The schools used to be a place where you learned and got ready for the real world. Now what are they just another place for over protective parents keep their children in the bubble as long as possible. Even up to and including collage. Take these few examples.

Punctuality - In some of my younger relatives and friends kids that are still in private and public schools get into trouble if they’re late right. Just like a job right. Well you’d be dead ass wrong because the schools don’t want students in trouble give them anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes! of leanancy before the student is ruled late. Do you know of a job that lets you walk in 15 minutes late every day and keep your job. I can’t think of one

Books - No I’m not talking about books like math or history, I’m talking about books like Night by Elie Wiesel. Anyone who’s read the book knows that it’s a graphic description of life in Nazi concentration camps. Now anyone with a bit of rational sense would say that everyone needs to read this book. Then again parents often have no rational sense. This book that should be read by every h been banned in almost every fucking school in the country. WHY! Because parents ran to the school board saying that the book disturbed and bothered their child. you’d think that the school board would scream in these morons face’s. “It’s supposed to fucking disturb them! If they’re human it should have bothered them! Why do we want them bothered by this SO IT DOSEN’T HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!” Do they say that? Hell no! Almost every single one of them said “Don’t worry even though it almost flies in the face of logic no child will have to read this book. Even though it’s one of the most important books ever wrote we don’t want children to be bothered by something they read” Now can anyone tell me how many things are wrong with that logic.

I might have more on this later

Warcorpse

Many complaints have been made against the educational system, HOWEVER what most people seem to overlook is why it was created in the first place.

During high school, I discovered a startling fact: “Napoleon created the premise of public education for the purpose of conditioning society to be a subservient culture. To follow orders and not question them.”

In the Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave, does this system foster a generation of free thinkers? No, it creates two separate classes of youth:

1. Those who ingest and regurgitate information.

2. Those who rebel against the system.

Very rare is it to see an individual who thinks for them self and can create new and exciting ways to navigate through society.

Just a thought.

I wish somebody would explain to me why kids aren’t better educated these days. I don’t have any kids so I normally don’t think about their education - But after reading economist Alan Greenspan’s 500 paged book, “The Age Of Turbulence,” the pages which scarred my brain tissue the most were the ones describing the failure of the American education system and the difficulty American graduates have in competing for jobs against better educated immigrants. It’s certainly not the kids’ fault. According to Greenspan, “A study conducted by the Lynch School of Education at Boston College revealed that although our fourth-grade students were above average on an international comparison scale in both math and science, by the time they reached their last year of high school, they had fallen well below the international average. The leading nations included Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden and The Netherlands. According to Greenspan, immigrants from India and many other countries have superior engineering and computer science back grounds and are in demand by American corporations (while millions of Americans are unemployed).

So what the fuck is happening to American kids between 4th grade and high school graduation? Since we spend many more tax dollars per student than almost any other country without getting good results, maybe we should have a tax protest about that.

The Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind program was supposed to make sure all kids received the education necessary to become productive citizens. In the book, “Many Children Left Behind,” author and educator Deborah Meier writes, “The biggest problem with No Child Left Behind is that it mistakes measuring schools for fixing them. The focus on high stakes testing and test preparation dumbs down classrooms.”

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”  -Diogenes Laertius

If high school graduates (not to mention drop outs) can’t find jobs, many of their alternatives aren’t too good for society. They are much more likely to become drug dealers, burglars, muggers and kidnappers for ransom. Many will just stay home indefinitely and live like expensive house pets unable to fly out of the nest.

America has the most powerful military in the world. We have the best rock stars and we make the best movies. Why can’t we be number one in education?

You can see more photographs by Mountain Dude at: www.dportrdvd.com

“Due to swine flu, state health officials are changing the way public schools report absences…” That was the beginning of the recorded message I got on my phone last night from the school district.

Now, because of this so-called pandemic, public schools have to report to State Health Officials EVERY student who is absent because of flu-like symptoms.

What are flu-like symptoms?

*fever of 100 degrees or higher

*sore throat,

*cough,

*body aches,

*runny nose

Give me a break. What illness doesn’t fit into that list?

