February 24, 2012

come together... right now... over me!

...and our children

I have long been an advocate of teachers

i have long been an advocate of students

i have long been a proponent of the current educational system

the trouble that i have is that if i want to make the system better, then sacrifices will have to be made.

when it comes to battles of improving education, someone always has to be right and someone always has to be wrong. is that really necessary? to that, i say no.

i truly believe that it is not the idea of "my idea is more right" but the idea of "lets see if we can get it all together and do better for the education of our children".


SYNERGY goes a long way. i learned in a college level Afro-Caribbean dance class that in order to make a dance speak, you had to combine many elements. my son goes to a public charter school and i will say in all his 6 years of public, private, parochial, and other charter schools, he is getting the best offering for advancement.


guess what??????
his teachers are not union members.
i am a full supporter of unions that work, but i think the way teachers are treated is deplorable and the trickle down is uneducated children who will do society no good in the next 20 years.
we have to pay teachers what they are worth, reward them for what they do, and offer consequences for those who don't meet the requirements of the future of America.
hiding behind a union who will hold you up in the system even if you should NEVER be teaching children or tenure because you did your time is disappointing to me.

will we lose people in the fray? absolutely.

but there must be sacrifices for growth to happen. think about these things:

1. dendrite pruning

2. rose bushes

3. young peach trees

Goddess

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I'm just gone sit here.... cleanin' this here gun!

he has a point. people are always asking me what i do differently as a parent because they think i am using some 'modern' parenting techniques. what they don't know is that i just do it old school. i know that it works on some children but i have my way and they have theirs. i have to say i cheered in my office chair when he unloaded the clip into her laptop! my dad would have done the same thing (to my sister of course as i was the perfect child *snark*) . it is what it is and it takes time, patience, and prayers (or spells, or whatever alternative higher power requests you need to use) to raise a child to be a productive adult. does it scare the hell out of me that i have to use methods that may upset others? yes because what i do is what i would like to think is my own business, but i know that social services, police, teachers, and basically any mandated reporter will turn me in because it is just what they are required to do.
to that i say wooooosaaaaaah! i keep it moving and i keep it real.
does that make me a bad parent?
ask me in 15 years and ask this dad in 10.
i think the proof will be in the pudding (or in the self sufficient college grad and/or productive member of society)


Goddess

check out some of his posts after the fact. he's not budging or changing his stance... way to stand your ground dad!

http://t.co/4oCw91rv

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*sings like Beyonce* Say my name, say my name

my personal thoughts on why you must have balls made of kryptonite if you are going to talk shit about another group of people who you don't know.

word to the wise.....

"if you don't have anything nice to say. keep your mouth shut or MAKE SOME MOTHER FUCKING CHANGE..."

there has been some controversy in my local school district's police force and they are doing what they can to have it cleared up. apparently there was some misappropriation going on and it is being brought under control ultimately by an investigation brought on by the department. things will be okay soon.

a post about the writing in the local paper, The Sacramento Bee, was on point about how truths were twisted to put the police force and those in charge in a bad light.

but a person came in and pulled on my chain. a person posted and talked a lot of shit about a group who might be at odds with some of the goings on with the police department. he was vague to a fault..... read on.....


"There is one community within the district that is struggling with both the rule of law and with the ability to find their way in a larger community. This doesn't mean that they are bad people. They are simply struggling to find their way. I strongly suggest that they begin finding it by visiting those communities that are further along that road of community service. Discover the tools necessary to move forward rather than relying on "some" organizations which pretend to "do the work for the individual."

 

my reply

if you don't mind me asking, of which community do you speak?
i take slight offense to this comment in which you point a finger, but keep the offending party cloaked under hints of distrust and smacks of self-imposed immunity.

