Post-debate update

I stand corrected - the debate was a tie.

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But Obama likes to say we have entered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Correct me if I'm wrong, as I was not alive during that time, but from what I've read, unemployment was up to 15% - we are still around 6% now. Also, people were standing in lines for food. We might be lining up for gas (in Georgia, at least), but as far as I can tell, we aren't standing in line for food yet.

If I were him, I'd be embarrassed to compare the current situation to the Great Depression. What an insult to the people alive today that actually lived through it. We know nothing of the struggles they went through. Some of the older citizens need to call him on it. It's time that someone did. I'm tired of watching McCain just sit back while Obama spouts stuff like that.

A few random, unorganized thoughts

At work today, my supervisor was giving me tips on what to teach the students. The lesson was about how girls were less educated than boys in 3rd world countries. She said I needed to relate it to their own lives and to tell them that we even have this here in the U.S.

When I made a questioning face, she said "You KNOW that's true. Men are still given better jobs than they give the women."

I didn't say it to her, but excuse me, no one has ever GIVEN me a job. I have EARNED them.

Needless to say, I didn't tell the students her example.

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Predictions for tonight's debate:
Obama's people will say he won it, McCain's will say he won it.
Just like the reaction from every other move they have made thus far.

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John, you've got to stop trying to appease the liberals. You could drop out of the race and they still wouldn't think any better of you. They aren't worth it, leave them alone, pander to your own people.
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I'm watching a great series John Adams that was shown on HBO and I'm currently renting from the library. Great series. Highly recommended.
Those people went through a lot to make the great country that we live in. They were meeting to decide what to do about England. One guy insists on sending an appeasement letter to England. Adams says "no". They vote and decide to send it anyways. A few months later, the letter is sent back, unread, and with another letter from the king that says "If you go through with this, then you will be committing treason and those that commit treason against the crown will face certain death". They all look around at each other and say "Okay, let's go for it".

Now, I realize that it's speculation and Hollywoodfied. It may not have gone exactly like that, but wow... those guys are faced with certain death and they shrug, saying "let's go for it"?? You've got to either really believe in what you are doing or are really crazy... or even a little bit of both.

But what a change to people's attitudes now:
"It is too much work to do this myself. The government should provide for me."

I'd be rolling around in my grave if I was a founding father. They must be standing up there, watching all of this and saying "We went through all of that just for the US to end up like this?".

We are squandering what they have built for us. And it's a shame.

Back then, so many people gave up their lives for freedom and for what they believed in.
Today, people give up their freedom and what they believe in for gifts and empty promises. Shame on you for giving up what America means just for the promise of a $1000 tax cut. I think the founding fathers would be ashamed of the sellouts that we have become.

Thomas Jefferson said "Give me liberty or give me death."
American people today say "Give me health care, give me food, give me gas, give me a house, give me..."

Give me a break. Grow up. Get a job (or two if needed). Work hard to earn your money. Feel a sense of accomplishment when you succeed.

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Obama just said in the debate "Don't let a soldier die in vain".

Ironic after he told Iraq not to allow the withdrawing of troops until AFTER the election, so he gets credit for it. He says he's concerned about American's lives and our taxpayer money, but he puts more lives at risk, just so he gets credit.

Nice guy you all want for President.

A Lesson for Teachers

I’m tired of hearing about teachers using their classrooms as their private political soapboxes. The classroom is a place for teaching students, not teaching them what to think. You want a forum to express your views? Great, get a blog. The classroom is not the place for it.

When my students ask me who I’m going to vote for, I tell them that I can’t say because it’s a secret ballot. They press me, and tell me that other teachers tell them who they are voting for, but I will not. I don’t mind discussing the election itself or bare bone facts about the candidates, but no opinions from my end.

Why? I think it’s unethical. These students have expressed to me that they feel if they do not support the candidate that the teacher supports, then the teacher will not like them or will give them a bad grade. I remember having the same fears when I was in school, and students should not be subjected to that. I personally hated that feeling, and would never do that to my students. Besides, I would be prouder of them if they decided on their own, by researching different sources than I would be if they could parrot my views. I already know my views, and I’m confident enough in them that I don’t need a classroom full of students who can regurgitate my opinions. In fact, I would be ashamed. I’m not here to tell people how they should think, but how they should think for themselves.

I do not agree with everything McCain says, but I respect him because he is able to articulate his views and stand by them, knowing people may not like him for doing so, but does it anyway because he feels it's the right thing to do. I hate people who change their views based on who is around them. It shows that they are not very confident with themselves, or do not know themselves very well. They are so focused on pleasing others that they are not true to themselves. That said, I would respect a student more for having their own opinion, even if it was different than my own, than appearing to agree with mine just to get on my good side.

I hear fellow teachers insert their rhetoric into classes and it sickens me. One teacher decided to talk about global warming in his discussion class, but without a discussion. He TOLD them about one side of the issue and didn’t talk about the other. He didn’t see anything wrong with it, because as he said, “There is only one side to discuss”.

And whether it is politics or some silly trivial matter, I don’t need my strong opinions in the classroom. Even if I walked in and said “I think green cars are the best and only the smartest people drive green cars. People who drive purple cars are especially stupid”. It doesn’t matter if I believe it or not, I have no right to say that to them. Of course, they will agree, to get a good grade or just because they think I must know what I’m talking about because I am a teacher. One of them or a friend of theirs might drive a purple car. Or they might develop a horrible prejudice against people who drive purple cars. The consequences of my careless actions are infinite.

Heaven forbid, some kid in there hangs on my every word and takes it for truth. What kind of person am I to use that against them? They are PEOPLE, not pawns to use for my own benefit. I don’t want to make an army of mindless minions. I want to make a group of educated, think-for-yourself people who excel on their own and shoving my opinions down their throats doesn’t accomplish that.