I graduated high school in 1981, therefore part of the last of the students who were educated rather than indoctrinated. The DoED is a millstone about the neck of American kids and I await its demise with bated breath. L.F.G!!
I no longer have young children in school but I do have 7 grandchildren between the ages of 17 and 2, also my 4 children and their spouses are educators. So I’m deeply concerned for their futures. I believe and have faith that President Trump can make this right. I silently pray for it every day. I always think about what RFK jr. said “ We need to love our children more than we hate each other.”
Well as educators they may need to learn to navigate in a different world, not under the thumb of their state and federal “teacher’s unions”. Unions that have been basically ‘calling the shots’ on how they do their jobs for a very long time!
Thank you for the morning laughs. Love your writing, Jenna! Five years ago when I went to an info session for our public middle school, one student said that her teachers don't care how she writes her essays because that's not on the standardized tests. It's one of several reasons why we moved our kids to private school....going broke, but at least our kids are going to learn to write.
I agree with the move, but of course with clueless talking heads doing anything BUT offering up facts, the masses will be deliberately whipped up to a frenzy over it. I will feel a little sorry for the teachers who will be running through the halls, flapping their arms because they ONLY know how to 'teach to the test'! 'omg what will we do without a 3" binder of pre-made lesson plans?'
my now-19 yr old ended up dropping out of high school, mostly because the convid lockouts were the last nail in the coffin for an already deeply disillusioned student. his attempts at 'remote learning' were a real eye opener for me. what passes as a literature 'book report' is reading a few paragraphs and answering multiple choice questions! no such thing as reading an entire book! and do not get me started on the shit that only 'plays food on TV' being served. they were giving that away during convid and it was ALL processed garbage. I think they actually COOK in prisons so the swill they serve kids is likely worse.
So much bad teaching out there. I was a community college English instructor for almost 30 years. Occasionally, I would have a student tell me that the book I assigned was THE FIRST they had ever read. Yeesh. Most had only read a few.
What a sad, sad lonely and boring life to lead. I couldn’t imagine life without a book or two in the works. From my earliest memories I’ve never spent more than half a day without a book (back before audiobooks were everywhere and I had to ya know actually drive and work without a book going ). It gives me great sorrow to contemplate such an empty existence.
The portable device in the hands of 2 year olds on up, has dumbed them down. Reading a book, HAH. And I put that on the parents who are too disengaged with their children and put that device in front of them in lieu of having to talk to and ‘raise’ their children!
boggles my mind to see the little ones kept engaged on mom's phone while out in public. they are completely oblivious of the world around them. I've been so tempted to approach one of them and tell they that they are literally harming their child's brain development. ugh
I live in SoCA. I see Mom’s letting their kids look at their phone while shopping. And ironically it’s a lot of Latina and Asian Mom’s. I’ve also seen parents with their kids, going into a restaurant and the kids are carrying their ‘tablets’ with them.
And another deal that is particularly harmful is wearing the blue tooth earbuds, while out and about. I saw a young mom, carrying an infant, that was wearing the blue tooth earbuds, and holding her baby on her shoulder right next to ears. I wanted to tell her to ditch the earbuds, that the EMFs they emit are harmful not only to her but her baby as well.
super sad to see entire families sitting in a restaurant and every one of them is looking at a screen and not engaging with each other. I fear for the future with this deliberate refusal to enjoy the company of other humans, over staring at a screen full of fake 'life'.
I've noticed that about the Latina and Asian moms as well... 🤔
Regarding the Bluetooth earbuds; I need to wear hearing aids, whenever I'm not sleeping, which are Bluetooth. 😬 What are the symptoms of that damage? I'm kind of afraid to research it!
Catching up after a busy week here. 🙂 I had a phase in my life when my young girls were forcibly kept from me. I remember eating alone in a restaurant watching parents on their phones, ignoring their children. I wanted to grab them by their necks and scream; "Do you have any idea what you're squandering?!?"
I also am absolutely lost without a book to read at night. no screens in my bedroom, ever. my 86 yr old mom is an avid reader, usually 2 or 3 of her favorite mystery novels a week.
I grew up out in the county in a farm and while we did have a tv (my dad was an avid wrestling, football and western fan) so we had poor fare at best with bunny ears antenna type reception. I grew up mostly reading for pleasure and watching the likes of Gillian’s island et al. Fairly wholesome and benign. Lol. Way too much to do out there to spend much time in the tv. Same age as you!
Reagan was before the change in laws that prevented CIA created propaganda brainwashing of US citizens. He was before MSNBC first aired and before CNN went communist, and he was before the DoED was captured by communists masquerading as educators and able to warp the perspectives of millions. Yes indeed, times were different back then.
Not only taxpayer money, what happened to the lottery money supposedly "for education"?
In the first grade I went to a city school and didn't do well on spelling.
