The state of schools in south Florida
I'm sure that I've made it clear previously that I feel that the school districts down here, well, suck balls. Let me relay a tale which proves this point.
First, let me say that I know that my child is not perfect. She's a normal, sometimes forgetful 15 year old. I'm over that part. I'm used to reminding her of things a million times. About a week and a half ago, she told me that she needed $5. Of course, it's like pulling teeth, so I have to follow up with 'for what?'. Long story short, the teacher "made" them all take at least one raffle ticket to sell. (it's a computer class and the raffle would benefit some school sports team of which my child is no part) Needless to say, she didn't sell it. This, of course, didn't stop the teacher from still wanting. her. five. dollars!
So, I figured that I would send a note asking why I should give up 5 bucks for something that had nothing to do with this class. What follows is the teacher's response....I have not edited it at all except to remove my last name.
DEAR MRS. MiamiShyner
SORRY I COULD NOT GET BACK TO YOU SOONER, TOO MANY THINGS AT THE SAME TIME.
LET ME EXPLAINED TO YOU WHY CAYTLIN NEEDS TO BRING THE $5.00.
THE TICKET IN QUESTION WAS A RAFFLE THAT THE SCHOOL WAS GOING TO HAVE TO LIFT THE STUDENT'S SPIRIT BY GIVING THEM SOME PRICES BEFORE THE F-CAT, AND A WAY TO GET AN EXTRA A FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE INDIVIDUAL CLASSES. CAYTLIN COMMITTED HERSELF TO SALE ONE TICKET. I GAVE ALL OF THE STUDENTS THE OPTION OF RETURNING THE UNSOLD TICKET ON THE DAY DETERMINED BY THE ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR, AND SHE AND OTHER STUDENTS DID NOT BRING THEM ON THAT DAY, I HAD TO PAY $160.00 OUT OF MY POCKET TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THE TICKETS THAT WERE NOT RETURNED ON TIME, AMONG THEM CAYTLIN'S.
SINCE THAT MOMENT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO COLLECT THE MONEY FROM THE STUDENTS THAT DID NOT BRING THE TICKETS, TO MAKE THE ECONOMICAL DEFICIT A LITTLE SMALLER. AS YOU COULD IMAGINE, THIS WAS THE LAST TIME EVER THAT I WOULD GET INVOLVED IN ANYTHING MONEY RELATED FOR SCHOOL.
I HOPE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND MY SITUATION, AND I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN IT.SINCERELY
MS GARCIA
Ha! Are you done laughing yet? Here is my response:
Ms. Garcia,
I appreciate the explanation. It is my understanding that now you are in possession of the raffle ticket. If this is correct, and I do believe that it is, despite any misunderstandings I cannot now give you the money for a raffle ticket for which I do not even have in my possession.
I have also been informed that you have now isolated Caitlyn (note spelling) from her friends in the class due to this issue about five dollars. I find this to be highly unacceptable. I am sure that, per your own note, there are other children who have not turned in the five dollars, and find it hard to believe that they are all receiving the same treatment from you. If there is a problem with Caitlyn's classroom behavior, please make me aware of it and I will nip it in the bud from home. If you feel that you need to discuss something with me, you will find my telephone number located at the bottom of this email.
Finally, for your own personal note, typing in all capital letters is equated with yelling. I will assume that is not the message that you were trying to convey. I do believe, however, that your means of response should be treated with as much care and consideration as your in-person interactions with parents, and that particularly, as a computer teacher, you would be aware of the social norms of electronic communications.
Again, you may feel free to contact me by telephone should you wish to discuss this matter further.
Regards,
Ms. MiamiShyner
Was I mildly bitchy? Yes. But over the top? Nah. Did I nearly jump out of my skin and want to slap the living shit out of this woman due to her response below? HELLZ to the YEAH.
MRS. MiamiShyner
LET ME START BY SAYING THAT THE REASON WHY CAYTLIN HAS BEEN "ISOLATED" FROM HER FRIEND, IS BECAUSE SHE IS NO LONGER WORKING ON HER PROJECTS, SINCE SHE SPENDS ALL THE TIME TALKING TO THE GIRL THAT I MOVED AWAY FROM HER.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT SHE MIGHT THINK, MY PURPOSE IN SCHOOL IS TO HAVE STUDENTS WORKING AND LEARNING, GRANTED THAT THEY HAVE THE CHOICE NOT TO WORK, BUT NOT IF I CAN HELP IT.ABOUT THE MONEY, THE TICKET THAT WAS RETURNED TO ME IS USELESS BECAUSE THE RAFFLE WAS OVER A MONTH AGO , AND AS I SAID, CAYTLIN TOOK UPON HERSELF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SALLING THE TICKET BY THE DUE DATE, AND SHE DIDN'T, THE TICKET COULD HAVE BEEN THROWN AWAY BECAUSE IT IS WORTHLESS.
CAYTLIN HAS MADE ME ASK HER FOR THE MONEY FOR A MONTH, AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT IS FAIR FROM YOUR PART TO MAKE ME PAY FOR HER LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IF YOU WANT TO DO SO, THEN SO BE IT.WITH CAPITAL LETTERS IS HOW I WRITE ALL EMAILS TO EVERYBODY, I CAN READ BETTER WHAT I WRITE.
