[urbaindk]

To all of you that are telling Caputo to sack up and work harder...

Having a learning disability such as dyslexia can be extremely frustrating, so much so that there will be times when you want to give up entirely and just drop out. Sad as it is to say there will be people / teachers / etc that refuse to accept that while you have a disability you can still be a highly intelligent functioning student. I have experienced this in my own life and know first hand how painful it is to be called stupid or dumb and that your only life ambition should be to work at MickyD's.

As I said in the post above, you really have to take the good with the bad. There will be ****ty teachers that have no respect for you and there will be teachers that reach out to you and really motivate you to greatness. As a young person with this or similar disorders you just have to learn which is which and have confidence in yourself even when others don't. That is a really hard leason to learn and I think I still work on it everyday.

 

[SkaredShtles]

To all of you that are telling Caputo to sack up and work harder...

Having a learning disability such as dyslexia can be extremely frustrating, so much so that there will be times when you want to give up entirely and just drop out. Sad as it is to say there will be people / teachers / etc that refuse to accept that while you have a disability you can still be a highly intelligent functioning student. I have experienced this in my own life and know first hand how painful it is to be called stupid or dumb and that your only life ambition should be to work at MickyD's.

As I said in the post above, you really have to take the good with the bad. There will be ****ty teachers that have no respect for you and there will be teachers that reach out to you and really motivate you to greatness. As a young person with this or similar disorders you just have to learn which is which and have confidence in yourself even when others don't. That is a really hard leason to learn and I think I still work on it everyday.

That would be nice in a perfect world. Sadly, though, here's the bottom line: most people aren't going to give a rat's a$$ about your disability and if you use the adhd thing to excuse yourself alot of people are going to get annoyed or downright $hitty with you.

Apparently you used it as a motivation - I would suggest caputo do the same. The rest of the world doesn't really care what happens to any of us. Such is life.

 

[Wumpus]

When I was first contemplating grad school, a professor i was TAing for who happenned to be an awesome friend as well told me that "if you have to pay for grad school, you shouldn't be there".

I'm calling BS on this one. I did it by having a 'grant' the first year and decided all the crap that the profs expect you to do was worthless so I paid my own way the second year and it was a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[JRB]

It's not a matter of how bad or good caputo, or any other kid is, it's not a teacher's place to engage a kid like that. If a teacher has issues with a kid, he should take it up with a parent. We don't let kids vote, drink or go to war, why the hell should they be engaged in a potential life changing experience with some dude with a superiority complex???

I'm not saying to treat kids with special gloves and not guide them. I am saying give them some respect and help mold them. Kids do far better in most instances with guidance rather than force or criticism.

 

[sanjuro]

Bah.

My problem seems to be that I really don't see the value in going to school, so I have no motivation. I got a 3.8 and a 28 or 29 on my ACT (Utah thing...don't know why), but I'm perfectly happy doing what I do now, riding my bike and making sandwiches for seven dollars an hour. I don't know why going to school for four years and giving thousands of dollars to a public institution is supposed to make me a happier and/or better person.

I don't care if a person has a ph.d or didn't graduate from H.S. 75% of my friends did not attend college.

But let me point this out: when I was 28 years old, I had a budding knowledge of art, film, music, and literature. All of this I developed thru either taking classes or spending time in a collegiate environment.

I cannot describe here how viewing O'Keefe, watching Kurosawa, listening to Iggy Pop, or reading Steinbeck has influenced my life.

Money is important, obviously, and college grads make more. I see that too, where my blue-collar friends in their 30's are thinking about quitting their backbreaking jobs, but do not have many options which pay.

It is hard to see 10, 20 years down the road. But when I struggled with school, I stayed with it because I knew I would not be happy with an unexplored life.

 

[Sherpa]

It's not a matter of how bad or good caputo, or any other kid is, it's not a teacher's place to engage a kid like that. If a teacher has issues with a kid, he should take it up with a parent. We don't let kids vote, drink or go to war, why the hell should they be engaged in a potential life changing experience with some dude with a superiority complex???

I'm not saying to treat kids with special gloves and not guide them. I am saying give them some respect and help mold them. Kids do far better in most instances with guidance rather than force or criticism.

Most likely because he's not a kid, he's in high school. We're 1-2 years from being in the real world and a lot of people need to learn how to deal with their issues without mommy and daddy. I know if a teacher had a problem with me, they'd take it up with me and I'd be pissed if they went to my parents. I think it's disrespectful to go to someone's parents before them past 9th grade.

Oh, and I'd flip sh!t back on the teacher if they did it to me.

 

[JRB]

Most likely because he's not a kid, he's in high school. We're 1-2 years from being in the real world and a lot of people need to learn how to deal with their issues without mommy and daddy. I know if a teacher had a problem with me, they'd take it up with me and I'd be pissed if they went to my parents. I think it's disrespectful to go to someone's parents before them past 9th grade.

Oh, and I'd flip sh!t back on the teacher if they did it to me.

