Good ethics backfire....sort of

[RumpleForeskin]

My wife is a high school history teacher 4 years running now. Last year, before the school year started, she was called to a meeting by a handful of counselors and principals about a certain student who was technically categorized as a special ed student because he is "emotionally disturbed". Back when I was in school, there were just a handful of kids in special ed, but now there are more than I can fathom because of all of these little diagnoses counselors or doctors make for children and teens if they so happen to be a little slow with the program. Anyways, they wanted to give her a heads up about the student's mother who had blamed the school district a couple of years prior for his underperformance and bad grades and ended up suing the district. The district ended up settling out of court for what is rumored as a significant figure. Well, they just wanted to make my wife aware of the situation and that she needed to make sure she dotted all of her i's and crossed all of her t's with this kid. She obliged and told them she would make sure the kid had everything.

Well, the semester started off smooth and the kid was doing okay in the class, but not great. The mother noticed this and immediately emailed my wife and CCed the counselor and principal. My wife had to attend another meeting and explained that the boy just wasn't turning in his assignments. What could she do? She notified the mother about the problem and somehow, my wife was being blamed for it. Well, things cooled down for a little while and the semester was coming to a close and the student was barely passing. He had a project due that was worth 20% of their final, but he had not turned it in on time so that meant he was docked a letter grade, which brought his project down to a grade of 77. He received 10 points off for the project being late and another 13 for lack of quality and substance. The mother sees the grade he got and just sends my wife a long and hateful email about the unfairness of the grade. My wife emails the fucking bitch back and CCs everyone involved with this kid explaining why he received the grade he did for the project.

Conference time. The mom, my wife, counselors, and principals all have a sit-down. After the mom rants and raves about her kid not being fairly treated, my wife explains to her that all he needed to do in order to pass her course was to turn in the FINAL review for a credit of 2 daily grades and 5 bonus points on his final IF it was completed. Then, he would just need to make a 55 + 5 bonus points on his final and he would pass the class. If he did not turn the FINAL review in, then he would need a 71 on his final to pass the course. Ok, so the mother understands and abides by those terms.

Kid turns in his FINAL review incomplete and 2 days late. Wife gives him half credit with no bonus points. He takes his final and makes a 48. FAILED.

Mother pulls him out of school and sends him to private school, then sends him to some special private summer school camp this summer that cost a 100k. She sued the district during the middle of the spring semester without my wife's knowledge that went to straight mediation but no terms were agreed upon, so now the case is moving to due process.

So, now my wife is being pulled away from her summer vacation and has to go to these meetings to discuss the happenings of what went down with this student and she might have to take the stand in court against this fucking low-life cunt of a mother. You know, I am glad my wife did everything by the book with her job, but now that I think about it.....maybe she should have just pass the kid. But what the fuck?!?! What is she supposed to do in that situation?

[Dog]

Rumps, why do you put yourself out there like this?

[Luther]

I'm not qualified to really answer the question but it just sounds like her school/district may be lacking proper direction. I would like to think that if a kid is diagnosed with some type of learning disorder or mental handicap that his success and or failure in a mainstream program shouldn't fall back on the teacher. I'm all for accountability with teachers but if the kid seriously can't successfully compete at the level they have him at then maybe his original assessment is at fault.

It is kind of like when I was a kid, and if you stuck me in the A.P. class for Physics or Chemistry then I'm going to be pulling down that grading curve. Or, it would be the same if you had WW running a animal control shelter, or Dinsdale being in charge of some sensitivity center, mvscal being the director of Immigration and Naturalization service. Sometimes the fit isn't right and the kid you described isn't in a situation for him to succeed. Just my opinion, anyway.

Rip City

[RumpleForeskin]

Rumps, why do you put yourself out there like this?

