This is National Police Week. I know that a lot of people have a problem with police in general, but we have to recognize that police fulfill a necessary function in our society. Yes, there are bad cops, just like there are bad accountants, bad lawyers, bad doctors, and bad systems administrators. The "Wars on Icky Stuff" has done a lot to drive a wedge between law enforcement and the populace they are charged to serve, but that is not the fault of the policeman. It is the fault of the politicians who put personal power and meddling in others' lives ahead of keeping the peace and punishing wrongdoers.
But the small minority of cops who forget their oaths to protect and serve are massivly outnumbered by good cops that get up every day, put on their uniform, and do their best to fairly enforce our laws and investigate when the laws are broken. Just like most soldiers could make a lot more money working at a job that's a lot easier, most police could have chosen different paths and increased their pay by several orders while reducing their workload. We need to recognize that even a cop who never draws his gun or is injured on the job is still making a sacrifice for the good of us all.
Yes, they're not everywhere, and you're responsible for your own safety, but until men are angels, we will need police. I'll be keeping our police force here in Louisville and Kentucky in my thoughts this week.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
This could have ended badly
A burglar used a brick to break a window and crawled into a home in North Carolina. While walking around the home, with the residents still asleep, he tripped over something and his gun went off. Said burglar then thought better of sticking around and headed for the hills. The residents, upon waking from the sound of the shot, called police who were unable to find the intruder.
So we have an armed criminal, breaking into a home with a gun in his hand, and only left when his gun went off. If he was just there to grab the stereo and run, why have the gun in his hand? My guess is he was up to something more than collecting Grandma's silver tea set.
If this had gone further, my fear is that either we'd be adding to JayG's Dead Goblin Count, or even worse, the residents, who slumbered deeply enough to not hear a window breaking, would have been attacked in their home, with whatever worst case scenario that could bring. If the burglar hadn't broken rule 3 (Thou shalt keep thy booger hook off of thine bang switch), someone would have become a statistic that night.
So we have an armed criminal, breaking into a home with a gun in his hand, and only left when his gun went off. If he was just there to grab the stereo and run, why have the gun in his hand? My guess is he was up to something more than collecting Grandma's silver tea set.
If this had gone further, my fear is that either we'd be adding to JayG's Dead Goblin Count, or even worse, the residents, who slumbered deeply enough to not hear a window breaking, would have been attacked in their home, with whatever worst case scenario that could bring. If the burglar hadn't broken rule 3 (Thou shalt keep thy booger hook off of thine bang switch), someone would have become a statistic that night.
Quote of the Day
Make the Internet Safe for Kids?
Can't be done. The Internet, due to its openness and ease of search and navigation, is by nature not kid friendly.
Let's face it, when you let your kids get on the Internet, you may think you're dropping them off at Disneyland to play or at the library to do homework. But one block north is the Gay Pride Parade, one block south is Mardi Gras complete with Girls Gone Wild, one block west is a meeting of NAMBLA, and to the east is a Hitler Youth rally. And let's not even talk about the sky-writing advertising every bad habit on Earth above them.
A few recent studies highlighted the increasing number of minors who are going on-line and accessing inappropriate content. They suggest such things as making robust age verification using such information as credit card numbers mandatory. Good luck with that. The Internet is truly global, and as soon as you make site owners in the United States pay to use credit cards to verify identity, they'll move offshore faster than you can say 'pr0n' and little to nothing to keep young eyeballs off of their sites.
Folks, there is no magic bullet to keeping your kids away from inappropriate content. Parents need to use technology as a tool to monitor and control their kids' use of the Internet at home, but they cannot abandon their responsibilities by installing a piece of software and walking away.
What we do in our home is this:
Now, if a child decides to be sneaky, they make all of this work useless, or at least more difficult. Junior Bear found a chink in my Internet armor almost as soon as he moved to Kentucky from California. He was freely surfing the net after 'going to bed' for about 6 months before I stumbled on what he was doing. I set up filtering and logging, and after a couple of weeks, called Junior into the dining room. To his surprise, his systems adminstrator dad handed him logs of everywhere he'd been going on the Internet for about two weeks, including passwords, emails, and pictures. Thus began a multi-year jousting match between us, as I found and cut off ways he was abusing his priveleges to use our network, and he got more and more creative in ways of circumventing me during the brief times he wasn't on complete blackout from Internet access at home. On the plus side, he knows how to make directional wifi antennas so he could tap into a neighboring friend's wireless signal from his bedroom. On the down side, we fought an exhausting battle of wits during what could have been our best years as father and son.
