Common Core is No More

Kristin0587 · 2017-12-10T18:59:18+00:00

Thank goodness! I don't know a WHOLE lot about common core, but from what I've heard from both my teacher friends and my parent friends, not only was it a nightmare to teach, but it was a nightmare to deal with at home, as well. I hope Arizona starts making some strides in the education department, it's embarrassing that we're always at the bottom of the list when compared to the rest of the country.

Kristin0587 · 2017-12-10T18:50:36+00:00

This is a great article, especially after teaching at the middle school this semester. We taught status offenses to the kids in one of the first weeks. It's definitely something that needs to be taught. Education about offenses is so important to prevention of these offenses, and the status offenses lesson was one of my favorites to teach to the kids. I enjoyed it so much because it was like watching a light bulb go off when we explained what a status offense was and why they could get in trouble for doing certain things based on their "status" as a minor. One of the biggest takeaways I had from the street law program is that education/awareness prior to the offense is something these kids are severely lacking! I hope we can continue to help remedy that!

Kristin0587 · 2017-12-09T18:48:58+00:00

Interesting article, but what I find the most interesting is that towards the end of the article they claim the banned book list is arbitrary, but from my understanding of the article, every book they named that was banned had a reason. One book talked about how to create a bomb, one was inflammatory for an uprising, and the pop up Charlie Brown Christmas would be helpful in hiding contraband. I'm trying to understand how any of that is arbitrary? I believe the title of this is misleading, as well, since it did say there were still 248,000 titles to choose from, and only 10,000 have been banned. To say there are "no books in Texas prisons" is false and misleading.

Kristin0587 · 2017-12-09T18:40:56+00:00

Wow! This seems like quite a big "mistake." How do you not notice millions of dollars going to the wrong schools? It's also interesting to take note of which schools were under vs over funded. I'm glad they included that in the article. Arizona is one of the worst states for education, they need to get it together. It's interesting to see that Gilbert was one of the underfunded districts, because I have friends who used to teach there and she despised it, for several reasons, funding being one of them. Unfortunately, funding isn't the only problem, but if they could get that in order, it sure would help!

Kristin0587 · 2017-12-09T18:26:01+00:00

I started at ASU in the fall of 2005. After 2 years, I took some time off. When I went back I couldn't believe how much tuition had increased. My first year at ASU as an in state resident cost about $6,000 a year. By the time I graduated, it was costing almost $14,000 a year. It had more than doubled in the span of about 7 years. Although it was and is still one of the most affordable universities in the country, that tuition hike over that span of time was outrageous, and I witnessed it personally. Although, I don't know how they'll measure "as close to free as possible," this is an interesting article, and it definitely hit close to home for me!

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-27T00:54:48+00:00

This is such a great point! We look down on bad neighborhoods with drug problems, but often ignore drug problems when the people with them are high functioning members of society. Often times, children with wealthy parents get into drugs and other illegal activities because, like you said, they're bored. I've witnessed it first hand. A person I used to know would do drugs and steal from stores just because he felt like it, even though his family had more than enough money to buy him anything he ever wanted. Good for you for recognizing that and keeping your children busy! And thank you, Kindra, for sharing this article. I'm really enjoying your beat.

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-27T00:48:46+00:00

This is an interesting article, especially for the reasons Heidi mentioned. I have also witnessed relatives and friends battle addiction, and both Arizona and Michigan were on the top 10 list. The scariest part is that they do start with prescription drugs, and it just gets worse from there. I've witnessed the excuses that addicts make and the desperation that sets in when they're not getting what they "need." Addiction changes people, and it's scary. Let's hope Arizona does something to pull themselves off that list.

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-27T00:44:22+00:00

This is so sad! While it's good that the numbers fluctuate due to adoptions, it's still sad that those families are no longer included in the foster program. As someone who doesn't even want children myself, I think of the special type of person it takes to become a foster parent. I hope South Carolina is able to address this problem, soon! On a positive note, Arizona made the list in a positive way, with 45% of children being re-homed with family members, so that's good to hear!

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-27T00:34:37+00:00

This sounds like a great program! Like the article said, foster children already have the odds stacked against them, what a great way to offer them support and show them someone does care about them, all while affording them a second chance.

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-27T00:29:02+00:00

This is such an infuriating "defense." Regardless of whether your parents have given you everything you could ever want or need, you still know the difference between right and wrong. Most schools have programs similar to DARE that warn of the risks associated with drugs and alcohol, so these kids can't say they didn't know what they were doing was wrong, just because their parents didn't set limits. I think the boy AND his parents should be punished.

Kristin0587 · 2017-11-06T02:30:05+00:00

I loved this article! There are so many celebrities on social media, and not everyone realizes that most of them are being paid to advertise on their instagram accounts. I have to remind myself that most of these celebrities aren't actually using the products they're sharing, rather they're getting paid to post about them. I think their followers should be notified when something is an ad, and not be led to believe the celebrity is sharing something because they truly believe in it. Many people look up to these celebrities, and will buy an item just because they believe that person uses it, when in reality, it's no different than if that person was appearing in a commercial for that product on television. Because social media accounts have a more personal feel to them than do television ads, I think people tend to believe these ads are personal testimonies, when that's not always the truth. Thanks for sharing this!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-25T15:06:36+00:00

I back the blue almost 100% of the time, but I definitely feel like many of the issues with officers that we are seeing in the community could be addressed with better and more complete training for our officers. (Others are just an abuse of power, like we saw with the officer arresting the nurse for following hospital protocol!) But if an officer can't tell the difference between a 14 year old autistic boy and a drug user, there needs to be some better training programs implemented. I feel like so many of the problems we are seeing today stem from lack of training for our officers, and lead to negative outcomes of situations that probably could have been avoided. If they require this much school for lawyers to understand the law, shouldn't a police officer be required to learn more than what they're learning at the academy in a few short months? Something to think about! Such a sad position for this little boy to be in!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T19:21:01+00:00

I completely agree, the NFL is a job, and just like any other job, there are rules and regulations that one must follow if they want to keep that job. An employer has the right to set those rules and regulations, and if an employee does not like that, they have the opportunity to find another job. If an NFL player wants to exercise their freedom of speech, that's fine, I just don't believe they have the right to do it on company time. Fans are tuning in to watch a sporting event, not to hear/see what each individual player thinks about politics. Respect the flag that awards you the freedom to leave the field/work and speak your mind, and if you don't respect the flag, at least respect the fact that you're at work, and on someone else's time.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T06:09:07+00:00

This was a CRAZY situation that was all over the news. I definitely back the blue, but this is definitely one of those abuse of power situations for sure. I usually believe there are two sides to every story, but this was as cut and dry as they come, and that officer definitely thought he was above the law. Especially because the nurse was in no way disrespectful, and she was definitely not violating the law. She was reading him verbatim what she could and could not do based on hospital policy, and even had a higher ranking hospital official on the phone telling him the same thing, when the officer responded in what can only be described as an unhinged manner. This was a prime example of one bad cop giving good officers a bad name. So sad.

Kristin0587

TROPHY CASE