I thought it was a good topic for discussion over here. Fuck posting this story over at SN. The only reponse I'd get is "WTF? I ain't reading all that"

I don't think I'm puting myself out there, but whatever. Nothing personal in there except my wife's occupation

[Risa]

My wife is a high school history teacher 4 years running now. Last year, before the school year started, she was called to a meeting by a handful of counselors and principals about a certain student who was technically categorized as a special ed student because he is "emotionally disturbed".

He's not mentally disturbed. He just has a shit parent ... with money, I assume?
The hooker wants the school to bend over backwards like he was contributing
back to the school by playing football or basketball or something. I don't see
any extracurricular activities listed. All I see is an absentee parent who wants her
kid to skate.

I wonder how much the kids parents are getting from social security for whatever
fake diagnosis was attached to the kid? They sound like professional grifters.
Real parents make sure that their kid is turning in paperwork, and going over that
paperwork. If there's a problem with paperwork not showing up, a parent needs to
buy a copier and make copies of their child's work. If there's a problem with
paperwork not showing up on time, then the parent needs to call up the school the
day that it's due to say that the kid was sent to school with the paperwork and to
make sure that it was received............. the parent is not to put it on the school to
ensure that her child does the work and then turns it in on time. The former is
called looking out for your kid. The latter is called being a grifter blaming everyone
else.

Typical that this woman sues -- and then puts her kid in an outrageously priced private
school. Who's paying for that private school? I wonder if she's asking the school
to pay for the private school, and what her association with the private school is,
or whether the state (taxpayer money) is paying for this kid?

Conference time. The mom, my wife, counselors, and principals all have a sit-down. After the mom rants and raves about her kid not being fairly treated, my wife explains to her that all he needed to do in order to pass her course was to turn in the FINAL review for a credit of 2 daily grades and 5 bonus points on his final IF it was completed. Then, he would just need to make a 55 + 5 bonus points on his final and he would pass the class. If he did not turn the FINAL review in, then he would need a 71 on his final to pass the course. Ok, so the mother understands and abides by those terms.

What exactly was this kid diagnosed with, again?

The only emotional disturbance I see here is a brat; and the
only cure he needs is a firm ass-whupping, and then a firm
hand.

Where is his father?

Kid turns in his FINAL review incomplete and 2 days late. Wife gives him half credit with no bonus points. He takes his final and makes a 48. FAILED.

Pardon me for saying so, but giving the kid a passing grade of 55 with 5 bonus points
is being exceptionally lenient. If the kid was fucking up that much, I don't see how
a failing grade would have allowed him to pass in the first place, to be honest :?
I'd expect that if the kid was an A student or a B student, one failed exam isn't going
to fail the class, though it would fuck up your grade point average.

It don't sound right.

Mother pulls him out of school and sends him to private school, then sends him to some special private summer school camp this summer that cost a 100k. She sued the district during the middle of the spring semester without my wife's knowledge that went to straight mediation but no terms were agreed upon, so now the case is moving to due process.

The school is going behind your wife's back, because they're about to make
her the fall woman.... as they had always planned.. for when this shit gets settled,
as planned.

In my uneducated opinion, your wife needs the services of an attorney,
and all paperwork and phone records relating to this kid.

Don't count on the school to back up your wife.

You gotta protect your wife, and your wife has to protect herself.
Don't trust nobody at the school. I'm thinking about what went
down in Albuquerque this past school year........ just shameful. I
guess I'd have to pull up the links; what made the case easier to
shun was that the two offending parents were associated with the
school board.

So, now my wife is being pulled away from her summer vacation and has to go to these meetings to discuss the happenings of what went down with this student and she might have to take the stand in court against this fucking low-life cunt of a mother. You know, I am glad my wife did everything by the book with her job, but now that I think about it.....maybe she should have just pass the kid.

No.

It's one thing to be cruel to a child.

It's another thing entirely to bend over for a child (or young adult)
who isn't pulling his or her own weight.

