You have no idea how tempting that is. I really need some new computers for my classrooms....hmmm.... :tongue_smilie:

Actually, giving "gifts" to administrators to get your kid into the right school is extremely common here. I was told it was only a matter of time before it happened to me because it happens to all of us and we even have a policy on not receiving gifts worth more than a certain amount for this reason. Although now that I am looking at these beauty products more closely... Maybe they are NOT a bribe but a SUGGESTION... They all have something to do with wrinkles and bags under your eyes and what-not. :glare: .

I will let you know! I loved Dan Phillip's book, too.

:iagree:

My school is almost to capacity and many of our grades have no space at all with a waiting list. There is a Korean family trying to get their kids into the school but the grades they want have no room. It is not a "decision" I am making. We literally do not have an open desk for their child. But they are not taking no for an answer. The mom stopped by to see me today AGAIN. I explained the situation AGAIN. As she was leaving she said "There must be something you can do." and she hands me a medium size shopping bag and leaves. I was confused. Then I got a phone call, then I had a meeting. By the time I got back to my office and looked in it I realized the bag was full of EXPENSIVE beauty products... Like hundreds of dollars worth!! I couldn't believe it. I just got a BRIBE!!!! :glare: So tomorrow I will call her to come pick up her "gift" because I can't accept it. I almost feel a little offended. Like if you are going to bribe me you better come up with more than that! :lol: .

This week I am reading Family Driven Faith: What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God by Voddie Baucham. Completed so far... 6. Organized Simplicity 5. Year of Wonders 4. The Holiness of God 3. The Paris Wife 2. The Peach Keeper 1. Relic

My children are all 6 years apart. My two boys have nothing in common and argue incessantly. It drives me batty and I have tried everything. They both absolutely adore their sister though. Of course, she is still young so we will see how it goes between her and the sibling above her when she is older.

:grouphug:

Yum. I love samosas!

Are there any Indian restaurants near you? We serve curry puffs at all our staff meetings as finger food and they are always a hit.

:iagree: Sure, the X means Christ in Greek but most of the people that I have seen using Xmas or xtian or xtianity do so in a derogatory fashion. So the original meaning may be innocent but its modern day connotation is not. .

:grouphug:

I love butter pecan ice cream!

Cheerleading captain Student council VP SADD National Honor Society

It is absolutely true and is, in my opinion, one of the biggest reasons public schools are failing. After 17 years in the education field I can tell you that only about 20% of teachers were truly above-average students. I earned a master's degree in education and I never broke a sweat. Some classes I skipped entirely except for exam days because they were such a waste of time and I graduated from the University of Michigan with a 3.9 GPA. It is THAT experience, however, that has contributed to my skill in hiring teachers now for my school. You have a degree? Meh. You are a certified teacher? Meh. What was your ACT score? Pass any AP tests in high school? Let me see your transcripts. I want to see what you earned in your math, science, political science classes, etc. I could not care less what you got in an education class because they are a joke. You want better schools? Make an education degree the most difficult degree to earn and pay accordingly. .

:iagree: My ds would cry until he threw up EVERY time I left him until he was about 5 yo. My other two did not. Every child is different and have different needs. But that's the mommy wars for ya... :glare:

Updated list of jobs available... IT Department Special Services Teacher High School Math Teacher Middle School Math Teacher High School Bible Teacher ESL Teacher High School Mandarin Teacher Head Librarian Resident Life Dorm Parents 1st grade Teacher 2nd Grade Teacher

No. Way. And I work at a school with a boarding program. I am against it.

That is not true. Lots of overseas American schools accept homeschool credits including my school. I do not know about DOD.

I don't think enduring emotional or physical abuse from ANYONE "builds character". I do not put up with any kind bullying at my school whatsoever. Not even a hint. My rule is this "if you are intentionally unkind to another person in word or deed you are being a bully" and I come down on it hard. Even my kindergarteners recite my playground rule: You can't say "You can't play". Kids can be selfish and cruel and it is our job as adults to teach them not to be... Not to make them endure abuse from others. That bully needs to be dealt with and fast.

After teaching for 12 years I took a year-long sabbatical and lived in the mountains of NC. I have been here 3 years. In 4 years I will be eligible for another year-long sabbatical with full pay and benefits!

