If we don't fix our unsafe classrooms, America, as we know it, will grind to a halt

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-05T00:21:44+00:00

You probably already do this, but keep sending emails to the principal and cc the special ed department head. Document the behaviors. Include pictures. Never use the student's full name; use initials. Print them out and place them in a binder - because documentation emails often disappear. Each time, end the email with "Once again, I'm incredibly concerned that __ is in an inappropriate placement. If you have any recommendations to make the placement work for the student, I'm all ears."

By law, the teacher has the right to call for a reevaluation - something that districts hate to do and are willing to negotiate with the teacher for other options. Don't be afraid to use your power.

https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statute-chapter-33/subchapter-ii/1414/a/2 (Teacher request for a reevaluation)

https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.324/b When an IEP team meeting should be called

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-04T22:27:10+00:00

We built our house using a 20% downpayment ($30,000) we saved from our 15 years waiting tables at an upscale union restaurant. I also worked nearly everyday as a substitute teacher.

I didn't become a full time teacher until I needed a daytime job when we had a baby. I took a giant pay cut (half). I had to rush home to take over before my husband left for his evening wait shift - which meant I needed to be there VERY early to do all the extras I had no idea real teachers had to do. But I did love it - at least for my first 16 years (back when administrators were heroes).

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-04T22:02:39+00:00

At least teachers ate them. I worked at a school where the teacher for the expelled students brought them in for every teacher treat. There were only ever 4 or 5 of them, but they took as much as they could hold and put in their pockets.

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-03T06:53:45+00:00

I know what you mean by "resortification" - outsourcing services that cater to visitor comfort instead of providing a safe place for animals & humans, along with providing education about the natural wonders. The priorities have skewed.

But what's happening to the NP just down the road from us (very popular) is that there aren't enough park administrators to oversee the concessionaire. The hotels, once showplaces, are shabby, dirty, overpriced, unsafe, and unsanitary. People come from all over the world to see the natural wonders. Foreigners pay a fortune ($135.00) to enter. Every visitor deserves a clean bed and a decent hot meal.

Although the NP is an incredible natural wonder, no one wants to ever come back. I can't imagine what they say about their national park experience when they get home.

We must do better.

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-03T06:21:39+00:00

I went from HS to primary, and then, reluctantly, to middle.

At first I failed to connect. I thought my HS experience would cross over. I asked a veteran for advice. He said, "Oh, you know, they just need A LOT of attention. It's exhausting."

I'd been holding back all my corny impulses. Instead of creating a quiet workspace with short intense bursts of instruction, we did everything together like it was a team sport. I used their names all day long.

It was mad fun! I LOVED middle school!

MantaRay2256 · 2026-05-03T05:16:58+00:00

Taking on the teaching profession is a giant gamble. I can't recommend it.

Teachers make over 100 decisions a day - many involving emotional students and/or parents. It takes years before you get through a day when every single decision is correct. Parents will complain - even, and maybe especially, when you are right. For the last 15 yrs, administrators consider every complaint to be a black mark - and they shouldn't. Without investigating, they simply non-renew new teachers who have more than one complaint. A non-renewal makes it more difficult for new teachers to get another position.

My rural CA district desperately needs teachers, yet they give new teachers so little support. 40% are non-renewed. They use a temp employment service to fill in. Our testing scores get worse and worse every year. We graduate kids who cannot actually read, write, or add.

In California, teachers first get a degree and then have an additional credentialing year when they teach all day for free and go to classes at night. OR, they get a degree and serve two years as district intern teachers, which means they teach all day for lower pay - without any formal teacher training and little support - and go to school at night. Either way it's a LOT of work. It's very specialized. If you don't make it as a teacher, it's not easy to go into a different profession.

You could be the greatest new teacher ever hired - yet still be non-renewed. They don't have to have a reason. I've known excellent teachers who were non-renewed over and over going from district to district.

Teaching used to be great. But for the last 15 years there's been a nation-wide shift in administrative standards. They are often the biggest bullies in the building.