Second grade was a 2 room country school grades 1 to 4' in one room and 4 to 8 in the second one. My spelling and reading vastly improved due to better teaching methods.
Also much to the dismay of TEACHERS, my aunt gave us the throw away comics from where she worked. Virtually all of us comic book readers became lifelong readers. It was hell to sit in class by the third grade and listen to some others try to read in shared reading. They couldn't read because they never wanted to learn. They also were poor and didn't have comic books at home.
Comic reader here, although father limited choices (e.g., no one with supernatural powers). My uber-vast command of the Classics Illustrated canon practically put me on auto-pilot for college English. (And we kept up with the super-heroes over at the friend's house...)
Bill Gates is in our educational system, too??? 😩🤬
I have one mandate for Billy Goats: heads down, sir, and fix the viruses in your own Microsoft Operating System. Until you can get THAT right, shut up and go away.
As a retired public high school teacher for 7 years now and with a daughter who is presently a public elementary school teacher, I can say emphatically GOOD RIDDANCE to the Department of Malfeasance and Propaganda, with the blessings of my daughter as well! What a bad joke.
I saw a video about Harvard adding remedial math to the course offerings. Not just one course, but a series of courses to get students from middle school math to college algebra, (presumably to obtain graduation eligibility). The university has since decided to reinstate ACT, SAT test scores as part of admissions criteria.
Now just what in the H— did they think was going to happen when test scores were no longer required for admisson????
I graduated high school in 1981, therefore part of the last of the students who were educated rather than indoctrinated. The DoED is a millstone about the neck of American kids and I await its demise with bated breath. L.F.G!!
"Bated" breath! You were educated, you know, actually!
"I graduated *from* high school..."
I no longer have young children in school but I do have 7 grandchildren between the ages of 17 and 2, also my 4 children and their spouses are educators. So I’m deeply concerned for their futures. I believe and have faith that President Trump can make this right. I silently pray for it every day. I always think about what RFK jr. said “ We need to love our children more than we hate each other.”
Well as educators they may need to learn to navigate in a different world, not under the thumb of their state and federal “teacher’s unions”. Unions that have been basically ‘calling the shots’ on how they do their jobs for a very long time!
What's an educator?
There are only teachers and administrators.
I just referenced what the original commenter said about her children and their spouses “being educators”.
Yes very true
Thank you for the morning laughs. Love your writing, Jenna! Five years ago when I went to an info session for our public middle school, one student said that her teachers don't care how she writes her essays because that's not on the standardized tests. It's one of several reasons why we moved our kids to private school....going broke, but at least our kids are going to learn to write.
I agree with the move, but of course with clueless talking heads doing anything BUT offering up facts, the masses will be deliberately whipped up to a frenzy over it. I will feel a little sorry for the teachers who will be running through the halls, flapping their arms because they ONLY know how to 'teach to the test'! 'omg what will we do without a 3" binder of pre-made lesson plans?'
my now-19 yr old ended up dropping out of high school, mostly because the convid lockouts were the last nail in the coffin for an already deeply disillusioned student. his attempts at 'remote learning' were a real eye opener for me. what passes as a literature 'book report' is reading a few paragraphs and answering multiple choice questions! no such thing as reading an entire book! and do not get me started on the shit that only 'plays food on TV' being served. they were giving that away during convid and it was ALL processed garbage. I think they actually COOK in prisons so the swill they serve kids is likely worse.
but yeah the shit storm will commence a pace...
So much bad teaching out there. I was a community college English instructor for almost 30 years. Occasionally, I would have a student tell me that the book I assigned was THE FIRST they had ever read. Yeesh. Most had only read a few.
What a sad, sad lonely and boring life to lead. I couldn’t imagine life without a book or two in the works. From my earliest memories I’ve never spent more than half a day without a book (back before audiobooks were everywhere and I had to ya know actually drive and work without a book going ). It gives me great sorrow to contemplate such an empty existence.
The portable device in the hands of 2 year olds on up, has dumbed them down. Reading a book, HAH. And I put that on the parents who are too disengaged with their children and put that device in front of them in lieu of having to talk to and ‘raise’ their children!
boggles my mind to see the little ones kept engaged on mom's phone while out in public. they are completely oblivious of the world around them. I've been so tempted to approach one of them and tell they that they are literally harming their child's brain development. ugh
I live in SoCA. I see Mom’s letting their kids look at their phone while shopping. And ironically it’s a lot of Latina and Asian Mom’s. I’ve also seen parents with their kids, going into a restaurant and the kids are carrying their ‘tablets’ with them.
And another deal that is particularly harmful is wearing the blue tooth earbuds, while out and about. I saw a young mom, carrying an infant, that was wearing the blue tooth earbuds, and holding her baby on her shoulder right next to ears. I wanted to tell her to ditch the earbuds, that the EMFs they emit are harmful not only to her but her baby as well.
super sad to see entire families sitting in a restaurant and every one of them is looking at a screen and not engaging with each other. I fear for the future with this deliberate refusal to enjoy the company of other humans, over staring at a screen full of fake 'life'.
