I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and also got some rest for the final push of the semester.  It sure can be an exciting time with lots of extra energy in the classroom and halls.  It’s also a time to watch for the students who don’t have that holiday spring in their step; see those who don’t come to school with a coat as the temperatures drop.  We’re in the perfect position to notice these needs.  I hope your community is like mine and has plenty of resources to help with these situations.  Most programs just need some assistance identifying children in need – keep an eye out!

Happy December!

http://www.sharonwoodard.com

http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u45/Internet_addiction.jpg

There is no doubt our society is addicted to the internet and students are constantly utilizing various technology devices. Teachers should be setting an example when it comes to the proper use of technology. I find that cell phones and email are misused the most. Students spend class time text messaging one another. Email is another piece of technology that is highly misused. Email has been used to stalk and harass other students. Teachers need to be vigilant in the teaching of appropriate technology etiquette. In our district, I believe we do a good job of teaching and ensuring students use technology appropriately. The one are I would like to incorporate is the domain of commerce and responsibility. It is imperative for students to know and understand how to protect themselves when they are making purchases online.

 Mike S. Ribble, M. S., Bailey, G. D., & Ross, T. W. (2004). Digital Citizenship. Learning and Leading with Technology. 32(1), 6-12.

This blog will not be like the others, where I include links to web sites and articles. Instead, I am shooting straight from-the-hip, so to speak. After a healthy ‘debate’ with a friend of mine on Facebook, I am still thinking about something I read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the ‘assumed’ effect of teacher absences on student achievement. Our beloved and revered Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is at it again: Blaming teachers for 90% of what ails America’s public education system. (NOTE: In case you didn’t know, I am very sarcastic). One week, he claims that ineffective teachers are what’s wrong with Education. The next week, it’s the Teacher Education programs across the country that are ill-preparing teachers to get our students where they need to be. Well, week three and he has yet another epiphany: Teacher absences are to blame for low student achievement.

As I shared with my friend, who shall remain nameless, we teachers take what are called ‘mental health days’ from time to time, to regroup and refocus so that we can give 100% to our students. There may be some teachers in this world who have never taken such as day; there may be some who have but will never admit it. Whatever the case may be, teachers are human and need to, from time to time, recharge their batteries. Believe it or not, the need to recharge does not often stem from working with kids. Just the opposite: Working with adults who either do not act like adults themselves, or do not treat their colleagues with respect. During our conversation, I mentioned that sometimes teachers have the misfortune of working for an administrator who possesses both o the afore-mentioned qualities. It’s a reality in Education. Yes, there are many more people who do not fall into that category but we need to be concerned about the ones who do, because they may be few, but their impact could be widespread!

I am by no means claiming that every administrator is unprofessional or unethical. Furthermore, there are some ineffective teachers in the classrooms. What we, as a community (parents, students, teachers, etc) need to do is ask one simple question: How does a teacher become ineffective? Why does a teacher need to take days off? If you ask those questions, I guarantee the blame will rest on teachers or Teacher Education programs. We must not stop there because every state has some form of Teacher Evaluation program in place, where they are formally evaluated at least 2-3 times each year. Given that, how does an administrator evaluate a teacher every year and fail to note, discuss, and remediate deficiencies? No excuses. Teachers do it on a weekly basis for 25+ kids;  more so for middle and high school teachers. I believe I covered the ‘why’ of teacher absences earlier, but if that explanation did not satisfy you, how about this one: Teachers get sick too. Teachers have families who get sick too. If you are allowed ’sick days’ at your job, then teachers should be allowed those same liberties, especially if you send your sick child to school knowing that it is highly possible for others (including the teacher) to contract your child’s illness.

I say all of this to say, there have been problems with Education for a long time. Just as their have been with the economy, healthcare, etc. I agree that there is an urgent need to change the way we educate our kids (all kids, regardless of zip code, hues, etc). We are an industrialized nation when it comes to technology, but below third-world when it comes to quality Education. If your child’s teacher is balancing being the best and most effective teacher, whilst dealing with some trifling folks (yeah, I went a little ‘ethnic’) and needs a day off to rest and get his or her mind right, then so be it! The alternatives: (1) A completely new teacher before the end of the semester; (2) Two new teachers before the end of the school year; (3) a long-term sub for the remainder of the school year; or (4) the adult-drama spilling over into instructional time. Which one would you choose?

Lastly, whether you have time to volunteer in the classroom or are involved in the PTA, please take the time to thank a teacher. A simple email will do..just because. We entrust our kids with a stranger for 180 days a year, we can do more than b*^&% and moan 175 of those days.

You still my girl Nicole! (hee hee)

…I have the students I have.

There is a student, a senior girl, in my computer skills class, whom I have never had before this year.  She is a nice, polite girl who does very good work on the computer.  She is diligent and follows through on all the assignments.  The other day, while checking the grades for all my students in all classes, I found that this young lady has two very low grades in classes she needs to graduate.

I questioned her about this, “Eva, why do you have these low grades?  You are way too smart for these grades?”

“Really, you think so?”

“Of course.  You do such good work in here.  You are very smart and should have better grades.”

“No one ever told me that before.”

What?

For 17 years I taught only in the Marketing Academy and I encouraged all of my students.  Sometimes they thought I encouraged them too much!  I just assumed that all the other students out there in the school were getting that same attention.  Maybe not.

By all accounts, Risha Mullins is a terrific high school English teacher. She has her students read the classics: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and Beowulf. She has received praise and awards for for launching the student “Moo Moo Book Club” at Montgomery County High School. She also has arranged for students to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, and to attend a workshop at Virginia Tech University with nationally known poet and educator Nikki Giovanni.

And Ms Mullins has her sudents read contemporary books from the American Library Association’s list of recommended literature for high school students: Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson; Deadline, by Chris Crutcher; Lessons from a Dead Girl, by Jo Knowles; and Unwind, by Neal Shusterman.

Some find these books offensive. And Risha Mullins, a member of the Kentucky Education Association is non-tenured.

Kentucky Education Association President Sharron Oxendine:

“She is untenured, so they could simply not renew her contract. That’s what can happen when a teacher becomes controversial. It’s a shame because she’s done so much to turn kids on to reading at a time when we’re practically begging children to put down their video games and read.”

Montgomery County School Superintendent Daniel Freeman has responded by withdrawing about half a dozen of the challenged titles from classroom use.

Having been here in the US for just over two weeks and having already visited a number of online programs, schools and colleges there has definitely been a common theme in terms of teachers who teach in online and or blended programs. The common theme has been that just because a teacher was successful in a traditional brick and mortar classroom does not necessarily mean they will be successful in an online and or blended environment. Both ACCESS Alabama and Florida Virtual School have extensive teacher recruitment processes and procedures in place to select their teachers including surveys and interviews. The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching by iNACOL describes the skills and characteristics that effective online teachers should possess.

1. Meets the professional teaching standards established by a state licensing agency or has academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching.
2. Has the prerequisite technology skills to teach online.
3. Plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation, and collaboration in an online environment.
4. Promotes success through regular feedback, prompt response, and clear expectations.
5. Models and encourages legal, ethical, and safe online behaviour.
6. Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student, and demonstrates the ability to anticipate challenges and problems in the online classroom.
7. Understands and is responsive to students with special needs in the online classroom.
8. Creates and implements assessments in ways that assure validity and reliability.
9. Develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals.
10. Users data to modify instruction and guide student learning.
11. Collaborates with colleagues; networks with others involved in online education.

Welcome, Teachers!

Here is a simple lesson idea for middle/high school students. Have your students read chapter excerpts from Nothing but Trouble after Midnight on this blog, discuss them in your class, and complete these simple prompts:

Also, check out the “Teacher” page on the right for more information about using Nothing but Trouble after Midnight in your classroom.

• Chapter One: Key Players

After reading the first chapter, consider some of the embarassing moments in your life. Pick one that stands out to you and tell about it. How old were you? Who else was there? Do people still bring up this event, and if so, how do you feel about it now?

• Chapter Two: First Impressions

In chapter two, Chloe recounts her first impression of Austin Walker. Whenever you meet someone, you develop a first impression. Think of a first impression of someone you know well, and without giving names, explain how it changed–for better or worse–after you got to know the person better.

• Chapter Three: Better Than Hallmark

In the third chapter, Chloe expresses her gratitude to Rob with a drawing. There are many ways to show your appreciation for someone else. Now think of someone who deserves your gratitude and plan a way to thank him. You could draft a simple thank-you note, make a card, or create your own idea.