So the big question is…….Am I going to be a good girl and tell the school that my children have flu-like symptoms when I call them in sick? Whatever.

(From the School Districts Website:) “Students or staff with influenza-like illness should stay home and not attend school for at least 7 days even if their symptoms resolve sooner. If after 7 days, the student or staff continues to have acute symptoms, he or she should stay home until 24 hours after these symptoms resolve. If you have questions, please contact your school’s Health Services Office.”

If my kids are sick, they’ll stay home until they’re better. Period. If they are better, they will go to school. I’m not keeping them out of school for a whole god damn week because they MIGHT have flu-LIKE symptoms for one day of that week. I WILL keep them out for as long as they need to for WHATEVER reason until they are well enough to go to school, whether it’s one day or three weeks. I will decide. It’s MY job to be the parent - NOT the governments. Fucking invasive pile of bullshit.

By the way, the number of people that die every year from staph infections would make this so-called swine flu epidemic look like a small piece of paradise. I don’t know. If was going to freak out about something, I’d freak out about Staph infections. The number of deaths caused by this nasty little infection is anywhere from 18,000 per year to 100,000 per year, (depending on who’s talking) and affects as many as 2 million people a year, give or take. I don’t know how many people die every year from contracting Staph in hospitals, and I don’t care enough to research it, but it’s plenty more than the number of people dying from Swine Flu. So if you’re thinking of going to a Hospital to fix your swine flu, well… good luck.

By the way, the TOTAL number of people that have died from Swine Flu in the USA, is 3. In case you missed that number, here it is again: THREE.

The TOTAL number of deaths from Swine Flu ON THE PLANET is 53. It’s an epidemic alright. With respect to that, am I going to report that my children’s symptoms are flu like? Fuck you. How’s that for an answer?

SEGERSTROM FUNDAMENTAL MANIPULATES THIER STUDENTS INTO LEAVING!! Segerstrom Fundamental High School in Santa Ana, California has high test scores and likes to keep it that way. It has come to my attention that Segerstrom is getting way with injustices! Not knowing for sure that this is coming down from the Principal, but knowing for sure that the Counselors are doing it, the one Counselor (if you can call him that anymore!) Mr. Antonio Espinosa, told a Senior in April 2009 (yes, 2 months before he was to graduate!) that it would be better for him to transfer out of the school because he ‘may’ not graduate. What he was telling him was, “We can’t have our wonderful schools’ numbers screwed up because of those of you who may not graduate on time, so we want you to transfer out of our school so that we can keep our fake wonderful scores so high and keep getting whatever awards we get from that feat.” And the idiot convinces these kids and their parents to do it! I personally know one kid that transfered out THIS MONTH (April 2009) JUST 2 MONTHS BEFORE HE MAY HAVE GRADUATED all because his ‘educated and caring’ Counselor talked him into it! This is WRONG!! Segerstrom is manipulating their scores by doing this! Someone look into this! Please! This school does not care about anything other than awards and funding. Oh, they may say that education of their students is top priority, but the REAL top priority is MONEY and STATUS!!! Segerstrom Fundamental wants their students to have morals, but clearly, Segerstrom Fundamental Staff HAVE NONE!

I am not attending my 20 year reunion with a shaved head.  That’s what I did the last time, and although it did turn out to be conversation piece, I swear my hair-shaving and the reunion timing were purely coincidental.  Everyone knows what I look like now anyways, because I’m on Facebook; my pictures and semi-weekly comments on my daily life posted for all to see.  I wonder if I have left anything to be anticipated.

A very good friend of mine has a page for our classmates to comment about “what do you remember about…” and people are writing their good (and not so good) memories about one another.  This is where I took inventory of the people who know one another (from my good friend’s page) and are already staying in touch on Facebook– does anybody really need the reunion?  Will the actual reunion in July be a bust because everyone is already connected by Facebook?  Will it increase the turnout and give people something to talk about?   Then there’s the cost…

$200 bucks for a dinner and dancing with my high school peers.  And really, only a few of them would I have considered my friends back then.  Except the friend noted previously, I do not keep in touch with ANY of them now.  I think that I may be wasting my time (and that of my poor husband who will attend this soiree with me) and money except that I will see the ONE friend I actually keep in touch with who does not live nearby. 