But the key is that I never gave up, and I never made it easy for him to do things online that I didn't approve of. Once a child, even a teenager who's almost an adult, figures out that you've grown tired of the struggle, their behavior will become even more reckless and dangerous. We kept our technological guerilla warfare up until the night before he left for college.
Luckily for me, I have the experience of bringing a stubborn, willful teenage boy through those years now that I'm embarking on going through them with Girlie Bear. Hopefully between raising her to not violate some basic rules, monitoring her activities, and having this experience, her time as a teenager on the Internet will be less stressful to her dad. I'll have other aspects of raising a teenage girl to stress me.
Let's face it, when you let your kids get on the Internet, you may think you're dropping them off at Disneyland to play or at the library to do homework. But one block north is the Gay Pride Parade, one block south is Mardi Gras complete with Girls Gone Wild, one block west is a meeting of NAMBLA, and to the east is a Hitler Youth rally. And let's not even talk about the sky-writing advertising every bad habit on Earth above them.
A few recent studies highlighted the increasing number of minors who are going on-line and accessing inappropriate content. They suggest such things as making robust age verification using such information as credit card numbers mandatory. Good luck with that. The Internet is truly global, and as soon as you make site owners in the United States pay to use credit cards to verify identity, they'll move offshore faster than you can say 'pr0n' and little to nothing to keep young eyeballs off of their sites.
Folks, there is no magic bullet to keeping your kids away from inappropriate content. Parents need to use technology as a tool to monitor and control their kids' use of the Internet at home, but they cannot abandon their responsibilities by installing a piece of software and walking away.
What we do in our home is this:
- The kids cannot use a computer while we are not at home. Most modern OS's have parental controls that can limit when a given user can use the computer.
- All computer use by the kids must be done in the dining room or the living room.
- Girlie Bear's cell phone has an internet browser, but I've worked with the phone company to not allow her to send or receive data or text messages.
- Her netbook runs Ubuntu, which not only negates the risk from a lot of the malware out there, but also makes it harder for her to get advice from her friends on how to thwart my efforts.
- I've installed Dans Guardian on her computer, and regularly check the logs of where she's been.
- I have every password she uses, and check her email and such regularly for hints that anything wrong is happening with her.
- Our library has a librarian sitting at a raised desk that looks out over the screens of all of the computers. This discourages most people from looking at whatever it is that tickles their fancy in the library.
- I'm raising my child to not disobey me.
Now, if a child decides to be sneaky, they make all of this work useless, or at least more difficult. Junior Bear found a chink in my Internet armor almost as soon as he moved to Kentucky from California. He was freely surfing the net after 'going to bed' for about 6 months before I stumbled on what he was doing. I set up filtering and logging, and after a couple of weeks, called Junior into the dining room. To his surprise, his systems adminstrator dad handed him logs of everywhere he'd been going on the Internet for about two weeks, including passwords, emails, and pictures. Thus began a multi-year jousting match between us, as I found and cut off ways he was abusing his priveleges to use our network, and he got more and more creative in ways of circumventing me during the brief times he wasn't on complete blackout from Internet access at home. On the plus side, he knows how to make directional wifi antennas so he could tap into a neighboring friend's wireless signal from his bedroom. On the down side, we fought an exhausting battle of wits during what could have been our best years as father and son.
But the key is that I never gave up, and I never made it easy for him to do things online that I didn't approve of. Once a child, even a teenager who's almost an adult, figures out that you've grown tired of the struggle, their behavior will become even more reckless and dangerous. We kept our technological guerilla warfare up until the night before he left for college.
Luckily for me, I have the experience of bringing a stubborn, willful teenage boy through those years now that I'm embarking on going through them with Girlie Bear. Hopefully between raising her to not violate some basic rules, monitoring her activities, and having this experience, her time as a teenager on the Internet will be less stressful to her dad. I'll have other aspects of raising a teenage girl to stress me.
Today in History
Today, in 1960, a scientist at Hughes Research Laboratory created the first working laser. A lot of our modern world depends on this discovery:
And of course:
Now, if y'all will excuse me, I'm going to go get my laser pointer and see which of the three bozo's have the greatest vertical leap.
- Fiber Optics
- Optical Media (DVD, CD)
- Micro Surgery and other medical applications
And of course:
- Entertaining cats and cat owners
Now, if y'all will excuse me, I'm going to go get my laser pointer and see which of the three bozo's have the greatest vertical leap.
