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AZLD4Candidate

Profile Information

Name: Aram Katz
Gender: Male
Hometown: Sullivan County, NY
Home country: USA
Current location: Soon to be Zhenjiang in China
Member since: Tue Mar 23, 2021, 11:44 AM
Number of posts: 4,676

About Me

Demoralized, depressed, destroyed by American immigration law written and pushed for in 1952 by two xenophobes determined to keep people out.

Journal Archives

Eighteen years in teaching and nothing to show. Biggest waste of a career choice ever



I remember my mother teaching. Coming home at night frazzled and in tears many times, wondering why she was the scapegoat for all of society's problems and why she could never do anything right.

We, as a society, never had much care for education. Years ago, teachers weren't even allowed to get pregnant or even have a drink in public because what would children thinking. We were paid miserably and held to standards we could never attain, only to be attacked when we didn't attain them.

The US has always treated teachers like garbage and will always continue to do so.

Let's look at it objectively:

1: Hollywood makes teachers into miracle workers. Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds, etc. . .all movies and TV shows portray teachers either as these hard working miracle workers, or as the ones who stand in the way of all the dreams and aspirations of students. If we can't perform the miracle, we're crap. If we do, well, it's what we're supposed to do anyway.

2: Students always come into a new teacher's classroom with guarded hostility. We have to win the student over. We have to do everything to get the students, who normally has no interest in being in school, to buy into us all the while keeping a wall of separation. If a teacher has a problem with a student, it's the teacher's fault. If the student doesn't pass or succeed, it's the teacher's fault. If the student feels upset because they didn't turn in work/broke rules/got caught, it's the teacher's fault. In today's education, students have no responsibility. It's all on the miracle worker teacher.

3: Everyone loves telling teachers how to do their job and the teacher needs to listen politely and reflect on the criticism. No parent can say "what the hell are you doing at home to reinforce what I do here" because that is questioning a parent's ability and everyone know parents are infallible and perfect. No one can tell a parent that they are screwing up their kids. No one can question a parent. Teachers are parent's private, state sponsored babysitter. I remember how many parents, when I grew up in the Northeast, would scream at the school for a snow day. "I can go to work in the snow. Why can't you stay open? What am I going to do now? I need a babysitter and my entire day is ruined." Doesn't matter how dangerous the roads were. . .the parents was inconvenienced. I remember listening into a school board meeting parents yapping that during snow days, the school should be open for parents to drop off their children so the students can study, do activities, and what not until the parent gets off work. I had to jump up, even at 16 years old, and snap "it's a school not a fucking day care center, you idiot."

4: School administration only cares about their career, not the students (unless it's test scores) and definitely not teachers (unless they can lap up the success of teachers). Principals and superintendents don't care about teachers unless they are squeaky wheel that needs to be gotten rid of or they teacher succeeds "because of my steadfast leadership." School administrators are a waste of precious resources that throw teachers under the bus when THEY fail and ignore teachers when things SUCCEED. Let's not get into school boards which are people that have no education background setting education policy. One district I worked at had a high school dropout as president of the school board.

5: Ed biz like Pearson and like are always trying to sell us their "scientifically researcher" bullcrap. Ask to see the research, they won't show their corporate secrets. Be skeptical of their BS and they will run to administration and complain the teacher isn't buying into the service or product the school bought. Then the teacher is scolded for not adjusting to what they want.

6: I won't get into the politicians since all you have to do is look at Florida, Texas, and other states like it to see how valued we aren't.

Kid succeeds, it's the admin's leadership, parent's guidance, etc. It's never the teacher. kid fails, it's ALWAYS the teacher. And t's worldwide. I've taught in six countries. It's worldwide.

Those looking to teach as a career, take my advice and don't. it isn't worth it. I've been one for 18 years and am trying desperately to get out of the classroom. Sadly, I have no skills businesses need. HR these days have checklists. If you don't match the checks, you go into the circular file even if you can do the job.

I've spent 18 years in a classroom. I have nothing to show except being demoralized, abused, ignored, and marginalized. I'm literally at the point that I just don't care anymore. I'll never be the school leader I'm trained and licensed to be because I'm too dangerous as a thinker. And I just don't care anymore. I have no enthusiasm in teaching. I have no desire to do it. And after 18 years, I have no spirit.

I've heard all the rah-rah speeches and the bullcrap teachers hear every year. I just don't care. For all those looking to become teachers, don't bother. You will get to where I am soon enough and all you'll do is go through the motions. No one cares about you except to criticize and tear you down. No one notices you unless you don't do what you're commanded to do.

Eighteen years of teaching and I have nothing to show. That's the biggest sock in the face. I wasted 18 years of my life being treated like crap in a classroom and, now, I have more of my life behind me than in front of me.

