tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25409086934821503942024-03-12T20:51:38.537-07:00TheThoughtsofTTina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-57127626203525887192011-04-02T06:11:00.001-07:002011-04-02T06:11:37.539-07:00Not sure what day it isEaster is only 3 weeks away. I cannot wait till this is over. Being online is not nearly exciting without facebook in my life.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-66203194758801099692011-03-20T18:11:00.001-07:002011-03-20T18:11:26.452-07:00I hate this!I want my facebook back!Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-53398078673932042602011-03-16T06:26:00.001-07:002011-03-16T06:26:05.391-07:00Week One DownWell its behind me. I never realized how boring the internet is without Facebook or Cafemom. I have made it though, only a few more weeks to go, no problem @@Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-64976034980733473382011-03-14T03:22:00.000-07:002011-03-14T03:22:41.139-07:00I want on! Day 6With all that is going on in Japan, I really want on fb. It is getting more and more difficult everyday to not jump on and see what the chatter is on this chaos. <br />
I am part of a group on there that talks about being prepared for end of times, natural disasters, that kind of thing. I want to know what the word is over there. I am totally unprepared for a catastrophic event. I hate not having the extra cash to get prepared. I want a stock pile of canned goods. Tons of fresh water. Alternative light and heat sources. I have none of these things. All breaks loose we are screwed... Ok that's enough paranoid babble for one day.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-64159927170546349982011-03-13T18:23:00.000-07:002011-03-13T18:23:24.605-07:00Day 5I am noticing that no one is reading this blog anyhow so why write you may ask...Why not I answer.. It gives me a place to go blah blah blah about my 5th day without fb.. I am noticing that the fb isn't my biggest issue, its the pc in general. Why am I so addicted to being connected? Is this a new phenomenon in today's world or were their similar vices in days of old. In the 70's was it the 8 track, or the 80's and MTV? I should feel blessed to be so close to so much information and to be totally "connected" with my family all over the globe. Are we really "connected" or have we replaced a hug with a stroke on a keyboard? Do people write letters anymore? Maybe that is what we should do, a family project. Letter writing! Who could we write? Troops, the elderly, family and friends? The Lenten season is about being selfless like Jesus was when he died on the cross..Maybe a nice letter to an elderly person with a box of cookies (homemade of course), or a box of needed things to troop in the middle east, or maybe writing a letter to a woman who is oppressed in the middle east by their laws. <br />
We all need to let this pc go now and then and actually be in touch with people, face to face, heart to heart, and eye to eye instead of asking the keyboard to do it for us.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-58725441629905972702011-03-10T05:34:00.000-08:002011-03-10T05:34:57.418-08:00Taking our kids backLast night I was sitting on my couch flipping through the channels and I stopped at MTV. It had been awhile since I had stopped there and wanted to see what was new. It was a new season of "The Real World". According to Medialifemagazine.com MTV is the highest-rated network among people 12-24. Really? The show I watched last night is rated R at least if not a mild x-rated sex show. They have 7 strangers picked to live in a house and the first night they get there they manage to have an out right orgy in the hot tub with total strangers. <br />
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If this is the show and shows like this are what our 12, 13, 14, and 15 year olds are watching what is the message they are hearing? Take off your clothes as fast as you can for anyone who asks?<br />
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It's not just this show but thundered of them. From Jersey Shore to Shake it up on Disney kids are bombarded with sexual images. Gone are the days of modesty and morality. They also encourage this behavior in the marketing they do to children from the Bratz dolls to the pop culture that has our teens hostage. They have even created a new age group to target, Tweens. <br />
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I know that it is our job as parents to weed through the garbage and help them build character and a moral ethic but our job is becoming painstakingly difficult. Do I think the government has an obligation to help us, no. Do I think we as parents need to be stronger than the corporations that fuel this fire, yes. The question is how?<br />
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Some of us have opted to send our kids to Private Christian schools or have taken them out of school all together and homeschool them. I think that is a start. Public schools promote sexual exploration in their sex education programs. Instead of saying abstaining is the best answer,be modest and have self control. They are teaching, we figure you are going to do it anyway so just go for it, see your school nurse for condoms. I support telling children there is a moral ethic, a moral obligation to yourself, and that there is no shame in waiting. At the same time letting them know that there are ways to prevent STD's and unwanted pregnancy. Showing both sides of the coin, unlike schools today who only want to show one side and in this case its tails up. <br />
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We are losing our kids. We are losing them to pop culture. We are teaching them that the gang on Jersey shore are the people you should aspire to be. Whatever happened to teaching our daughters about Amelia Airhart, Joan of Arc, or Abigail Adams? Today's standards would tell us our daughters are better off knowing, Snookie, Rihanna, or Lady Gaga. Our sons are no longer taught to be gentlemen and take pride in a girl who is modest. They are being taught to call them ho's, to get as many as they can, and to see how many of them they can get to make out with each other. <br />
