative schools, as well as acting in the capacity of Crisis Counselor for the alternative middle and high schools and finally gained tenure last year. That was also the year my weeping administrators told me they had to let me go.

This is sad, but the truth of the matter is it's been an opportunity for me to work on building a web based business out of some former false starts and side projects, and changing my life's direction completely. This is a very exciting time for me because I'm a saver and will be able to weather the storm. Sure, I spend less money. A lot less, in fact. Now that I've done what everyone expected of me and gotten a teaching job and a Master's Degree, I have a rare shot to put my best foot forward and try something that I've always wanted to pursue full time. My only regret is that the kids that need the most attention and help don't get it. I'm a big boy and I'll make my way, one way or another. But those kids are losing something valuable.

I know that many more teachers are also about to go through this- hopefully their districts will have the foresight to provide counseling services, as mine did and I found it helpful.

My suggestion is that if we're to add to the budget deficit, it might as well do good for the ones it's most important to. Namely, the students.

Rather than borrowing a lot of money as a temporary measure that will have to be repeated, why not use that money instead to upgrade houses and communities with wireless broadband and computers?

Have the teachers teach from home. Less money in salaries, but you also don't have to leave the house/ contribute to foreign oil dependence.

In addition, families who have adults living at home would have to more involved in their child's education, which could help heal a lot of broken homes and families.

Just my two cents worth, and keep up the good work. I'm someone who has had a renewed sense of pride in my country despite being laid off.

That is largely because of the inspirational way in which you have essentially stopped a speeding locomotive and are helping to not only stop it, but also to push it in the other direction.

God Bless,

-Jim"

Thanks for reading.

What To Do With This Broken Educational System?

I recently wrote yet another letter to President Obama, this time giving him a suggestion on fixing the school system.

Basically, the argument goes like this:

1Teachers get laid off due to a lack of funding.
2School year and school week gets shortened.
3A band aid fix could be dumping more water (money) into a broken glass (the school system).

This is a bad solution because it really doesn't fix anything for more than one year and adds debt.

Instead, why not go ahead and allocate that money to a lasting solution. There is already talk of making broadband available to everyone as a new communication standard. Put this into action now! Get computers in homes and wireless broadband for all. Do it well and right the first time.

Pay would decrease with teachers working from home, but they wouldn't need to drive to work (less gas) and also wouldn't be contributing to global warming. Suddenly, electric cars, even these early ones with shorter ranges seem a more viable choice for many people.

You could adapt this to other industries I suppose, but education is due for an overhaul.

Cutting jobs is a bad idea.
Shorter days is another bad idea.

Get families involved in their child's education, help them plan to get all their work done and take pride in their children.

For those of you still reading, here's my letter:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Obama,

I am a former tenured teacher for a local BOCES. I lost my job last year and have learned to live with less on the unemployment checks I'm so glad to have coming in.

There was a time when I would scoff at a paycheck like my unemployment, but now I have learned to live happily with less.

As a Christian, I have discovered that Faith is something I at least have enough of to get me through and it grows stronger every day.

I worked as a teacher in jails, and in Alternative schools, as well as acting in the capacity of Crisis Counselor for the alternative middle and high schools and finally gained tenure last year. That was also the year my weeping administrators told me they had to let me go.

This is sad, but the truth of the matter is it's been an opportunity for me to work on building a web based business out of some former false starts and side projects, and changing my life's direction completely. This is a very exciting time for me because I'm a saver and will be able to weather the storm. Sure, I spend less money. A lot less, in fact. Now that I've done what everyone expected of me and gotten a teaching job and a Master's Degree, I have a rare shot to put my best foot forward and try something that I've always wanted to pursue full time. My only regret is that the kids that need the most attention and help don't get it. I'm a big boy and I'll make my way, one way or another. But those kids are losing something valuable.

I know that many more teachers are also about to go through this- hopefully their districts will have the foresight to provide counseling services, as mine did and I found it helpful.

My suggestion is that if we're to add to the budget deficit, it might as well do good for the ones it's most important to. Namely, the students.

Rather than borrowing a lot of money as a temporary measure that will have to be repeated, why not use that money instead to upgrade houses and communities with wireless broadband and computers?

Have the teachers teach from home. Less money in salaries, but you also don't have to leave the house/ contribute to foreign oil dependence.

In addition, families who have adults living at home would have to more involved in their child's education, which could help heal a lot of broken homes and families.

Just my two cents worth, and keep up the good work. I'm someone who has had a renewed sense of pride in my country despite being laid off.