Your wife did the right thing. If anything, she was exceptionally
lenient to this kid, from what you're reporting. Unless there's
more to the story, which.... with there being a 100k private summer
school involved... I think your wife is ethically in the clear.

The grifter and the fake emotionally disturbed kid want money. The
school is about to give it to them. Your wife is about to be executed
as a sacrificial lamb. Again, in my uneducated opinion, get an
attorney to find out how to officially cover your wife's ass and bases.
Then get a second opinion.

But what the fuck?!?! What is she supposed to do in that situation?

It was pre-ordained. She acted like a teacher. That's all she could do.

[RumpleForeskin]

That very well may be the case, Luth. I don't know who decides that sort of thing, but it seems to me that these committees that do decide the stability and/or levels of a child or teen seem much more forgiving than what it use to be. I think there should be some sort of balance there. Its also part of that "No Child Left Behind" bullshit where the kids with the "learning disabilities" are placed in the same classes as the normal students. Doesn't seem right.

[RumpleForeskin]

The school is going behind your wife's back, because they're about to make
her the fall woman.... as they had always planned.. for when this shit gets settled,
as planned.

No, one thing is for sure....the school is supporting my wife 100%. They are behind her all they way and she is not being singled out in that matter, its just the kid faioled her class so she is kind of one of many variables involved in this case because of the outcome in her particular class.

[Risa]

Rumps, why do you put yourself out there like this?

This isn't an Irie menage a trois story, or even a Guy Fawkes
Spin the Bottle story. This is school. How many teachers,
current and former, post here? Instead of this being about
a parent having to fight an uninterested school system, its
about a teacher having to fight shit parents and a cowardly
school system. By the way, the teacher's version of accounts
is more believable than the mother and students. The mother
originally claimed no one contacted her about her child's
absences and situation. The teacher had phone records.
The union, last I heard, was suing because only the teacher
had the authority to change a grade.... but school administrators
went behind the teacher's back in order to change the grade so that the
kid would graduate 'on time'.

Don't trust your school administrators. Cover your back, rump.
The ho in your case may not have a Cordova position, but she
obviously knows people. Stay firm.

http://www.krqe.com/Global/story.asp?S=6768045

DIANNE: So, Jose, how did you get in this spot? Why did you miss so many days? Did you not know that you were risking your graduation?

JOSE ACOSTA: What happened was during my third nine weeks, I had a really rough time. I was dealing with a lot of loss, life-and-death situations, then I was sick for several weeks, so I missed some school, but I did some make-up work, and she never told me that my average was that low. If I had known my average was 7 percent, then we would have done something about it sooner, and I would have taken NovaNet or something, but I didn't know that it was that low.

DIANNE: You didn't realize that you were risking not graduating?

JOSE: I turned in some late work.

DIANNE: Teresa, the big firestorm around all of this is because of your position, you're a county commissioner, Jose's father is a former school board member. There were a lot of parents and teachers that felt that you had undue influence, that you had personal connections that you pulled rank, in a sense, and got his grade changed.

TERESA: And, you know, if that were true, I would be outraged also, so I understand people's sentiment. I never leveraged my position. And, Dianne, first and foremost, I am a mother. I'm a mother of this wonderful kid here and as a mother, my concern was his grades and his graduation, so I acted as a mother, I contacted the teacher, I spoke with the principal and the principal gave me the roadmap of what to do.

DIANNE: Well, there were personal letters and e-mails between you and Elsy Fierro and we have some of them, we've done reports on them. And they sound like maybe you had a personal relationship. "Why am I having to beg for support when a teacher should be bending over backwards to work with me to get this kid graduated." And then you go on to say, "Anything that you can do ... Realize that he's had too many absences, but I haven't been notified on this case." So it sounds like you had more authority, more influence than most parents would have had in that situation.