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It would be nice if kids courted again. It would be nice if a boy wanted to take your daughter out on a date he would come to the door, shake your husbands hand, and treat her with respect. It would be nice if our daughters didn't want to be like the girls in the music videos and respected themselves more. If more people were outraged and get off their butts and parented maybe we wouldn't see it so often. People aren't outraged. As a society we have put our hands up and said, ok take our children and do as you will with them. A small resistance as started and I am happy to be apart of it. We are taking our kids back one by one.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-35631396921402555542011-03-10T04:20:00.000-08:002011-03-10T04:20:47.131-08:00Day 2Well here we are day 2 and I am not sure what to make of day 1. Yesterday I felt anxious all day. I had a headache. I was super crabby. I guess you could call it withdraw... sad isn't it? All that is happening in the news today. I want to go to FB and stand on my soap box and let my mind flow on to the screen. I guess I can sit here and do it. Or I could for once, not give a care. The more aware I become the more vocal I become. Facebook and Cafemom became my place to vent my passion. I think my passion has gotten the best of me. <br />
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I didn't do more then I normally do yesterday. Being off the social highway didn't free my time up. Mainly because I felt so off I didn't want to get off my rear to do anything. Today I would like to bake bread. I would also like to organize some books in Caden's room. I would also like to start shopping for curriculum for summer school. I could finish my book. All the while I will be thinking of logging on. It is shameful! I wish it was summer. I would have so much going on I wouldn't have time to think about it. <br />
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Day 2 is here... let's just see how it goes.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-20625287672845979522011-03-09T08:07:00.000-08:002011-03-09T08:07:02.356-08:00The Lent Experiment: Day OneI am what they call a "Cradle Catholic" Born and raised in a Roman Catholic Italian home we practice may traditions. One of them is Lent. If you are unfamiliar with Lent it is the celebration of the up coming Easter holiday when Jesus died on the cross for us. During Lent you are required to do a few things, one give up something you enjoy, help others, and fast on Ash Wednesday and you cannot eat meat on Fridays. <br />
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I rarely practice these Lentan traditions as an adult. My kids normally give up something like pop (that would be Soda to the rest of the world) or candy. This year I wanted to give the suffering a try. I then realize that the one thing that would cause me much suffering would to be giving up my social networking addiction. It was set in stone, I Tina Pabon, would give up my Facebook and Cafemom for the time of Lent. I will be a social outcast until Easter. <br />
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It then dawned on me, how sad is it that I am addicted to social networking? When I made the announcement of sacrifice some people were happy to see me go, which was hurtful. I guess my rants about things I am passionate about rub people the wrong way. Which made me realize what an effect these social sites have on us as people. For the first time we have that soap box to stand on and truly share what is on our mind. Once we share then other people can share it with more people and so on and so forth. What an interesting time we live in. <br />
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For the next 40 days I am going to pop on here from time to time and give the world my update on my detox from the social network phenomenon. I would love prayers, good vibes, chants, or whatever you want to throw at me to keep me strong.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-76232901237322843542010-10-18T04:30:00.000-07:002010-10-18T04:30:41.508-07:00I haven't blogged in almost a year. Why you might ask, life. My life has gotten in the way of me doing something I love to do. Write. This morning as I laid in bed, I felt the cool fall breeze blow over me. I huddled under my blankets and cuddled next to my 6 year old. It was one of those mornings that I wished I was still a stay at home mom homeschooling her two sons. The reality is I am a working mother pushing her sons into a school for 8 hours a day. I spend 8 hours doing busy work for people who are making far more money then I am. I should be thankful. It's a job. It's a good job. With the way unemployment keeps rising today, people would give their right arm for my job. Yet for me its a painful task every day to do something I gain nothing from and send my boys away to be in the assembly line like the rest of the sheep. <br />
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I wish I could play hooky today. The boys and I could run through the forest collecting leaves. We could hit the beach and watch winter roll in. I could read to them and we could discuss our book. I could bake a nice apple pie with them and as we work we can talk about fractions and the scientfic process of baking a pie. In a better world I would have a cute little B&B and cook big meals for my visitors as my sons and daughter helped me serve our guest. As a family we would have this wonderful place for people to escape the miserably jobs they hate and the life they seem to be "just living" instead of being a part of life. <br />
