Standards? What standards?

We are living in a society where today standards are simply suggestions that can be discussed and tossed aside, or ignored altogether. We have rising numbers of youth and children who are committing suicide and basically not knowing how to handle it when some issue in life doesn’t go their way. It’s sad when you look at a school district that makes a rule that everyone who tries out for an interscholastic sport must make the team and must get playing time. It’s disgusting to hear educators say that they aren’t allowed to fail students even if they didn’t do the work, didn’t try to do the work and basically didn’t care. What are e teaching our youth? That no matter what, everything will be ok…that they don’t have to put forth any effort and they’ll still get what everyone else gets? I recently attended a sports banquet for kids where they gave trophies to every play on every team. Whatever happened to the old adage ‘to the winners go the spoils’? I came up (not too long ago) in an era where if you won you got a trophy and if you lost, you tried harder next year. What you basically learn from this is that everything just ain’t for you (yes I used ain’t)! If you’re 4’11” and in the 11th grade with no dribbling skills and no vertical then you have no business on the basketball team. Perhaps the chess club would be better suited for you…or perhaps debate. There’s a suburban school here in Texas where they allowed a male cheerleader to wear the same uniform as the female cheerleaders, skirt and spanks included, and thought that was acceptable. I ask again, what are we teaching our youth? What kind of world are we creating? Yes, we live in a free country, but just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should. All things that are possible aren’t always permissible. That’s just my take on it.
Aside from the previously stated social ills, let’s also look at the educational permissibility. I spoke to a kid who told me that the teachers at his school aren’t allowed to fail students. They get a 60 for simply putting their name and date on the assignments and tests. The worst they can do is a D…the school district doesn’t want them to feel bad if they don’t pass or make the same grades as their peers. Yet they have no problems not allowing them to graduate when they can’t pass the standardized tests; interesting concept there. I heard an interview this morning on the drive in with an Army recruiting specialist. She advised that many high school graduates aren’t even equipped to serve their country. In a study over the past five years 40% of black, 25% of Hispanic and 16 of white high school graduates could not pass the Army entrance exam. This is preposterous! These folks are supposed to be ready for the world right? If they can’t pass the Army entrance exam, then they obviously aren’t ready for the workforce either; since jobs in the military closely mirror jobs in civilian life to a certain extent. The saddest thing was the first question from her interviewer was, “So, why doesn’t the Army just lower their standards?” What?!?!?! Why is it when someone doesn’t reach the mark we decide that the standards need to be lowered? Why not keep the higher level of expectation and give out youth something to reach for...something to work toward? I’ve said for years that the reason why we have so many people in the highest level tech jobs in this country born outside of this country is because the American educational system is failing our country. This is true, but perhaps Mr. Jamil was right as well when he made the statement back in 1988…Americans are lazy! Lazy! Lazy! Lazy! Why else do we give our kids 2 to 3 months off each year from learning when the rest of the world educates year round? Why else do we make rules about teachers not being able to fail kids? Why else would we have sports organizations for kids where they don’t keep score and give trophies to everyone? Why else would we stipulate acceptance for whatever it is that you want to be, think or do?
What these ‘save your self confidence’, ‘don’t hurt my kid’s self esteem’ idiots fail to realize is success is born out of failure. You can’t learn the right way if you have no knowledge of wrong. You cannot improve your game and win next year if you have no incentive to do so. We need to let our kids fail and teach them, in that failure, how to deal with it and use it to propel them to success. No one likes the feeling you get when you give your all and it just isn’t enough…so work harder next time to make sure you don’t get that feeling again. People, stop lowering standards…set some standards, high standards, live by those standards and do your part to create a stronger society than the one we’re headed toward now.

-Harvey J. Whipplemeyer

It’s Just My Opinion, But I’m Not Wrong!

Where is Your Honor?

    One year ago today, the worst natural disaster that we can remember occurred. An earthquake hit Haiti. In the wake of the quake, many people pledged funds, help, assistance, or whatever. Now, one year later the country is still in ruins, people are still living in tents and many of the pledges that were promised go unpaid. I'm the last person who will look at a situation I'm in and say someone owes me something. I believe it was Mark Twain who said, "…the world owes you nothing. They were here first." However, I do believe if you say that you'll do something, if you say that you'll give something, then you ought to do just that. There are many things that can be stripped from us, stolen from us, taken from us or given away; our word isn't one of them. When you give your word, when you say that you'll do something then it ought to be done.