Let’s start with the list of  ”the children’s top 100 books”  for the early years and it’s as follows:

- The Twits, by Roald Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit pass the time playing nasty tricks on one another.

- Burglar Bill, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. When Bill accidentally burglarises a baby, it turns out to be a blessing in a stolen basket.

- The tiger who came to tea, by Judith Kerr. The story of a tiger that eats its hosts’ food.

- Where the wild things are, by Maurice Sendack. When Max engages in mischief, he is sent to bed without supper.

- The tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter. Tom Kitten learnt nothing from his parents about the consequences of curiosity.

- Yertle the Turtle, by Dr Seuss. Yertle commands all the turtles to stack themselves up so he can be top of the heap.

- Fungus the Bogeyman, by Raimond Briggs.

- The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business, by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch.

- Room on my broom, by Julia Donaldson. Children chant along as a witch and her animal friends see off a dragon in search of  ”witch and chips”

- The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Its pages drilled with holes as the caterpillar eats his way through the week.

- The cat in the hat, by Dr. Seuss. The cat’s a big show-off, but he knows how to have fun.

- Charlotte’s web, by EB White . The friendship between a lonely pig and a spider.

- The story of Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff.

- Winnie-the-Pooh, by AA Milne.

(The Daily Telegraph, 19.01.08)

Now for a more personalized list taking into account advice from my native friends:

– Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.

– The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle.

– Green eggs and ham, by Dr. Seuss.

– Chicka chicka boom boom, by Bill Martin Jr.

- Click, clack, moo: cows that type,  by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.

- The Gruffalo, by Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Now it’s time to start examining them to see if they can be useful in an ESL class and in which level they would  be appropiate for.

Stay tuned for part 2.

I guess it is true that at times we are our own worst enemy.  Grade 5 is the 1st time that I can say that I didn’t like someone on sight and they did not like me either. 

Thinking back at this teacher who looked  like he stepped out of the story, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, I can honestly say that he may have been a good teacher if I had given him half a chance.  He just had too much going against him right away.  This teacher didn’t look, smell,  or talk like any other teacher I knew up to this point. 

Grade 5 was about geography and maps and I had already developed a mental block where most geography was concerned.  That I couldn’t draw did not help. 

I guess the truth really was that for the 1st time in my life being a cute little boy was not going to get me anything.  In fact it was going to get in the way and almost cause me to fail at school for the 1st time in my life.  

  There would be no gentle touch or approach from him.   He seemed to sense that I didn’t care for him and chose to make an example of me from the start. 

If it is true that we have a year where everything is decided and our lives take a turn down a certain path that will determine how we handle things in the future ,this was that year for me.  

This year of my life was such a stressful year for me that it almost broke my spirit. 

It was the 1st year that I let my stubborn nature get in the way of being the best.

It was the 1st year that I felt like I could do nothing right in school or out of school. 

It was the 1st year that I felt different, like I did not belong.  

It was the 1st year I quit at school.

It was the 1st year I did not want to be in school, or anywhere else for that matter. 

It was the 1st year I felt all alone.

Here is the story of that year as written in my book.

Grade Five and Mr. W

 Now I knew that Mr. W and I would not be getting along the minute I laid eyes on him. He was a tall lanky, pimply faced man who turned my stomach the moment I spotted him. I decided right there that he wasn’t going to teach me anything and that I would make his life as difficult as possible. Geography wasn’t my best subject, but it seemed to be all Mr. Weeks was interested in teaching or so it seemed to me. The beating, the teacher, the geography, the whole world as I knew it was conspiring against me.

For my birthday that year I had received an acoustic guitar, and just guess who was offering free lessons after school.  That’s right Mr. Dripping underarm himself  W. The price was right for dear old Mom, so I was ordered to attend. I refused to participate and just spent my time watching the sweat drip from those pits. I remember wondering if the reason that  he chose the acoustic guitar was because he was afraid he might electrocute himself if he tried to play an electric one. Anyway my lessons came to an end one afternoon when I hit another student with my guitar and cracked it.

The student that was hit upside the head was a boy named Lorne. Lorne and I had a crush on the same girl and one day after the guitar lesson he decided to prove to her that he was the better man by pushing me down a flight of stairs. As he pushed I swung and as they say the rest was history. The girl we later found out had a crush on somebody else and thought we were quite foolish to be fighting over her.

Mr. W called my mother to discuss my behavior. After the meeting my Mother exacted a promise to behave from me.  She said she never wanted to have to meet with the disgusting man again.  My mother said he kept staring at her legs, never looking directly in her face when he talked.  Needless to say I was out of guitar.

This was absolutely my worst year in school.  I failed every geography test we had. I guess you could say that I developed what they now call a mental block. Mr. W wanted us to learn to draw maps free hand, but I was horrible when it came to art. The only thing that made geography bearable for me was I did like learning about people from other places and their customs. 

When Mr. W decided to use my inability to grasp his favorite subject against me, I decided to do only what was necessary to pass and stay out of trouble with my Mom. 

I was back riding Prince and the temptation to follow the older boys out of the neighborhood was pulling at me. However the memory of that clothes-line and what it had done to my back, kept me from going astray long after the welts and the pain had gone away.

We were starting to get wild and my Mother was finding us a little hard to handle. I for one was not afraid to get hit anymore.

 My Mother was not one to give up power or control easily and as a result she decided to switch tactics.

Mom used the ultimate weapon, a mixture of guilt, shame and humiliation, brought on by my Mother’s crying and fainting.  These tactics soon gave her more control over us then she ever had before.  Mom wielded her new weapon like a two-edged sword cutting out all of our resistance and leaving us weeping at her feet. This of course couldn’t and didn’t last for too long, or so we thought. 

It wasn’t until years later I understood how great an impact this method of conditioning had on me.

At any rate the seasons changed and when the school year was over we all passed, if not with flying colors. My marks were the lowest I had ever received as well as the lowest in the house.

   If my year wasn’t stressful enough already, this was also the year my Mother decided it would be a good idea to have me circumcised.  Why only me and not my brother too I do not know, but him not having to do it did not make me a happy camper.

If you know anything about this operation you know that it is usually done while males are babies and is not recommended after a certain age cause of the pain. Well I guess Mom thought that I could handle it, because snipped I got. I was never so embarrassed for so long a time in my life. I mean imagine having to go to your aunt twice a day to have her put Vaseline on your penis and change the dressing. It hurt so much that embarrassed or not I showed up faithfully for my daily doses of shame and humiliation.

We went to-day camp, family picnics and played games all summer long. My Mother’s new weapon worked like a charm; we stayed out of trouble for the most part.  By the way, I still walked no where. Prince and I were back on the streets and would take what seemed like long rides at the time round and round the block.  We never seemed to tire of each other’s company.  Things have a funny way of working out. What doesn’t kill you usually makes you stronger.

I was getting tough now, thick-skinned and beatings would never again be enough to keep me in line. I was impressed with fighting and how if you were good enough at it people were impressed with you, or at least left you alone. 

I had learned another lesson too and it was if you can manipulate a situation do so, the results last longer if the person wants to do what you want them to out of love or a sense of loyalty, instead of having to, out of fear.

I now know these lessons work, but are wrong to use as a human being to get your way, but it took a long time to re-learn this ideology and sense of fair play and put it back into use in my every day life.

Yes, Monica Garcia, whom we hold partly to blame for laying-off 2,000 teachers this summer (including yours truly) wishes you a happy Thanksgiving! Wow, the gull that some people have! Seriously, it’s like getting a get well card from the Grimm Reaper. In this message she says, “In the spirit of hope and gratitude, I wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving.” Really? I wonder how those 2,000 families that I’m sure aren’t filling their tables with as much this year are doing. I also wonder how the rest of us, assuming we have a job next year, are going to cope with a 12% pay-cut. How about furlough days? Oh, and don’t forget we’re also very thankful that you voted to give away schools Los Angeles residents rightfully voted for. We are also thankful that we have 7 board members instead of only 3, which by the way, is probably all we really need. Yes, we are thankful for our 7 board-members who make six figure salaries and make decisions with detrimental effects on our communities. Boy, are we ever thankful for them!

Yes Monica Garcia, for now we have a lot to be thankful for. The only question left would be; for how long will we be so thankful?

No, I’m not talking about the social bookmarking site.

I’m talking about education and food. That’s what this blog is supposed to be about and in a Twitter response to my last post, @ToughLoveforX remarked that high schools should have teaching kitchens.

I disagree.

All schools should have teaching kitchens. Maybe even all classrooms.