I've noticed that about the Latina and Asian moms as well... 🤔
Regarding the Bluetooth earbuds; I need to wear hearing aids, whenever I'm not sleeping, which are Bluetooth. 😬 What are the symptoms of that damage? I'm kind of afraid to research it!
Catching up after a busy week here. 🙂 I had a phase in my life when my young girls were forcibly kept from me. I remember eating alone in a restaurant watching parents on their phones, ignoring their children. I wanted to grab them by their necks and scream; "Do you have any idea what you're squandering?!?"
I also am absolutely lost without a book to read at night. no screens in my bedroom, ever. my 86 yr old mom is an avid reader, usually 2 or 3 of her favorite mystery novels a week.
I'm 56 and grew up without a TV. (Bless my parents!) I always read several grades ahead and still read books regularly.
I grew up out in the county in a farm and while we did have a tv (my dad was an avid wrestling, football and western fan) so we had poor fare at best with bunny ears antenna type reception. I grew up mostly reading for pleasure and watching the likes of Gillian’s island et al. Fairly wholesome and benign. Lol. Way too much to do out there to spend much time in the tv. Same age as you!
Students get a report card to show their progress. What does the DOE report card look like? Sadly its all Fs.
Reagan was before the change in laws that prevented CIA created propaganda brainwashing of US citizens. He was before MSNBC first aired and before CNN went communist, and he was before the DoED was captured by communists masquerading as educators and able to warp the perspectives of millions. Yes indeed, times were different back then.
Not only taxpayer money, what happened to the lottery money supposedly "for education"?
In the first grade I went to a city school and didn't do well on spelling.
Second grade was a 2 room country school grades 1 to 4' in one room and 4 to 8 in the second one. My spelling and reading vastly improved due to better teaching methods.
Also much to the dismay of TEACHERS, my aunt gave us the throw away comics from where she worked. Virtually all of us comic book readers became lifelong readers. It was hell to sit in class by the third grade and listen to some others try to read in shared reading. They couldn't read because they never wanted to learn. They also were poor and didn't have comic books at home.
Comic reader here, although father limited choices (e.g., no one with supernatural powers). My uber-vast command of the Classics Illustrated canon practically put me on auto-pilot for college English. (And we kept up with the super-heroes over at the friend's house...)
I raised my kids on Calvin & Hobbes. They are both excellent and avid readers.
Still read this daily! Never grows old! That tiger has such a head on his sleek body!
I remember being rebuked for correcting my 3rd grade teacher’s pronunciation of Arkansas, (she said Ar-kansas). This was in 1961. 😳🙄
Bill Gates is in our educational system, too??? 😩🤬
I have one mandate for Billy Goats: heads down, sir, and fix the viruses in your own Microsoft Operating System. Until you can get THAT right, shut up and go away.
From your fingertips to God's ears...
Should be a cheer. I remember one ”Kick ‘em back. Kick ‘em back. WAAAAAAY BACK!” To the bin of history.
Jenna: "the media is shaking like a first-year gender studies student at a Charlie Kirk rally"
Me: (( spits out warm lemon water ))
Also Me: (( reminding myself to NOT drink while reading Jenna's substack ))
I love youuuuuuuuuu! :)
I love youuuuu right back! xoxox
As a retired public high school teacher for 7 years now and with a daughter who is presently a public elementary school teacher, I can say emphatically GOOD RIDDANCE to the Department of Malfeasance and Propaganda, with the blessings of my daughter as well! What a bad joke.
“the agency spent the subsequent four and a half decades perfecting the art of spending billions of dollars without actually improving a single thing”
💔 facts
(Still) trying (desperately) to be noticed, I was inspired to make me a meme. Me. (Who? Me, ME!)
https://x.com/goatsroost/status/1904177446892503121
'z anybody know how to go about going viral?
Awwwwwwwwwww ;)
;)
it would be nice if each graduate today could define the following : woman, man.
like they would have defined those terms before there was a President Reagan.
from what i understand a U.S. Justice of the Supreme Court isn't able to define what a woman is.
As always an entertaining AND informative read. Shorten the disappearing department acronym to DED - in every way!!! MALA!!!
THISSSSS! :)
MALA indeed! We should not need remedial math and English in our universities.
I saw a video about Harvard adding remedial math to the course offerings. Not just one course, but a series of courses to get students from middle school math to college algebra, (presumably to obtain graduation eligibility). The university has since decided to reinstate ACT, SAT test scores as part of admissions criteria.
Now just what in the H— did they think was going to happen when test scores were no longer required for admisson????
“Predictably, the media is shaking like a first-year gender studies student at a Charlie Kirk rally and …”
Perfect metaphor! LMAO