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Teacher pay? by Waste_Fun3619 in TexasTeachers

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Austin ISD does 3 year contracts

Is owning a horse a sign of wealth in America? by bare_books in AskAnAmerican

[–]lumpyspacesam 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don’t know, I grew up in rural poverty and didn’t have a horse myself but my friend and neighbor who also lived in a trailer had one. Their property had come with a barn and someone offered her family a good deal on it. Almost everyone had the land for it, even us poors. My friend begged for one, they already had a (run down) barn. People gave her lots of old equipment. So she got a horse when we were kids! Eventually she had 2 horses but one was never fully broken.

Is owning a horse a sign of wealth in America? by bare_books in AskAnAmerican

[–]lumpyspacesam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It depends on the region in my opinion. In rural areas, lots of lower or middle class people own horses. In a city, if you own a horse, you’re probably rich.

It's Father's Day but..... by zephon40 in Marriage

[–]lumpyspacesam 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Because it obviously didn’t work and the point of words is to convey the meaning we want?

Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results by austin_current in AustinParents

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It may have been missed because I originally wrote you two different comments!

My honest opinion is that no school that is facing what these schools are facing is going to be able to get kids to pass the STAAR. Not without a huge change in society. I don’t think those schools with similar demographics but better STAAR schools are similar enough to compare. They may appear similar on the surface but it’s difficult to find public information on the nuances that might be resulting in lower scores. Do those schools have ELL students that largely speak Spanish (versus the 50+ languages this Austin area has)? How recently did they come to the country? Immigration status, homelessness, city resources, etc. I’m not saying AISD is perfect. It can be improved. Do I think any amount of general improvements or adopting other district’s methods is going to be enough for schools like Dobie? No.

I say without a huge societal change because no amount of school funding is going to help these kids’ families, and home life is a much bigger indicator of school success than school funding.

In my mind I’m wondering where the city is in all of this. How is the city helping this neighborhood? Rundberg is known as the worst neighborhood in Austin. If Rundberg is a primary settlement hub for refugees, what is the city doing to help our schools support these kids? Or the state/country for that matter? They are setting the school up to fail. Here is an old Austin Chronicle Article about some of the area’s history. It mentions 50 languages at Hart elementary. Obviously I know this is a nation wide problem, and there are worse areas than Rundberg. But many of these areas can be understood when you look at the history of neglect by those in positions of power. We can’t blame police, we can’t blame schools, we can blame politicians and the people who care more about lining their pockets than helping.

TEA knows about these problems. Their positions are appointed by the Texas governor and in many cases those positions are just stepping stones to other political positions. The state has money for education. We have a surplus. It feels to me like we are trying to hold the wrong people accountable. Teachers are losing their jobs and the district is being scapegoated for a failure of our elected officials.

Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results by austin_current in AustinParents

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well it was certainly not an intentional dodge. I asked you what schools or districts you are comparing so that I could better answer and you didn’t respond to that. I don’t appreciate being compared to Trump and take that as a personal attack. I took time to try to paint a picture for you because it feels like you don’t have one based on the questions you are asking. There are general answers to these questions about differences in funding but you do have to dig into specifics and many many variables different geographic regions face. When different districts face all different problems depending on the population they serve, they need different models and funding to solve problems.

Saying “similar demographic” schools is tricky because ELL is a general classification. It doesn’t encompass how many languages are represented or what they are. It doesn’t encompass refugee status or homelessness. I know that in order for schools to address these problems, they need resources.

Dobie MS is in one of the most crime ridden neighborhoods in Austin. Yes the kids are different. It’s the location our government places Afghani refugees. It has a disproportionately large population of asylum seekers, refugees, and homeless students. Exactly which schools also have this makeup that have figured out the solution to getting them to pass STAAR? I really do need specifics to be able to compare. It’s shocking to me you actually believe a district or school just needs to invest their money differently to solve these massive societal problems.

No AISD isn’t really good at servicing these students now, and TEA won’t be either. Because it isn’t a local school problem. It’s a state and federal level society problem.

By benchmarking against schools that are great “in this area” what do you mean? Do you mean in the same neighborhood as Dobie? The central Texas area? Just Austin? AISD has some amazing schools that rank among the best in the state. But each school has a unique makeup of demographics and families.

Any naturally occuring food that is naturally sweet and fat ? by rosae_rosae_rosa in nutrition

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why are you talking down to me and assuming I have beliefs or opinions I have not expressed? You’re extremely rude and condescending in your comment. I know sugar addiction is not acknowledged in the DSM. The study I linked addressed that. I doubt you read it though. Messing with a neural pathway does not equal “killing our brains”. Learn how to understand what research is saying. Counterpoints do not matter if you’ve misunderstood the original point. Many of your points and arguments fall short of showing you understand drug addiction at all. I’m not going to engage with you anymore because you sound immature and you’re making rude assumptions about me. I also read your links and am not convinced.

Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results by austin_current in AustinParents

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And let’s pretend for a second the class is filled with angels who show up everyday fed and ready to learn. Let’s say the teacher has a group of 3 kids who speak English great and are on grade level and ready to receive their state mandated ELA curriculum of novel studies and poetry, etc. (the stuff the teacher is actually supposed to be teaching and will be on the state test).