    The US pledged over a billion dollars to aide in Haitian relief. Now we hear that certain legislators who don't agree with a decision that was made by majority vote on the open floor are blocking those funds from going to where they need to go. Other countries pledged funds that are being held up either by this type of foolishness or because they never had it to give in the first place, but were flossing and trying to look good in the world's eyes. If you're reading this posting that means you have electricity, access to a pc/internet, probably have a roof over your head, clothes to wear and food to eat. This puts you in a better position than most of the country of Haiti. Many of these people are still living in tents. Women and little girls are not able to sleep well at night for fear of being raped because they cannot lock a door.

    The people of Haiti are still reaching for someone to help them just like the man in the picture that became one of the many faces of Haiti immediately after the disaster hit. I'm not saying you owe anyone anything, but I am saying if you said you were gonna do it…then do it.

It's Just My Opinion, but I'm Not Wrong!

Princess Boy…For Real?

The other day I was appalled by an interview that was on the Today show. It started like any other one, with a normal looking mother talking about a book she'd written. Then it took a turn when they started focusing on the 5 year old child she had with her. You see Cheryl Kilodavis had written a book about her child, Dyson. Dyson sat beside her, looking like any other cute little 5 year old girl. There was only one problem…she wasn't a 5 year old girl, but a 5 year old boy. This young boy had been dressed in girl's clothing; hair fashioned like a little girl and was exhibiting the mannerisms of a little girl, all with the support and encouragement of his mother. What the hell?!?!?!?! It's one thing for a young man/woman to make a decision in their life that they are homosexual, but for a parent to fashion their son to be gay is preposterous. Then she's exploiting her child by parading him across stages, to television shows, and even wrote a book about it. I know that some will read this post (and possibly my last) and say that I'm a gay basher; that I'm a homophobe, or anything along those lines. What you might want to do is reread this post and my last one before making those assertions. Both exhibit disdain for the same thing; taking advantage of impressionable young people and their sexuality/sexual identity. In this case it's the worst kind, a parent screwing her child's mind up.

Parenting is an awesome responsibility that is bestowed upon us. We are tasked with teaching babies that grow into children that grow into youth everything they need to know in order to live happy, productive lives as adults. In the George Washington case, you have a university faculty and NCAA using the confusion of a post-pubescent young lady to garner headlines for a basketball program that otherwise wouldn't get much press. In this instance you have an idiotic, opportunistic woman who's leading her prepubescent son into utter confusion as she says he's identifying himself sexually as a girl…AT FOUR?!?!?!?! Come on man! This heifer wrote a book about it, parades him from talk show to interview to radio show and even says she desires for parents of other little princess boys to start clubs around the world. Really lady? Really?!?!?! How about you get a job and stop doing this to your kid? What happens when he gets to by 15 and realizes that he's been acting like a sissy to please his mother and really likes girls and wants to be a boy? Who's going to teach him to 'act like a man' then? Or will you simply tell him that he's bowing to societal pressures? If it were up to me your son would be in foster care and you'd be incarcerated for child abuse. No 4 or 5 year old knows anything about whether they are a boy trapped in a girl's body or vice versa; this is simply a deranged woman who already has an older son and wants a daughter.

I'm personally offended at the notion that she is allowed to do this and even more offended that our society has stopped to such a level that we're supporting this ludicrosity by giving her the airtime and print coverage [with encouragement] to do this to her own child. She says it about acceptance; I say BALDERDASH mam and plenty of it. You know what I may have spoken too soon; it is about acceptance. Acceptance of another interview to put on another dog and pony show…acceptance of another deal to write another book to keep the checks coming in…acceptance of another opportunity to profit off of the confusion that you've created in the mid of this poor little boy. Acceptance of anything she can get at the expense of her son's well being. I'm not a gay basher, homophobe or anything of the sort…but let your child make his/her own decision and be a parent to them, not a pimp.

It's Just My Opinion, but I'm Not Wrong!!!