TERESA: No, I'd never leveraged my position. This was the first time I've ever dealt with Elsy Fierro, and the reason I called her was because the principal suggested that I call her, so the e-mails are an explanation of what I thought was - it was a way for me to give her information, it was a way to communicate with her. And what I did in those e-mails was that I described to her interactions with the teacher for example, and so in giving her that communication, it was a way for her to then have more information, because I wasn't the only one - I presume I wasn't the only one from whom she was getting information.

DIANNE: Jose, what's next for you now?

JOSE: I plan to go to college to study urban planning and urban development.

[Risa]

Its also part of that "No Child Left Behind" bullshit where the kids with the "learning disabilities" are placed in the same classes as the normal students. Doesn't seem right.

Depends on the learning disability. A learning disability doesn't make
a kid a bad kid. Some kids really do need a little extra help in order
to succeed. And some of those kids are lucky enough to have
involved parents who try to help their child succeed instead of assuming
that it's all up to the school.

This isn't a kid who needs a little extra help. He's just not trying,
and his mama is allowing him not to try.

If the emotional disability is 'video game addiction', by the way,
shoot the kid and the mama now.

[Dog]

Risa, your first post in this thread was probably one of the first posts of yours I actually read and agreed with......but then the next three....well, honestly, I just skipped over them like I usually do.

As for Rumps putting himself out there....Rumps has a habit of telling little personal stories like this and every single one inevitably turns out bad for him. Sure, this one ain't too bad, but for Rumps to even mention his wife, it will generate several pages of jokes about his wife and most people will miss the point completely. Maybe the night crowd around here is different?

I'd just think PSUFan and Goobs must not be feeling well if they didn't pop in here with something clever about Rumps' fat wife. s'all

[Goober McTuber]

WTF? I ain't reading all that.

[dotdotdot]

WTF? I ain't reading all that.

[Rootbeer]

I read the Rumple's post, Luther's post, and skipped the rest. When Risa starts typing I stop reading. Brevity, you cankerous jelly roll. BREVITY!

Public schools have layers of problems. There's more administration than education. This presents an environment of oversight but a lack of involvement. Most teachers complain of being overworked. They have too many students and not enough resources. This is due directly to a lack of money. The lack of money is due directly to an overabundance of administration. That overabundance of administration means that there's lots of people looking over shoulders and not enough people sitting face-to-face with students. The bureaucratic bullcrap is so thick that it takes dozens of full time employees to sift through it all and jump through all the hoops so they can get $$ from the government. If the paperwork isn't filled out properly they might not get paid. Ask any business manager in a school district how much of his time is wasted on redundancy. It's asinine. And it's the kids who get lost in the paper shuffle. If a school concerned itself more with kids than milking dollars from hundreds of overcomplicated government programs the education system would actually turn into more than a perfidious dissimulation protected by the strong arm of corrupt unions. In other words that would be a good thing.

The mother in Rumple's scenario is trash. She is as much a part of the problem as rampant administrative profusion. At the same time she is a product of the education system's failure. She's been taught through the years that school is a place where you send your human coal and it magically gets turned into diamond. She should be held accountable for her son's failure just as much as her son should be held accountable for his failure. At the same time the school system is not blameless. It's tough to locate a scapegoat at the school, however. They entire system is black with decay. There's no sense in trying to pick out which plaque decayed which tooth. It's all foul. I hope the kid in Rumple's story does well in private school. What will be really shocking to his mother is how much they're going to require of her. Most all private schools require the parents to volunteer for a certain number of hours. They're forced to be involved in their child's education or the kid gets kicked out. Give it a year and she'll probably end up suing them also. And until we get tort reform that punishes plaintiffs in frivolous lawsuits she'll continue to send subpoenas to anyone she disagrees with. That system's broken also but this isn't the time for that discussion.

[Dan Vogel]

The only emotional disturbance I see here is a brat; and the
only cure he needs is a firm ass-whupping, and then a firm
hand.

Where is his father?

