I had a teacher's assistant for the special ed class. Two different ones, actually. The first one was an ex-wrestler, boxer, meth addict. One of the mouthy students got him pretty upset one day and he picked the kid up by the shirt and screamed into his face that he was going to kill him.
I stopped him after a few seconds and that student was nice for the rest of the semester.
The same student told me he would never be seen with a book because carrying books "made you look stupid".

Good point. I think there's something to say for the old-school philosophy of teaching, in general. On the one hand the sensitive kids are expected to toughen up, and that's not a bad philosophy because after all they have to be prepared for life after school. On the other hand the trouble makers need to get cuffed up side the head, like in the old days.

Yes I know legally we can't do that anymore, but maybe we should try to get back to that. Case in point: a couple years ago I attended a grade school reunion, parochial school kids reared in NYC. Talked to a lot of ex-classmates, and one of the things I took away from that reunion was the gratitude that the teachers (nuns) had been as tough as they were, because they made you learn, they made you focus. If you didn't perform back then, you got left behind, but then you got the message and kept up thereafter. The methods and system worked, and virtually all of us came out of that system well educated and well prepared for life.

I don't think you should weaken the standard for the stragglers, because then the bright kids are short-changed.

Maybe I'm starting to ramble here, but I think my point is that being soft and sensitive and considerate for the "fringe" kids is not helping them. Kids know how to manipulate adults and a "sensitive, considerate" system. To some extent you have to show them "this is the way it is, this is what we expect, and this is what you will give us because we know you can do it". "The fact that you may not want to is not a factor, pal".

Just my non-professional opinion.

But if they are disrupting the other students, then they clearly cannot handle the inclusive environment.

Exactly. Neither are the average joe's in the classroom. What about the gifted students that are stuck in a mainstream classroom?

Least Restrictive Environment is important, but as I said, if the student cannot conduct themselves appropriately in the regular classroom then no one can learn. It suddenly becomes a more restrictive environment for all of the students as the teacher has to spend so much time redirecting and bringing students back to focus that no one learns efficiently.

In a different world we'd be able to do and say this, but in GWB's NCLB education system we have to be soft, sensitive and considerate.

Yes, we do.

So um, what's up?

Just another day closer to spring, baby!







ok, that's all I got.

^ yep. Supposed to be 50 degrees this weekend. I am thrilled beyond belief

45 days till spring!!

Tell me about it!

Just curious, where in tarnation is Mecox, NY? Lemme guess, near Canada? Watertown? Rochester?

Spring can't come soon enough. Snowing again!

I'm sick. Some sort of a cold. On a 1-10 scale of bad, this one is a 6. I can breath and there's no tremendous pain like the one I had 13 months ago at the tail end of December. That one was a 9 on the bad scale. First time in over a year for being sick. What hurts the most is I didn't ride my bike today. We're expecting 3 days of wet weather beginning Thursday, so that leaves me with one day of riding for the week, which is tomorrow, if I'm feeling up to it. Right now it's just blaaa.

Or 231 days till spring, depending on your perspective.


Which reminds me .... I get two springs this year.

That's a pretty awesome way to look at it.

The unfortunate part is that spring is my least favorite season. But maybe spring in Australia won't be as bad as spring in the Canadian prairie.

I'm certain that at least this year it won't matter much just because you will be in Australia.

Yes, and apparently I should be able to cycle pretty much every day of the year in Australia, even in the spring.

Sounds perfect.

Never mind, found it.

[QUOTE=KiddSisko;8300115] We're expecting 3 days of wet weather beginning Thursday,

I woke up to almost half a foot of unexpected wet...

I hope that's not headed our way . . . I have really had enough.

As far as I'm concerned the only blessing of the warm days ahead is it will turn the roads into slop. After that I hope we get like another 2 feet. Suffer through it.

That's a blessing? Only in the hope that it will clear up the roads and allow me to sneak in a ride down the line.

Oh thanks!

someone put a pot of water by the bed?

yep. make people wet and cold and wanting to go home. I'm not looking to see people smiling and holding sing-a-longs.