The earliest lesson that I remember from my schooling was when, in first grade, we shook heavy cream for what seemed like forever to make whipped cream and butter.

The next lesson I recall is when we made applesauce.

There was a time not that long ago when most high schools and middle schools had classroom kitchens. Most were removed shortly after Russia’s first space shot galvanized American educators to get serious about science and math because we had to put a man on the moon.

Been there. Done that.

Now its time to reexamine that decision to remove those kitchens.

Kitchens are the perfect venue for teaching middle and high school students.

Those students have an abundant interest in food and eating, so there is incentive to show up for class.

Each of the major disciplines can be addressed in the process of completing the task of planning, preparing and reflecting on the flavors of a menu.

Researching dishes to include on a menu involves language arts, social studies and nutrition science,

Scaling the recipe of a dish for a smaller or larger number of servings is measurement math and multiplication or division.

Costing the price of the ingredients, creating a budget and doing the purchasing incorporates various math concepts and skills.

Cooking and baking involve chemistry, physics and nutrition science.

Invitations, dish descriptions and critiques all involve writing.

And so on.

And why stop there? Sewing classes, woodworking shop, and other venues of practical skills are rich with academic possibilities.

Every day I have students coming to me and asking for food. Every student in my school is eligible for free breakfast and lunch, but I hear stories about how mom works two jobs and doesn’t come home until midnight and then starts to prepare supper.

It is a long stretch between an 11:30 or noon lunch and a midnight or 1:00 AM supper. Even if there were no academic benefits to having teaching kitchens, doesn’t it make sense to give these students the ability to prepare a nutritious meal or two?

There is a big push right now to introduce more and more technology into classrooms and I’m all for that. But the technologies most classrooms need are not interactive white boards or hand-held computers; what classrooms need are stoves, ovens, chopping blocks and refrigerators.

The investment for a classroom full of computer-based technology and a teaching kitchen are roughly the same but kitchen equipment is far more durable, more easily maintained and far less likely to become obsolete within a few years of purchase.

Critics of my proposal, and I expect there to be many, will say that classroom kitchens don’t teach 21st Century skills, or that I’d just prepare kids for flipping burgers.

Nonsense.

Writing a recipe is pure concept mapping.

Planning a menu requires the accumulation and integration of information from a variety of sources and the creation of a cogent new document. Its a process of planning, drafting, gathering feedback, revising, proofing and publishing. Sound familiar?

Well run kitchens require collaboration, planning, critical thinking, problem solving, adaptation to changing circumstances, the ability to gather and evaluate information, mutual respect, attention to detail, and the ability to apply principles learned in the synthesis of new concepts.

Those sound like 21st Century skills to me.

Is there some risk in giving your average high school student a cleaver and 10″ chefs knife? Absolutely, but far less than giving that same student a car.

The fact is, the technology most classrooms need is not an interactive white board or hand-held computers; what they need are stoves, ovens, chopping blocks and refrigerators.

OK, maybe a computer or two to access recipe sites and to write the class blog.

To be honest, I’m not biased at all towards any military groups and will happily play video games as any of them.

Ta.

Yes. Exhausted, yet refreshed is exactly how I feel coming off of an amazing time in Philly for the NCTE National Convention. With six presentations, I was constantly on the go-go-go. But I still met amazing people, learned a lot, and shared my ideas with educators from all over. (Oh, and can’t forget eating the amazing food from the market!)

I caught a glimpse of a note someone had down stating that if you don’t reflect within 48 hours of the convention, you wouldn’t do it. I, however, disagree (at least in my case) because I haven’t stopped reflecting! And now that I have a bit of time to sit down and catch my breath, I plan on writing about my NCTE experience in the next few posts…

But first…a few initial comments:

If you haven’t heard about the National Writing Project, I suggest you check it out. I was fortunate enough to check in with the NWP crowd as NWP also had its convention in Philly during NCTE. Smart work being down there.

After reading this blog post on PLNs (personal learning networks), I am reminded that one of the most important things about all of the web 2.0/social networking/online “stuff” in general is that they all have the potential to create very powerful communities. The communities I have joined help connect me to teachers all over…teachers who are willing to try/learn/play with new ideas…teachers who push my own thinking on pedagogy. Though there are a lot of teachers who are active members in their PLNs, there are still too many out there who do not utilize/fully appreciate/understand their importance. And at least in my experience, these people are often the ones who treat their classrooms like islands, who don’t value new literacies, and who need PLNs the most.

My point here? Teachers need to remember to grow and learn, too. We need to model what learning looks like for our students. We need to be open-minded and become problem solvers willing to adapt to our students changing needs. We need to be comfortable with the fact that technology integration can connect us with people all over…sometimes in ways that no longer make us the “expert” in the room…and we need to be ok with that. We need to embrace change. We need to always try/learn/play.

And with that said, be on the lookout for more insight into the NCTE Convention!

Yesterday, was Destination NV at my school. Every year, kids who are graduating from grade 8/9 (depending on the school) and are thinking of going to NV for their high school career, would go to NV with their teachers and then get shown around the school by volunteer tour guides, and informed on a bunch of different courses and programs that NV has. So this year, like last year, I volunteered as a tour guide, and was able to get my middle school as the group I would tour. Being a tour guide, or even any part of Destination NV, you get a free pizza lunch and drinks, and in the end of it all, you get voluteer hours. They used to give out cookies to both the visiting students and the tour guides, but this year, it was just to the visiting students…*sad* the school’s cookies are like the god of cookies! They taste absolutely AMAZING~

Hehee.. okay back to the point… I was able to see my favourite teacher (EVER!!!) and one of my grade eight teachers who was a pretty cool guy. I also got to see some of my friends siblings, and my friends Justin, and a few people who weren’t near the friends catagory… for one, there was a guy that’s my friend’s brother. He’s two years younger than me, and yet he was able to make-fun of me and my friends. Sad. I was bullied by a kid who’s two years younger than me and like five inches shorter… > _ <

In the end, Destination NV was really fun. I heard a lot of stories about my middles school from my old teachers, and my friend Justin, and I even got some cookie~~^^ the things you get from knowing people~

After the awesomeness of Destination NV, I had to go to the doctors and get my H1N1 flu shot. It was fine when the shot was done, but then, hours later, it felt like bricks had been thrown at my shoulder, and I couldn’t move my hand right… I also think the shot either made me WAY more emotional than usual, or I was just shedding none stop tears for no reason. Odd… Plus, today when I woke up, the pain was even worse, but I think it was from both a huge impact to my shoulder from someone running yesterday, plus the shot in the shoulder area that resulted in such pain. I mean, it’s hard to move my shoulder, but I can at least move my hands now… improvement~

Lastly~~ I successfully got a 91.7% on a math quiz. When I saw it, my jaw dropped. My standards had quickly fallen after all those sixties. *still shocked!*

Currently: Doing my math homework, and typing out my history thesis, at alternate times of course… hmm… how much easier life would be if you had like six arms to do different tasks…

Reading: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Listening to: Jenny by The Click Five

1. A golden key can open any…thing! Like that lock-box dad has in his room. You know, in the back of his closet. I saw it there. He hid it.

2. Absence makes the…teachers get nervous.

3. If you want a thing done well…get mom to do it.

4. He who lives by the sword…should move next door to something else.

5. Every cloud has…one or two friends they don’t like.

6. Scratch my back and I’ll…feel better.

7. It takes two to…keep mom from knowing who did it.

All this time you thought
it was about teaching your
Sherman and Abigail to READ.

The University of Minnesota is purging the incoming teaching classes of cultural biases. It’s “for the children” as you know, dumbing them down makes them malleable.

Denounce exclusionary biases and embrace the vision. (Or else.)

Do you believe in the American dream — the idea that in this country, hardworking people of every race, color and creed can get ahead on their own merits? If so, that belief may soon bar you from getting a license to teach in Minnesota public schools — at least if you plan to get your teaching degree at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus.

In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U’s College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of “the American Dream” in order to obtain the recommendation for licensure required by the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Instead, teacher candidates must embrace — and be prepared to teach our state’s kids — the task force’s own vision of America as an oppressive hellhole: racist, sexist and homophobic. [snip] (emphasis added)

Sound familiar?

Does this have a pinkish tinge of Mao wowism?
Adjusting the purity level of your kids thoughts can’t be accomplished if the Teach’s mind is clogged with impure crap.

 It is the end of summer. I have just started my 4th year of schooling.  It is a typical week-end and I am riding   Prince (my bike), when a car hits me and takes off.  It is  soon clear that I will be doing the school year from the hospital and home.  This is the story of my 4th school year as it is written in my book.