Spark, meet powderkeg
On Sunday, protests at the Israeli borders with Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza turned violent when Syrian nationals broke down a border fence and took the demonstration into Israel itself. Faced with a mob of Syrian citizens violently entering their country, Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing and wounding several.
The Syrian Assad regime has been beset with demonstrations in its cities over the past few weeks, and has been criticized in the international press for their harsh repression of its citizens who take their grievances to the streets. My gut tells me that it's no coincidence that the demonstration against Israel that actually turned deadly happened where Israel meets Syria. One of the better ways to distract your population from problems at home is to either create or re-ignite a foreign conflict, especially one with long-standing grievances. The Syrians have been smarting over the loss of the Golan for a generation, and it probably wouldn't be hard to get a population that's already in the mood for a fight to take a poke at Israel.
With President Obama pretty much prostrating himself before the Muslim world, Israel knows it stands alone when the countries around it decide to have another go at pushing them into the sea. Even the long peace between it and Egypt has been jeopardized by the removal of the Mubarak regime.
I expect that Syria will play this incident up with its subjects and neighbors, and will be appealing to itsmasters patrons in Tehran to aid it in attacking Israel soon. Assad knows that if he doesn't change something soon, he will go the way of Mubarak. Since the Syrian army and security forces have crossed the line of shooting people in the streets, the reaction from said people when they gain power will be to put everyone connected to the government against a blood-stained wall. He will use this incident to incite a conflict against Israel in order to maintain and consolidate his power at home.
Oh, and by the way, May and June are the end of the spring campaigning season in that part of the world. If I was Netanyahu, I'd be quietly getting my reserves ready and finding out just who on the world stage will be in his corner when the Arabs come out swinging.
The Syrian Assad regime has been beset with demonstrations in its cities over the past few weeks, and has been criticized in the international press for their harsh repression of its citizens who take their grievances to the streets. My gut tells me that it's no coincidence that the demonstration against Israel that actually turned deadly happened where Israel meets Syria. One of the better ways to distract your population from problems at home is to either create or re-ignite a foreign conflict, especially one with long-standing grievances. The Syrians have been smarting over the loss of the Golan for a generation, and it probably wouldn't be hard to get a population that's already in the mood for a fight to take a poke at Israel.
With President Obama pretty much prostrating himself before the Muslim world, Israel knows it stands alone when the countries around it decide to have another go at pushing them into the sea. Even the long peace between it and Egypt has been jeopardized by the removal of the Mubarak regime.
I expect that Syria will play this incident up with its subjects and neighbors, and will be appealing to its
Oh, and by the way, May and June are the end of the spring campaigning season in that part of the world. If I was Netanyahu, I'd be quietly getting my reserves ready and finding out just who on the world stage will be in his corner when the Arabs come out swinging.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Oatmeal Fruit Bars
It's a drippy, rainy, gray kind of day here in IndiUcky, and I found myself craving something sweet, and thought I'd do some baking. This is more of a fall recipe, but today just felt right for this particular piece of comfort food. I hide a teeny bit of nutrition in here with the wheat flour, oats, and fruit, but I'm not going to lie and say that this is a healthy snack.
Oatmeal Fruit Bars
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cloves to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Ginger to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts - optional
3/4 to 1 cup of fresh blueberries, washed and drained thoroughly. Frozen can be substituted, but must be completely thawed
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into eighths, and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices.
Cream the butter in a bowl until it becomes light colored and fluffy. Add brown sugar and white sugar/honey, egg, apple juice, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. In another bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and flour. Add to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add oats and optional nuts. Mix well. Fold in fruit. Do not mix so much that the blueberries break open and stain the dough purple. Resulting dough should somewhere between cookie dough and cake batter in consistency. If it is too thin, add more oats. If it is too thick, add more apple juice.
Put dough in a greased 6 x 6 inch baking dish. Put into a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife put into the center of the dish comes out hot and clean. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
Oatmeal Fruit Bars
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cloves to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Ginger to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts - optional
3/4 to 1 cup of fresh blueberries, washed and drained thoroughly. Frozen can be substituted, but must be completely thawed
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into eighths, and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices.
Cream the butter in a bowl until it becomes light colored and fluffy. Add brown sugar and white sugar/honey, egg, apple juice, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. In another bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and flour. Add to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add oats and optional nuts. Mix well. Fold in fruit. Do not mix so much that the blueberries break open and stain the dough purple. Resulting dough should somewhere between cookie dough and cake batter in consistency. If it is too thin, add more oats. If it is too thick, add more apple juice.
Put dough in a greased 6 x 6 inch baking dish. Put into a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife put into the center of the dish comes out hot and clean. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
Thought for the day
I've been in a good mood since I started shooting on Saturday. I am beginning to believe that a combination of RemOil and GSR is an anti-depressant.
Product review - V-Line Top Draw Handgun Case
A couple of years ago, I was looking for a way to secure my handguns when I wasn't carrying them, and locking the bedroom door just wasn't cutting the mustard. I wanted my carry and home protection guns in the bedroom where I could get to them quickly, but I wanted them secured against small hands and curious minds.
I'd looked at several handgun safes, and after discussing it with my concealed carry instructor, who also had several children at home, I checked out the V-Line Top Draw. This 12 by 9 by 2.5 inch steel box includes a top lid that's as tall as the box itself, making prying it open difficult, a programmable five button mechanical lock, and pre-drilled holes for securing it to a stud, closet shelf, or drawer.
I chose the mechanical lock over an electronic lock because I sincerely believe in Murphy's Law: When there's a need for me to get to the gun quickly, the battery will be dead, and I won't have the backup key handy. The tactile feedback of the raised buttons allows me to open the case in the dark quickly without a flashlight or turning on the room lights.
The case is large enough to hold the following:
Please be advised that I received nothing from V-Line or anyone else for this review.
I'd looked at several handgun safes, and after discussing it with my concealed carry instructor, who also had several children at home, I checked out the V-Line Top Draw. This 12 by 9 by 2.5 inch steel box includes a top lid that's as tall as the box itself, making prying it open difficult, a programmable five button mechanical lock, and pre-drilled holes for securing it to a stud, closet shelf, or drawer.
I chose the mechanical lock over an electronic lock because I sincerely believe in Murphy's Law: When there's a need for me to get to the gun quickly, the battery will be dead, and I won't have the backup key handy. The tactile feedback of the raised buttons allows me to open the case in the dark quickly without a flashlight or turning on the room lights.
The case is large enough to hold the following:
- Government Model 1911
- CZ-82
- Taurus Model 85 .38 snub-nosed revolver
- One extra magazine or quick-strip of ammunition for these guns, in addition to the load they have in them at all times.
I'd say that's quite enough for me to have a choice in what gun to carry, and a gun for me, Irish Woman, and a spare in the case of an emergency.
Pro's;
- The case is kid-proof, period
- The lock is easy to program with a custom combination
- Opening is easy to do, even in the dark, in a hurry, and when stressed
- If not bolted to the house, it's extremely portable in emergencies such as tornado, fire, or bug out.
Con's:
- Cost - You get what you pay for here, and you pay for what you get. My retail cost was about $150. But I call it money well spent.
- Being portable is a double edged sword. Even if it's bolted to a stud, a determined thief with time and tools could cut it out of the wall and take it with him.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with this case. It allows me to securely store my home protection and carry handguns where I can get to them in a hurry without having to worry about BooBoo getting curious about them. The lock is simple enough that Irish Woman and I were able to choose and set a combination and become proficient in opening the case in a matter of minutes. Since all of the guns are in one place, I can easily grab it when we're heading for our tornado shelter in the basement without having to make multiple stops. I would definitely recommend this handgun case to anyone who needs a sturdy solution to securing their weapons from little hands.
Please be advised that I received nothing from V-Line or anyone else for this review.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Shoutouts
To the gentleman who sat at the table next to us at Knob Creek today, wearing bib overalls, smoking a pipe full of wonderful smelling tobacco, and shooting four, count them, four suppressed guns, including a fully automatic suppressed MAC-10: you are the coolest guy I met today.
To the gentleman who was driving the brand spanking new Porsche in front of me this afternoon: Nice car. Maybe someday you'll learn to drive it.
To the lady in the 1980's vintage Ford Escort, complete with rusted through body panels and a hood the wrong color: I am awed by your skill in keeping that piece of crap on the road and passing the douchebag in the Porsche.
And Today's Winner:
To the young lady who was squeezing zits in the make-up mirror at Target: Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Camel! Seriously? You were cratering your face using a public mirror in a crowded department store? Really?
To the gentleman who was driving the brand spanking new Porsche in front of me this afternoon: Nice car. Maybe someday you'll learn to drive it.
To the lady in the 1980's vintage Ford Escort, complete with rusted through body panels and a hood the wrong color: I am awed by your skill in keeping that piece of crap on the road and passing the douchebag in the Porsche.
