11/22/2008

Confession

Did you know that a rooster was arrested in Benton, Ill.?Apparently, this wayward cock was terrorizing the folks in town and had to be apprehended by the law enforcement & detained. I can just see it now ~ unless these officers were country folks, the "apprehension" must have been quite a sight. I'd a given my dime to see it. I can honestly sympathize with these officers. When I was a timid little girl, we had two young cocks that attacked me on more than one occasion. They terrified me; and they would always pen me when I was out of sight of anyone. Finally, they mysteriously went away and I was thrilled!

Also, in Yuma, Arizona a border tunnel was found. Apparently some local folks there decided to help eliminate the wait at the official border crossings. Unfortunately they seem to be less than top-notch construction contractors. The first tunnel they built was found last year. A border maintenance worker using a watering truck made the discovery when it caved in underneath him. The report didn't say how the most recent tunnel was found, but said that it was full of water and wasn't usable anyway.

The rest of the country is continuing to see increased unemployment, but there's job growth in Tooele County, Utah; The Seattle parks are considering the idea of banning nudity; and "Experts call for end of flushing toilets on World Toilet Day".

This being said, I have a confession. I'm a news junkie. Ever since I can remember, whenever we would travel, I would pick up local hometown newspapers from each town we would visit. I wanted to know the type of people who lived in that area & hear their stories. I'm naturally very curious, (although folks that know me best often use the unpleasant word: "nosy" instead). Modern technology is an amazing thing. Do you know that most newspapers have an online version? Now a days, alot of news services are exclusive to the internet. Back several years ago when my illness started, I would spend my sleepless nights online reading newspapers from around the world to keep my mind off the pain. The national newspapers all carry the same stories. When you read one, you just about read them all; but the really interesting stuff is in the little hometown papers. There are no flashy headlines about which movie star's body parts are being reconstructed and they don't tend to waste time obsessing over the bickering among politicians. Their news is just that ~ news. The national news talks about Americans in such a way, that I question just how well they know their own countrymen.

I read this week that alot of papers are letting their connection with the Associated Press go. Over the past 18 months or so, the AP has been caught passing out news reports that weren't true. I'm waiting to see the American people do the same with CNN, MSNBC, and all the other national news channels that used their media power to deceive us.

Over the years I've seen a disturbing trend. Back several years ago, there were major news stories about a teacher who was having an "affair" with a young student and inevitably became pregnant with this child's child. After she was released from prison, the newspapers reported that she went back to her old ways and renewed her relationship with that same boy. The world was shocked and just shook their collective heads.

These days the news is full of stories about the misconduct of the people we pay to teach & nurture our children. The latest articles:
"Teacher suspended for letting class vote out autistic boy" talks about a kindergarten teacher who brought an autistic boy in front of the class and let his peers tell them why they didn't like him. He was so hurt & humiliated that he screams & becomes uncontrollably upset at the mere sight of the school building. His mother now homeschools him; and
"Public School Teachers Wild on Social Networks" is an article about how students have found 'My Space' & 'Facebook' pages designed by their public school teachers where the teachers post images of themselves drunk at parties, lewd shot of themselves with various partners, and some even describe in detail their disdain for the "brats" they have to teach.


A few years back, I taught in a public school. My training was in special education where my speciality was in working with troubled children. At the school, I taught students who had been removed from the mainstream classes for various reasons. As most people know, all teenagers are troubled kids. The simple nature of puberty makes them unbalanced. All children, but particularly teens, need a stable environment & stable adults to guide them through this troubled time in their lives. Once upon a time, teachers had to use the utmost care to protect their public image. The public & especially the students truly do watch our conduct outside of school. We are supposed to be role models to children. How can we expect the next generation of young adults to be sane, balanced, and productive when the people we entrust them to behave in such a way?

What's the answer? I'm not sure. Morality isn't something that can be legislated. But, the school systems & the local communities can insist on proper behavior, and include behavioral clauses in the school employees' contracts. This may not stop the problem, but hopefully it would give them cause to stop & consider the consequences first.

I do want to say there are some really wonderful teachers in our schools that give their lives to being men & women children can look up to. As always, the few bad ones make it very difficult for the many good ones. When you see a good teacher, give them a big pat on the back and a few kind words. This makes the difficult times well worth the effort.

OK, I'm stepping off of my soapbox now. But, one last thing, did you know that you can read national & local newspapers from all around the world at: www.refdesk.com? But you better be careful, or you'll become a news junkie like me.

Have a blessed day.

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