Grade Four

I was anxious to get to school because I already knew who my teacher was going to be. Miss T was a statuesque blond, with the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen. I had one problem to over come though. My brother the clown had cupped her behind the year before in front of the whole class. The whole class laughed but Miss T found nothing funny about it, neither the Principle, or my Mother found any humor in his actions either. He was given ten lashes with the strap on both hands from the Principle and a beating from my mother when he got home. The next day he was made to apologize in front of the whole class.

Another time while standing in the locker room on punishment he relieved himself in a girl’s shoe. The girl chased him all the way to the Negro Community Center, where we were now going for hot lunch beating him over the head with that very same boot. Vance had succeeded in making Derleen very angry with him. Needless to say the same punishments were meted out again. It was lucky for him that she had no older brothers in her family.

So as you can well imagine it was a huge hurdle for me to overcome to get on Miss T’s good side but it wasn’t insurmountable.  Hard work, politeness, and a willingness to help her with classroom chores (cleaning the black board and such) slowly made her see that I wasn’t going to cause her problems like my brother had. Just as Miss T started to feel comfortable about another Davis being in her class, a car hit me.

I would remain in the hospital for the better part of six months. It was a hit and run. The car almost killed me and the driver never stopped, in fact he backed up and drove over me several times, before he finally got away. When he hit me the front fender penetrated my left calf and I was dragged under the car. Realizing that I was under there, he reversed the car and backed over me again and again, in and effort to dislodge me. This was repeated several times, every time breaking another bone. Before it was over the driver had broken every major bone in my body.  I didn’t pass out, but mercifully my body went into shock and I didn’t feel any pain. Taken to the hospital by ambulance, my Mother crying, my aunt reassuring and the siren blaring, I thought I was dying. The ambulance took me to the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

As we were rushed into the emergency room, I was becoming more aware of what was going on and although I wasn’t in much pain the atmosphere around me was frightening me and I began to cry. I remember my mother telling me in a soft ,but stern voice to stop crying and be a little man. Mom told me I was going to be all right, but I would be staying in the hospital for a little while. I stopped making noise, but the tears still rolled down my face for a little while longer.

 The nurses and other staff cleaned me up and removed my clothing.  Doctors huddled around poking and prodding, issuing orders for tests, medications, and x-rays. Then they would stand just at the end of my bed and whisper. Heads would nod, followed by glances in my direction.  Every so often someone would look at me and try to reassure me with smile that everything was going to be all right. When the medication they gave me took effect I drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next thing I remember, I was in the operating room and someone was waking me up.  It was cold and smelled funny, everyone was wearing masks, and all I could see was their eyes. They were putting a mask over my face now and telling me to count backwards. My mind screamed for them to stop. Where was my Mother? Why was she letting these masked monsters do this to me? My mind screamed Mommy help. Then it screamed no more, I was now in a drug induced sleep.

When I awoke I was in a number of casts, covering the majority of my body. Everything had to be done for me, and I do mean everything. Being kept heavily sedated meant, being woken up several times during the night, so some nurse could jab one or more needles in my butt.  During the day wasn’t so bad because you’re awake anyway.  I began to hate these creatures that came every night to hurt me.  They fed me, washed me, yes even helped me go to the bathroom and wiped my bum, but because of what happened at night, I hated them and vowed to get even.  I made everything they tried to do for me harder than it needed to be.  I complained to my Mother and tried to get both doctors and nurses into trouble. I went on hunger strikes refusing to eat until they threatened to put in an IV drip.

Everyone was bending over backwards for me, but I couldn’t see it.  I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. People would come to visit me and I would refuse to see them. The ones who insisted on coming into my room were ignored.  Soon only the oldest of my family would visit and the days became long and boring.

Every afternoon my Mother would bring my homework up for me to do, so that I would not lose the year of schooling.

I complained so much, that when something other than medical was bothering me, the staff began to ignore me. Like when the boy in the next room realized that I couldn’t get out of bed and was powerless to stop him, would take my juice off my stand and drink it right in front of me. When I complained the staff didn’t believe me. I vowed to myself to get even with him. He would be made to feel sorry.

Days rolled into weeks  and ever so slowly I began to get stronger. One by one the casts were stripped away from my body and I began to plot my revenge on the juice thief in the next room. Realizing that I would need to be mobile to exact my revenge I asked my doctor if I could have a wheelchair. He thought it was a great idea.  It would be great for my morale to be mobile and good exercise for my weak limbs. If he had only known why I needed my mobility back and to what end I intended to use it, he would never have let me out of that bed.

Watching that boy for a week, I began to know his schedule.  Like when he was in his wheelchair, when he took his afternoon nap and most important to me when he was in traction. One day while he was hooked up I entered his room, bent on revenge.  Wheeling myself up close to the head of his bed, I told him what I intended to do and why. He began to cry and holler for the nurse, but it was too late for anybody to help the juice thief. Snap the release of the traction sent him hurtling out of the bed and onto the floor, causing him to break his arm. I made no attempt at escape. I sat quietly in my chair smiling quietly to myself awaiting my fate. I was quickly wheeled into an isolation room reserved for violent patients and my Mother as well as his parents, was called in for a meeting.

When asked why I had done such an awful thing. I told them straight out.  No one steals from me and if someone had stopped him when I complained, this action would not have been necessary. No one agreed with me like usual. It was agreed that I could remain in the hospital but that my wheelchair privileges would be cancelled, until the boy went home. Total punishment consisted of one day in isolation and a week in bed. Punishment did without batting an eye. All was right with the world again.

The rest of my stay was uneventful. The staff didn’t like me and I continued not to like them. In time the only two casts still left on my body were the ones on my left leg and foot and the left arm and hand. A therapy program was initiated designed to help me strengthen my limbs and facilitate my speedy discharge. This was quite all right with me and I worked like a demon. Everyone including me was quite surprised at the progress I was making.  Keep up the good work and we will have you home before the school year is out. Will I be able to return to my class? I asked the doctor. I see no reason you can’t was his reply. Without knowing it he had made me the happiest boy in the hospital.  I was finally going home.

Finally check out day came and we were all happy, them to see me go and me to be going. The fractures in my left leg were not healing as fast or as well as the doctors would have liked, so it was decided that although they were allowing me to go home, I was to stay off of my feet. This meant that I would have to be carried to the bathroom every morning to move my bowels.

The bathroom was on the second floor of our house.  My Uncle Hughie came three times a day, saying that a person needs to go when they need to go and sometimes once just isn’t enough.

One cold day in late January it was decided that I would be allowed to return to school if I followed a couple of rules and was very careful.  

Rules

1. Keep cast dry at all times
2. No rough housing
3. Go to school and straight home
4. Except for school stay off the leg

          I agreed to these rules and was on my way to school the next morning.  It took me longer then usual to get there but it was worth every slippery step I took. The whole day was spent talking about my experience and what it felt like to wear a cast and walk around on crutches. I feasted on the attention, I felt special, and I was content. Did I obey the rules? The answer to that is that I tried.

One day soon after my return to school I saw Curtis chasing my brother. It was after school and my brother didn’t look like he was enjoying himself, so as Curtis ran in front of me I whacked him with my crutch. This stopped the chase but put me in a world of trouble. Mr. Leblanc had witnessed the whole affair and he was absolutely furious that I had used a weapon to strike another student. I was hauled into the Principle’s office. I told the Principle that I was only trying to protect my brother, like my Mother taught me. He told me that he doubted that my Mother meant for me to use weapons, but in any event, the use of weapons to settle problems would not be tolerated in his school. If I did this again, the use of crutches would be denied me on school property.

Winter turned into spring and the stupid cast was still on. Except for a great place to store unwanted vegetables I had no use for it. On one of my many trips to the hospital during a cast check the vegetables were discovered. I thought my Mother was going to kill me right then and there, but she didn’t. The smell was terrible, everybody thought it was amusing except the one that counted, that person being my Mother. All the way home I was told how I couldn’t be trusted, and from then on I would be taking my meals in the kitchen with every one else, no matter how uncomfortable it got for me. You see up to that point I had been allowed to eat in the living room watching television, so that I could stretch out my legs, the most comfortable position for me.

On one trip to the hospital I was fitted for a walking cast, the kind with a heel that looked like you were wearing a white boot. With that on I was able to walk without the crutch, for short distances. It was during this time that I began to inquire about the state of Prince. I was informed that he was still in the machine shop down the street undergoing several operations that would make him well again just like me.  I asked my Mother if I could go visit him like she visited me. She said I could, so off down the street I hopped as fast as I could. When I saw Prince I was pleased to note that he was all in one piece. The man who had volunteered his time to repair Prince, explained to me that just like me, Prince would be none the worse for wear, but he would have a few scars to remember the accident by. Pleased with his overall condition I returned home.  It would prove to be a long time before I would ride my Prince again.