I guess I would be dong it for her, and that I can do with no regret.

Warcorpse here talking about something that if you think about it for to long you’ll get a guaranteed migraine. All these fat people that sit and first off bitch about their weight while they’re sitting on the couch sucking down a Ho-Ho. Blaming everything from society to the media to the goddamn restaurants themselves for their weight problem. What’s even more aneurysm causing are these parents groups that get the schools to serve bland tasteless food because it needs to be healthyer for their fat ass kids. Then the third group that say they want to eat healthy but by nothing but TV Dinners, Frozen Pizza and other assorted Garbage. When confronted they say I don’t have time to cook. Really dinner should only take twenty to thirty minutes you don’t have that long!

To the people that sit there and blame everything I have one thing to say. NO ONE IS PUTTING A GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND FORCE FEEDING YOU DOUGHNUTS! You people are the ones going to restaurants and ordering all three courses for yourselves. Your the ones that go to buffets and eat for two goddamn hours. Your the ones that go to the grocery store and buy nothing but boxed or canned heavly processed instant meals. And your the ones who think that cooking begins and ends with the MICROWAVE!

Now does it end there hell no! You snack at least three times a day, drink soda by the gallon, won’t think about going to the gym after the month of January and generally round out the day by sitting on your couch watching all the safe programming on TV and slurping down all the ice cream you can handle. Then you try and tell me that it’s NOT your fault that you can barely get behind the wheel of your car . Here’s a thought try a salad, go see your doc, get on a exercise program, and you know what the pounds will FALL off! I know that’s not what the fat pride group wants to do but that’s another article

Now to the parents that are wrecking school lunches and even the goddamn bake sales, enough already. First off lunch is the one goddamn meal that you can eat like shit and still get away with it. Because you still have several hours to burn off the calories. Secondly most children can eat whatever they want because their metabolisms are burning at a hundred miles an hour and most of them are a hell of alot more active than their PARENTS. Third and most important school serves the kids ONE MEAL! you parents serve them the other TWO PLUS ALL THE SNACKS! If your kid is over-weight and he asks for cookies as a snack say NO! I know that’s a foreign word to most parents but it’s a great way of combating childhood obesity. Having the PARENTS step up and tell the lard ass kid NO!!!

It’s not McDonalds or Burger King’s fault your kids are fat its YOURS. Last time I checked the parents took them to McDonalds and PAID for the Happy meal. They’re kids they don’t have fucking jobs to buy shit with. Plus parents it’s really hard for a kid to eat healthy when mom and dad are sucking down the cookies to. Also if you want them to eat healthy stop giving them crap,  they’re kids they won’t starve after a day or two they’ll eat. It takes an adult brain to be able to starve yourself. One last little thing about the parents that got the bake sale to be healthy… SHUT THE FUCK UP! Cookies will never be healthy.

Lastly the third group that wants to eat healthy but says they don’t have time to cook and so they buy a Hormel ready-made Meatloaf, two packs of Bob Evans Mashed potatoes, A pack of Green Giant steam vegetables and a large jar of gravy and call it “dinner”. Then they sit there and wonder why their weight keeps going up and more so wonder why they’re to tired to cook. Here’s a thought, did you ever think the junk you’re eating is keeping you TIRED! Maybe if ate some REAL FOOD you’d feel better and have a little more energy. Folks healthy eating does not come from a PRE-MADE BOX! LEAN CUISINE IS NOT PART OF A HEALTHY DIET!

And don’t tell me you don’t have time to cook everyone does if you’ll just have to sacrafice the twenty minutes of American Idol and if you put a TV in the kitchen that problems finished. Fourtuently for everyone the old Warcorpse loves to cook and I’m compiling a list of recipes. They’re not particularly light but it is REAL FOOD! No pre-made bullshit!

