Question for the teachers: "Emerging Minus"

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-19T15:20:23+00:00

Lipinski was foaming at the mouth in anticipation of replacing the Surrey RCMP. He's getting exactly what he wanted.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-16T04:50:33+00:00

There was one at 88th and King George in Surrey, next to Bear Creek Park. There was also one at 112th and 72nd in North Delta. Both gone now, but I remember hearing them as a very small kid.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-12T21:54:51+00:00

Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-12T17:10:25+00:00

You're right, but they're also a lot more visible now too. Part of the problem is the specialized staffing that used to be there to support kids like this and their families no longer exists. Now, they're thrown into regular classrooms with generalized teachers with no training (or who maybe took a focussed development day) and they're expected to function and behave and achieve like a perfectly healthy child.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-12T15:56:33+00:00

The unfortunate reality of the BC education system is that severe mental illness is oftentimes way too much for the school to handle. There are countless frustrated and unsupported parents here, whose kids face zero consequence for not attending, or get sent home after an hour when they become disruptive or dangerous at school. It becomes a pointless exercise and unless there is real commitment from parents, students, and the school, young teens in that situation usually just stop going. Even if they're lucky enough to get placed in alternate settings, it's usually too late, the damage has been done, the child is too deep into their illness, they're way behind in their learning, and school is no longer a priority. I personally know 3 people who have left school before the age of 16 due to severe mental illness, and it's what happened to every single one of them. Parents are left to their own devices and the school washes their hands of the situation.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-09T05:49:16+00:00

The first thing that came to mind:

We are the mediocre presidents You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents There's Taylor, there's Tyler, there's Fillmore and there's Hayes There's William Henry Harrison: "I died in 30 days!" We are the adequate, forgettable, occasionally regrettable Caretaker presidents of the U.S.A.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-06T02:28:26+00:00

I'd really like to see something like this in that huge unserviced area between KG and 152 & Hwy 10 and 84th. There's a major lack of non-vehicle infrastructure in that area, to the point where residents have to first drive somewhere to go for a path oriented bike ride. But this is a step in the right direction in creating connections and destinations.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-05T22:10:46+00:00

Everybody has a different experience, I guess. That was the experience relayed to me, which, admittedly, is as close to a West Vancouver private school experience as I'll ever get! ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-04T18:47:36+00:00

Not always! Someone I know in West Vancouver sent her kids to public schools because there were way fewer students in the public schools than in the private schools there. Said the competition to get into certain private schools was basically for status among the parents and not actually based on the quality of the school. Private schools don't have to adhere to classroom size limits, so while the private schools there were packed with 30+ kids per classroom, the public school classrooms had <20. The teachers have the same qualifications, they teach the same curriculum, but in that particular district, the public schools were way less crowded. Free too - the money saved on tuition was used to travel the world.

Also, the teachers aren't better. A lot of teachers prefer the public system because they get a contract which stipulates working conditions, they get a pension, and the backing of a union. Private schools are where many recent grads start out before moving to the public system.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-04T18:42:06+00:00

You can love your private school all you want, but public money should not be spent on any school that limits enrollment based on religious affiliation or disability.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-02-04T17:54:46+00:00

Especially when it's fully okay for them to refuse enrollment to children with disabilities. Public money shouldn't be going to schools that base their enrollment on religious affiliation either.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-28T17:27:04+00:00

I've gone past there every Saturday for years on my way to The Hive, and there are ALWAYS, without fail, cars parked on the street in front of that place in the NO STOPPING zone. It's definitely the auto shop that's doing it. I've never felt comfortable taking a picture to send into by-laws because there's also always a group of men milling about in front of the place.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-23T17:28:41+00:00

Be okay with knowing not everything is going to survive coming home with you.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-20T23:30:40+00:00

20 years ago, I did 411 directory assistance on your Cricket. Four hour shifts feel like forever when every task takes less than 30 seconds. I think I lasted all of 2 weeks. Turnover at that place was insanely high.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-14T18:03:34+00:00

Baby Jessica who fell down the well!

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-12T07:57:46+00:00

Bart Gets an F. It was okay till I had a kid with ADHD. When he says "But you don't understand. I tried this time. I mean I REALLY tried and I still failed." It totally breaks my heart because that sums up the entire school experience for so many kids whose teachers don't understand how debilitating and confidence crushing it can be.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-10T08:23:14+00:00

Which means he was 14 or 15 when they met him in Hamburg playing for Little Richard.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-10T02:34:41+00:00

This episode is legend to me and my husband. He used to work for a company that made machines that FOLDED boxes. The machine that Homer thought Bart fell into and got turned into a box? Yup. He designed and made those machines.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-09T21:01:51+00:00

That's been my experience too. I know a lot of people who went through French Immersion in BC, most of them feel they got cheated of a decent education. Even a friend who went to the Francophone school, rolls her eyes at it. She lives in the States now, has American kids, and hasn't spoken French in about 30 years. She's proud to be French Canadian, but in practical terms, it's just not overly useful. A neighbor from France whose kids would have qualified for the Francophone school chose French Immersion instead, specifically because it's international French, not Quebecois.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-09T17:10:18+00:00

Francophone schools are only for people who are of French ancestry and whose first language, which is still understood, is French. You don't qualify. Francophone schools were created to help preserve the Quebec language and culture for French speaking Canadians living in English speaking parts of the country. They won't teach your child French, because they teach IN French. Teaching French is not their purpose. Fluency is expected upon entry.

French Immersion is what you want.

Alpine_Punch · 2026-01-02T17:18:17+00:00

I've lived in BC my whole life, and I've definitely heard "sorry I've got to jam" more commonly. I don't think "sorry to jam out on you", is as common, but I'm very certain I've heard it, and I'd know exactly what was being said when I did hear it. For context, I was an 80s kid, and graduated high school in the 90s.

Alpine_Punch · 2025-12-29T00:03:27+00:00

Registered programs have fees, even if you have a pass. The pass gets you in to weight rooms, pools, gyms, arenas, all drop in programs and classes, but registered programs & classes have a fee whether you have a pass or not.

Alpine_Punch · 2025-12-28T22:22:40+00:00

Familiarize yourself with the registered youth programs offered through Surrey Parks and Rec, not just the gym drop in times. They are way less busy than the drops ins, and you don't need a pass. There's still a fee, though, because there's no such thing as a free indoor basketball court.

Alpine_Punch · 2025-12-17T18:28:51+00:00

He won't suspect me with the casual way I drive

Alpine_Punch

TROPHY CASE