And Today's Winner:
To the young lady who was squeezing zits in the make-up mirror at Target: Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Camel! Seriously? You were cratering your face using a public mirror in a crowded department store? Really?
Quote of the Day
Irish Woman, talking to me in her most loving tone:
How did you ever manage to procreate?
How did you ever manage to procreate?
Product Review - High Rise Pancake Holster
A while ago, I contacted Michael over at The Holster Site about getting a custom holster built for my CZ-82. There just aren't a lot of choices in pre-made holsters for this little automatic, and what I did find I just didn't like. Since this was my first hand-made holster, I leaned quite a bit on Michael's advice for what he had that fit my needs. I eventually decided to get his High Rise Pancake Holster.
Guess what was waiting for me when I got back from Pittsburgh?
I've been wearing this as a CCW holster for a almost two weeks, and I'm impressed. The holster is made of very stiff cowhide, and retains the gun very well. I chose the natural leather color because it will blend in with brown or khaki pants and shorts, which make up a lot of my wardrobe. I expect that over time, the leather will darken a bit, but that's the color of leather that I like. The Holster Site offers quite a few different colors other than this natural look.
The high-rise design holds the gun up high enough that it's easily covered by a regular length tee-shirt, and the tab of leather on the top of the holster keeps the gun from digging into my back or side while I'm sitting in the car. A good note is that I can wear this while driving and don't need to adjust it for comfort. In addition, the rough finish of the leather''s back helps to keep it from moving around.
The stitching is excellent, and the best way to describe the construction of this holster is SOLID. Even the tab, where I expected some flex in the leather, is stiff and holds its shape extremely well.
The belt loops are very snug on my gun belt, so this holster goes on your belt and stays put. Between the grip on my belt and the tight fit for the gun, I have no worries about retention and control.
One final note on the excellent customer service I got from Michael. The CZ-82, while it is becoming more common on the market, still hasn't reached saturation to the point that he was able to easily find an example gun. But Michael went the extra mile to find one, and got this holster to me months ahead of when I expected to get it. Add to that his patience in walking a complete newb through the process of picking out a model, material, and finish, and I'm extremely pleased with my purchase.
Please note that I received no consideration from The Holster Site for this review. I'm just a satisfied customer.
Guess what was waiting for me when I got back from Pittsburgh?
I've been wearing this as a CCW holster for a almost two weeks, and I'm impressed. The holster is made of very stiff cowhide, and retains the gun very well. I chose the natural leather color because it will blend in with brown or khaki pants and shorts, which make up a lot of my wardrobe. I expect that over time, the leather will darken a bit, but that's the color of leather that I like. The Holster Site offers quite a few different colors other than this natural look.
The high-rise design holds the gun up high enough that it's easily covered by a regular length tee-shirt, and the tab of leather on the top of the holster keeps the gun from digging into my back or side while I'm sitting in the car. A good note is that I can wear this while driving and don't need to adjust it for comfort. In addition, the rough finish of the leather''s back helps to keep it from moving around.
The stitching is excellent, and the best way to describe the construction of this holster is SOLID. Even the tab, where I expected some flex in the leather, is stiff and holds its shape extremely well.
The belt loops are very snug on my gun belt, so this holster goes on your belt and stays put. Between the grip on my belt and the tight fit for the gun, I have no worries about retention and control.
One final note on the excellent customer service I got from Michael. The CZ-82, while it is becoming more common on the market, still hasn't reached saturation to the point that he was able to easily find an example gun. But Michael went the extra mile to find one, and got this holster to me months ahead of when I expected to get it. Add to that his patience in walking a complete newb through the process of picking out a model, material, and finish, and I'm extremely pleased with my purchase.
Please note that I received no consideration from The Holster Site for this review. I'm just a satisfied customer.
Friday, May 13, 2011
I'd like to thank Blogger
For eating a bunch of comments and two posts I was working on, but hadn't published yet.
Also, I'd like to thank them for making the decision of whether or not I should move to a hosted blog on a dedicated domain a little easier.
I'll have more stuff to post tomorrow. Gotta get ready to take Girlie Bear to the range. I'd rather do that than mess with Blogger at the moment.
Also, I'd like to thank them for making the decision of whether or not I should move to a hosted blog on a dedicated domain a little easier.
I'll have more stuff to post tomorrow. Gotta get ready to take Girlie Bear to the range. I'd rather do that than mess with Blogger at the moment.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
I don't see the problem here
An art teacher in Florida has been arrested and suspended for giving a fat lip to a student who was giving her lip.
