10 of my favorite Parent statements through the Years!

In paranthesis are my responses:

1. I know my child and I know he would never lie to me. (You are living in a fantasy world, mom!)

2. Why don't you worry about the big things like drugs and weapons instead of
wasting your time bothering my kid about dress code and being tardy? (If I bother your child
about these "small" things, I won't ever have to worry about the big ones.}

3. If my child said F$#@ Y&% to you, what did you do to cause him/her to say that? (Are you kidding me?)

4. My child doesn't think that you like her. (I don't...but I still want to facilitate her educational
experience.}

5. He never acts that way at home... (Ha, ha,...that's a good one!)

6. Why are you stressing my child out with all these expectations? (Why aren't you reinforcing my
expectations at home?}

7. Don't talk down to me just because you have a college education... (Sure, I'll express my views intellectually.
The problem is that you won't understand a darn thing I said. So at least give your child the opportunity to
understand some day.}

8. My child says that you are boring... (Which rock did you look under that had a note stating that preparing
children for a solid education was entertaining?}

9. I've talked to many of my daughter's friends and they all say you called her on the carpet. (You are foolish
for listening to a bunch of teenagers that challenge anyone that facilitates brain function... and by
the way, you might try calling her on the carpet as well.}

10. My child is failing your class. What are you going to do about it? (Not a darn thing...he's failing because of
his decisions not because of my actions!}

Ten Statements made by Teachers that Enhance your Child's Education.

1. Your brain should be tired by the end of the school day because you challenged yourself today...not because
you wasted brain cells texting until 3:00 AM this morning.

2. Yes....spelling counts!

3. If you would like to do better in my class, take all electronic devices out of your room and hand your
cell phone over to your parents after 8:00 PM every night.

4. Who said anything about being easy?

5. Please use full sentences.

6. When a middle or high school student tells the teacher that they don't have a pencil, paper or their book
after the first week, the teacher's response should be..."That's your problem, deal with it".

7. When I'm talking...you aren't!

8. Work is an expectation, not an option!

9. Studying is hard...Digging ditches is harder!

10. Your parents owe you food, shelter and an education...everything else is a priviledge. If you decide to ignore
your education, there will be no extracurricular activities, no time with friends, no electronic devices, no
name brand clothes, no use of the car, no spending money, no dating, etc., etc.

10 ways to Improve Respect & Discipline in School.

10 Ways to Improve Respect and Discipline in Schools.
1. Hire administrators and teachers that couldn’t care less about being politically correct.
2. Eliminate warnings, negotiations and rescheduling in the discipline protocol. The only warning is on day one when the student receives their student manual.
3. Forget about teaching to the test. Teach to the focal point of passion.
4. Expel the 5 % of the kids who couldn’t care less about school and who daily impede upon the educational opportunities of others.
5. Celebrate the quality, heart and passion of teachers and mean it.
6. Tell the parent that comes in looking to find fault in everyone as a cover for their child’s imperfections…to take a hike….then have the SRO escort them out of the building.
7. If a student does not do their homework, prepare for class or study…give them what they deserve…..an “F”.
8. Expect all students in American schools to speak in full sentences, look you in the eye, do the multiplication table through 12, spell properly, exude manners, and speak English.
9. If you pass everything, you play. If you fail anything, you sit.
10. Manual labor should be the standard form of discipline for not doing your homework. Let them get used to what it will be like in 10 years if they don’t carry through with their education.

Bullied: What does she see in me?

Chapter 6
What does she see in me?
Here I was back in school in the spring of 1985 ready to try something new. I was in possession of my business degree from ’83 supported by that 2.01 GPA. However, after attempts at engineering, retail management, sales and an attempt at making the Professional Tennis Tour, it was time for something new. I was ready and focused and I was going to do it. I was going to be a Biologist. The reality was I had never followed through with anything after the age of ten. I struggled with commitment, trust, relationships, winning, and losing, just to name a few. However, I was a fighting survivor of Bullying and I plugged along. Surprisingly, I enjoyed that semester. I made some friends, performed in school and actually laughed at times. Of course, I always had my little yellow pills when things got a bit too tough.
The fall semester began on a very high note. I was excited for the first time in years and jumped into my classes believing that I would do well. Sitting in Microbiology the first day, I noticed a very beautiful girl sitting ahead and to the left of me. I could not keep my eyes off of her. I knew, however, that a girl like this would never go for a chump like me. I had joined the Biology club in the spring and was now an elected officer of the club. About three weeks into the semester, three girls stopped me in the hall and asked if they could join the club. One of them happened to be that gorgeous girl from Microbiology class. My eyes were glued to her as the three girls asked questions about the club. Her name was Kathleen. She was stunningly beautiful, with a nervously curved smile, pale green eyes and long slender fingers. What was impossible to not notice and is still mentioned by so many to this day was her hair. I had never seen a woman with so much gorgeous thick hair and it was intoxicating.
We ended up in the elevator by ourselves after the other girls had moved on. We connected immediately and just started talking and listening. Immediately, I noticed that I was not a nervous wreck around her. I made sense when I spoke to her and I didn’t dry heave as I did with other girls that I thought I liked. By the time that we left the science building and had walked half a block a decision was made. I was going to marry this girl. There was only one problem. Kathleen was gorgeous, bright and talented…and I was me! So I decided to conduct an experiment.
The kids in our department met in groups many nights in the library. A few days later, I “accidently” bumped into Kathleen and told her that we had a study group planned for that evening and she was welcome to join us. At seven o’clock I was seated at the table on the third floor of the library trying to figure out how I would explain the lack of any other participants. As my mind was scrambling, two students from the Middle East sat and started talking. This was great! Now it looked like a study group. As we were talking, she appeared. All three of us stared although I tried not to gawk. As she sat down the other two guys proceeded to talk incessantly to her. Now I was looking at the possibility of a wasted opportunity. However for whatever reasons, after just a few minutes, the two guys excused themselves and headed out.
Here I was now alone with this woman who I couldn’t stop thinking about since our first talk in the elevator. After just a few seconds, my guilt-driven tongue spilled the beans. “There is no study-group, Kathleen; I set this whole thing up”. Kathleen looked at me and just quietly stated, “I know…and you are the only guy in the department that calls me Kathleen. I like that. The others all call me Kathy”. Then we started talking about everything and anything for the next four hours. I walked her to her car, we smiled, and then I just walked to my car. As I searched for my keys, the biggest most legitimate smile came upon my face and the feeling inside was the best I had felt since I was nine years old. She likes me….me… little, plain, lowly me!! As I drove home that night, confusion and emotions of sadness and ecstasy scrambled my thought process. After so many years of struggling within an empty worthless shell……Was it actually possible that I had some value as a human being?