Finally the rains of spring fell and my leg was only sporting what they call a half cast. The rest of my body returned to normal. I was happy with the change in weather because it was easier for me to get around, but I was also saddened, because now more than ever the other children were beginning to ride their bikes, and my Prince was locked up in his stall. I would visit him sometimes twice a day just to be close to him and feel his handles in my hands, even if we couldn’t ride I could dream.

School was over and thanks to my Mother bringing me my homework, I passed with flying colors and except for having to attend the Negro Community Center’s day camp I was free to do pretty much what I wanted, as long as my chores were done.

I’m sorry did I lead you to believe that because I had a cast on that I was free of chores. My Mother figured that if I could go to school and play outside then I could do chores that wouldn’t strain my leg.  After all she explained. When you get older and have an accident the world will still be racing on, and if you don’t want to miss anything, you must learn to rise above your problems and get on with your life. It made sense to me, like everything else she said, so my chores got done with little complaint.

I loved day camp. The walks, the outings, the singing, and the arts and crafts, I loved it all. But what I loved the most was at the end of the day I returned home to my Mother and the rest of my family, and I was safe.

So as I’m about to go to bed to prepare myself for my last day of 3 working at 7 am Let’s talk about my dreams.

I don’t usually have dreams.  I went for a long time not being able to remember my dreams so I just straight up told people I didn’t dream at all.  However, I do have a couple that I can remember

The first dream I can remember was between the age of 4-7.  It was a vivid dream of me running through an MC Escher style castle with the a loony tunes style monster (The one that is like an oblong fur ball) chasing me through it.  I’m not sure if I entirely got out of the situation or if I just woke up.

My second one is when I was around 12 years old.  I had a dream that I was in my bed and my brother was staring at me with his face like a foot and a half away from mine.  So I punched him.  Turns out that I punched my lamp.

The Third that I can state in chronological order is my dream about being in gym class 9th grade year.  The gym class was only a semester long and consisted of 2 week intervals of different activities ie bowling for two weeks, wrestling for two weeks. side bar* girls didn’t do wrestling they did tae bo. I wanted to do tae bo as well however I was still considered a boy that year in school.  So I had to wrestle this kid that lived across the street steven menyes who was actually on the wrestling team.  Anyways so I had no idea what I was doing so he ended up putting me on my back and laying on my stomach.  The gym teacher told me to do something and I simply replied, “No, I’m doin fine right here thanks.” needless to say I didn’t have to wrestle anyone again.

Anyways back to the dream, so I ended up having a dream that I got into a fight with steven, however I went to throw a punch and everything got really heavy and in slow motion.  As I made contact it got harder and harder to push into his face.  That was it. but in reality he ended up grabbing me from behind after getting off the bus so I flipped him on his back.

Dream number 5 consisted of me thinking I walked to the bathroom to pee in the middle of the night.  But I didn’t so I think we all know the outcome of that one.

Then I started having sexual dreams about boys.  And let me tell you, awkward.  I had one about my teacher who asked me to help him with something at his house so we got in his big red pickup truck and I learned why we called him Big [insert teachers name here].  Then there was the dream about a kid on my soccer team.  The funny thing was I always thought this kid was terribly weird.

After that I kind of stopped having important dreams.  Everyone forgettable as the last except those dreams that seem like they are real life and often you try to hold people to what you dreamed.  Like when I was late for a midterm (however I should have known it was a dream when my dorm bed was a hammock outside of my house in Georgia).  Or when I went to Lunch with stefani. Or when I was looking at a Porn Magazine on the dorm futon and George came in and we had a discussion about going to the dentist.

I’m starting to wonder if I had a dream where I went through a part of my day and then decided to take a nap.  That would be awkward.

-EPF

“I’m a simple kind of guy.  That’s why I teach first grade.”

Usually, I write carefully worded advice for high school and occasionally middle school or college kids on some topic having to do with succeeding in high school or college.  When I work with kids each week, I am usually the model of patience and optimism.

Inside, I am often seething.

Kids can’t write.  Kids can’t read.  Kids have no idea how to construct a sentence and often aren’t quite sure what a complete sentence consists of.  Kids have an alarmingly truncated vocabulary.  (Yeah, like they would even know what “truncated” means.) When I talk to kids, I modify my speech so I don’t appear threatening by using big words.  And these are kids who have grown up with educated parents in a middle-to-upper-middle-class suburb with a highly-regarded school system who are headed for college and professional careers.

I’ve been tutoring high school kids in my town for about 22 years now. I’ve decided it’s not all the kids’ fault.

Sure, they could read more than the two books assigned for summer reading in their spare time. Of course they could read the whole assigned book rather than read Spark Notes for the chapter summaries. But if the teachers are going to gauge student compliance with the reading assignments by giving quizzes which ask the kids to regurgitate those summaries, the students would be foolish not to give up reading and go to the Spark Notes when time is tight.  I’ve asked nearly every student I’ve had over the past five years or so why their teachers are assigning literature to read, and not one of them has been able to articulate a reason.

So my first rant is about English teachers. Not all English teachers, mind you, deserve censure. Some are good (I like to think I’m pretty good).  Some are GREAT (thank you, Mrs. Joyce Garvin of River Dell Regional High School, the best English teacher in the world, as far as I’m concerned).

But I know an English teacher whose assignments so regularly contained grammar errors that my students had a find-the-error competition going on.  I know an English teacher who was surprised to hear me say that most Elizabethans didn’t speak in iambic pentameter.  I know an English teacher who told a student that “between you and I” was correct.

I’ve never heard of an English teacher who said, “Everyone should clear his desk.”  Or “Did each student bring his assignment pad?”  It only sounds odd because you’re not used to hearing it.

Even worse, most of the students I know can’t imagine reading for pleasure because they’ve never been given anything pleasurable to read.  Reading comes with chapter quizzes, outlines, skits, posters, but not with a purpose.  Books like A Tale of Two Cities and The Good Earth were taken out of the curriculum, I suppose because the teachers weren’t able to help the students understand them.  Instead, they were replaced by books written in the first person.  Even good books written in the first person, like Catcher in the Rye or To Kill A Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby don’t have complex vocabulary or sentence structure because they are trying to use colloquial speech to sound natural and realistic.

Where I’m from, English teachers generally don’t assign plays unless they were written by Shakespeare or Arthur Miller.  English teachers don’t assign novels or short stories written by authors from any country other than America or England. English teachers (with one notable exception in a nearby town) don’t assign essays or speeches. And English teachers never, ever assign anything humorous.

I know kids who’ve gone through high school taking Regents English classes who NEVER had a take-home essay to do. Well, I shouldn’t say never.  Perhaps they had one in four years, but they couldn’t remember it.  That’s shameful.  All the essays are in-class so the students can practice for the Regents exam.

My son got to college and had to take a freshman writing class.  After his first assignment, on which he got a less than stellar grade, he called me to say that he couldn’t imagine why his college writing teacher hadn’t asked them to do a poster or a presentation or a skit since he had become so proficient at them in high school.  Why, he even learned how to write in bubble letters and how to use a glitter pen!

So maybe the problem isn’t with kids after all.

I’m sure I’ll have to duck some harsh criticism about this rant, reminding me how television and computers have made it all but impossible for English teachers to teach reading and writing to kids today, but I can’t hold it in any longer.

What can parents and school districts and English teachers do to improve the situation?  Here’s what I’d love to see:

• Introduce students to works of literature from different periods of time and from different cultures.  How about a Russian short story or a play from the 1920’s?
• Offer students reading that’s slightly above their comfort level.  That’s how they’ll grow.  A juicy Agatha Christie is fun and challenging for most students.
• Try humor.  Have you ever read P.G. Wodehouse or James Thurber and kept a straight face?  How about Dave Barry or Ephraim Kishon?
• Tell students about why the work is considered worthwhile before you read it, not afterward. Maybe then they’ll start the book with a sense of purpose.
• Read for pleasure.  Have your kids read for pleasure.  No tests, no papers, no essays, no posters, no bubble letters.  Just pleasure.  Have “reading time” in school just like they do in second grade. Let the kids sit on the floor and eat a snack while they read.
• Don’t be afraid of a little controversy.  Read and discuss TIME or Newsweek’s back page essays with kids.  Read the letters to the editor of those magazines, too, and figure out why the writer is really writing.
• Ask kids to share their favorite authors with each other.  Some kids do read because they want to, and other kids should see that.

