Thank you for posting this. It is too easy slip into role of chronic complainer without noticing yourself but others certainly will. If (general) you whine too frequently, the upbeat people will drift away from you, and you will find yourself surrounded by other whiners, many of whom create or perpetuate the very situations they whine about to others. Like you, I am not a Pollyanna but a realist. However, when a person's focus is too skewered toward bellyaching, they can sometimes immobilize themselves in misery and fail to see that there may be solutions to their problem. I have a mentally ill relative who radiates persistent negativity. I tell her things like, "I can only listen to this a few minutes but I'll be happy to brainstorm with you to come up with actions you can take to address your problem" or "What positive thing have you done or can do about your situation?" If she makes blanket generalization such as "All men are liars," I will ask how she can change her dating guidelines or screening process to weed out those with serious character flaws. Additionally, she has a very clingy dependent personality because she wants others to take responsibility for decisions. This relative, who also suffers from deteriorating physical ailment, made an unwise decision to undertake a course of action in light of the physical ailment. Now she is whining about how hard it is to _______ in her condition. I reminded her that she supposedly considered all the physical factors when she made her emotional decision. Whatever convinced her that she could handle it physically should still be applicable. Even if you have resolved to avoid whining, it is seductively easy to lapse back into it. In fact, it was my family that pointed out to me that I was whining more about my relative than she was to them. A wee bit was justified because I have a certain legal and moral obligation as her guardian. However, I was allowing my venting to dominate my own family time. It was downright unhealthy, and although it was painful to hear, I am glad they were honest with me. Endless yammering about the same old situation is giving energy to it. Too-frequent complaining is just another form of self-absorption in my opinion. I regret the years that I spent indulging in it. Resiliency, the ability to put things into perspective, brush off minor nuisances,and insulate yourself from being offended by those who disagree with you are important life coping skills that will smooth the way for all of us.

Yes, we know each others' passwords.

Maybe he was just enjoying looking at you because he found you attractive.

Exactly. The co-op discussed in the "knock it off" thread was a highly organized academic co-op. The administrator of this academic co-op asked this teacher to offer her skills in her area of expertise in a subject that would not normally be available in high school co-ops. This teacher's credentials included university level teaching experience in her field as well as years of practical experience in the workforce. Being both service-minded and practical, this teacher thought it would be a great idea to trade her skills in return for help in learning how to use a certain popular ABC curriculum in a different subject area with her own children. In fact, the teacher assisted in ABC class just for opportunity to learn more about using the ABC program. By the way, this co-op's fees were as high as quality private school if student enrolled in 5 high school classes per term. In the ABC class, there were fourteen students, two of which turned in their assignments complete, signed by parent, and on time. One of those two was the this teacher assistant's own child. At beginning of term, a contract was handed out to be signed by both parent and student. The contract spelled out that parental involvement in at-home work was essential for the ABC class. The parent was to read over the assignment and do the first check for errors. The extremely precise grading formula was also signed by both student and parent. That did not stop parents from whining that their child deserved higher grade or extra time for assignment. The co-op was at that time considered a tutoring service, not a substitute for an all day traditional school setting even though classes were offered from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. However, too many of the parents felt that they were no longer the ultimate responsible party for ensuring their child performed at an acceptable level. Yes, teacher expected more of fellow homeschooling parents than what she experienced.

You would be expected to apologize for using the implied word "assss."

J was quiet for the duration of the class. However, the mother complained that the teacher had been too harsh with J and expected an apology.

I understand but it was not clear from original post. My first thought was she was brought to hospital alone by ambulance after being involved in accident.

I do not know what the law is. As to whether he or the hospital should have immediately contacted you, I guess that depends upon the severity of the injury or illness.

:iagree: If the poster truly was asking for frank opinions, she received them. If she only wanted members who concurred that she was clever, she should have made that clear from the outset. The original poster probably has encountered several women who feel that stay at home mothers are somehow of a lesser caste. However, to assume the worst intentions of the woman in question is unfair and closes down what could have been an opportunity for a pleasant conversation or possibly even a friendship.

Yes, and there will be discussions of how the teacher behaved unprofessionally and could have privately disciplined the student to save face.

OK, this is perplexing. You cannot privately and directly approach these people in person to inquire about your relationship with them, yet you cryptically post about it on a board at least some of them read?

I understand but do not agree with her comment about middle school. I think she meant nothing more than colleges typically only consider high school grades when reviewing applications. I have been at a gathering of professionals where I have asked co-workers' spouses what they do, but in no way did I intend snootiness or judgement on their choice of vocation. I hope I was not received that way by the spouses.

:iagree:

If I had survived the symptoms for fifteen years with no noticeable change, I'd probably ignore them.

Hmmm ... like buttons on front of dress that you bring attention to. I've got it! You're revealing cleavage.

Please don't tell me we have to let the husband win in a game of dueling crossword puzzle working.

If you choose to fly in the face of conventional socially accepted Smurfdom norms, then you need to accept that the more compliant smurfs may shun you because of your rebellion. There is no room for dissent in Smurfland!

Looks like you are going to have to spill the beans to get meaningful advice.

:iagree:

A 14 year old male student J in a coop class of twelve is talking to a classmate during teacher presentation. Teacher walks by his desk and taps J and his classmate's shoulders gently as a nonverbal reminder to stop disrupting class. Classmate settles down. J is talking again. Teacher speaks J's name in a normal tone with raised eyebrows as a second reminder. Within a few minutes, J is again disrupting class. Coop teacher in a firm sharp tone of voice says, "J, knock it off!" Is that offensive to you as a parent? Is "knock it off" inappropriate for a coop? Is "knock it off" too harsh an admonition to an ADHD student?

I had quite the crush on Arlo.

Peter Paul and Mary performed the hit version. I ate lemons when I was suffering from frequent severe vomiting while pregnant.

We've been wearing sweaters inside and putting extra blankets on bed and throws on couches.

Neither incident could get me too excited although the f-word one was of more substance than this one. This one reeks of tattling to me. My kid would be shushing her friends as they tried to tell the story because she would not want to suffer the consequences of her disruptive behavior.

I was wondering what JAWM meant. The first google hit was Junior Achievment of Western Massachusetts.