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But its almost 7:30 and I have to go. Time to get to that "good job" and send my kids to that "good school" so I can be like the rest of us marching to the beat of someone else's drum.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-27470840806255083182009-10-09T15:37:00.001-07:002009-10-09T15:37:39.053-07:00G-20, how could a letter and a number be so wrong?I did not have time to go to the G-20 Summit that was held Last week. Sadly, my life got in the way. Too be honest I am not all that familiar with G-20 or what is. After seeing fellow Americans be badgered by<br />
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Police, losing their right to free assembly, I had to do my research. First I Googled “What is the G-20 Summit?” And to my disgust I read that it was group of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. My readers, does that not terrify you at all? The first thing that comes to my mind is New World Order.<br />
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They are a group of rich men that get together with other leaders of the world to discuss financial systems. While there has been media coverage of this event no one has really spoken about what this event means and why it is even necessary I also learned in my research that it is normal practice for the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors to meet once a year. Why is not televised on ABC, or CNN, or FOX for that matter so then we the people can see what these great leaders are talking about? We have already surrendered our Banking Industry, Real Estate Industry, Educational System, and Automotive Industry to our government, now surrendering our right to know what our leaders have planned for us. Should we be suspicious of this group, G-20, having meetings behind closed doors? Am I the only voicing these concerns about this group and its true intentions?<br />
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I think this group and groups like it ensure that America will not be a capitalist country in the near future. That socialism and communism are knocking on our door. The only way to stop it is to protest at events like the G-20 Summit that was held in Pittsburgh last week. If we come together as a nation and speak out against groups like this that will change the scope of our country, they will have no choice but to listen. Remember my readers they work For us, it’s not the other way around.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-92008356030506469172009-10-04T11:54:00.001-07:002009-10-04T11:54:52.712-07:00The BoxHow many of you watch TV? When you watch TV do you normally get your information of what is going on in the world from it? The beginning of TV ...Bell Telephone and the U.S. Department of Commerce conduct the first long distance use of television that took place between Washington D.C. and New York City on April 9th 1927. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover commented, “Today we have, in a sense, the transmission of sight for the first time in the world’s history. Human genius has now destroyed the impediment of distance in a new respect, and in a manner hitherto unknown.” This my friend was the beginning of the end of our ability to think freely and for ourselves. <br />
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As this election moves on, for the first time in my life I realize that little box has changed the lives of the masses and not for the good of the people. It influences our lives to the point of insanity. To what we eat, what medicines we take, who we vote for, how we feel, and how we think. If you notice in 1927 the first broadcast was conducted by the government. That speak volumes to me, does it you? We are like brainless zombies just sucking in all they want us to think, feel, and speak. And it is no accident that the fall of this nation started when TV's became the central piece of our lives. We eat around it, we sleep with it, we use it to babysit and entertain. We assume what the report to us is all truth without using our own reason. <br />
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We cannot use that reason anymore. It has been turned off. Like a switch. We have been conditioned. Brainwashed. All of this fighting about this election totally proves this. It's all an act, a show, a performance being played by the puppets of the government. None of them are in this for the good of the people. They both have special interest. Notice that the candidates who are not a part of the two big players cannot speak at debates, cannot get TV time, will not be seen on CNN or FOX news. They, the powers that be, do not want you to have those choices therfore you are not fed them. <br />
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We are incapable of free thinking. We are incapable to care for ourselves. We are conditioned to believe we need credit. We have been taught more is better. We are a part of a large herd of sheep that expands the oceans and lands. Like puppets with hands up our back ends being made to play the part they want. You do not have choices. You do not have free will. You do not have your own life. They own you.. all of you. <br />
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Keep watching that box. Let it fill your head with the rhetoric they want you to consume.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-2967749298509770042009-10-04T11:53:00.001-07:002009-10-04T11:53:41.414-07:00A little bit of poetry, "The Pink Elephant"The worry<br />
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The fear<br />
Of you not always being here<br />
It is always in the back of my mind<br />
Poking its ugly head out reminding me its there<br />
Stop please<br />
Stop worrying<br />
Stop having that fear<br />
Can't we just enjoy our life<br />
The one that is here<br />
Not last year<br />
Not 5 years ago<br />
Not 10 or 15<br />
But today and tomorrow<br />
The future and beyond<br />
Those are the days that matter<br />
So please stop<br />
Stop making me worry and fear<br />