There.  I feel better now.

Do you have something to rant about when it comes to education and kids?

Wendy Segal

In the United Tanks of America; this week is Thanksgiving, the season started by Abraham Lincoln during the darkest days of the American Civil War to remind americans that they did indeed have a lot to be thankful for.  WordPress decided that they would take the opportunity to get people Vlogging about the things in their lives for which they are thankful… however I have missed the proverbial boat, and haven’t the time to go video editing at the moment (hence the tumbleweeds flying around my YouTube channel).

However I thought that in the spirit of things, and always loving the excuse to have a bit of a holiday, this post is about things, places, people and ideas that I – as a lowly british citizen who will most likely amount to nothing – am thankful for. So let’s begin with the obvious: My Existence.

When all is said and done, I am just a great big humanoid mass of cells, made up of molecules which in turn are made up of atoms which in their turn are made up of mostly empty space… if they weren’t so electrically charged, you could actually walk through walls. But this arrangement of atoms didn’t have to be me, I could have been any combination of human DNA imaginable… I could have been taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, disabled (I don’t call asthma a disability) or indeed you and for the chance to live a life, however brief and however pointless, I am immensely thankful.

Next on my list is my family, however flawed they are individually, and however much they argue, without them I would not be the person I am today, without my mother I would never have got even close to some of my goals, and without my father’s deadpan philosophies I would be just as certifiable as my mother can be (sorry ma!). My dear brother could be called a nemesis, except that as he has grown up he has become one of my best friends… despite being a mathematician, rock musician, and politically apathetic to the point of perversion… and I couldn’t be without him.

Talking of Friends, it’s probably worth mentioning them in general, but to go through each one I was thankful for would be beyond the scope of this blog, so I will just mention a couple. The Debaters come first, the people whomI can have a proper discussion with about our differing opinions, but still have mutual respect at the end. Secondly there are the Strategists, those few people whom I trust implicitly enough to confide in on anything, and who will pick up the pieces when I fail. Lastly are the Educators, the friends I have who will answer my questions, no matter how dumb, about their subject areas of specialist knowledge. I have a great respect for my friends, and for my enemies, and I am thankful for them beyond words.

 I am thankful for being in a world I do not understand, as to understand everything in the world, let alone the universe, would then mean there would be no knowledge left to gain, and the point of existence (at least to me) would be null and void… I do wonder what will happen when the span of human knowledge gets to a theory of everything.

That said I am also thankful for Science as when you want to know something, where do you turn? In this world you have two basic options, Science or God, and anyone who reads my blogs/facebook notes will know my views on the latter. Science gives us a toolbox with which to search out the answers to all the questions in the (un)known universe, and it is truely brilliant to gaze up at the night sky, or down a microscope, and find whole new worlds just lying there, that you had never known before.

You can probably add Human Curiosity to this list, and I agree wholeheartedly when Dr Who says things that make him seem to be rather in awe of Humans, remarking on the human inclination for curiosity and exploration. This is one of the things that makes us great, and whilst some all fear the unknown to some extent, we should all try to embrace it.

Mssrs. Jim Thomas, Alan Brown, Zahid Akram and Chris Sweetland are four men whom I am most grateful for having known, and for having had the luxury of being taught by at school, because the four of them together (and by no means on their own) gave me a lust for learning of which I am still afflicted, the former two being Geography Teachers and the latter being Science Teachers were all extremely enthusiastic in their subjects, although of variable teaching success, each and every one having something to bring to the table, Alan made Human Geography bearable and even interesting, and even helped me self learn Meteorology, whilst Jim taught me Glacial Geomorphology, and this I think is the main reason why I went into a Geology. Chris has a way with chemistry that can make it fun and understandable, whilst his industry background gives some perspective and relavance to the teaching, and dear old Zahid, whilst not being the best physics teacher I ever had, was by far the quirkiest, funniest and had the highest enthusiasm!

The last item on my list is Books, mainly non-fiction… because if there is anything you want to know about, even in these days of internet and wiki-(no-peer-review)-pedia there are always books. I sincerely hope there always will be, for there is nothing more satisfying that sitting with a well written book and whiling away the late hours learning something new from the carefully printed and edited pages, and thanks to public libraries, they are accessable to all.

So what about you? What things are you thankful for and why? Perhaps with people taking just some time to consider that question, some will be happier for it.

Earth is dying: News,Economy,Nature,War,H1N1,Death,Gay Sex Ed,Corbett,Jeremiah, Van Impe,Coalition,Defile Christ,Dark Ages Blue Laws,Achilles Heel,Good/Evil Seeds

Prophecy’s Extra Oil Update 35: News of Good/Evil Seeds
©copyright 2009 Bonita M Quesinberry

News 11/25-11/27: 3.5 days in “terrors of these end days;” a few snippets—

VT, 1st state for gay marriage~ 1 public school now teaching children “anything goes” in sexuality [?sex with animals, too?]; AL, 1 miner dead, others hospitalized in mine inspection; FLA, man sought for shooting 5; H1N1, linked to rise in bacterial pneumonia cases, allergic reactions to vaccine rising but lull in new cases; FED, Obama to announce up to 34-k soldiers’ will deploy to Afghanistan; Philippines, massacre toll climbing, 100 arrested; Economy, 1 of every 4 home mortgages exceed value, “under water”; Number of “at risk banks” hits 552; Real jobless rate 17.5%; Nature, Obama, China to attend climate change summit; Quakes, 227 last 7 days, from M2.5 up to 5.9, most in M5 range, more widespread; Volcanoes, no wonder air so polluted, partial list last 7 days shows 16 eruptions globally with ash plumes as high 46.9-k feet, list does not include all activity, only most active on land, not in oceans; China, executes 2 in tainted milk scandal;

Mother and Daughters: this last sign began during the Apostles’ ministry but is now building up to repeat church violence of the Dark Ages; Christ warned, “Beware of pastors, preachers, theologians taught by men, teaching man’s laws for God” —

FLA, sister Tammy: 11/24, Tampa 89.3-FM Christian radio broadcast, Rev. John Corbett said, “Paul wrote the book of Hebrews to stop Jews from being Hebrews. All of the Law, including God’s Ten, were sacrificial and done away with by Jesus: legalism no longer applies, so stay away from those legalists! All it takes is love.” At his .org website he declares a master in theology and indicates faith is Papal Rome, Revelation’s Great Whore and mother of harlot daughters: URL on Links page for Catholic catechism.

The following news is from http://jesuswillanswer.com who highlighted Extra Oil 34 on their homepage with a link to our total article; take particular note of words underscored in bold print or in all CAPS for posts that will not accept the MSWord document as prepared— “11/23/09: A formidable COALITION of 150 Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical LEADERS are CALLING on CHRISTIANS IN A NEW MANIFESTO TO reject secular authority and even ENGAGE IN CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE— IF LAWS FORCE THEM TO ACCEPT abortion, same sex marriages and OTHER IDEAS THAT BETRAY THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.”

Those 150 clearly represent the Great Whore and her harlot daughters. It seems they not only shun Christ’s instruction to obey God’s Laws but also laws of the land. The finale of this longing running sign will see Christ in the clouds: it is excitingly obvious the above call includes violence against those they call “legalists, cults:” we of God’s Doctrine, and that of His Christ, definitely betray their religious beliefs based on Satan’s teachings.

Recall history’s Dark Ages: Papal Rome ordered the deaths of millions of “heretics” via Rome’s civil power, killed all those who would not embrace her “church and religious beliefs.” The dead were Doctrine Keepers. Recall: US infancy history, Doctrine Keepers were beaten, jailed, even hung. We are being ushered into a new Dark Age where Papal Rome and her Protestant harlot daughters are ratcheting up to make one last, feeble attempt to annihilate God’s people: He said it would happen and that “they think to do it for God.” The above “manifesto” is a global call and the goats ultimately will respond with rage and violence against God’s Saints and Elect.

“Civil disobedience,” however, is a misnomer: for they have 52 US States’ Sunday Blue Laws with the severest of police power included to back up their actions, the backing of our Federal Government’s declaration of “no provision for Saturday,”, and a little known Federal law giving it unlimited power to back any State law without a matching Federal Law. So, do not look for the Federal Government to intervene on our behalf. Christ’s sheep and God’s Elect will be the ones ultimately beaten or jailed, and a “few” killed.

