Making a horse drink in Free Stamp City
Welcome to Free Stamp City once again folks. My stories about Free Stamp City are parodies written from my personal observations and experiences. I hope you enjoyed the last story about the dead horse being all dressed up to look nice. Horses have provided me with some useful axioms. Allow me to shift your attention to the horse’s drinking trough.
Little Johnny once again comes home from a day at school. It was not a good day. Johnny was tired today and had a hard time paying attention in class. His homework was not done. There was a party last night in Johnny’s neighborhood. His mother decided to attend. In the meantime, Johnny was left alone with his siblings. It was a school night and homework needed to be done. With no parental supervision, Johnny and his siblings decided to watch the television. There were some great shows on cable that night. When suppertime came, Johnny’s mom was not there to provide a good meal. Johnny and his siblings were on their own. Unfortunately, there was not much to eat other than junk food. Johnny and his siblings finally fell asleep in front of the television without making it to their beds. Johnny and his siblings woke up late the next morning. Their mother was fast asleep on the couch after a long night of partying. Somehow Johnny and his siblings arrived at school late, tired and hungry without homework, which brings this story full circle.
Does this sound surreal? Does this really happen?
Free Stamp City has been labeled through the years; Free Stamp City, the poorest city in the country; Free Stamp City labeled in the top ten of the country's most dangerous cities. These labels are nothing to be proud of, but they have been earned none the less.
Free Stamp City's mayor ran his campaign with the slogan:
“Expect Great Things”
This catchy slogan was already being used by a department store. But few noticed this but it was the department store’s slogan long before the election.
Free Stamp City's population is 400,000 plus. Within this population the city workers amount to about 8,000. These city workers have been required to live in fantasy land. Fortunately for these workers, the state in which Free Stamp City resides has recently struck down residency requirements. This situation has caused the mayor of Free Stamp City to be concerned. It was reported that the Mayor said if these 8,000 city workers decide to move, the economics of Free Stamp City could collapse. In Free Stamp City, 2% of the working population that are required to live in the city are needed to maintain the economics of a city of 400,000 plus by providing provisions for the negligent as well as funding the Free Stamp City schools through their tax dollars. Voting age citizens of fantasy land, including the negligent, are allowed to vote to raise the property taxes of those city workers who own taxable property. This is the power of the “Free Stamp”. (More on the “Free Stamp” later in another story.)
The Free Stamp City school teachers also work for the city, but through some convenient smoke and mirror policy making, the teachers are exempt from residency rules. It is as if the Free Stamp City school district was a private business run from outside Free Stamp City's borders. This of course is not true considering that it is the mayor who governs the school district and the citizens elect the mayor. Perhaps if all Free Stamp City teachers (who do truly do work for the city) were required to live in Free Stamp City and send their children to its schools, the school system might improve because of the teacher’s vested interest as a citizen of Free Stamp City, but remember, this is Free Stamp City and rules are different for teachers who are paid by the city’s coffers.
I recall a letter to the editor in the newspaper where a Free Stamp City teacher was quoted as saying that the citizens of Free Stamp City should vote yes to the last levy. She stated that she would vote yes if she lived in Free Stamp City. To that teacher; thanks for your good intentions. You have personally helped pave Free Stamp City's road to ruins.
Due to Free Stamp City's high poverty rate, many of its citizens are receiving government assistance. Some live in section 8 houses. Others live in county assisted apartments. There are ways for these impoverished people to receive food and drink. The Free Stamp City school system has also provided free meals to fantasy land students. These impoverished citizens come from all races.
What puzzles me is that some (not all) of these impoverished citizens can afford cable television on their meager incomes. Others can afford designer clothing. Others still can afford nice vehicles with fancy rims and expensive sound systems. Others have access to free high speed internet service within their government housing. Still others can afford expensive big screen televisions. With all this assistance it’s no wonder why Free Stamp City has some of the finest dressed, well housed, and entertained dysfunctional people in the country who still need vouchers to purchase school uniforms for their children. Yes, very puzzling indeed.
In Free Stamp City, any child who gives birth will have government provisions, compliments of the taxpayers. When a student goes to a fantasy land high school with their child, sometimes daycare is provided for the children within the student’s high school.
This is an example of an unfortunate lifestyle in Free Stamp City. Some times, children from coming from this lifestyle cause some of the problems that plague the Free Stamp City school system. Yet there are many people who blame the teachers for these societal ills. It’s easy to do.
This blame is perpetuated in some cases by the Free Stamp City school administration itself. It is unfortunate that within the Free Stamp City school system, it is the teacher who is held responsible for the dysfunctional students’ choices not to learn. The teachers are doing their jobs, but these students and their parents are not doing theirs, yet the school administration also holds the teachers responsible for the bad choices of these students and their dysfunctional parents.
