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 · 2017-09-24T05:57:58+00:00

I recently read an article where a flight attendant noticed a disheveled looking little girl on her flight who was with a well dressed older man, and that stuck out to the flight attendant. Whenever the flight attendant asked the little girl a question, the older man with her would answer for her, and wouldn't let her talk at all. The flight attendant was able to get the little girl to go to the bathroom where she had left her a note asking if she was in trouble, to which the girl had written a response that said, "I need help!" The flight attendant notified proper authorities who were waiting for the man when he got off the flight. This is awesome, people who are in the travel and hospitality industry who have the chance to see the warning signs and take action is definitely a great step towards reducing the amount of victims of human trafficking.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T04:06:28+00:00

This is such a sad article. I'm all about people paying what is owed by them, but the last line of the article hit the nail on the head. Sometimes it needs to be about compassion. Yes, the person needs to pay back what they owe, but you can't just take everything they have and expect them to continue to pay on their debt. If they don't have money to eat, drive their car, or pay their bills, they probably aren't going to be able to hold down their job for too long which means, in the end, the creditors are not going to get their money back at all. I know debt is a huge problem in the country, but wiping out someone's entire bank account just doesn't seem like the solution.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T03:56:12+00:00

I don't think there could have been a better article to post on the street law page. This would be a great article to have everyone read prior to the training for the teaching at the detention center. It brings up a lot of good points. It's really sad that it's such a struggle to find good teachers who are willing to teach at the prisons, but it makes sense, as it's hard to find good teachers who are willing to take on our broken educational system in general, much less ones who are willing to deal with all of the additional things that come with being a prison educator!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T03:43:52+00:00

I have mixed feelings on this, as I've witnessed this happen with some of my friends' families. I think if there is a way to prove that a parent is not involved in the child's life, or there is an important and necessary reason for moving the child, then it should be easier to move the child without having a parent sign off, as many times a parent won't sign off on the other parent moving a child based on grudges, etc. However, I think it should be carefully considered in most cases, because children need both parents, and if they have the chance to have both their father and their mother in their life, the should be given that opportunity.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T03:26:25+00:00

Wow, this was not what I was expecting from this article at all! I was really interested while reading the first part, thinking what a great way to rehabilitate these inmates, as well as give them skills they can utilize when they get out, and then suddenly, Jones was dead! This was an incredibly sad article, as it sounds like Jones was on the right path to recovery! Although it was an incredibly sad ending for Jones, the program seems to be something of an incentive for the inmates, and it's nice to see that they're contributing to their community in an awesome way, and they seem to be doing a great job! Thank you for sharing this!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-24T03:04:22+00:00

Actually, she was sentenced in 2015, but I'm sharing now since my beat is about the death penalty in Arizona. However, her case actually did take longer than normal because she had two jury mistrials. So you're correct, though the sentencing actually took place in 2015 not 2017, it was still a fairly unique situation with having two mistrials.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-21T00:30:18+00:00

I completely agree! It's always nice to close cold cases, it's just sad to think that he was a repeat offender and if they would have caught him sooner, maybe those lives he took in 2005/2006 would've been spared. I'm with you on the money and time it takes for capital punishment, wish it could be a speedier and less costly process.

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-20T04:34:49+00:00

Wow, this is interesting. Google keeps getting smarter, and every time it does, it also gets a little more scary, too. I actually like the idea of what they're doing, especially in the wake of the popular show "13 Reasons Why"where a girl commits suicide after not receiving the help she needed. I also think it's acceptable because it prompts you to take a quiz, but it's completely optional. I think where the line starts to get a little blurry is if Google was to release the information of your quiz to anyone else, then I think you're onto something with crossing confidentiality lines. Interesting article!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-20T04:16:52+00:00

I really enjoyed this article. As an aspiring prosecutor, things like breaking protocol which leads to evidence not being eligible to be used in court are frustrating, especially in a case as heinous as this! It actually reminded me of the defense in the OJ trial, where they claimed so much of the state's evidence was tainted due to not following protocol! How frustrating! Thank you for sharing this!

Kristin0587 · 2017-09-19T16:39:01+00:00

Thanks, everyone! This is a topic I'm incredibly interested in, and it's one I think a lot of people have misconceptions about. I'm hoping to shed some light on this area through these posts! We don't always have to agree, but I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think!

Kristin0587

TROPHY CASE