Today they are in an angry, argumentative stage while vehemently rushing headlong to violence and first will go after Doctrine Keepers with the strongest voices and visibility: in their minds, what better way to eliminate the rest than by getting rid of those who boldly and without fear speak God’s Truth. TSaS has felt their heat many, many times in the last 30 years— emails, comments at websites, face-to-face— has felt the mother and daughters’ magnified hatred for God’s Truth. It is a hideous sound and sight.

Blasphemy using God’s Holy Name. They curse Him; unaware their armour is flawed, a vital piece missing: Truth. Our armour has no Achilles heel: we have God’s power and bear the sword of His Truth— the only sword we are to brandish in upcoming attacks against us. Harm no man; rather, take the insults and arrows, as did Jesus, a blessing to us and a curse to them: God WILL raise us up if they kill the flesh garment we wear!

FLA, 11/25— Sister Tammy also reported radio’s Rev. David Jeremiah of Turning Point, also on TBN, teaching that cults “came out of” myriad Christian denominations, therefore are part of them. This belies Paul’s statement that “men came among us to spy on our teachings, then left to go their own way. If they had been of us, they would have stayed with us.” The truth is that those myriad denominations “came out of” Christ’s True Church and are recognized as antichrists, apostate churches as it were. Doctrine Keepers were first and have always been since Christ; never a part of the Great Whore and her harlot daughters. Rev. Jeremiah also said “belief and works are not to be together, that your works should be community works that people can see. Love your neighbor. ”

As Paul said, “I will show you my faith by my works . . . works of the Law of Righteousness.” Amen! And, when the men expounded on all their good “community” works to Jesus, including calling out demons in His name, He turned to them and said, “I know you not.” According to Christ, the “works” are to do God’s Will, His Doctrine, His Holy Law: by such obedience we instinctively will do other good works among people.

Noted in Extra Oil 34, hostility is a rapidly increasing theme taught more heatedly each day by the mother and daughters’ ministers on TV, radio and pulpits: the above reports show how far they will go to incite rage against Christ’s small flocks. God says they curse Him by vile opposition of His Will—His Doctrine—His “perpetual” Holy Law and by attacks in His name. They defile His Christ, our saviour Lord: God sent to Him “magnify the Law and make it honorable” among men again. We suffer nothing strange, nothing our brethren before us did not suffer: they gladly died for God’s Truth and Christ’s sacrifice. — “Ye shall suffer for me as I suffered for you; but I will come quickly.”

TBN, 11/25— The first thing evangelist Jack Van Impe presents is that he has a doctorate in theology, as does wife Rexella. This broadcast was as if he were doing flip-flops trying to fit square pegs into round holes of the end of days’ prophecies. Referencing daughter’s teaching that Israel must rebuild its Temple, he attempted to justify it with Revelation’s fact that New Jerusalem will come down from heaven, wherein there will be no Temple.

Van Impe says Israel must rebuild now— they have it in parts for assembly that could be done in a matter of weeks—it was allegedly prophesied that Abomination of Desolation will sit upon the throne therein before Christ returns, the Temple ostensibly defiled again. Van Impe explained that the Saints are taken up in the rapture for a purported 7 years in third heaven, earth will be left in utter chaos and a few might die but certainly not all.

According to Van Impe, when the Saints return with Jesus, He will destroy that new temple then New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. Jesus and the Saints then teach the people “Left Behind.” Van Impe did a fine job of rendering God’s ancient prophets liars and implied Jesus also a liar. Van Impe did his father proud, a liar from the beginning.

Please do as sister Tammy did and report via email to TSaS all relevant activities of the mother and daughters in your area. We must keep a close eye on them; for Jesus said, “When they attack, then flee from city to city as needed: you will not go far before I come.” We are to speak only His Truth and flee the location rather than engage in their futile fight for Satan’s continued dominion over earth. HIS REIGN IS OVER!

No indepth news for a while. We suggest watching local news and CNN. TSaS will focus on vital Bible studies, documentary summaries that respond to horrors we are witnessing during the most exciting time in man’s history, include member comments and/or prayer requests, and answer member questions. As news of the mother and daughters come in, it will be included in the next Extra Oil to broadcast. Pray— pray— pray unceasing for all, for the world and leaders, for all who believe a lie and will die twice for their wicked ways: “They know not what they do, nor to whom they do it.”

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Seeds of Good and Evil

Condensed from Truth Gathering, chapter 31— Seeds of Good and Evil; ©copyright 1998-2003, annotated by Bonita M Quesinberry; the world’s only exhaustive AKJV Topical Bible: text below represents only the core message from each paraphrased scripture; references provided at end, followed by summary notes:

You, who are obedient believers, are given understanding of the mystery of God’s kingdom: but, the wicked and disobedient hear parables they cannot understand; they see but do not perceive and hear but do not understand the truth. These latter have a form of godliness but deny the power of God by their behaviour. They consistently study to learn but never come to the knowledge and wisdom of God’s truth. Why? Because they seek by man’s direction instead of the Holy Ghost: the former a liar, the latter unable to lie.

The Word of God is like seeds planted. When cast, some fall by the wayside, some upon stony places, and others among thorns; but a few seeds fall upon fertile soil. Those lying by the wayside represent people who heard the Word; but, Satan quickly removes God’s pure Doctrine from their hearts: which is to say, they heard the truth but never accepted it; thus, they turned back to man’s teachings by Christian illusion or by paganism: the latter is one way, the former is both ways cleverly disguised as Christ’s Church— Satan’s greatest lie. Alas, they will remain in a sinful state with absolutely no hope of salvation.

Seeds that fell upon stony places are people who hear God’s Truth and receive Christ in a display of great joy; but the word does not take root in them. Alas, for a while they seem to believe; after a time, temptations of this world pull them away from God and back into Satan’s glittering gold world: whether it be his seemingly beautiful side, which appears to be Christian yet promotes worldly prosperity, or back to being utterly wicked and filthy.

Seeds having fallen among thorns are people who heard God’s Truth, obey it for a while, then the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life soon choke out their faith; causing them to only appear Christian yet bearing no fruit of righteousness for lack of patience and Truth.

Finally, those few seeds on fertile ground sprout in a people of honest and good hearts; therefore, God’s Word is understood thoroughly and each obeys Father’s Doctrine wholly as well as teach it to others: because they love Him and wish to please. Each bears fruit of righteousness; for they are patient, which is faithful. Their fruit is two-fold: 1) each grows into righteous behaviour like Christ; and, 2) each bring others into God’s Light and Truth, even if it’s only one person, or thirty or sixty or a hundred.

As Jesus said on two separate occasions, “If you bring one to me, you shall be called great in heaven. If you live my Father’s Law and teach others to do the same, you shall be called great in heaven.” Oh, dear sheep! How simple to reach that plateau where God in heaven calls you “great!” It recalls His declaration of Job, “He is righteous above all men.” I desire to be called great by my Father. How about you?

The seeds symbolize two things: 1) the Word of God; and, 2) the people who hear His Word. The latter seeds are divided into two groups of humans: the good, also referred to as wheat, and the evil, also known as weeds. Those considered evil by God are all who deviate from His Word by even the smallest point. The weeds grow amidst His wheat. If we look at the world’s landmasses, we find that the majority of fields are made up of weeds; in comparison, only small segments grow wheat and even then weeds infiltrate in an effort to choke out the wheat. Satan’s army makes up over 2/3rds of humanity; God’s army is a small 1/3rd: the difference is we have God’s power and they do not.

Jesus said, “Every writer for God’s mouth is taught what the kingdom of heaven is like, and each teach these matters from both the Old and New Testaments; for they have received in abundance God’s knowledge, wisdom, secrets and mysteries. Alas, those of a wicked heart quickly lose the Truth they first were given, because they did not receive it with unshakable trust. Therefore, man shall live by every word of God.” Those who know God and His Christ obey God’s His Doctrine, to-wit: Statutes of Life, Law of Blessings, Law of Righteousness, Ten Commandments— for they who obey and teach His Word, in him or her is the love of God and Truth perfected.