That is largely because of the inspirational way in which you have essentially stopped a speeding locomotive and are helping to not only stop it, but also to push it in the other direction.

God Bless,

-Jim"

Thanks for reading.

What To Do With This Broken Educational System?

I recently wrote yet another letter to President Obama, this time giving him a suggestion on fixing the school system.

Basically, the argument goes like this:

1Teachers get laid off due to a lack of funding.
2School year and school week gets shortened.
3A band aid fix could be dumping more water (money) into a broken glass (the school system).

This is a bad solution because it really doesn't fix anything for more than one year and adds debt.

Instead, why not go ahead and allocate that money to a lasting solution. There is already talk of making broadband available to everyone as a new communication standard. Put this into action now! Get computers in homes and wireless broadband for all. Do it well and right the first time.

Pay would decrease with teachers working from home, but they wouldn't need to drive to work (less gas) and also wouldn't be contributing to global warming. Suddenly, electric cars, even these early ones with shorter ranges seem a more viable choice for many people.

You could adapt this to other industries I suppose, but education is due for an overhaul.

Cutting jobs is a bad idea.
Shorter days is another bad idea.

Get families involved in their child's education, help them plan to get all their work done and take pride in their children.

For those of you still reading, here's my letter:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Obama,

I am a former tenured teacher for a local BOCES. I lost my job last year and have learned to live with less on the unemployment checks I'm so glad to have coming in.

There was a time when I would scoff at a paycheck like my unemployment, but now I have learned to live happily with less.

As a Christian, I have discovered that Faith is something I at least have enough of to get me through and it grows stronger every day.

I worked as a teacher in jails, and in Alternative schools, as well as acting in the capacity of Crisis Counselor for the alternative middle and high schools and finally gained tenure last year. That was also the year my weeping administrators told me they had to let me go.

This is sad, but the truth of the matter is it's been an opportunity for me to work on building a web based business out of some former false starts and side projects, and changing my life's direction completely. This is a very exciting time for me because I'm a saver and will be able to weather the storm. Sure, I spend less money. A lot less, in fact. Now that I've done what everyone expected of me and gotten a teaching job and a Master's Degree, I have a rare shot to put my best foot forward and try something that I've always wanted to pursue full time. My only regret is that the kids that need the most attention and help don't get it. I'm a big boy and I'll make my way, one way or another. But those kids are losing something valuable.

I know that many more teachers are also about to go through this- hopefully their districts will have the foresight to provide counseling services, as mine did and I found it helpful.

My suggestion is that if we're to add to the budget deficit, it might as well do good for the ones it's most important to. Namely, the students.

Rather than borrowing a lot of money as a temporary measure that will have to be repeated, why not use that money instead to upgrade houses and communities with wireless broadband and computers?

Have the teachers teach from home. Less money in salaries, but you also don't have to leave the house/ contribute to foreign oil dependence.

In addition, families who have adults living at home would have to more involved in their child's education, which could help heal a lot of broken homes and families.

Just my two cents worth, and keep up the good work. I'm someone who has had a renewed sense of pride in my country despite being laid off.

That is largely because of the inspirational way in which you have essentially stopped a speeding locomotive and are helping to not only stop it, but also to push it in the other direction.

God Bless,

-Jim"

Thanks for reading.

What To Do With This Broken Educational System?

I recently wrote yet another letter to President Obama, this time giving him a suggestion on fixing the school system.

Basically, the argument goes like this:

1Teachers get laid off due to a lack of funding.
2School year and school week gets shortened.
3A band aid fix could be dumping more water (money) into a broken glass (the school system).

This is a bad solution because it really doesn't fix anything for more than one year and adds debt.

Instead, why not go ahead and allocate that money to a lasting solution. There is already talk of making broadband available to everyone as a new communication standard. Put this into action now! Get computers in homes and wireless broadband for all. Do it well and right the first time.

Pay would decrease with teachers working from home, but they wouldn't need to drive to work (less gas) and also wouldn't be contributing to global warming. Suddenly, electric cars, even these early ones with shorter ranges seem a more viable choice for many people.

You could adapt this to other industries I suppose, but education is due for an overhaul.

Cutting jobs is a bad idea.
Shorter days is another bad idea.

Get families involved in their child's education, help them plan to get all their work done and take pride in their children.

For those of you still reading, here's my letter:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Obama,

I am a former tenured teacher for a local BOCES. I lost my job last year and have learned to live with less on the unemployment checks I'm so glad to have coming in.

There was a time when I would scoff at a paycheck like my unemployment, but now I have learned to live happily with less.