So i think this proves that for every 1 fat person that is over-weight related to a medical problem that can’t be controlled through medication there’s 999 that are a  result of pure laziness or stupidity. Laziness is the reason I’m a bit overweight myself. I just don’t make bull-shit excuses for it. Okay America now it’s time to either do something about it or stop crying about it!

More from Warcorpse HERE

I’d begun hearing catch phrases like, “I got poked” - “Look who’s on my wall.” and “Tag this photo.”  It was a strange, new language; a language I didn’t understand nor cared to.  More often, these strange - almost coded - little messages would rear their ugly heads in normal conversation accompanied by smiles and giggles.  Whatever they were talking about brought them joy.  I still didn’t care. 

“How many friends do you have?’

“I don’t know, but ’so and so’ just asked me to be her friend, too!”

Each conversation was part adolescent bliss and part emotional fulfillment.  What is this “thing” that has everyone so giddy?  Why is everybody talking about it…doing it and ridiculing me because I’m not?  Peer presure at it’s worst…or best, if you’re one of the addicts.  I avoided it like the plague for the same reason that I too am now addicted to it.  It can’t be done in moderation.  It’s all or nothing!  Sure, you think you’re “just checking it for a quick sec” and 12 hours later you’re dialoguing with three online friends, tagging a fourth friend’s photo, while adding seven new friends that you haven’t seen since you had acne and braces.  No question - FACEBOOK IS THE NEW CRACK!  Granted, I’ve never indulged in the magical white pebbles of death, but I do know people who have and this has the makings of something just as consuming…but in a good way.

What is the appeal (of FB not Crack)?   Let me try and explain it as best I can without sounding as if this is the only reason why it’s appealing and yet it pretty much hits the nail on the head…for me at least. (Whew.)

1. Non-threatening Self-expression: It let’s the world know who you are, who you’re with, what you’ve done and what you’re into now - without you having to actually TELL anyone.
2. Convenience: I can chat or not.  I can tag or not. I can answer or not (right now) and nobody gets hurt, because they’re interacting with 50 other people, simultaneously, who are making the same easy, snap decisions.
3. Connecting without obligatory investment/commitment: There’s nothing like getting “befriended” on FB by someone from your past and being pleasantly surprised…for a second; only to remember that you were never that close to begin with.  No harm, no foul…add another friend to the tally.
4. Reconnecting: Probably one of the greatest reasons for this site to exist. Friends who were friends THEN and after one million years of being apart, are still friends NOW as if you were never apart. (”Okay, it’s been 20 years…so where were we…oh yeah…so Debbie never liked her and I was all, no way…and she was like, yeah way!“)  Well, you get the idea.
5. Family: Can you say - ”Quick updates!”  No more of the annoying - “Let me speak to Jimmy and then put Ray on, then grandma and let me talk to the twins after that.”  Suddenly, your unlimited minutes become very limited with a side of cauliflower ear.  With FB…TAG ME, BABY! 
6. Networking/hooking up: Probably the lamest reason to FB.  You should do an about FACE and BOOK on over to linkedin or eharmony if you want a job or a date.  You’re killing the lighthearted buzz with all your desperate neediness.   And last but not least…
7. Bragging rights:  “How many friends you got?”  One gazillion and 3…TOP THAT!

I’ve said it before, but I HATE IT SO GOOD because it calls to me in the morning and at night.  Now I know why the caged bird…takes crack and sings.  FACEBOOK!

In closing, as incredibly genius as this magical white pebble of networking is, it will NEVER replace the comforting release of a long conversation, the thrilling rush of a warm embrace, the goose bumps from a long slow kiss, the touch of a familiar hand in yours or the satisfaction of sharing a good, hearty laugh together.  NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Stay connected…for real.

Benman out!

I know a youth for whom suicide is an option. Do his parents know this? No. Where do his parents stand with regard to him?

Well, let’s have a look-see.

This kid’s pot use was just found out about. His parents reacted by getting angry. Telling him he was in big trouble. Telling him he just broke their trust. Grounding him. Bla bla bla bla bla bla.