I agree with Risa. I read that this child is in high school but if he's under 18 he should be physically corrected. And best if it's by his father. If the father is gone then the principal should be the one to administer his paddling. I don't believe in all the phoney fake attention illnesses kids all seem to have these days. This is crazy. They are just lazy. Kids need to learn./

I hope this works out for the best for your wife Rumpleforskin. It sounds like she did all that she could and it's good to hear that the school is standing behind her.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I read that this child is in high school but if he's under 18 he should be physically corrected.

If dad's not in the picture, most high school boys are bigger than their mothers by that time. So physical correction is not an alternative.

Even if dad's in the picture, it's still entirely possible that: (a) junior, even in high school, is already bigger than dad; or (b) dad's too old or too sick to whip junior's butt anymore.

[RumpleForeskin]

I don't think there is a father

[PSUFAN]

Dan, if I see you, I will fight you. I'll lead with a knuckle right on your doughy jaw. Then, I'll use an awl to carve gore valleys in your scalp, leaving fleshy fjords that bring cornrows to mind. Next, I'll grab a rusty paint scraper and set it against your forehead and I'll give it a fast hard TAP and repeat until I have a nice little lattice of ichor.

I hope that works out for you.

[Hobbes]

I don't think there is a father

Oh, now you've done it. The kid's obviously black. Expect a shit Risa diatribe (which I will not read) about how the institution is setting him up to fail any minute now.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Rumps,
As long as your wife did everything by the book and documented all activity, I wouldn't worry. Besides, if the Teachers union in TX (you're Texican right, where everything is bigger ('sup Mrs MTRumpmore)?) is as strong as it is in NY, where it is the 800# gorilla ('sup Annie?) that even the teamsters fear, your wife will have no problems.

Rack teachers who do the right thing!

[Invictus]

Are you sure Hobbes? How many single black mothers have 100K or even care enough about their child's academics to send him to a private summer school? Plus, this is the deep South, where many of the po'est ig'nant blacks in this country reside. If she sent her child to "Book of Matches" Camp, then you would be right. Not so sure here.

This could be po' white trash. And, we ALL know that PWT is as low and decrepit as PBT.

Rumple, help us out...

[RumpleForeskin]

I don't know. I never asked the wife about his race. I assume they are white considering the demographics for that school.

[Headhunter]

I think you should send the kid to live behind Luther.

[Risa]

The world needs ditchdiggers, too. A brief block of instruction should be sufficient to familiarize him with a shovel or a broom. Not everybody is going to succeed. People need to understand, accept and prepare for that eventuality.

The kid is a loser. The End.

Ditchdigging is honest work. It's hard work, but it's honest work. The world has too many folks with grandiose titles who don't contribute, too. The kid needs to enlist -- worked for you, didn't it?

[Felix]

The kid is a loser.

true...

the mother is the winner here....having an idiot spawn for people like this is akin to hitting the lottery...

she'll continue to sue the school district and no doubt they'll continue to settle out of court....

[RumpleForeskin]

There could be other variables involved here. I just know that the outcome and/or results of my wife's class is a part of the lawsuit.

[RumpleForeskin]

Our secondary education is completely fucked.

I had a rep call me yesterday about a conference in Las Vegas he attended. The conference was about the future of the U.S. from and economic, education, and power standpoint. He said these futurists claimed that 90% of what is learned in college today will be obsolete 5 years from now.

[indyfrisco]

This isn't an Irie menage a trois story, or even a Guy Fawkes Spin the Bottle story.

I must have missed that one. What was the game? Whoever the bottle lands on has to stick it up their ass?

[indyfrisco]

Oh, and what is this term "honest work" mean? Other than criminal activity and lawyers, what is "dishonest work".

[Luther]

Oh, and what is this term "honest work" mean? Other than criminal activity and lawyers, what is "dishonest work".

Probably someone who makes BBQ sauce while wearing a bib, a white floppy hat and open toed shoes.

