Jackson Jambalaya

I sure miss Frank Melton!

After looking at Guttalife's Facebook page, I was wondering how anyone with no standard English skills whatsoever could have gotten a job as a mechanic or anything else. Now we know: he had no legitimate job.

I think this shows how important it is to teach basic standard English, reading and writing literacy skills. The work of the Barkesdale Founation and the public schools is very, very important here in Mississippi. Otherwise too many of these people end up a great danger to the community.

5:32 -- As a teacher in a previous life, I agree in theory -- what you CANNOT teach is integrity, and personal responsibility It's a learned behavior and is environmental in nature. Just reading about it doesn't make a person have it -- reading about Physics doesn't make me a nuclear physicist.

It is common on FB pages to list a place of employment or even where you live as something completely made up---somewhere they think is cool--but they don't work there or live there.
If it were all true, 10,000 kids work at Abercrombie in Jackson.

5:32 said:
"I think this shows how important it is to teach basic standard English, reading and writing literacy skills."

Your right, but remember this a "culture" where many view formal education as "acting White".

Currently, I'm afraid there is no immediate solution.

Robbing, killing and general thuggery are caused by lack of a job, oppression and trying to exist in an economic model that does not work. Right?

Hold on. This gentleman-scumbag had a state job, with benefits, vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, opportunity for promotion, from which he could eventually retire with a lifetime monthly check.

Be sure to put that in the mix when next you opine.

The lesson here is that you can't believe everything you read that's posted on Facebook. It's social media, not the reference section of a library.

And, I'm reeling that a " former teacher" doesn't think personal responsibility and integrity can be taught!

That's how children learn. Someone teaches them.

That our educational system has lost the focus needed to model personal responsibility and integrity or to teach it in how a school and classroom operates.

We once tied rewards, like being able to play sports or be a cheerleader or be in the band, to personal conduct. We even graded personal conduct! We didn't socially promote. Promotion was earned.

Parents didn't run the schools and had little to no ability to run interference for their children.

Teachers may have never been paid their worth, but they damn well were respected when I was growing up and had authority!

Adults with adult agendas didn't control children's activities as they do today. Children had to learn how to play well with others. So they better learned early on how to deal with bullies and develop leaders.

Once upon a time we had enough sense in this country to know it's not in our interest to politicize every damn thing starting with education and foreign policy and national security! Those issues need to be cooperatively addressed at the highest levels, not used to gain political advantage!

"That's how children learn. Someone teaches them."

I'm not disagreeing with this statement, but I do think that it is almost impossible for an educator to teach personal responsibility and integrity to children raised in households without it.

The adults with adult agendas that have the most control over children's activities are their parents. That's not to say that teachers and coaches cannot be a very strong center of influence on a young mind though. I just don't think the weight of most of these issues should be carried by educators.

Once upon a time we had enough sense in this country to know it's not in our interest to politicize every damn thing starting with education and foreign policy and national security!

Tell us what was the year when we began to politicize national security.

This ain't about sewage lagoons, potholes or national security.

It's a daunting task to teach ANYTHING in school today. If a really serious educator who loves his/her work can impact the notion of personal responsibility in a young person who is otherwise devoid of it, that's a bonus.

It's not the task of an educator but every good teacher will, at one time or another, have countless opportunities to make a stab at it.

10:45 am

Are you really so naïve as to believe that we got to this sad state of affairs all at once ?

If I have to pick AN event, I'll start with whomever it was in the Reagan campaign who contacted Iran and promised them arms if they would not release the hostages until the election was over!

But, the fact is that when our President, any President is so under attack by the opposing party that he is seen internationally as lacking in sufficient public support , it weakens our position!

Other countries need to feel that whatever agreements we make as a Nation will be honored by the opposing party!

Other countries need to believe any warnings our President issues has the clout of our national support!

Moreover, in " criticizing" and " investigating" foreign policy decisions for political gain rather than problem solving , we have during the current administration given our enemies a wealth of information about our areas of vulnerability.

Don't you know anybody in other countries or read their news? Or know people in our government in foreign service?

If I were an enemy of this Nation, I couldn't think of a better strategy than to divide us as a people. I'd distract us with nonsense issues and start rumors that had no basis in fact and make us distrustful and fearful of each other! It's called " divide and conquer" or haven't you ever heard of that!!!!

9:02; Have you listened lately to Hotel California?

I recall when I transferred from Jim Hill High School to Byram, my senior year in 1977. I walked into class the first day a few minutes late, with gum in my mouth when the teacher looked up over her glasses, from the paper she was reading and said, Mr. ? I presume? Now, come forward, spit out that gum, go sit in your chair and DON'T EVER BE LATE TO MY CLASS AGAIN! That was absolutely NOT what I had experienced in JPS and I quickly learned she, not I, was in charge. After that, I followed her rules and graduated. Thanks Ms. McGuire, you made a difference... That's TEACHING!