Where is this kid at now? Confused. Alienated. Alone. Depressed. Angry. He is confused about the trust issue. He never felt there was any trust between him or his parents to begin with. He never felt particularly close to them, and has never felt a connection with them. Now, he’s further cut off from them, rejected, hurt, angry and bitter.

Is he going to stop using? Hell NO! He’s going to find better places to hide while using. Which means he could be entering dangerous territory. Believe me I know. I’ve been there. You don’t want to know where your kid could be hiding to “use”. I would rather have my children using in my home, than in a dark alley with strangers. Wouldn’t you?

Back to the kid. What his parents don’t know about him? When listing his after-graduation options he included three: 1. go travel, 2. go to this college (which his parents chose for him and he doesn’t want to go to), 3. suicide. I’m not making this up.

What don’t you know about your kids? Find out.

Listen Grown-ups; raising kids is like fishing. First you gotta hook them. You do this by using bait they like. Find out what it is. It could be anything; it’s your job to figure it out. How will you know when you’ve got them hooked? Because you’ll be talking. There will be good feelings between you – at least somewhat open feelings. Get to this place no matter what it takes.

Once they’re hooked, keep them on the line for as long as it takes to reel them in. I MEAN IT. The ocean is a big dangerous place. Once you lose them they will swim away and swim fast, whether they know where they are going or not. You may never be able to find them again. And you don’t want to know what could happen to them out there. Why don’t you? Because you’ll have to live with that knowledge for the rest of your miserable life. As well as the knowledge that you had them. You almost had them.

They’re your kids. Sit with them, even if you have to sit with drugs at the same time. Hold on to them while you can, even if they’re high. If you do that, you might be able to steer them toward better choices by loving them, accepting them, finding out what makes them happy, and helping them pursue it. Believe me, there is something that makes them happy besides drug use. Get to it.

This makes me so mad. Parents, get a f**king clue!

I don’t care how you approach it. You’ll probably f**k up 9 times out of ten in your efforts to relate to your kids. Keep at it. Tell your kids you’re stupid, you don’t know a d*mn thing about how to deal with this issue, but you LOVE them and you’re angry because you’re afraid you might lose them. Tell them your fears and tell them you are there for them NO MATTER WHAT! Tell them you’ll work it out together. Tell them to tell you when they think you’re being stupid. You have to communicate with them – that means letting them tell you when they think you’re feeding them a line of BS.

Get your own shit out of the picture and be there for them. It’s your d*mn job, mom and dad. Do it. And do it with love so you don’t lose the greatest chance for love you ever had.

More chillgirlette Here

Are all you parents talking about drugs with your kids? Because you should be. Regularly. It’s a good subject. Start young and make it a casual part of conversation so that it doesn’t ever have to be awkward. Joke about it when appropriate, tell stories, talk about your own use and experimentation – good stories and bad, converse about drug-related media, and let them know that its not scary and bad.

Why should you let them know that it’s not scary and bad? Because to them, it’s not. It’s a curiosity. If you approach the subject without judgment and fear, your kids will be more willing to talk with you – and listen to you – about this touchy subject. If you approach it with an open attitude, then when the potential for “scary” and “bad” enters your home (teenage years, give or take a decade), you’ll have a nice little, somewhat solid, foundation on which to relate to your kids, and hopefully influence them in a safe, healthy direction. Kids need this foundation, and they need to know you’re there for them on this one.

Drug conversations in my home have covered pretty much every “common” drug out there from alcohol to meth to coke to pot to heroin to psychedelics to that big happy candy store: pharmaceuticals…generally, antidepressants. Lately conversations around my house have been about Adderall, an amphetamine that is often prescribed for ADD, ADHD and various other things from weight loss to fatigue, and so on and so forth. It’s commonly called the Focus Drug. Students love this drug as it helps them focus, makes them smarter (or feel smarter), and has all sorts of other super duper effects. In addition, it has numerous negative effects, especially over long-term use.

Last night while discussing Adderall with my daughter I learned a few things. This drug is readily available to kids. Kids who have a prescription for it either sell it or share it with their friends. It has amazing results. My daughter told me about one particular student whose C average was raised to straight A’s last semester as a result of the beneficial effects of using this drug to study. Needless to say when kids see those kinds of results in friends who are using a particular substance, that drug becomes very appealing.