As a Christian, I have discovered that Faith is something I at least have enough of to get me through and it grows stronger every day.

I worked as a teacher in jails, and in Alternative schools, as well as acting in the capacity of Crisis Counselor for the alternative middle and high schools and finally gained tenure last year. That was also the year my weeping administrators told me they had to let me go.

This is sad, but the truth of the matter is it's been an opportunity for me to work on building a web based business out of some former false starts and side projects, and changing my life's direction completely. This is a very exciting time for me because I'm a saver and will be able to weather the storm. Sure, I spend less money. A lot less, in fact. Now that I've done what everyone expected of me and gotten a teaching job and a Master's Degree, I have a rare shot to put my best foot forward and try something that I've always wanted to pursue full time. My only regret is that the kids that need the most attention and help don't get it. I'm a big boy and I'll make my way, one way or another. But those kids are losing something valuable.

I know that many more teachers are also about to go through this- hopefully their districts will have the foresight to provide counseling services, as mine did and I found it helpful.

My suggestion is that if we're to add to the budget deficit, it might as well do good for the ones it's most important to. Namely, the students.

Rather than borrowing a lot of money as a temporary measure that will have to be repeated, why not use that money instead to upgrade houses and communities with wireless broadband and computers?

Have the teachers teach from home. Less money in salaries, but you also don't have to leave the house/ contribute to foreign oil dependence.

In addition, families who have adults living at home would have to more involved in their child's education, which could help heal a lot of broken homes and families.

Just my two cents worth, and keep up the good work. I'm someone who has had a renewed sense of pride in my country despite being laid off.

That is largely because of the inspirational way in which you have essentially stopped a speeding locomotive and are helping to not only stop it, but also to push it in the other direction.

God Bless,

-Jim"

Thanks for reading.

Using Pheromones to Attract Men or Women

Snake oil? Not quite. Pheromones are powerful and subtle chemical compounds that human beings employ to several ends.

A man's pheromones send nonverbal communication to others about his virility and contribute to an aura of self confidence. The man's pheromones can tell other men to stay away and can tell women of his potential as a strong mate.



A woman's pheromones also provide nonverbal communication to others. It's been long believed that the phenomenon of cohabitating women having synchronized menstrual periods is due to pheromones. A woman's pheromones also nonverbally communicate to a potential mate that they are a good candidate and are available.

Anyway, nature didn't make a mistake when it provided pheromones. Insects use them to protect their nests from predators. Some mammals use them to trigger nursing in their young. And did you know that a pair of special organs together called Jacobson's organ is part of human physiology? Their purpose is to sense the pheromones of others. Powerful stuff. You really can use pheromones to attract men or women.

Children and Poor Behavior

You see it at the mall. You see it at McDonald's. Sometimes you have to listen to it at the movie theater.

Children with bad manners. Where do they get manners? From their parents. Take a look at the parent and how they act/react to their child and you'll get a better idea of why they act the way they do.

Of course, there are always verifiable diagnoses that affect the way a child behaves. But all things being equal, there are a lot of out of control children. I know because I spent the last nine years dealing with some of the most challenging students as a teacher and then as a Behavioral Intervention Specialist.


Your Child's Best Teacher is You!

There's more to behavior than just meds and manners, including factors at home beyond the control of the child (not enough food, inadequate resources, parental discord, absentee parents, etc.). If the parent has a negative opinion of teachers/ school in general, that will be reflected in the behavior of the child as well.

It's hard to tell parents how to raise their kids, but I sure do enjoy trying. Often, they need an example to give them the perspective of the school. Unfortunately, this is medicine most aren't ready to swallow. Raising your child to respect adults and authority figures is a big step in the right direction.

Preventive Computer Maintenance

I'm a stickler for preventive computer maintenance. Really that goes for all kinds of maintenance. I believe in proper servicing of my machines. If you expect them to perform optimally for you, well then you'd better think about taking some time to make sure they're in perfect order.

This definitely applies to computers- I routinely back up my data once a month. OK, maybe it's more like once every six to eight weeks, but the point is I make sure to take care of it. Losing data hurts. I once lost a very important and lengthy research paper due to a hard drive error. I don't blame the hard drive- I blame myself because I failed to act.



Anyway, you want to be sure to use an alternative browser for security (ie; not IE). Don't pay for a security suite either: AVG Free Edition is fully featured and effective as is Microsoft Security Essentials. Also download a good registry cleaner and defrag your hdd! Simple maintenance like this makes for a faster, more efficient computer.

And don't forget to reformat your hdd every six to twelve months, depending on usage.