Calif. Schools: New Chairs more important than Special Ed. Students….

Posted on March 3, 2009 by insider53

chairsWhy does the California school board sell out its teachers and students, especially the special education program? This is a question that I can answer with certainty… greed, plain and simple greed. We would like to believe that it is naivety or stupidity but it’s not, it’s just greed with a capital G. There is not a teacher in California who does not have to dip into their own pockets to buy the essentials for their classroom, special ed. teachers more than most. By essentials I mean pencils, paper, crayons and markers, etc. The arrogance of this school system that tells its teachers they have no money and that there will be layoffs and budget cuts, but then buy expensive new chairs for school board members is par for the course with these people. They discriminate against special ed. kids by treating them as undeserving and not worthy of equal opportunity with the rest of the students. The policy may be “No Kid Left Behind” but the schools in California  forget this with the students who need the incentives and help the most. They not only leave them behind they shuffle them to the back when it comes to handing out money. The schools get state funding, that’s your tax dollars, based on attendance and test scores and kids who struggle are an inconvenience when it comes to funding. What kind of message are they sending our children when a new chair is more important than including them in a summer program that would help them graduate. There is as much corruption in California schools as there is in our government. The difference is the media isn’t reporting it so no one pays attention. How do we fix this…. fire them! Write the Governor, email your Congressman, blitz the media with emails and the next election vote the current school board members out. Send a message that all our kids are deserving and worthy of the best education California has to offer and the next time they want the tax payers to buy a new chair to sit their fat behinds on, tell them “Buy it Yourself”

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Remembering Erma Bombeck….

Posted on March 1, 2009 by insider53

Erma BombeckEven though she has been gone for 13 years Erma Bombeck is still a wonder to me. She saw her life as an absurd comedy and gifted it to us through her books and newspaper columns. I have been re-reading “If Life is a Bowl of Cherries then Why am I Always in the Pits” for the 10th time and I always laugh and cry at the same spots in the book. There are not many authors who can stand the test of time and remain relevant. Erma can, and is the humorist of the century for those of us with kids. She once wrote,”Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, “A house guest,” you’re wrong… because I have just described my kids”.  We lost Erma in 1996 and we have never needed her humor more. I’m sure she would have plenty to say about today’s ideas of parenting and the economy.  Just remember according to Erma,”Housework, if you do it right, will kill you”and “My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?” So the next time your feeling low and you need a large belly laugh, pick up a book by Erma Bombeck and enjoy it, savor it. She was truly one of a kind.

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Superpoke! Pets…..

Posted on February 28, 2009 by insider53

Superpoke Pets is a fun little program by Slide, where you can have a virtual pet. You can get one from your Facebook or My Space page.  The idea is that you can earn virtual coins to purchase new habitats and personalize it with accessories and furniture and such. To earn these coins you have to feed and play with your pet daily. You can earn more coins when you play with your friends pets and when they play with yours. While you can play with these pets as often as you like, there is a limit to how many coins you can earn doing it. If you really want to earn coins because you have your eye on that penthouse habitat, which cost 2500 virtual coins, then you go to the forums. In the forum topics, every post has a picture of the persons pet and you can click on it (only once a day) to earn coins. Doing this you will be able to purchase that penthouse in no time. This use to be easy and fun and not too time consuming, and then they started changing the rules. First you could only earn 1500 coins a day in the forums, not so bad. Now you can only earn 100 coins per hour that you are on your computer, signed in. This means that you would have to be on your computer 25 hours to earn that penthouse. This is a form of discrimination against those of us who can’t be on the computer a lot. The Slide administrators claim the changes are to control “spam”, but I believe they have some other motivation. While I am not sure what it is, and I don’t know if Slide makes money from these sites. I don’t think they do it for us anymore. The bloom is definitely off the rose and fun has gone out of this game like a kids burst balloon. I hope they change it back soon. If you have one of these virtual pets and want to let the administrators know you disapprove of their new rules, go to the forums and post a message. Look for the topic  STOP!!! THE NEW COIN RULES. Tell them how you feel, stand up and be heard, make them listen. This is the only way for our voices to make a difference. Give them feedback until they crack!

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Leave a comment because……..

Posted on February 27, 2009 by insider53

I am very happy with the amount of visitors that my site has received. I didn’t expect anyone would ever care to read about my take on the world, so imagine my surprise that a few people have miraculously found their way here. The thing is, I would like a little feedback on whether you like it or not. It is through comments that I can learn how to improve my site and write about the subjects you are most interested in. It doesn’t hurt, I promise and it doesn’t take much time to drop a line or two. If that’s too much, then just a word or two, surely you have time for that. I realize that I could be opening myself up for a lot of negativity, but it’s alright because at least there will be a dialogue between us. While positive comments would be preferred, that is not the way the world works and I want you to be able to express your true opinions. I want to know what bugs you about the little things, the every day junk that just makes you crazy. I will try to comment an answer back to you as quickly as I can or I may be inspired to post a whole blog about your rant. Thanks for finding me and for coming back, now make a comment.

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