One of the points my daughter made, and I can empathize with her on this, is that now a-days you almost need some sort of drug just to keep up with the pressures of everyday expectations, and requirements. It is increasingly difficult to compete in this world; getting into college can be a real challenge, and the intensity and amount of school work is extreme compared to what it was say in the early eighties, when I was floating through school on a B average that required no special focus, attention or skill (or intelligence). Hell, homework back then was an occasional annoyance. Now, it’s a daily four-to-six hour grind. At the same time, all you hear in the media is how far the USA is falling behind other “smarter” countries with regards to education.

So, you have kids stressing about school, trying to keep up, worrying about getting into college at younger and younger ages. At the same time you have a media telling them that they are “stupid” compared to the rest of the world. Put that together with a pharmaceutical industry that prescribes drugs like they’re candy, and you have a whole bunch of little stressed-out junkies in the making. And that’s just survival. Forget about taking drugs for fun! (Like back in the good ol’ days when that’s the only reason most of us were doing them).

I’ve had conversations with a few of my daughters’ friends about drugs as well. Their main complaint is, they don’t have anyone to talk to about drugs. And (surprise, surprise) they have all sorts of questions. They want to know what is potentially dangerous about this, or what might happen if they try that. Their parents react to “drug topics” with anything from poorly masked horror, to contrived “just say no” BS, to some superficial spew that sounds like it came from some outdated Newsreel from the 1940’s. Generally, their parents are not talking to them about drugs! I find this utterly ridiculous and very scary (for the kids sake).

Let me just ask one question to all you parents who avoid the drug conversation at all costs, or try your best to brush it aside with some prefabricated anti-drug propaganda: As a parent, don’t you want your kids to get their answers from you? Don’t you want to know what’s going on in your kid’s world, just incase something goes wrong? If they get into trouble, don’t you want to be the one to hold their hand and make sure they get out of trouble safe and sound?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then start planning your drug foundation as soon as you conceive. (Or now, if you already have conceived.)

A good place to start: assume your kids are going to try drugs, whether it be a little experimentation, or a full-on addiction. In this day and age, it’s not ridiculous to assume this. Americans are a drug addicted society (thanx, pharmaceutical industry, for that). This starting point will hopefully help you avert some of the “shock” you feel when you find the remains of a joint in your kid’s dresser drawer. Or when you get a call from the county jail in the middle of the night.

Next: educate yourself: Even if you never did drugs, there’s no excuse for not knowing the basics. The internet has pretty much any answer you ever wanted to know about drugs. My favorite drug website is www.erowid.org. It’s a huge drug database. Good family fun. You may chose to share this website with your kids. I have it as my homepage on my computer. If my daughter asks me a question about drugs that I don’t know the answer to I head straight for the computer… “well, let’s just see what we can find out about this one…” Well looky here, Morning Glories are a Psychedelic. Fancy that!

Approach the negative effects of drug use honestly and openly. I’m lucky in this regard; I have a whole pile of bad examples of drugs gone wrong in my own life, many of my friends lives, and some of my family’s lives. My kids have seen up close and personal some bad drug and alcohol shit. I’ve got that on my side. I try to balance this with some “happy” drug experiences. Why? Because if you inundate your kids with just the bad shit, they’re going to know you’re not open to really talking about it, and they won’t talk to you about it. Anyways, that’s how I chose to approach it; it may not be the best, but it’s the only way I can honestly approach it having spent a fair share of my earlier days playing with various substances. I’m not going to lie about any of it. If a drug is potentially really dangerous, I tell my daughters so. If it’s a not-so-dangerous drug, I say that too. (example: “If you absolutely have to do drugs honey, but you’re not sure which one to try…chose pot over meth, the effects are a lot less deadly.”)

However you chose to approach it, be open, honest, and try to throw aside your fears. Whatever you do, don’t judge your kids. If you do, you may lose the one chance you might have had to save their life (or make it a little less painful).