Because I love you and I always want you here.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-70767369183048195612009-10-04T11:51:00.001-07:002009-10-04T17:47:19.206-07:00He will not save us!My ideals and thoughts are not popular. The U.S. Government, at one time, did not try to police the world or play babysitter to everyone from cradle to grave. People took responsibility for themselves, their families, and their communities. That is how the founders of America thought it should be. What happened? How did we loose that, and how can we get it back? Why can't we help out sister Jane when she is financial disaster, instead of her having to turn to Uncle Sam to help her out? What happened to looking to your neighbors for help? <br />
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Obama is going to save the nation? How please tell me? More hand outs? More STUFF? More spending? How praytell will he be our nations savior?<br />
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Will he end welfare? The welfare system has been a failure, if you have not noticed. Our welfare system is unfair to everyone, including most of all to the poor themselves, who are trapped in a system that destroys opportunity for themselves and hope for their children.<br />
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Will he end the over taxation of us? Politicians spend millions of dollars to urge people not to smoke -- while spending more millions to subsidize tobacco farmers. They send billions overseas for foreign aid -- while the federal deficit swells. They spend millions to subsidize public art -- while working families struggle to pay their taxes. Isnt it ironic? Will he end this nonsense? <br />
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Will he stop the bailing out of companies? Will he stop rewarding thieves? And lets talk about taxes some more, This is quoted from the website <a href="http://www.lp.org/">http://www.lp.org/</a>, "Let's take a look at a median income family of four in the 1950s. At that time, the Federal income tax amounted to only 2% of the family budget. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world.<br />
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By contrast, in the 1990s, the Federal income tax takes 25% of income for the same family of four. Taxes at all levels -- federal, state, and local; hidden and visible -- take about 50% of a family's income. We must work from January to June just to pay taxes.<br />
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It now requires two paychecks to keep many families from going bankrupt. Typically, a working mother brings home 32% of a family's income.<br />
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So, whether she chooses to work -- or must work to make ends meet -- taxes have stolen her contribution to the family budget. In other words, one spouse now works all year just to pay taxes."<br />
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Is he going to stop this? Will your Savior OBAMA stop this from happening?<br />
Why is he our savior? Albert Einstein once said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"<br />
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Please stop fooling yourself, and PLEASE stop the insanity! <br />
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Just because he speaks well, dresses well, is charming, articulate, educated, and down right dapper, does not make him our hope. He is just like them. We need CHANGE true CHANGE!Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-41741679179143623862009-10-04T11:50:00.000-07:002009-10-04T17:44:33.794-07:00What kind of Patriot are you?As you most of you may know I am a Libertarian with firm believes in what our forefathers so admerably fought for. They left King George's hold to be free from Religious oppression and Taxation. They sought freedom to own their own land and see fit what to do with it. The worked hard and never took the easy rode out. Last night I watched the movie The Patriot and it was an emotional movie for me to watch. I am not sure I have ever cried so hard watching a film. I think many years ago I watched parts of it but I never really sat down and watched the movie. It was, to say the least, incredibly moving. <br />
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Today we are religiously oppressed. People of all beliefs are told that they cannot express their religion, for example children cannot pray in school Christian or otherwise, children cannot refused to pledge the flag, and those are just two examples of how the government has oppressed those who have or do not have a belief in a God or Gods. Today we are taxed on EVERYTHING. What we eat, drink, touch, breath, heat our homes with, when we are born, when we die, when we work, when we play. We cannot live on our land, that we own, the way we see fit. If I live in the city limits I cannot have my garden too big, I cannot own a goat, I cannot add on to my home without permission, I cannot do plumbing or electrical work without a permit and fees attached to it. <br />
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All those things our forefather fought for are now meaningless to the people of our country. Thousands of Men, Women and Children died for those rights. The rights of free people of a great nation. We fled tyranny to create our own form of government slavery? I was already heartbroken watching what has become of this once great nation, but after watching that film last night it really has left me battered and broken. Why do we stand for these things? We will go over seas and fight for other peoples freedoms but we sit at home and let our own government destroy our republic? The irony is painful to say the least. <br />