The use of the word "they" in my book is about as ignorant as the use of the the phrase "you people" ... please let me know because i, and many that i know, are willing to seek out this group of persons who are struggling to find their way.

i finally found out the community that he was talking about and i can 100% understand the distrust. but usually we see communities that fall apart because those who want a better life for themselves cannot look to helping all.

this writers request was for people in this neighborhood to come on down to his neck of the woods....i will bet you all the money in the United States Treasury coffers that there is no way they would allow people from this community into their houses. i see calls for the police to come out to their neighborhood to patrol for potential predatory perps.


let's take for instance, a neighborhood in Mobile AL. my mother lives there. she is a black woman. a majority of her neighbors are black but there are a few VERY old neighbors who are shall we say.... NOT BLACK! these not black neighbors are the remnants of a neighborhood that at one point in time was not black until people of color wanted better for their families and decided that a move to the suburbs was in order. my mom says it is common place that when the blacks move in the not blacks move out. my mom cemented this when she talked to me about a home health nurse she had when she had a surgery. the home health aide was a white woman and could not understand for the life of her why she was helping my mother who is a black woman. it came down to the coverage that my mother had. obviously, they had NEVER seen a black woman with that kind of coverage where i come from we call that middle class health coverage. this woman was a lost cause and had to double check a couple of times because there was no way that a black woman could have a white home health aide. THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY IT WORKS IN THE SOUTH. hmmmmmmm

what was a i rambling about? right.

calling someone out their name. respect is not given it is earned, but you cannot draw a line in the sand if the other is not facing you.

Goddess

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February 22, 2012

On the topic of Black History Month

i still believe, in this day and age, that we have to be cautious about some of the things we say about some black people because many of us can take it personally. black history month is not a dedication to black people in america. it is a month in which everyone has an opportunity to learn about black culture from somewhere other than the schools because so much has been omitted from textbooks.

and the last time i checked, Irish folks got the month of March (and have since '91)
hell guide dogs got a month too (september)
to round off the year we have Indigenous Indian & Alaska Native heritage month in november
what gets the most publicity is Black History month. why? because people are always complaining about it and wondering why white folks don't get their own month.

as far as i am concerned, they had a month that lasted well over 200 years. i think they can share the calendar a bit.

just my opinion

Goddess

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February 20, 2012

A word on discipline from Goddess... to bend or not to bend?

THAT is the question.

should we as parents get totally bent out of shape when we punish our children because of a worry that we might upset them?

this is a question that i toy with all the time.

i have a child who is painfully thoughtful, smart, sensitive, and intuitive.

does that mean that i should tailor my discipline methods to cause him the least amount of harm?

does this method of parenting raise concerns with the increase in the rates of drinking among single parents?

the goddess ponders.

Goddess

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February 19, 2012

Ask NOT what your country can do for you...

There should be no religion in our government. The people who govern may be religious, but that should not sway their decisions. As well, lawmakers should not run on the premise of morals and faith. Though we want them to lead and live by example and be strong in their faith, we should want from them not to judge others by what they do and enact policies that are FAIR to all. There is so much more that we can do as a nation.. We can speak up, we can act out, we can find an audience. but it must start in the home first, community second, and government last. The people we have the ability to touch are the closest to us. When we start small, we can achieve great things. Goddess Creative Commons License
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February 17, 2012

Remember what you learned in Kindergarten?

i'm cool on AZ. regardless of your creed, your race, your political affiliation.......
if you were in preschool and you did this...

           1. you would be in the "time out" chair in no time!

           2. we also encourage using your words, which i believe the President did in saying that he wasn't happy with things she had written about him. 

           3. giving hugs.


Guess what we also advocate in preschool?

            4. SAYING YOU ARE SORRY. oh yeah!

it is far easier to accept and respect those who may appear different if we mind our words like we mind our hearts. the person on the inside is who we should train our mouths to speak of.

Goddess

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February 12, 2012

On the topic of Birth Control and MMM MY Uterus...