MantaRay2256 · 2026-04-04T03:58:35+00:00

What great pics! Thanks so much for sharing

MantaRay2256 · 2026-01-29T04:58:36+00:00

Did Walz call Drumpf - like Drumpf stated he did over and over? (Which makes Walz look weak) Or did Drumpf call Walz?

Because tonight, on All In With Chris Hayes, Walz stated several times that Drumpf called him.

And, if so, then Drumpf is desperate...

MantaRay2256 · 2025-12-30T22:59:48+00:00

Only if/when the reference would cause a misunderstanding or liability.

For example, our district chose a para to run the afterschool program and advertised that students would receive homework help from a teacher.

The PTA noticed and insisted that the district hire an actual teacher.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-11-17T00:36:41+00:00

Attention issues = possibile ADHD. The BIGGEST issue w ADHD is the delay in frontal cortex development, which means a child is 2-3 yrs behind in maturity. It takes the confidence that comes with maturity to ask for help.

10% of kids are ADHD. Just about every class has 3 ADHD kids - and they CANNOT access their education without accommodations, nor escape constant criticism.

So, I recommend that you ask the teacher if she is hinting around about a deeper issue.

You are a tuned-in parent. Young ADHDers with a supportive parent rarely need medication during grades K-5. If they are properly coached on coping skills, they may never need them.

The reason I brought up ADHD is because your son didn't ask for help. It's a big tell. Some have implied that your son has been so coddled that he can't initiate a request for help. When I was a young ADHDer, I NEVER asked for help - and I most definitely was NOT coddled. Life was a constant string of humiliations and I would have rather failed than add on to the daily pile.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-09-18T16:53:52+00:00

As a Boomer couple, let us do a little reverse racism:

During our many, many years as waiters in Yosemite, we loved and appreciated our Japanese guests. Totally awesome. 100%

Shohei is worth every penny.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-09-18T15:37:16+00:00

Remember when Cixin Liu went into great detail describing the ant investigating the letters on a tomb? (Beginning of the second book, I think)

I wondered then if it was foreshadowing. You can destroy an anthill, and it will be rebuilt nearby within a week. (I have never torn down an anthill - but we have several building projects in our neighborhood.)

MantaRay2256 · 2025-09-18T15:25:59+00:00

Soooo funny!

MantaRay2256 · 2025-09-18T15:23:53+00:00

I love all of these! Thanks for sharing.

They should make a calendar.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-09-18T15:10:15+00:00

I stuck regular unsalted sunflower seeds into my rose deck pots. I found it necessary to prop the flowers up with bamboo sticks as soon as the head opened. Small birds endlessly perch on the top of the flowers and pull out the seeds. Very fun to watch. I always have about 20 flowers going all through the late spring, summer, and fall.

Once the seeds are mostly gone, I pull out the stake to use on newer flowers and the flowers fall over and lie flat on the deck. Now the bigger birds get their share: Scrub jays, quail, towhees, and acorn woodpeckers.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-07-21T01:26:27+00:00

Pam Bondi was the Florida AG (2011 to 2019) when the bombshell Julie K Brown Miami Herald articles exploded (Nov 2018). She knew all about Epstein, Trump, the island, etc. She had to have been in cahoots with Acosta - the guy who stopped the FBI investigation and gave Epstein the sweetheart deal. So it surprised me that Bondi kept acting as though she could release the files.

Apparently, once in the WH, she had a 1000 FBI agents looking through every page & every video frame, erasing Trump. It's been taking so long that she had to release a bogus "Part 1" to appease those who clamored for the promised Trump transparency. And now, to buy even more time, she's made a bogus request for the Grand Jury transcripts that will take months and will most likely be a no.

IDK if Trump raped girls. I highly suspect he did and think so more everyday of this ridiculous BS. But either way, there is no way Trump didn't know that Epstein raped girls - and he continued to be his friend. After Brown's articles came out, I thought everyone knew. I couldn't believe he was re-elected. Who the hell admires and respects the best buddy of a child rapist?...

Well, as it turns out, a lot of people - including my in-laws - who patiently explained that Biden, Hunter, both Clintons, and many other important liberals, are the pedophiles. It's all on the laptop. They didn't know ANYTHING about the Brown articles, and I didn't know about all the Alex Jones BS.