In some cases if discipline is bad at a Free Stamp City school, or if a school has a high suspension rate, the school principal can be replaced for not keeping control. This is why at times a disruptive student will not be documented because a principal wants to show the administration that bad behavior is being controlled. A student being suspended does not look good to the administrators. It is easier to blame the teachers and principals for a student’s bad behavior rather that holding the student and their parents accountable for their actions. And these policies have been made by some of the highest paid school administrators in the country.
I have personally met and observed some teachers in Free Stamp City. They are among some of the finest teachers I have encountered. I have met these teachers in their Free Stamp City schools. Unfortunately, these teachers are at times pushed to their limits trying to get the Free Stamp City children to pay attention and learn. The challenges are many for the Free Stamp City teacher. If homework is sent home, some Free Stamp City parents become upset because they are being inconvenienced to work with their children. “That’s the teacher’s job” some will say. Parents will call the school, upset that the teachers cannot simply teach the kids at school. The problems that teachers have to deal with are too numerous to list. With all of this pressure, both from their administrators as well as from students and parents, it is no wonder why the Free Stamp City teachers are so stressed out.
These Free Stamp City teachers are a most dedicated group. They stay up late working on their lesson plans on their own time. They spend their own money and time shopping at staples and wal-mart to provide necessities like paper and pencils to their students. They are forced to teach using outdated textbooks and have to personally update the students with the current facts. For some reason the 11k spent on each pupil cannot provide these necessary supplies to the students. Instead monies are paying for the enormous salaries and bonuses of the school administrators. The previous CEO once received a hefty bonus amounting to a typical Free Stamp City teacher’s annual salary. When her money bags were full, the CEO decided to resign leaving the schools in its continued failed state. The Captain abandoned the sinking ship taking her money and left the good teachers of Free Stamp City to go down with the ship.
When these Free Stamp City teachers try to have parent teacher conferences, it may be an easy day for them. This is because many times the parents will simply not show up. How discouraging this must be for a Free Stamp City teacher. They have much to offer the parents, but the parents many times cannot be bothered.
The Free Stamp City teacher has much symbolic “water” to offer a student to quench a thirst for learning. Unfortunately, even though the students are led to and offered this water, they simply will not drink. Some students just do not want to. Other students are not thirsty for the water the teacher is offering. Their thirst has already been quenched with the tasty drinks from the distractions and pleasures of an ill society.
It is unfortunate but I do not see much hope for Free Stamp City and its school system. Even though most of the teachers are extremely dedicated and talented, there is only so much head banging they can tolerate. Most Free Stamp City teachers are willing to do their jobs teaching. They have “good water” to offer. The children are required to come to the trough, but they refuse to drink. Their parents have set the example and have allowed the behavior. Others could simply care less. When counterproductive rewards are provided at little or no cost to dysfunctional people, why should they encourage their children to learn? It’s far more fun to be negligent.
“To hell with school, I‘m busy playing my wii”.
The dysfunctional citizens of Free Stamp City continue to be enabled by their own dysfunctional government. Those responsible citizens are now outnumbered by the dysfunctional. The responsible citizens who no longer wish to live in Free Stamp City are leaving fast. It is inevitable that most of the remaining city workers will be leaving soon. And this is not just the police and fire employees; they only make up a portion of the city work pool. When this final exodus happens, the money tree will wither and die, and Free Stamp City will sink even faster. The Free Stamp City mayor knows his city is sinking. He has suggested regionalization, (having the suburbs take on the ills of Free Stamp City). The mayor says “Hey suburbs, here are our problems; we want your money to fix them”.
Even if Free Stamp City sinks, that’s ok with the mayor. Some have heard him say that he has done his time in Free Stamp City and has earned a sizable pension to enjoy the rest of his days if he is not re-elected. Perhaps when he retires, he will move out of the city and raise alpacas.
More money will never solve the problems of Free Stamp City. Free Stamp City has a bad track record for managing the money it receives. Free Stamp City will only recover if and when their citizens demand that its government hold the negligent accountable. But that will prove difficult because many of the negligent believe that their situation is someone else’s fault, and the government supports this claim. This is an example of denial, another trait of being dysfunctional.
The school administrators spend money to make the water trough look pretty as if this will make the horse to drink. If you visit a Free Stamp City school, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of visual stimuli on the walls including catchy slogans and vision statements. No matter how well this trough made to look, you still cannot make the symbolic horse drink. Perhaps if those living off the system lost some of the government provided funding that is being used to fund their luxuries ( those rewards freely given without accountability), then there would be nothing left to do except to drink the good symbolic water of education and the teachers could rejoice.
So ends another chapter in Free Stamp City.