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The question we should all ask ourselves is, what kind of patriot are you? Would you die for your freedoms? Would you sacrifice for your principles? Or will you stand by and allow King George back into your life and make all those things our Fathers, Mothers, Sons and Daughters died for be done in vain?Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-70727541746804653002009-10-04T11:48:00.001-07:002009-10-04T11:48:56.488-07:00I spend all my time worrying about my kids education. I often question myself. Am I spending too much time on it? Do I worry too much? Should I just take a step back and stop being overly involved? I realize that all things in life have a good and a bad side to them. Education shouldn't be any different, only where is the line. That line that people over step and invade your comfort zone. I am feeling invaders in my space. There are certain things I will tolerate, and maybe they just do not see themselves over stepping their boundaries. <br />
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I really thought we found our home, a place we could feel our kids were safe, respected, and treated as an equal. It started out that way but as the layers peel back we are discovering that things are not what they always seem. As I said before, there is a good and a bad side. The good side is just amazing. The discovery that goes on, the time for research and true learning is there. Taking a small thing like an maple leaf, and learning its parts, its life history, how it produce sap, how the sap is then turned into syrup, the math of the measuring how much sap it takes to make a gallon of syrup, learning about the farmers and their lives, and how commerce works, it is endless. And these amazing things happen all the time.But at the same time a child can focus on their maple tree all day and never learn to spell maple, or know how to say tree in a native language, or have an adult near by to explain why sap only comes in February and March. Those things are missing from this amazing place. <br />
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Those things could be over looked because I can at home help them with those addtional things they may miss while away from me. What they cannot get from me is my protection while I am away. Protection from words, and actions that can break the soul of a child. I cannot protect them from being singled out, or made out to be strange, not part of the group, or not fitting into the mold that they so desperatly try to have families conform to. The word "cult" has passed my ears before from ex-attenders. Those who have left the "family" to move on to more "mainstream" or " more structured" environments. I was warned of this indoctrination that would happen to my family and I was blinded by my desperate need to have a place my children could be all that they could be. <br />
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So here I am.. back where I started. There are times I watch them with their peers and see them collaborating on projects together, learning about things far beyond their years in sciences and math, I see them read stories and novels of great literature, and I wonder would it be right of me to remove them from this group of thinkers. Then there are times when my son comes home and tells me what some students and even staff voice to him, he is the outcast of very few, which is almost harder then being alone in a crowd of 1000. He feels he is unheard, misunderstood, and that no one is listening to him. There are times when they over step their boundaries as educators and try to parent, even in front of me. As if I am not even standing there, or capable of making good choices for my sons. <br />
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I thank those of you who took the time to once again listen to my constant battle of the educators. I thank you for allowing me to spill my frustrated soul. Just hope for me, and my family, that these choices I am about to make are the right ones.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-12617942848363669682009-10-03T07:49:00.001-07:002009-10-03T07:58:57.491-07:00An Assembly Line Education: The American Educational SystemAn Assembly Line Education: The American Educational System<br />
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By: Tina Pabon<br />
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After nine months of carrying and forming a human being inside your womb and then forcing it out into the world, parents say to themselves “Ok you are here now, what do we do?” Children come with no instruction manual, Website, or 800 numbers. How are we supposed to know what is best for this new life? You get advice from everyone along the way, your parents, his parents, doctors and friends. Most of the time you ignore the nagging voice in your head that says, “That can’t be right, it doesn’t feel right.” I mean really what do you know? <br />
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Time flies by and before you know it your little blessing is now 3 and then it starts, “Are you sending him to preschool this year.” Your mind starts to race, “Oh gee, I hadn’t thought of it, he is so little still, but what if I don’t, will it scar him for life? How could I forgive myself! I better do what they tell me.” And you do, you buckle to the pressure of, your parents, his parents, doctors and friends. I mean really, they do need socialized, right? They do need educated, right? You are totally incapable of educating a 3 or 4 year old. How could you even possibly think that you are qualified to do that? <br />
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Soon the baby teeth start to fall out one by one and the crisp fall air is on its way. Your baby will go to school all day now. Kindergarten is so vital to their educational upbringing, isn’t it? Aunt Sally and Uncle Jim assure you this is the best thing for little Sue. Socialization is still very important for her growth. She needs to learn how to take direction, follow the rules, and there are certain milestones that she must hit, along with her other classmates. This of course goes on into middle school and then high school. <br />