An article I read that I like on this topic: Joseph Bayly has some excellent thoughts on the societal current today against masculinity, which caused me to do some thinking on the subject myself. My oldest son just turned 17, and he's going off to college next fall, and I'm afraid for him because he's male in a culture that despises maleness. My next-oldest son doesn't live with me, but with his mother. The first I've only raised for the last three years; the second only during summers. How do you convey to a boy what a man is with that kind of time constraints? Between the contradictory role models of "new-age sensitive man" and "clueless Tim-Taylor man," it's no wonder today's boys don't know what a man looks like. I'll give you a hint: neither one is accurate, because they're both self-centered and immature. The one is whiny, the other overblown, but both of them are completely missing what a man is and does. So what does a man do? A man works. Like a dog if necessary. Not just at a job, but at home, as well, because if anybody tells you that child-raising isn't work, they've been smoking the drapes. A man gets up in the night with a crying baby, or works a double shift, or makes trip after trip with the moving van. If it takes a lot of coffee, drink it. If you don't do it, it won't get done. Rest when things are finished, not when you're tired. Erma Bombeck once listed off qualities her dad had had, and one of those was that he was always the one who went to the parking lot in the rain to get the car. That's a man. The women and children may stay under the shelter; a man may not. If someone's going to get wet, it should be you. Ditto with disgusting things. Yes, I'm talking about diapers, but I'm also talking about things like stopped plumbing, pet messes, hairballs, and whatever's in that container in the back of the fridge. Clean it up, gag a couple of times if you must, then go wash your hands. God made your skin washable for a reason. Tim the Tool Man notwithstanding, no man is born with a knowledge of gadgets and machinery. You acquire it a bit at a time. If you're lucky enough to have a father who is skilled at those things and available to teach you, great. If you're not (as I wasn't), you'll just have to figure it out. When I was in high school, my dad gave me a beater car, and I had to figure out how it worked. I'm still not a mechanic, but I've learned that a screwdriver and a wrench aren't magic wands. Read a manual if it helps, but if you can't, then take the thing apart and try to figure out which part does what. Never let "I don't know how" be an excuse for not doing something. Do or do not; there is no try. As a man, you are stronger physically than women. You are also bigger than they are and hence intimidating to them, if only on a subconscious level. Never loom over them, never yell at them, never treat them as though they were men. (On the other side of the coin, don't condescend to them either. They're small, not dumb.) Bear in mind that you have all the equipment and strength necessary at any moment to overpower and violate any woman. It's therefore vital that you conduct yourself in a way that makes obvious that you not only wouldn't do something like that, but you'd step in front of a bullet or a grizzly bear to keep her safe. This isn't something you say out loud, but an attitude that stays in the back of your mind. Men speak a different language from women. You should be able to handle "Woman" as a second language, but it's never going to come naturally to you. Don't make it your native tongue. Women talk through their feelings, but if you do it, it just sounds neurotic. Talk when you have something to convey to someone else. On the same note, remember that men talk differently according to whether there's a woman present or not. If your vocabulary doesn't run toward vulgarity, good. If someone else's does, live with it. My father is a gentle, polite, soft-spoken man, and my mother knows for a fact that his language is invariably fit for the Ladies' Sewing Circle. She believes this because she's never heard him speak when there are no women around. Some of my most colorful phrases I learned from him. Religion is not a female thing. I don't mean that it's supposed to be male-dominated, but it is male-led. Look around you at Mass, and see how many families are there without Dad. Don't let yours (when you have one) be one of them. Make sure your kids see you genuflect and kneel. Make sure they know you pray. They may appreciate their mother's faith, but it's yours they'll imitate. If you want to raise Godly sons, show them what one looks like. Remember that although not every woman is potentially a wife or girlfriend, all of them are still women. Treat every female with the same respect and care you would show a woman you wanted to marry. Believe me, once you master this, you'll never lack for a date when you want one. Kindness, good humor and gentlemanliness aren't just for a girl you're hitting on. They can see through that a mile away. It's how you treat the ones you're not letching after that they'll notice. If you open doors and carry packages as a matter of habit, word gets around. After that, it doesn't matter if you look like Boris Karloff; you'll still be a hot property. And even if you're not looking for a woman at the time, what the heck? It never hurts to be well-liked. Finally, as a great writer once said, "If my father was the head of the house, my mother was its heart." A man isn't the soft comforting lap the kids sit on to be rocked to sleep, or the kiss that makes owwies all better. He may be called on to do those things sometimes, but he's not really constructed for it. A man is the solidity in his family, the rock that can't be broken. He's also the wall that shields them from storms, and the roof that keeps their heads dry. Which usually means getting rained on or wind-beaten himself. If you don't do that, a woman has to, and it's something they're not constructed for. That's the essence of being a man. Sometimes what you have to do sucks. That's the way it is. A man has both rights and duties, but when there's a conflict between them, duty always wins. Period. Your rights will be compromised over and over, but your responsibilities must never be. A man does what needs doing and worries about his rights some other time. Don't be a guy. The world is full of guys. Be a man. From: http://ontheotherfoot.blogspot.com/2006/03/found-out-man-aint-just-being-macho.html

Yes you DO have to be a professing, practicing, evangelical Christian to work at my school. Two videos for those interested: http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=JzP7JegNrVE http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=c4EI1r-4Rus If I am able to help even one of you find employment it will make my heart glad!!! .

I have had several emails asking about salary. YES it does pay enough to live on (pretty well actually). Two full time staff members with 4 kids would be making quite a bit of money and could easily afford house help and still save money. One staff member working and two kids would still live well but probably couldn't save much. HTH!

Us too. My friend had TWO adoptions be called off at the last minute and after the baby was born. I could not cope with that. My heart breaks for your dd. :grouphug: