Sorry/not sorry, but I have to vent to fellow parents about something. I'm a high school teacher. Today is the the last day before we start winter break. Students are taking finals, and the last day for my students to turn in any missing assignments was last Friday- December 10. As of right now, I have 72 out of 144 students failing my classes. Not because the work is hard, but because they made the active decision to not do the work. I have had five students show up at my door this morning begging to turn in missing work. Some of them have even lied to me about their missing work.

Here's my vent- PLEASE, TO YOU FATHERS OUT THERE- TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO HANDLE THEIR BUSINESS. TEACH THEM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. TEACH THEM NOT TO CHEAT AND LIE. TEACH THEM A WORK ETHIC. TEACH THEM THE IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. TEACH THEM THAT THERE ARE REAL CONSEQUENCES WHEN THEY DON'T HANDLE THEIR BUSINESS.

There is an epidemic of laziness, irresponsibility, and apathy in this country; too many people don't give a shit about handling their business- this attitude is reinforced through social media and parental apathy, and it's going to further ruin the generation of kids that are growing up now. Please teach your sons and daughters to have pride in their work, to try their hardest to be successful, and most importantly to take responsibility for their own success in all things.

This has been my rant/vent/TED talk- please have a wonderful, safe, restful, healthy, and fulfilling holiday season.

It was called “Welcome Back Kata”

Something has to give. The parents are upset but there are teacher shortages. What can be done? It's interesting that the article mentions how hard it is for a parent to get her child to focus on schoolwork. How does she think that plays out in the classroom? Click here to view the article: Schools are closing classrooms on Fridays. Parents are furious.

This sounds so evil but sometimes I kinda wish I lived in an area where high school wasn’t as competitive so I had a higher chance of getting in to better colleges. That sounds so ignorant but the college process has become so dirty that I find myself thinking about stuff like that :( it’s so sad how college has me thinking in the lowest of ways to try to get to the top. Anyone else feel this way?

Clarification: I’m not proud of how I feeling. Originally an international, I have experienced both sides of the coin and having less is always harder. No doubt it. This post was more to highlight how even after going to a place with many opportunities, one can still feel like they’re hard work isn’t gonna be recognized. This is in no way to take away from those who have experienced hardships with schools; it is just to show how the process makes people in any place sell the dream and makes the miserable.

For context, I have a 4.98 W and there are still like 15-20 kids above me going up to a 5.2, all because I took band and they took another AP class instead. There’s a toxic culture here of being very cutthroat, and all our faculty basically overly encouraging and borderline forcing us to take APs because more test takens/higher scores means better rankings and more funding. We’ve had 3 su*#@%*s at our school in the past four years and even though we have good rankings, we were rated one of the worst for people feeling a sense of belonging.

I am definitely a better placed candidate for college than most, but there are some kids here who have the most insane ECs and well rounded in every single aspect, outshadowing anyone no matter how much work they have put in too.

He looked at me and said simply, "hey, I'm serving a youthful porpoise."

Credit to the late, great Norm MacDonald, whose version is lengthier and, of course, funnier.

Any designer gurus have a Memorial Tournament course ready for this weeks play?

The administration refuses to enforce the mask requirement stated on the district website and required by county law. I have an audio recording of the principal telling me, among other things, that the superintendent has decreed that we are “not allowed” to suspend students for refusing to wear a mask, and that our only mechanism for improving mask compliance is “taking them into the hall and convincing them it’s the right thing to do.”

I was also told I’m not allowed to show my students data about vaccine effectiveness. My slideshow about vaccine effectiveness (and nothing else) was characterized by the principal as “a PowerPoint about masks that [she] found very politically charged.”

This principal has told some parents, students, and teachers, that it’s a student’s choice whether or not to wear a mask.

The principal completely ignored my email asking for clarification regarding the discrepancy between the official district policy and everything she has been telling us. Today, on my last day, she claimed that the reason she had ignored the email was because another administrator had responded to it with an answer, which was a complete and utter lie.

The head principal instructed several other administrators at the school not to answer my direct questions about the discrepancy between the mask policies at our school and on the district website.

The list goes on.

That's it. I was a chubby, loud, awkward and obsessive 14 years old gal he was a chill, smart 17 years old guy, I barely ever gathered the courage to directly talk to him and I thought I'd never "be in his league". Now, 8 years later, I know as a fact he finds me interesting/cute, and everything is good.

So, I saw one of them playing with a cube and he could actually solve it. So I asked to try it. I finished Cross, F2L, and OLL. But then I got to PLL and I couldn't remember an F Perm!! I just decided to 2-look it but I couldn't even remember the U perm as well. They all started laughing at me which really hurt since they were like the "big shit" in our school and I just embarrassed myself in front of them. If you were the seniors, would you laugh at me?

I’ll start, the memories of senior year. Not because they were good, but because I never had any to begin with. Nothing more forgettable than sitting behind a screen at home all year when in a alternate reality you could’ve had the best worry free year of your teenage life.

Plothole:

[KRIS (spoken)]
Jingle! Jangle!
They'll expel me for sure if they find two elves in my locker

[JINGLE (spoken)]
We're here to make sure you don't screw up Christmas, boss
[JANGLE (spoken)]
That's right!
[NOEL (spoken)]
Hey, Kris
[KRIS (spoken)]
Noel!
[NOEL (spoken)]
Uh, were you just talking to your locker?
[JINGLE (spoken)]
Don't worry, boss, she can't see us. But if she finds out you're Santa, Father Winter's spell will be broken!
[JANGLE (spoken)]
That's right!

Why is he worried if no one can see them??

The Weird Part:

Later, when Becky explains the plot to Tom:(paraphrase)

"...Santa's out of touch with the kids, so he turns into a teen to...reconnect with the youth?"

In other words, an OLD MAN turns into a TEENAGER to get to know a bunch of kids. Normal enough, right? "Fellow Kids" vibes.

Then how come he has a teenage love interest??

Then later, in Take Me Back, Kris reveals to Noel that he's Santa, presumably turning back into an old man. BUT THEN THEY KISS??? Like, what??

I've just been thinking, and it's really weird to me...