Do your Homework, Be Prepared, and Study!

“Do your Homework, Be Prepared, and Study!”
Michael L. Sanz

Many of us have those few movies that we can just watch over and over. One of mine is “A Few Good Men” starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. I am always mesmerized during the courtroom scene, when Cruise and Nicholson go at it. The classic exchange is when Nicholson’s character barks out, “You want answers?”, and the young attorney Cruise passionately responds with, “I want the truth!”

Here is a Truth: The Educational System in the United States benefits a few, burdens many and does an inadequate job preparing our children for the future. It is time that we face truth and come up with solutions. The greatest deterrent to this is fear of change.

I have come to the realization that “Fear” is really scary! Removal from our daily habits is extremely frightening. If I was told that I could no longer have my morning cup of coffee my fear of falling out of my routine would lead to me being too frightened to function…??? “Change” is the fabric woven into every significant event in the history of this world. Present any name in our past and there is a connection to change and fear. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Robert Oppenheimer (I wonder how many of our high school seniors know who he was.), Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy are just a few. These guys were very scary dudes. They had the courage to spark change despite the consequences of the resultant fear.

The following is a solution to enhance academic success, improved test scores, and higher graduation rates. These points lead to an environment of inviting culture, compassion, consistency and elevated community self-esteem.

The new catch phrase throughout the district should be, “Do you Homework, Be Prepared, and Study!”
The lobbies, offices and classrooms in every school in the district should clearly display the phrase, “Do your Homework, Be Prepared and Study!”

Wow! Think of how this radical change will evoke fear in the hearts and minds of so many students. Well, tough, it is direct, and it will work. So when a student approaches a teacher and says, “I don’t understand why I’m failing this class”, look them straight in the eye. Raise your hand and slowly open three fingers on your hand while saying, “Do your homework, be prepared and study”. When a parent comes in for a meeting with teachers they will ask questions. The most common is, “What can you do differently to help my child get better grades”. Every teacher in the meeting should address this the same way. “I will continue to facilitate the learning process for your child utilizing my skills and experience. Please instruct your child to do the following: “Do your homework, be prepared, and study”. Finally, when an administrator or guidance counselor meets with a teacher and says, “You need to make changes so that the students do better”. The teacher should say, “Absolutely, I’ll talk to them today and introduce my major expectation: Do your homework, be prepared, and Study!”
…Problem solved!

Triad of Academic Success

Triad of Academic Success

I believe that every child can learn. I believe that every child can embrace the joy of feeling successful. I believe that the bar of academic rigor can be continually raised. However, for too many of our kids, these things do not happen. These children will not enjoy these benefits until a drastic overhaul occurs within our educational system.

First we have got to clear the air, get out of the box, start from scratch, reorganize the bus and incorporate every other cliché that exists in society. All the guidelines that are in place as of today need to be shredded and cleared out. The philosophy of “politically correct” needs to fall off a cliff, lawyers need to go to hell, and parents need to start being parents through actions not just in name. The changes necessary to provide outstanding academic performance will take guts and courage.

The key to success involves the triad model. This is a dynamic triangular relationship existing between students, parents and the school. The only way that effective academic rigor can be implemented is if the links between the three points are tight and strong. The struggle exists where the weak link lies. The withering links develop because of chinks in the pillars. A tone of discipline, respect and courage must be designed and implemented by the parents from the day the child is born. From that very first moment the baby should be nurtured, held, comforted, read to, sung to, told right from wrong, given guidelines,reprimanded and praised. These primary interventions will support the triad when the child is five, thirteen, seventeen and beyond.