Don't teach, young people. It isn't worth it and unlike what people want to be believe, it never was worth it.
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Wed May 24, 2023, 02:38 AM (52 replies)

FEC complaint calls for federal probe of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spending

A complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission asks regulators to open a formal investigation into campaign spending by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema has faced mounting questions about the legitimacy of more than $180,000 in campaign expenditures dating back to 2019 on luxury hotels, posh resorts, Michelin-star restaurants, international travel and winery visits. The campaign spending has drawn further scrutiny because it occurred while Sinema was not actively campaigning for office. The senator has declined to announce whether she will run for reelection in 2024.

The complaint, filed by Change for Arizona 2024, a political action committee openly trying to unseat the senator, outlines potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. It alleges that Sinema “illegally diverted funds” intended for her campaign for personal use.

In a statement to Arizona’s Family, a spokesman dismissed the complaint as a desperate political attack. “It’s not surprising that desperate political attacks from dark money Super PACs are based on lies. There’s no standing here, and Kyrsten remains laser focused on delivering lasting solutions to the challenges we face – including addressing our border crisis and ensuring Arizonans are protected from a national default,” a spokesman for Sinema’s office said via email.

However, an independent attorney and government ethics expert not involved with the PAC said the claims appear to have merit. “When I read this FEC complaint, I was shocked – and I’ve seen a lot of political corruption in my life,” said attorney Tom Ryan. “You don’t get to mislead donors. You don’t get to take money that’s intended for a public use and turn it into a private benefit, and she has clearly done that in spades.” The spokesman for Sinema declined further comment.


Hahahahahaha!
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Sat May 20, 2023, 01:51 AM (0 replies)

Marjorie Taylor Greene escalates feud with Jamaal Bowman after Capitol confrontation

Source: Yahoo News

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she felt “threatened” by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., after the two were seen shouting at each other on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

“He was aggressive; his physical mannerisms were aggressive,” Greene told reporters during an unrelated press conference on Thursday, a day after their confrontation. “I am concerned about it. I feel threatened by him.”

In a statement, Bowman said of Greene's comments: "Marjorie's attack is beyond a dog-whistle. It’s a bull-horn. And it’s reckless and dangerous. She has put a target on my back."

Read more: https://www.aol.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-escalates-feud-171523607.html



Redneck Barbie feels intimidated by the tall, strong, black man.

When can we start referring this creature as the "b" word without women here getting offended?
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Thu May 18, 2023, 05:15 PM (70 replies)

After all the BS of Elon Musk, I believe DU should divorce itself from Twitter

by removing the TWEET function of posts.

Why do we want to contribute to anything that makes that scuzball Elon Musk and more money or notoriety?
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Sat May 13, 2023, 12:55 AM (29 replies)

Trump Farcically Claims He Was Forbidden From Defending Himself Against Rape Claim: I 'Will Appeal t

Full Headline: Trump Farcically Claims He Was Forbidden From Defending Himself Against Rape Claim: I ‘Will Appeal the Unconstitutional Silencing of Me!’

Former President Donald Trump displayed his penchant for prevarication in a post about his civil rape trial, right before the jury will render their verdict, falsely claiming he was prevented from testifying and declaring his intention to appeal.

In 2019, E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a New York City Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Trump vociferously denied the accusations and launched a series of attacks on Carroll, all leading to her suing him for defamation and a separate civil suit for the alleged rape. The ex-president’s deposition included several shocking moments, including one where Trump — who had been adamant that Carroll was “not my type” — mistakes a photo of her for his second wife, Marla Maples.

Trump had previously claimed that he would go to New York to “confront” Carroll, as well as disparaging the judge in the case as “extremely hostile,” but he did not actually testify at the trial or even attend it in person.

Tuesday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social about the case.


https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-farcically-claims-he-was-forbidden-from-defending-himself-against-rape-claim-i-will-appeal-the-unconstitutional-silencing-of-me/?fbclid=IwAR0VgNw85P6jnTVw9NA6VyfhwuyzwlH4nGOhmv4TESf-QTYan7zQ_pTCIC8
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Wed May 10, 2023, 04:50 AM (2 replies)

Putin tells Red Square parade 'real war' unleashed on Russia

Source: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his country's Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square that “a real war” has been unleashed against Russia by the West's “untamed ambitions,” shortly after the Kremlin's forces rained cruise missiles on Ukrainian targets.

“Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said at Moscow’s annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.”

Since Russia invaded its neighbor more than 14 months ago, Putin has repeatedly framed the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict with the West. The Kremlin's official narrative of the war has painted a picture of an existential conflict with the West, which in Moscow’s view is merely using Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia, re-write its history and crush its traditional values. That version of events has dominated Russian state media coverage of the war.

In his speech, Putin insisted that the West’s “untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity” are to blame for the conflict.