Welcome to Free Stamp City once again folks. My stories about Free Stamp City are parodies written from my personal observations and experiences. I hope you enjoyed the last story about the dead horse being all dressed up to look nice. Horses have provided me with some useful axioms. Allow me to shift your attention to the horse’s drinking trough.
Little Johnny once again comes home from a day at school. It was not a good day. Johnny was tired today and had a hard time paying attention in class. His homework was not done. There was a party last night in Johnny’s neighborhood. His mother decided to attend. In the meantime, Johnny was left alone with his siblings. It was a school night and homework needed to be done. With no parental supervision, Johnny and his siblings decided to watch the television. There were some great shows on cable that night. When suppertime came, Johnny’s mom was not there to provide a good meal. Johnny and his siblings were on their own. Unfortunately, there was not much to eat other than junk food. Johnny and his siblings finally fell asleep in front of the television without making it to their beds. Johnny and his siblings woke up late the next morning. Their mother was fast asleep on the couch after a long night of partying. Somehow Johnny and his siblings arrived at school late, tired and hungry without homework, which brings this story full circle.
Does this sound surreal? Does this really happen?
Free Stamp City has been labeled through the years; Free Stamp City, the poorest city in the country; Free Stamp City labeled in the top ten of the country's most dangerous cities. These labels are nothing to be proud of, but they have been earned none the less.
Free Stamp City's mayor ran his campaign with the slogan:
“Expect Great Things”
This catchy slogan was already being used by a department store. But few noticed this but it was the department store’s slogan long before the election.
Free Stamp City's population is 400,000 plus. Within this population the city workers amount to about 8,000. These city workers have been required to live in fantasy land. Fortunately for these workers, the state in which Free Stamp City resides has recently struck down residency requirements. This situation has caused the mayor of Free Stamp City to be concerned. It was reported that the Mayor said if these 8,000 city workers decide to move, the economics of Free Stamp City could collapse. In Free Stamp City, 2% of the working population that are required to live in the city are needed to maintain the economics of a city of 400,000 plus by providing provisions for the negligent as well as funding the Free Stamp City schools through their tax dollars. Voting age citizens of fantasy land, including the negligent, are allowed to vote to raise the property taxes of those city workers who own taxable property. This is the power of the “Free Stamp”. (More on the “Free Stamp” later in another story.)
The Free Stamp City school teachers also work for the city, but through some convenient smoke and mirror policy making, the teachers are exempt from residency rules. It is as if the Free Stamp City school district was a private business run from outside Free Stamp City's borders. This of course is not true considering that it is the mayor who governs the school district and the citizens elect the mayor. Perhaps if all Free Stamp City teachers (who do truly do work for the city) were required to live in Free Stamp City and send their children to its schools, the school system might improve because of the teacher’s vested interest as a citizen of Free Stamp City, but remember, this is Free Stamp City and rules are different for teachers who are paid by the city’s coffers.
I recall a letter to the editor in the newspaper where a Free Stamp City teacher was quoted as saying that the citizens of Free Stamp City should vote yes to the last levy. She stated that she would vote yes if she lived in Free Stamp City. To that teacher; thanks for your good intentions. You have personally helped pave Free Stamp City's road to ruins.
Due to Free Stamp City's high poverty rate, many of its citizens are receiving government assistance. Some live in section 8 houses. Others live in county assisted apartments. There are ways for these impoverished people to receive food and drink. The Free Stamp City school system has also provided free meals to fantasy land students. These impoverished citizens come from all races.
What puzzles me is that some (not all) of these impoverished citizens can afford cable television on their meager incomes. Others can afford designer clothing. Others still can afford nice vehicles with fancy rims and expensive sound systems. Others have access to free high speed internet service within their government housing. Still others can afford expensive big screen televisions. With all this assistance it’s no wonder why Free Stamp City has some of the finest dressed, well housed, and entertained dysfunctional people in the country who still need vouchers to purchase school uniforms for their children. Yes, very puzzling indeed.
In Free Stamp City, any child who gives birth will have government provisions, compliments of the taxpayers. When a student goes to a fantasy land high school with their child, sometimes daycare is provided for the children within the student’s high school.
This is an example of an unfortunate lifestyle in Free Stamp City. Some times, children from coming from this lifestyle cause some of the problems that plague the Free Stamp City school system. Yet there are many people who blame the teachers for these societal ills. It’s easy to do.
This blame is perpetuated in some cases by the Free Stamp City school administration itself. It is unfortunate that within the Free Stamp City school system, it is the teacher who is held responsible for the dysfunctional students’ choices not to learn. The teachers are doing their jobs, but these students and their parents are not doing theirs, yet the school administration also holds the teachers responsible for the bad choices of these students and their dysfunctional parents.