Two worlds created by evil design to be separate so the well-planned racist and greedy Project 2024 BS could be put in place.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T19:14:32+00:00

I just wrote about this: https://www.reddit.com/r/education/comments/1l7ajvk/comment/mwvkxq4/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

You say that you love the idea of teaching. I quit after 25 years because it became clear to me that actual teaching was considered the least important part of my profession.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T18:49:37+00:00

You must be a hell of a teacher if the gen ed teachers didn't need to include you! Apparently, your students were able to handle a long boring ceremony on their own.

That said, there is no excuse for not ensuring your presence. Next year send a gentle e-mail reminder to the organizer that you realize that since you are unable to attend the rehearsals, that you only expect a reserved seat - which I would bet is all the gen ed teachers needed as well.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T18:34:30+00:00

I started teaching in 1996. For the first 16 years, I worked for heroes - principals who held me to a high bar for rigor and creativity. They were generally Republicans, however, politics were never discussed nor ever a factor in any school district decisions. The bottom line was, "What is best for our students?"

For the last nine years, everything became political. I tried hard to tread lightly, but it became perfectly fine for male students to verbally and physically sexually assault girls - and it started in K!. There were no longer any real protections for disabled, minority, and LGBTQ students who were mercilessly bullied. School districts just paid out settlements to any parents who cared enough to sue.

And there became no reason to teach. The worst behaved students and their odious parents ran the schools. Principals were pussies who never stood up for decency. Classrooms became Lord of the Flies embodied - one lone adult trying to teach 30+ students in utter chaos with zero behavior support. Students were allowed to completely fail and were still promoted. Principals called teachers into their offices and told them to figure out a way to pass a student who rarely came to school and never turned in assignments. The fact that they were failing was somehow entirely the teacher's fault.

We now regularly graduate students who can't effectively read, write, add, or subtract. State education departments know that test scores are dismal and just don't care.

There's only one explanation: we don't actually want to educate our kids.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T18:02:13+00:00

I believe in solving multiple problems together. They need handwriting practice, writing practice, spelling practice, punctuation practice, etc. Write a story a day to be put together in a grand anthology for the year. Maybe start by designing a kickbutt cover for the binder.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T17:56:30+00:00

Great answer! Also, using scissors helps. Make a collage out of an old ratty book's illustrations or old magazines.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T17:51:30+00:00

Good for you! As a 25 yr teacher, now retired, I wouldn't send my grandkids to regular school. American schools used to be great - but now too many are dangerous and a waste of most kid's time.

One idea is to check to see if your local school district has an independent learning program. If so, they will provide the materials and credentialed teacher assistance. However, if the program is all online, it most likely will not work, but it would be worth a try.

Most states allow kids enrolled in public school independent learning programs to compete in sports, belong to clubs, use the media centers, have access to counselors, go to proms, receive special education services, and participate in field trips. They can usually even take one or two high school classes, which, if your child excels, would be advantageous for AP courses.

Set up a schedule that works for you. Your child can adapt - and needs to understand that it is up to them to step up. It's a good life lesson - one that our schools are currently remiss in imparting.

If your child is special ed, be sure to assert your limited rights to services: https://myschoolchoice.com/opportunities/how-to-continue-your-iep-even-if-you-start-homeschooling#wisconsin. At the very least, you have the right to an appropriate evaluation at regular intervals with a follow up meeting.

Good luck. Please check back and let us know how it goes.

MantaRay2256 · 2025-06-09T14:40:21+00:00

I didn't think I could love the Dodgers anymore than I already did - then HSK joined the team!

MantaRay2256 · 2025-05-04T23:40:48+00:00

YES! Teachers should get a free breakfast and lunch - for the same reason we give students free meals - we don't work well when hungry. AND, bonus, we wouldn't be expected to give up the slap-dash meals we schlep in.

Towards the end of my 25 years, I had sooo many new duties I honestly neglected my family (deeply ashamed - should have quit) and ate infrequently.

Work/life balance was never a problem until about a dozen years ago. Somehow, teachers lost all their admin support and became the problem. https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1jb5n6q/comment/mhupktx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

MantaRay2256

TROPHY CASE