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References— Mark 4:11-12; II Timothy 3:5,7; Matthew 13:3-9,19-33,37-50,52; 13:12,16; Hebrews 4:2; Proverbs 1:23; Psalm 68:11; Proverbs 2:1-6; Luke 4:4; I John 2:3-6

Additional Points— Matthew 13:11,13,15; Mark 4:3-9,13-20,26-32; Luke 8:5-8,10-18; 13:19; 17:6; Psalm 45:1-2; Mark 4:24-25; Deuteronomy 8:3

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God’s own words reveal a single seed: His Word; and Jesus is the sower of God’s Word. The Word is heard by two kinds of people— indicating that all of humanity does hear or read about God at some point during their lifetime— also referred to as seeds: 1) God’s children; and, 2) Satan’s children. Noting either child as a seed indicates into what manner of plant, or person as it were, the seed sprouts and grows to ultimately reveal who is their father: God or Lucifer. These children, or soil as it were, also indicates the type of ground God’s seed Word fell upon and the plant type that sprouts: wheat or weeds.

The four soil conditions reveal God’s wisdom, in that He alone knows each person’s true intent at heart: whether they desire spiritual things or the comfort of this world. The “wayside” uncovers a wicked heart, while “rocky and thorny” ground turn to the things and cares of Satan’s temporary realm: earth, the riches of which are under his temporary control to dispense. Only to fertile soil does God impart His Knowledge, Wisdom, Secrets, and Mysteries plus spiritual gifts of power according to Holy Spirit’s discretion.

Lucifer’s children become his by virtue of their daily choices. After all, humanity first was God’s by His creation. As noted, Satan’s offspring are referred to as weeds, which has a two-point meaning: 1) blatantly wicked and filthy, those of the wayside, surround God’s children everywhere they go on this planet; and, 2) the beautiful ones, rocky and thorny, sit amidst Christ’s true congregation feigning belief. These are weeds in the midst of wheat but will not be separated until harvest time: that done in plain sight of all: no magical disappearances of people, as the “Left Behind” series would have us believe.

God judges soils 1 through 3 as hating Him. Revelation 3:15-19, however, indicates hope for the rocky and thorny— as Revelation describes as the cold and lukewarm: which is another Truth to be learned. Still, each person must choose to “sell all that they have to follow Christ,” to-wit: comply with God’s full Doctrine as well as “speak His testimony and teach His Law.” If they do so because they truly love God, it is because “there is Light in them.” — Isaiah 8:16,20

Time to repent is TODAY: we entered the last church age, Laodicea, in 1991. As a result, “Christ is at the door and comes quickly.” No one can say the specific day and hour, but we do know the time is at hand and must watch the clouds; for Christ’s harvest is not far off: October, or as late as mid-November. Could it be 2009 or the next year, perhaps? The Spirit instructed the seventh seal messenger, “No later than 2011.” The various signs of both the Old and New Testaments, including the mother and daughters’ hatred of the Doctrine Keepers, plus six of the seven plagues are present and ever worsening, and all prophecies up to Christ’s return are fulfilled. We eagerly await His presence in the clouds of the final harvest months.

——Watch the clouds between mid-October to mid-November henceforth until no later than 2011. The book of Hebrews says Jesus will not be late. If not fully converted now, time is your enemy; total conversion must be instant, this day, TODAY: do not delay. Pray unceasing! Be watchful; stand fast even to death. WE HAVE GOD’S POWER. KEEP WALKING and TALKING, even when it seems useless or even dangerous: you might snatch one lost, Lukewarm sheep from the flames and give the warmth of God’s Truth to a Cold waiting for it. Saith the Lord, “Ye lukewarm await consuming fire.”

——TSaS post archives open to public; members access Bible Lesson FILES. TSaS ministry neither needs nor asks for money and never will: God provides our basic needs. We ask only for prayer and that you share God’s Truth with all who will hear/read and obey in “the instant.” Be good stewards of God’s Word: share Extra Oils, lead everyone to God’s Biblical Truth at — http://groups.yahoo.com/group/truthseekersandspeakers

Much Love in Christ, Sister BonnieQ
http://seventhseal.webs.com Unicorn Haven’s Seventh Seal Library

http://www.naturesanswer.com to order Asafetida, also correctly spelled Asafoetida: produced by Natures Answer; if not in product list send email to NA to ask about getting it (my local health food store orders it for me) This is one of the strongest fighter’s of virus in God’s herbal kingdom: His medicine works perfectly and with no side effects!

Also, remember God’s words about these times, “My people shall walk among them and be not touched. And, my people shall not go without.”

Are we discouraging students from being creative with the current schooling process

I’ve always had an interest in education, in particular the way in which it is structured and run, and since a young age always wondered ’WHY?’. But I think everyone has something to say about education. It has had an effect on everyone, people always want to tell you SOMETHING about their education.

If you ask somebody about their education something comes up from inside of them.  Its something everybody can take an interest in. We all have a vested interest in education. Education is meant to take us into a future that we can never grasp.

It is thought provoking that, people who started school this year won’t retire until 2070. Yet nobody has a clue what the world will look like in 5 years time. In recent months I’ve been to conferences where people have been discussing the future, the future of technology, and the future of education. But none of these people can tell you anything that will happen beyond 5 years. Then how can we possibly be educated for it. To me, someone who is hoping to become an education professional, the unpredictability of education is extraordinary.

This is why we have to recognise the phenomenal creativity and innovation of children and young people. You can take a look at any child and you will be able to identify their amazing talent.

It might not be amazing when you look at the entirety of childhood, but what is amazing is that that child has put in the dedication to develop their skill into a talent.

My opinion is that ALL children and young people have an amazing talent, that through our education system we squander this talent, sometimes ruthlessly. My argument is that creativity has been left behind in an ever changing world. I believe that creativity is as important as numeracy and literacy, and that it  should be treated with the same status.

There are great examples  of where kids don’t know…… but have a go. (I could write speeches for Gordon Brown with rhyming like that).

I’m not saying that being wrong is creative, but i do know that if your not prepared to be wrong then you will never come up with anything original or creative.

The issue is that by the time people become older, we become frightened of being wrong.

The national curriculum shows that mistakes are the worse things you can make. This means that we are educating people out of their creative capacity.

“All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up”

-Picaso

I believe we don’t grow into creativity, we do the opposite, we grow out of creativity. Not willingly or knowingly,  but we get educated out of it.

Where ever you go in the world, all educational system has the same hierarchy.

Maths & science——————>Humanities——————>The Arts

I always spent most of my school time at the bottom of this scale in the arts department, and I noticed another hierarchy there: Drama and dance are not as important as music and art.

There isn’t an education system on the planet that teaches dance to students every day the same way we teach maths.

WHY?

I think maths is a very important subject, but I also think drama and dance are equally important.

If you were to look at the education system from the outside, as an alien, you would have to conclude, from looking at the output, that the purpose of the system is to produce university professors. These are the people who come out of the top of the educational system, and with all respect to university professors, they are put on a pedestal and recognised as the ‘greatest’, but why?

Firstly, our education system leans upon the idea of academic ability, and there’s good reason for this.  Maths, English, Science were the subjects we are told were the ‘good’ subjects.  The creative subjects, the ones you enjoyed, the ones you where unknowingly pushed away from, on the grounds that, “you’ll never get a job doing that”. Am I right?

“ Don’t do music you can’t be a musician.”

“Don’t do art, you’ll never become an artist.”

Now, quite obviously, this view is out dated. The planet is engulfed in a revolution.

The other reason that creativity is suppressed, is that academic achievement has tainted our views on intelligence.  The whole education system is back tracked from university graduates.  Then you end up with a lot of highly talented, creative, brilliant people, thinking that they’re not. Because the thing that they are good at, at school wasn’t recognised or some times stigmatized.

In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO, more people will graduate from university, world wide, than the total number of graduates….EVER. And this is because of things such as technology, the transition into work and the huge explosion of population.

Then suddenly a degree isn’t worth anything.  Forty years ago if you had a degree you had a job. If you didn’t have a job it was because you didn’t want one. But now young people with degrees are heading back home to live with Mam and Dad, because  all of a sudden you now need a Ph.D.

We need to rethink the way it works, we need to rethink the way intelligence works. We know three things about intelligence and the way it works:

Firstly- diversity, we think about the world in all different ways. Through sight, sound,  movement.
Secondly intelligence is dynamic. Creativity, which I believe is the production of  valuable original ideas,  lets us think about situations in different ways we will have a creative idea. The third thing, intelligence is, is that it is distinct. From person to person it is all different, and if we stop looking at situations with tunnel vision then we will approach things with a different, alternative, creative and enriching perception.

What we have to celebrate is the gift of the human imagination. We should be recognising and cherishing this gift wisely, to stop creativity being destroyed.

The way we can do this is by seeing our creativity and imagination for what it is worth, and to see children’s imaginations for what they are. Our job is to nurture this creativity for the future. A future we may not see, but they will, and what we have to do is help them make something of it.

Shine Week 2010, celebrating all young people’s talents.