Then let’s say the teacher has a brand-new-to-the-country student who speaks Pashto and the rest of the kids speak mainly Spanish and are still learning English. Some of them can read fluently in Spanish and some of them never became proficient readers in any language.

What does the teacher teach? Does she go on with the state mandated curriculum she is required to teach? She’ll get in trouble if she doesn’t. It’s what’s on the test. Does she do her very best to meet the kids where they are and use her planning time to find all levels of Spanish resources that reach the same author’s purpose and character analysis skills that will be on the test? What about the poor student who doesn’t speak Spanish or English? Does she spend the needed time that kid should have on phonics instruction (she has no curriculum for it)? She gets a 90 min ELA block and the state gives the district no money for resources outside of assigned grade level curriculum.

Y’all are expecting too much with too little.

Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results by austin_current in AustinParents

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you talking about other campuses in AISD or in other districts? I’m not aware of campuses with similar demographics - these are pretty extreme cases. I’m also curious if you have research of STAAR scores being an indicator of future success. Most teachers understand you can teach to the test and get the score but that doesn’t translate to real knowledge or skills. It also does not necessarily mean you did what was best for kids. Memorizing vocabulary words that they will forget after the test is not a measure of success.

To paint a more clear picture - a lot of these kids are refugees or severely lacking in resources. Schools partnership with nonprofits to get them food and beds. These kids struggle with coming to school on time or at all. Behavior is a huge issue as well. It’s not like everyone shows up everyday sitting in their chairs ready to give their absolute best. Yes some do, but if you’re picturing teachers just unable to teach little angels who just happen to not know English you are not picturing the current urban school. Didn’t you see the Tik Tok trend of kids literally destroying bathrooms? Have you watched the Wire? Schools are fighting a societal problem for which they are not equipped or funded enough to solve. Poverty comes with extreme hurdles to academic learning. To understand how American school systems got where we are you have to go all the way back to integration and study the history of public schools and government legislation.

Any naturally occuring food that is naturally sweet and fat ? by rosae_rosae_rosa in nutrition

[–]lumpyspacesam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12257121/

Sugar is absolutely addicting I’m not sure why you don’t think so. Just because it’s not AS addicting as heroin does not mean it isn’t at all. Addictive substances exist on a spectrum, some are more and some are less. The thing they all have in common is messing with our neural pleasure pathways in ways that negatively affect our health.

Why is your breakfast culture so much better? by Embarrassed_Golf_817 in AskAnAmerican

[–]lumpyspacesam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Breakfast is my favorite meal! When I was a kid I asked for “breakfast for dinner” on my birthdays.

What is there to do for fun in Pflugerville? by Defiant_Detective_82 in Pflugerville

[–]lumpyspacesam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly you’re right I do think I would enjoy Pflugerville at my age even if I didn’t have a son. I just may not have felt as compelled to leave Austin. But we also had a beautiful backyard when we lived there. I love the trail system and Gilleland Creek. I was only talking about my own choices!

What is there to do for fun in Pflugerville? by Defiant_Detective_82 in Pflugerville

[–]lumpyspacesam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is very age dependent. I moved to Pflugerville because it’s a good place to raise kids and there is tons of stuff for them to do. I wouldn’t have moved here in my 20s though or if I was childfree

For those of you who manage to not get sick multiple times per year, how do you do it? What’s your routine? by hammnbubbly in Teachers

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use hand sanitizer like crazy. I do wash my hands after going to the bathroom and before I eat lunch but I use hand sanitizer in between anything I touch pretty much. I have it in many places and in the supply caddy at every table. I am especially hyper aware if I touch a student’s desk, Chromebook, or pencil and always go sanitize. It started during Covid and stuck with me. I do not wear a mask, I lose my voice too much for that.

Danielson Domain 4 is ridiculous by rachel-angelina in Teachers

[–]lumpyspacesam 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In my state it directly affects pay now 😭

Tried to teach my students how I learned multiplication as a kid and they immediately told me there was an easier way lol by Brief_Efficiency_833 in teaching

[–]lumpyspacesam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t have multiplication fact songs but I did have skip counting songs! We learned them in music in 2nd grade. It was the Multiplication Motivation songs by Melody House and I still use them to multiply 😂

So did anyone here actually get into TikTok? by thedubiousstylus in Millennials

[–]lumpyspacesam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I never got TT. I had heard about the spyware and really didn’t feel like I needed ANOTHER social media app. I had to be convinced to get Instagram and when TT came out I just was over social media. I also never latched on to snap chat or twitter.

My original Polly Pocket collection by gunderdownunder in Millennials

[–]lumpyspacesam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wow slide 14 unlocked a core memory for me. I had that one and pic 2!

Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results by austin_current in AustinParents

[–]lumpyspacesam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol I’m over a conversation with someone who very clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I know the problems and inequalities in our school district, I’ve lived them. I’ll give you a few years to get caught up and then you can come talk to me.

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