In some cases if discipline is bad at a Free Stamp City school, or if a school has a high suspension rate, the school principal can be replaced for not keeping control. This is why at times a disruptive student will not be documented because a principal wants to show the administration that bad behavior is being controlled. A student being suspended does not look good to the administrators. It is easier to blame the teachers and principals for a student’s bad behavior rather that holding the student and their parents accountable for their actions. And these policies have been made by some of the highest paid school administrators in the country.
I have personally met and observed some teachers in Free Stamp City. They are among some of the finest teachers I have encountered. I have met these teachers in their Free Stamp City schools. Unfortunately, these teachers are at times pushed to their limits trying to get the Free Stamp City children to pay attention and learn. The challenges are many for the Free Stamp City teacher. If homework is sent home, some Free Stamp City parents become upset because they are being inconvenienced to work with their children. “That’s the teacher’s job” some will say. Parents will call the school, upset that the teachers cannot simply teach the kids at school. The problems that teachers have to deal with are too numerous to list. With all of this pressure, both from their administrators as well as from students and parents, it is no wonder why the Free Stamp City teachers are so stressed out.
These Free Stamp City teachers are a most dedicated group. They stay up late working on their lesson plans on their own time. They spend their own money and time shopping at staples and wal-mart to provide necessities like paper and pencils to their students. They are forced to teach using outdated textbooks and have to personally update the students with the current facts. For some reason the 11k spent on each pupil cannot provide these necessary supplies to the students. Instead monies are paying for the enormous salaries and bonuses of the school administrators. The previous CEO once received a hefty bonus amounting to a typical Free Stamp City teacher’s annual salary. When her money bags were full, the CEO decided to resign leaving the schools in its continued failed state. The Captain abandoned the sinking ship taking her money and left the good teachers of Free Stamp City to go down with the ship.
When these Free Stamp City teachers try to have parent teacher conferences, it may be an easy day for them. This is because many times the parents will simply not show up. How discouraging this must be for a Free Stamp City teacher. They have much to offer the parents, but the parents many times cannot be bothered.
The Free Stamp City teacher has much symbolic “water” to offer a student to quench a thirst for learning. Unfortunately, even though the students are led to and offered this water, they simply will not drink. Some students just do not want to. Other students are not thirsty for the water the teacher is offering. Their thirst has already been quenched with the tasty drinks from the distractions and pleasures of an ill society.
It is unfortunate but I do not see much hope for Free Stamp City and its school system. Even though most of the teachers are extremely dedicated and talented, there is only so much head banging they can tolerate. Most Free Stamp City teachers are willing to do their jobs teaching. They have “good water” to offer. The children are required to come to the trough, but they refuse to drink. Their parents have set the example and have allowed the behavior. Others could simply care less. When counterproductive rewards are provided at little or no cost to dysfunctional people, why should they encourage their children to learn? It’s far more fun to be negligent.
“To hell with school, I‘m busy playing my wii”.
The dysfunctional citizens of Free Stamp City continue to be enabled by their own dysfunctional government. Those responsible citizens are now outnumbered by the dysfunctional. The responsible citizens who no longer wish to live in Free Stamp City are leaving fast. It is inevitable that most of the remaining city workers will be leaving soon. And this is not just the police and fire employees; they only make up a portion of the city work pool. When this final exodus happens, the money tree will wither and die, and Free Stamp City will sink even faster. The Free Stamp City mayor knows his city is sinking. He has suggested regionalization, (having the suburbs take on the ills of Free Stamp City). The mayor says “Hey suburbs, here are our problems; we want your money to fix them”.
Even if Free Stamp City sinks, that’s ok with the mayor. Some have heard him say that he has done his time in Free Stamp City and has earned a sizable pension to enjoy the rest of his days if he is not re-elected. Perhaps when he retires, he will move out of the city and raise alpacas.
More money will never solve the problems of Free Stamp City. Free Stamp City has a bad track record for managing the money it receives. Free Stamp City will only recover if and when their citizens demand that its government hold the negligent accountable. But that will prove difficult because many of the negligent believe that their situation is someone else’s fault, and the government supports this claim. This is an example of denial, another trait of being dysfunctional.
The school administrators spend money to make the water trough look pretty as if this will make the horse to drink. If you visit a Free Stamp City school, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of visual stimuli on the walls including catchy slogans and vision statements. No matter how well this trough made to look, you still cannot make the symbolic horse drink. Perhaps if those living off the system lost some of the government provided funding that is being used to fund their luxuries ( those rewards freely given without accountability), then there would be nothing left to do except to drink the good symbolic water of education and the teachers could rejoice.
So ends another chapter in Free Stamp City.
No comments:
Post a Comment