I've had teachers who squirted me with water for not paying attention, and more than one beaned me with erasers or pieces of chalk for talking in class. Once, in the first grade, I was sent to the principles office for a paddling because I took a swing at one of my cousins during recess. He gave me a stern talking to about fighting and exactly one swat with the Board of Education, and then called my mother. The chain of information in our little prairie town was in high gear, because I caught it on the way home from my grandmother, two adult cousins, and an aunt before I even made it home for a real punishment. Needless to say, I wasn't a discipline problem, even when I had the normal excuses from home for being a hellion at school.
Irish Woman loves to regale friends about the day five nuns laid a beating on her cousin/brother after he decided he didn't like the taste of the Eucharist and put it in his pocket after receiving it at morning Communion. There's a reason they were called Sisters of Mercy, because they let him live.
Fast forward to Junior Bear's junior year of high school. During the parent's night, his very small, very energetic Spanish teacher mentioned that his size was a little intimidating when she first met him. I half jokingly told her that if he gave her a hard time, I had no problem with her giving him a dope slap or two to straighten him out. She blanched, and immediately gave me the correct legal language to tell me that she would never consider hitting a student.
Somewhere between the 1970's and the 2000's, our teachers lost the right and responsibility to enforce discipline in their classrooms using whatever tactics fit the situation.
Maybe that's one of the things that is wrong with our schools. The students have no fear of reprisal for acting up. The worst thing that can happen to a student today is to be sent to sit in a room during an in-school suspension. Wow, what a harsh way to treat someone. Make them sit in a comfortable room and read for a day or two. Even that is rare. Most of the time, they send the kid home for a few days of out-of-school suspension. Since most families have two working parents, that means that a kid with a discipline problem gets to spend all day alone, doing whatever he or she feels is necessary to entertain themselves.
If students aren't going to respect their teachers, they should fear the consequences of disrespect. A dope slap, a piece of chalk thumping you in the chest, or a trip to the principals office for remedial action might go a long way towards changing our schools from warehouses to educational institutions again.
I've had teachers who squirted me with water for not paying attention, and more than one beaned me with erasers or pieces of chalk for talking in class. Once, in the first grade, I was sent to the principles office for a paddling because I took a swing at one of my cousins during recess. He gave me a stern talking to about fighting and exactly one swat with the Board of Education, and then called my mother. The chain of information in our little prairie town was in high gear, because I caught it on the way home from my grandmother, two adult cousins, and an aunt before I even made it home for a real punishment. Needless to say, I wasn't a discipline problem, even when I had the normal excuses from home for being a hellion at school.
Irish Woman loves to regale friends about the day five nuns laid a beating on her cousin/brother after he decided he didn't like the taste of the Eucharist and put it in his pocket after receiving it at morning Communion. There's a reason they were called Sisters of Mercy, because they let him live.
Now, I'm not advocating brutal beatings for minor infractions in our nations public schools. There is a point where physical punishment becomes abuse. But not all physical punishment should be actionable. If a student disrespects a teacher, that teacher ought to be able to knock some sense into the little miscreant.
Fast forward to Junior Bear's junior year of high school. During the parent's night, his very small, very energetic Spanish teacher mentioned that his size was a little intimidating when she first met him. I half jokingly told her that if he gave her a hard time, I had no problem with her giving him a dope slap or two to straighten him out. She blanched, and immediately gave me the correct legal language to tell me that she would never consider hitting a student.
Somewhere between the 1970's and the 2000's, our teachers lost the right and responsibility to enforce discipline in their classrooms using whatever tactics fit the situation.
Maybe that's one of the things that is wrong with our schools. The students have no fear of reprisal for acting up. The worst thing that can happen to a student today is to be sent to sit in a room during an in-school suspension. Wow, what a harsh way to treat someone. Make them sit in a comfortable room and read for a day or two. Even that is rare. Most of the time, they send the kid home for a few days of out-of-school suspension. Since most families have two working parents, that means that a kid with a discipline problem gets to spend all day alone, doing whatever he or she feels is necessary to entertain themselves.
If students aren't going to respect their teachers, they should fear the consequences of disrespect. A dope slap, a piece of chalk thumping you in the chest, or a trip to the principals office for remedial action might go a long way towards changing our schools from warehouses to educational institutions again.
Thought for the Day
If you keel over in the bread aisle at the grocery store, it is bad manners to come to and start screaming at your husband, the passer-by who called 911, the EMTs who are helping you, and the nice police officer who came just to lend a hand.
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