We all know that humans are individuals, each its own mold that is broken after birth. No one will ever be you. You may share similar interest with someone or maybe your brother and you both have brown hair but you are you. The DNA you carry is yours never to be copied. Yet the American school system is designed with one child in mind, one goal in mind, and only one way to get that child to that goal. Your school has a curriculum. If you do not know what the word curriculum is, Webster’s dictionary defines it as, the courses offered by an educational institution. That curriculum has been determined by a group of strangers who have never met your child. They know nothing of how he or she learns. What his or her strengths or weaknesses are. Would they know that your 8 year old loves to draw sky scrapers, or that you’re 13 year old is a poet? Of course not, yet they have the power to determine what courses your child will be given for her entire educational career. <br />
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Some of us have kids who are, what they call “hands on learners”. I have a couple of those and I can read something over and over again to my sons and unless they experience it they will never learn it. Leet's put my 10 year old son in a science class at your average local public school? The teacher tells everyone to please get in their seats. “Be quiet” she yells to them. The children scatter into their seats and do as told, become silent. Miss So’n’So begins reading Chapter 3 which is discussing plant life. She pulls up her power point and the children see a photo of a leaf. The teacher goes into detail about the parts of a leaf, the guard cells, the phloem, the stoma, etc. Then her power point goes on to tell the kids how the leaves and roots work together. By this time my son is ready to stand on his head. He looks out the window and sees lots of trees with leaves on them, and flowers in bloom. He wants to pull those plants apart and stick them under a microscope. My son wants to pull out the roots and examine them. Miss So’n’So has a better idea, “Get out your workbooks.” I can hear him moaning now! Don’t get me wrong there is a time and a place for workbooks, if that is how a child learns best. Then the teacher lists vocabulary words that they must write down and then define each of them. This same method of teaching that will continue at the same pace, regardless of your child’s needs, for the next 6 hours. For children like mine it isn’t learning, its torture. <br />
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There are teachers out there who do get creative but they do have to stay within their curriculum. If by November the class as to be at point A and your daughter is not, she gets left behind. This is when the school decides your child has a disability. Something is wrong with your child not their system. It is the square peg being forced into the hole over and over again. When your child is not following the rules of the game, they sit her on the side lines with the rest of the “Learning Support” kids and now you have a child with a label because she couldn’t keep up in the game that group of strangers created for her. More now than ever, the talk over the water cooler is whose child has what. ADHD is the most common of them all. What are the signs of ADHD? Well for one a short attention span, and then there is being impulsive and hyperactive. Now let’s look at the definition of boredom, again from the wonderful Webster’s dictionary, it says that boredom is the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. A child who is impulsive, hyper, and has a short attention span could very well be board not suffering from a disorder. Could have all this disorder hysteria be a rouse created by the public educational system? According to the The National Center for Educational Statistics there were 540,382 public school students who dropped out of grades 9–12 in school year 2004–05 in the 50 states.1 Of the states that reported dropout data for school year 2004–05, California, New York, and Texas had the highest number of grade 9–12 dropouts, with more than 43,000 dropouts each. Does this tell you that there might be a problem in our educational system and not with our children?<br />
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When we are in school it is the only time in our life when we will be around people of our own age and only our own age. When you go to work do they only have you work with the other 35 year olds? Of course not that would be silly. Why is it ok with children? Children can learn so much from older peers, siblings, adults, and situations that they would never have in a brick and morter school. You sit them in a hot classroom, with 30 other kids their age, with one or maybe two adults standing at the head of the room. The children are not allow to talk to the person next to them, they may not just leave to use the rest room, they may not eat if they are hungry, and can you imagine if a child tried to take a nap during class? How is this a productive environment for children to learn in?<br />
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Schools are institutions that have a set of rules that have been designed around an average student. Children are not a prototype and most of them are not average. Children are individuals, each with their strengths, weaknesses, needs, wants, and dreams. If a child is not given an environment where they are free to think, free to create, free to move, free to have dissent, free to debate, and the freedom to be themselves, then they will never learn. All they will do is regurgitate the information that this institutionalize education has forced on them and join the assembly line nation that our government is creating for us.Tina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2540908693482150394.post-42021633927559827952009-10-03T07:40:00.000-07:002009-10-03T07:42:21.293-07:00An Assembly Line EducationTina Pabonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10092150143779305950noreply@blogger.com0