EDUCATIONAL 'TOOL' FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

Wow, not even 1/3 of the way through the month and we already have our 'educational tool'!

TRUTH BE TOLD: I found this on Crooks and Liars. I hope they don't get mad at me.

John Sununu (what the hell kind of a last name is that?), the chairman of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's national steering committee on Monday defended the candidate's "wisdom" that state and local government needed to "cut back" on teachers, firefighters and police.

"Let me respond as a taxpayer, not as a representative of the Romney campaign," former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu said. "There are municipalities, there are states where there is flight of population. And as the population goes down, you need fewer teachers."

"If there's (there is?) fewer kids in the classroom, the taxpayers really do want to hear that there will be fewer teachers," Sununu insisted. "Absolutely."

OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE ALL TAXPAYERS HATE TEACHERS. BUT THAT IS ONLY MY GUESS. I REALLY WANT TO SEE AT LEAST 55 KIDS IN MY CLASSES NEXT YEAR. THE MORE THE MERRIER, RIGHT SUNUNU???

Moron!

 

TRICKLE-DOWN THEORY IN ACTION

I went down to Hog Lick Corners last Friday night to purchase some farm fresh onions at the Farmers Market and listen to some live bluegrass music in the park.


At the market, a woman came up to me, selling these buttons. I purchased one. I noticed that many people were acting like she didn't even exist. Much easier that way, I guess.


I even overheard one guy, staffing the Mountain Rebels Tea Party booth say to his neanderthal buddy, "Serves her right for being deaf. Maybe she should have thought of that before she was born!" WTF?


Wouldn't it be great if this lady made $23 million selling her humble creations and clowns at JP Morgan Chase had to sell @#%&ing buttons to eek out an existence?

Just sayin'.

Doc Watson - Deep River Blues

EDUCATIONAL 'TOOL' FOR THE MONTH OF MAY

(CNN) - Mitt Romney, who is spending this week promoting a plan for America’s public school system, spent Thursday morning defending his stance that smaller class sizes don’t necessarily equate with better learning in schools.

Romney participated in an education roundtable at a charter school in Philadelphia the day after laying out his education plan to Latino small business owners in Washington. Romney’s plan emphasizes school choice over other factors, including efforts to reduce the number of students in classrooms.

Speaking of his time as governor of Massachusetts, Romney said he was frequently told that smaller class sizes would lead to better learning, but that certain studies advised otherwise.

“I came into office and talked to people and said, ‘What can we do to improve our schools?’” Romney said at his Thursday event. “And a number of folks said we need smaller classroom sizes, that will make the biggest difference.”

Romney went on to cite a study that showed no correlation between classroom size and performance, naming schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts as an example.

Yep, sounds like the non-educator Mittster has it all figured out!

TEACHING THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD

I am constantly amazed at what they can do, if they really put their little minds to it.

While cleaning up after a rather boisterous session with my 9th graders, I came upon the remains of one of our coping saws. It was embedded in a pile of wet clay. As everyone knows, a coping saw is often used to cut clay. Well, at least in my classroom.

But something was amiss with this saw. The handle seemed to be a tad truncated. And, low and behold, I discovered that one of my geniuses decided to saw the handle in half! Of course, this child cannot be held responsible. Not his or her fault. What else are they going to do when confronted with a perfectly whole coping saw? Why, take another saw and cut off the handle, of course.

Morons.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Helm

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IS SO IMPORTANT

Those of us in education always appreciate it when the parents are involved with their children's progress in school.

One of my 'superstars' handed me a Camp Nickleby Progress Report form last week to fill out! I was very surprised, and at the same time, somewhat encouraged. This young lad is part of my "What's For Breakfast" club. Five of them sit together at one table and start each day with a large Monster energy drink, accompanied by a bag of Cheetos or some other culinary delight. Each kid currently has a class average hovering around 23%! Any hope of finishing the semester with a passing grade at this time has vanished.

I looked at the Progress Report and asked him if his parents are having him fill this out each week because they are finally concerned with his grade in my class. "No, they don't really give a @#$& about my grades. It's for my coach!"

Teaching is so rewarding!