Read more: https://www.aol.com/news/russia-set-wwii-tributes-rains-090830859.html



Wow, the desperation.
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Tue May 9, 2023, 07:00 AM (9 replies)

China and the upcoming strife from within - perspective from the ground

Yes, I know the narrative. China is the big bad boogie man. China is building an army to attack Taiwan. China, china china.

I live here. Time for some perspective.

Let me start by saying that the western media going to Beijing and Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen is worthless. They do it because its easy.

You need to go out to the Chinese countryside, where I live. The rural parts. And what is being said here is truly frightening.

1: To these people, the "nong" as we foreigners call them, they knows shit is hitting the fan. They know the government is screwing up. They know inflation is killing them, their homes are worthless, jobs are drying up, and things are getting limited. They know where the blame is. Unlike what people think, here in the countryside, there isn't a cop on every corner. I haven't seen a cop here in weeks and I live in BFE China. The people know things are cratering.

2: Young people have truly given up. Youth unemployment is at about 30% (you'll never see it on the news). All you have to do to see it is going to a net cafe and count the heads of young people in there at any given time during working hours. They sleep in there, eat in there, and pretty much live in there.

3: Small business is dead. Not coming back any time soon. Tourism is dead. All the side industries and business that rely on tourism are dead. Landlord don't have tenants and to make up lost rent, they have super inflated rent costs to the point that no one looking to open a business can afford it.

4: Housing market is dead. I was a victim of it. My wife and I got caught up in the Evergrande nonsense, but easily got ourselves out.

5: Patriotic education and grooming indoctrination is happening in schools here, but unlike before, the parents really aren't buying the bullshit. The patriotic bullshit on television isn't gain views because people aren't interested. The rah-rah Xi Jinping reach-arounds on the networks are frequent and more desperate, as are the "distraction" TV which isn't being watched much at all.

6: VPN use is WAY up as the internet in China has rapidly become an intranet. The CCP hasn't learned that if you truly want people to see something, ban it and make an issue out of it.

7: No one in the countryside wants a war with Taiwan. . .only the CCP does. People here know it will lead to a conflict with the US and it's something no run of the mill Chinese person wants. The old people even say it's something The Party wants. They remember Deng Xiaoping's war of distraction in 1979 against Vietnam. They see Taiwan as the same thing.

8: Zero COVID DESTROYED this place. People realize it was not to prevent death but to monitor people. People have removed all those things from their phones even though they are required to keep them there even though they aren't checked. The police can't check them all and the police don't even bother.


China is quickly lurching towards a civil war. Its economy is limping to the point of falling over and the people know the economic stories are all about the CCP and its toadies cooking the books. Wu Mao get laughed at online.

The Civil War is coming. . .all that needs to happen is the bottom to fall out of the Chinese economy (and it will as soon as the fraudulent ponzi scheme house of cards on sand falls). As soon as that happens, people, fresh off their protest win against COVID19 restrictions, will take to the streets in protest.

The CCP will do the only thing the CCP knows how to do. . .use the police and army to brutalize, and since the people know the the PLA isn't the Chinese army but the army of the Communist Party, the bloodshed against the CCP will begin.

Millions will die in the process, but the CCP under Winnie the Flu is beginning to end.
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Sun May 7, 2023, 04:21 AM (14 replies)

Without writers, there are no songs, TV shows, movies, or novels. Yet those the lead get huge money

and those that do need second jobs.

Without teachers, there are no anything. Yet those that lead (principals and superintendents) get three to four times what teachers make and teachers need second jobs during the summer.

Without writers, actors and singers have nothing to do and directors have no nothing. Yet they make millions while writers make peanuts.

Those the enable those to make money are destroyed economically in our system and those that entertain or lead makes a killing.

I support my writing brothers in the WGA as well as any of my fellow teachers that go on strike!

SOLIDARITY!!!
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Tue May 2, 2023, 10:29 PM (6 replies)

4 killed in Maine home, 3 wounded in linked highway shooting

Source: AP via AOL

Four people were fatally shot at a house in Maine on Tuesday shortly before gunfire wounded three others on a busy highway, in a pair of crimes that are linked, authorities said. Hours later, a man was charged with murder.

Police closed a portion of the interstate highway and residents and businesses in the area were ordered to shelter in place for about 90 minutes before authorities determined there was no threat to the general public.

The shootings are among a spate of recent mass killings that have shaken communities both large and small, including a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky and a Sweet 16 party in a small city in Alabama.

In Maine, police charged Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, with four counts of murder Tuesday evening but declined to discuss a possible motive for the shootings or identify the shooting victims. Eaton was expected to appear in court later this week.

Read more: https://www.aol.com/news/maine-highway-shooting-injures-2-100119332.html



Barely any news coverage of the latest mass shooting.
Posted by AZLD4Candidate | Wed Apr 19, 2023, 07:25 AM (19 replies)
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