Rip City

[RumpleForeskin]

Probably someone who makes BBQ sauce while wearing a bib, a white floppy hat and open toed shoes.

After giving my dad all of those items for Father's Day over the years as gag gifts, I really didn't think he was going to ware them. My mistake.

[BSmack]

Our secondary education is completely fucked.

I had a rep call me yesterday about a conference in Las Vegas he attended. The conference was about the future of the U.S. from and economic, education, and power standpoint. He said these futurists claimed that 90% of what is learned in college today will be obsolete 5 years from now.

You mean the rules for Quarters have changed?



Lemme guess. Mexican is now called "Undocumented Alien"?

[RumpleForeskin]

Texas

[PSUFAN]

The world needs ditchdiggers, too. A brief block of instruction should be sufficient to familiarize him with a shovel or a broom. Not everybody is going to succeed. People need to understand, accept and prepare for that eventuality.

The kid is a loser. The End.

If Vocational Education weren't stigmatized in this country...

There is a need for skilled machinists in the US. Entry-level CNC machining doesn't pay tremendously well, but with 10 years machining experience and ongoing training, you can get to six figures.

[Risa]

Oh, and what is this term "honest work" mean? Other than criminal activity and lawyers, what is "dishonest work".

dishonest work is also sitting on your ass collecting a paycheck for not doing anything except surf the web (rimshot -- unless the internet is your job). dishonest work is also faking overtime, or pulling a Tom Sawyer with co-workers; or coming in at 10, leaving at 12 for lunch, coming back at 2 and leaving again at 4... but collecting a paycheck for a full day's worth of work.

ditchdigging isn't rocket science, but you still need to know what you're doing .. and you should be paid well for it.

[Dog]

Oh, and what is this term "honest work" mean? Other than criminal activity and lawyers, what is "dishonest work".

dishonest work is also sitting on your ass collecting a paycheck for not doing anything except surf the web (rimshot -- unless the internet is your job). dishonest work is also faking overtime, or pulling a Tom Sawyer with co-workers; or coming in at 10, leaving at 12 for lunch, coming back at 2 and leaving again at 4... but collecting a paycheck for a full day's worth of work.

ditchdigging isn't rocket science, but you still need to know what you're doing .. and you should be paid well for it.

What if you are a ditch digger who fakes overtime, or takes extra long lunches but still get paid as if you didn't? See, your argument describes a personality trait and not a type of occupation. Those things you describe could happen in any line of work.

Ditch digging is a brainless job. There is nothing more remedial than moving earth.

[Luther]

Do people who post from work, that don't own their own business, are they putting in dishonest work? Does everybody really have that much free time to post? We all have seen the acronyms like, NSFW. Some people are worried about their I.T. people finding out how much time they spend here or at other forums.

I guess if I was your boss I'd do this: YOU ARE ALL FIRED.

I would however let you leave before the day was out and provide you with your last check at that time. I'd even arrange for someone to take Risa's ten speed home as a gesture of goodwill. For mvscal, I'd secretly slip him some versed and have him sign a form that said he was resigning instead of being fired. I wouldn't want to find a letter bomb at my office on Monday morning. For Dins, I'd probably give him a crisp hundred dollar bill and follow him to his strip joint of choice. Then I'd pay for some hooker to get him drunk and then have her play hide the action figure in/near/on his ass...and get pictures of it so he couldn't torment me later.

Rip City

[War Wagon]

There is a need for skilled machinists in the US. Entry-level CNC machining doesn't pay tremendously well, but with 10 years machining experience and ongoing training, you can get to six figures.

Where?

CNC machine operators are a dime a dozen. Most any monkey can be trained to punch a few buttons on a keypad, load material, stand there waiting for the part to run, and then repeat. Maybe actually inspect the part to the blueprint. Set-ups are generally easy, as long as the CAD engineer and programer did his job correctly.

Now, if you were talking about CNC programing, you might have a point.

[PSUFAN]

I am. YOU WIN!