I HOPE THAT CAYTLIN'S COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN CLARIFIED, AND MINE TOO.
AT YOUR SERVICE
MS GARCIA
Seriously?!?!
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I corrected you that it is MS not MRS if you paid attention.
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Kiddo has been in your class for nearly 27 weeks now and you still cannot spell her name right even though I pointed that out to you too?
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I'm sorry, but I don't care if English isn't your first language. You need to get some classes under your belt about basic grammar.
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You type in caps because "you can read better what you write"?!?!?! Are you fucking kidding me?!?! Are we both professionals here? Wait, it is obvious that one of us is not.
So, I think I'm just going to post this here and let it go. Why, you might ask? Because the person who supervises the teachers, whom I've had the pleasure opportunity to meet, Dr. Diaz, is going to stick up for Ms. Garcia. I still might respond though if I'm feeling especially bitchy.
Oh, and why don't you get on your bicycle and ride down the K-12 and see if your five dollars is at the bottom.
"Two faculty... One speaks no English, the other learned English from watching "The Wide World of Sports." So you tell me... Which is better, speaking no English at all, or speaking Howard Cosell?"
Comments
[wtf?] OH.MYGOD.
Unbelievable. First, it's offensive that after 27 weeks, this numb-skull can't spell Caitlyn's name correctly.
Second, it's apparent that standards for teachers aren't very high in this school district. The fact that someone like that has the honor of mentoring our children is just scary. And I agree that it doesn't matter that English isn't her first language. If she's teaching kids whose primary language is English, she needs to be able to properly communicate with them.
Teachers like this one are the reason the US is (something like) 7th in the world in turning out college graduates. She's the reason why our children aren't getting a quality education. You know, some people make Polish jokes like the Poles are a stupid people - but they graduate more students from college every year than we do.
If this teacher was stupid enough to take on the financial burden of these raffle tickets, then she deserves what she gets. I wouldn't pay the $5. Quite honestly, I still don't understand why she did it, based on her explanation. What an idiot.
"With capital letters is how I write all emails to everybody, I can read better what I write."
I laughed as I read that. That is awful.
Oh, by the way, it is easier to read lowercase letters. That's why just about everything we read is written the way it is. I learned that in my very first design class... it made a lot of sense. The change in letter height moves the eyes around more and makes individual letters easier to distinguish.
WOW. what a dumbass. I agree with all the comments above, and if she needs to better read what she writes, she should change the font size.
LOL @ the Better off Dead reference.... here's another...
I WANT MY FIVE DOLLARS!!!
Offer her a dime.
Seriously, WTF. this lady is a total maroon.
Let me say that she won't get one black penny out of me. :-D
@Christina - If you can get me a direct quote and a reference, I might send that back to her.
@Christie - I think she doesn't understand that she should be asking the school, who burdened her with this task in the first place, to take care of her $5. Seriously, who trusts 9th graders?!?!
@Skoolie - I was fortunate also to have great teachers. Sorry to say it, but it's the area plain and simple.
@cranky - OMG, she would totally crap her pants if I sent her a dime. I would find that hysterical. HAHAHA, maybe I'll mail it to her. 42 cents to mail your dime!
@Jen - Yep.
i am not looking forward to mia starting school.
It's sad but true. I forwarded her email to the principal and made the subject "Unfortunately, this is the level of communication from your faculty". I expect no response.
As long as you aren't living here, you'll be fine.
Advantages of Lower Case
The invention and application of lower case letters has been highly beneficial to the reading and writing of text. The most important benefit is that it can be easier on the eyes and can make text easier to read.
This is because of the greater variety of shapes of lower case letters as compared with upper case letters. In particular, nine lower case letters (b d f h i j k l t) have segments (or dots) that extend above the upper base line for the main body of lower case letters, and five letters (g j p q y) extend below the lower base line for the main body of all characters. The variety of shapes, and the consequent greater ease of reading, is further increased by the occasional use of upper case letters (e.g., the first letters in sentences and in proper nouns) in text that is composed of mostly lower case letters.
Link #2:Mistake 5. Overuse of upper case type
Words set entirely in upper case type -- capital letters -- are significantly harder to read than words set in a combination of upper and lower case type.
Words set in upper case type frequently occupy three times as much space and are characterized by unsightly gaps between certain pairs of letters (i.e., "YA").
Readers depend on word shapes for instant recognition. Words set in lower case type have distinctive shapes. This is because some letters are tall, others short, and some drop below the baseline the words rest on:
* Ascenders. Letters like b, t, l, and d, contain elements that are noticeably taller than letters like a, e, i, o, u, and w.
* Descenders. Letters like g, p, j, and y, contains elements which drop below the line.
Words set entirely in upper case type, however, lack the distinctive outlines created by lower case letters. Words set entirely in upper case, capital, letters are surrounded by rectangles lacking the distinct, recognizable shapes readers depend on to identify each word.
It's sad that these are the kinds of people that spend all day long with our kids. Keep fighting the good fight...