Thank you president Obama for making the policy shift on employer provided birth control. I am not sure how anyone else could be upset with this move. The bishops at this point, should recognize that the choice of any Catholic women to use birth control is now between them and their God. Under the first amendment churches have been excluded. There is nothing left to say or do. It is as it should be. Now for the last time, can you guys stay out of my pants and leave my uterus alone! SHEESH!!! Goddess Creative Commons License
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February 4, 2012

the goddess raps on Evolution of empathy and the ways that it’s shaped our society.

watch this. this is how i have always thought and i swear when they stated talking about mirror neurons, i was like FUCK YEAH! i am floored. it is possible, and as the Lorax said….. unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. it’s not.” we truly are a society of caring beings. we have to find ways to get back to that. when i see glimpses of that change, i just want to put them into boxes and find a way to replicate it over and over again and sneak that shit into the water supply. ya feel me? Creative Commons License
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February 2, 2012

take your pick asshole, asphyxiation or the mouth of an active volcano?

take your pick asshole, asphyxiation or the mouth of an active volcano? I have been trying so hard to maintain a certain level of calm with regard to some of the things my son’s father does and i guess i have reached the end of my proverbial rope. let me nail down some facts…. 1. been divorced almost 9 years 2. been raising genius XY most on my own for those 9 years 3. genius XY was a vegetarian from birth 4. all that changed when i added fish 5. changed some more when i added chicken to our diet somewhere between 5. and now, dad decided that it would be practical to sway genius XY from eating chicken. his plan: 1. constant discussion about how i am not following his plan of raising genius XY; i.e., raising him catholic and not TM style, raising him as a black child and not a white one (stew on this one for a while), not keeping him away from his ‘dangerous’ family members (in quotes for a reason), and not keeping him a vegetarian. 2. making genius XY feel guilty for eating meat 3. having genius XY watch a film “Meet Your Meat” from PETA on the care of farm raised chickens, aka chickens slaughtered for human consumption. now back to my list… 6. chicken is cheap 7. chicken is easier to prepare 1,000,000 different ways 8. chicken is tasty i have been cool, calm, and collected long enough but i guess i just have to vent here because i can’t change who my son’s father is. i can just change how i react to him. as a result, Goddess has decided to let it all out in my blog, then keep it movin’. genius XY watching ‘Meet Your Meat’ has caused absolute CHAOS at my fucking dinner table. not an evening has gone by when i haven’t had to sit down to eat a meal of chicken to watch my child pick and nibble at his meal short of tears because he has so much trouble eating The Chickens. he is all fucked up over parts of the chicken and parts of what he sees of the film while he is eating. did his father not recognize that this would happen? abso-fuckin-lutely not!he meant best but he doesn’t feed him meat at his home so he doesn’t have to deal with this. perhaps he thought that milo would just make a decision to stop eating meat like Lisa Simpson did and all would be good in the hood. downside to this is that genius XY is not a able to give up chicken because his mother buys chicken that was alright until “Meet Your Meat”. tonight i’d had it and i explained to him why i am always so cranky at dinner time. it is because his father has committed a terrorist act on the sanctity of my home and dropped a table side incendiary device onto my dining room and kitchen. i feel like i am punishing him everytime i feed him chicken and i can’t afford to go out and buy the tender veggie nuggets or make him tofu because he will then be VERY hungry before bedtime because he is a growing boy!!!!!! i want to choke the shit out of this man on a good day and drop him into the mouth of an active volcano on days like this. image Goddess (yes, the very angry one) Creative Commons License
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was i wrong to decide to have an only child?

Milo: mom? Goddess: huh? Milo: i got a question for you. Goddess: (mutters under her breath) i guess i can't say no. yeah go ahead Milo: if you had the choice, would you be a vampire or a werewolf? Goddess: i guess i would pick the werewolf Milo: (walks away dejected. only had a philosophical rant to share if i had answered to the former) Milo: (pokes head back in doorway) that's okay, because you don't have to die. vampires have to be dead for like a whole day. Goddess: (smiles) god i wish this kid had siblings. Goddess Creative Commons License
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