I can assure you that people don't get that in the real world. It's as simple as telling them it's an unacceptable way to treat people. You can exercise your options in the REAL world. You are over a barrel as a HS student. If you want to be called a dumb bastard, that is fine. It is bullsh*t for a teacher to engage an 16 or 17 year old kid as an adult. You want to be all grown up??? You'll get to be soon enough. It's not a teacher's place. I'll not change views on that. If a teacher wants you to be all grown up, he should try some positive reinforcement.

I have not had people yell at me, with the exception of one supervisor. I explained to him how we were grown ups and then I went straight to HR. A kid shouldn't have to tolerate that either.

 

[BAH]

I am now online pretty much 24 hours a day, send text messages every few minutes and am constantly connected to about 5 messenger services on my laptop or PDA.

.

That sounds like a nightmare

 

[blt2ride]

Yes, it is my high school english teacher.

Oh…the irony!

 

[JRB]

That sounds like a nightmare

For the people corresponding with him, right???

 

[BAH]

For the people corresponding with him, right???

Nah, just to be on/connected to the computer that much. I spend every waking minute trying to get as far away as possible from the intarnette/webbe. I'm only online anymore if I am working on photos..

 

[JRB]

Nah, just to be on/connected to the computer that much. I spend every waking minute trying to get as far away as possible from the intarnette/webbe. I'm only online anymore if I am working on photos..

 

[golgiaparatus]

My HS english teacher had it out for me too. Flunked me, yelled at me, disrespected me, embarassed me AND even called my parents because he saw me walking home while smoking. Anyway, he called me a screw up a few times.

Now I'm 29 and make more money than he does.

 

[Da Peach]

Most likely because he's not a kid, he's in high school. We're 1-2 years from being in the real world and a lot of people need to learn how to deal with their issues without mommy and daddy. I know if a teacher had a problem with me, they'd take it up with me and I'd be pissed if they went to my parents. I think it's disrespectful to go to someone's parents before them past 9th grade.

Oh, and I'd flip sh!t back on the teacher if they did it to me.

There we go. I was waiting for that one... Glad it wasn't you Caputo..

 

[stephanie]

"Molding" a student is hard work, though most of us teachers try our best. We see our students for 50-60 minutes a day. I would bet that this is more than some of the parents see their kids. To properly support a student (especially one with learning disabilities) takes a concerted effort on the parts of all the adults in the child's life (teachers, parents, counselors, etc).

Do I think caputo's English teacher had a right to say what he did? No.

Do I think there was a more positive way for this teacher to reach out? Yes.

Do I think it's possible for teachers to consistently reach out to kids and get smacked down every time? Yes.

Do I think that, when problems arise, I should try to solve the issue with the student first (and then move on to contacting parents, etc if no progress is seen)? Absolutely.

We all know what it is like to be a student (at least at the high school level), and I'm sure everyone had that one teacher whose buttons they liked to push. Caputo's learning disabilities are not button-pushing tactics that he's using to purposely irritate his teacher. There are kids, though, who are so misguided and floundering for attention that they don't know anything else but acting out.

So my take-home message:

Parents--find out what you kids are up to, and don't treat them like full-fleged adults (they aren't old enough to be out till 12 on a school night, carousing around and getting into trouble). Talk to them and ask them questions (without interrogating them). Make your presence in their lives known.

Teachers--we know that some kids are hard to deal with. It comes with the territory. But do you want to be the person an adult names as "the teacher who said I'd amount to nothing?"!

Kids--keep trying hard, and stay involved in school activities, sports, etc. Like it or not, you are headed for adulthood but aren't quite there yet (even though society is more mixed-up then ever about how to treat you...as kids or adults). Cut your teachers a break. Play along. If there is a teacher who is reaching out to you, take the advice or at least consider it. If there is a teacher who has done you wrong, prove him/her wrong by being the opposite they said you might be.

 

[Radarr]

I don't know why going to school for four years and giving thousands of dollars to a public institution is supposed to make me a happier and/or better person.

Go there and surround yourself with thousands of people your age and see what you're missing. I'm finishing college in 11 days, and I often think of how I'm going to miss it. Basically 0 responsibility (other than school work), you meet some of the most interesting people you're ever going to meet in your life (like the granddaughter of the Pabst family), and you get doors opened up that you're not going to have open if you don't go. And spending thousands of dollars? Are you serious? I made about $2000 this last year just because of financial aid and scholarships -that's with a 3.3 GPA, too. I'm graduating with a degree in chemistry. What the hell am I going to do with it? Well, obviously, I can solve problems. Maybe I'll go to work for the FBI. I am really good at math, so maybe I can go into accounting or stock trading. Also, as a nerd, I was forced to be very social. I can go into PR or marketing. I spent a lot of time dinking around taking theater classes and met some really crazy people who publish books left and right, but none of them know how to design a cover for the book. Graphic arts? Sure, why not? Oh, the best part is that even though I'm not the best qualified out there for any of those positions, I now know a whole bunch of Ph.Ds and future Ph.Ds who can write really kick-ass letters of reccomendation becuase they know me and what I'm capable of. They all know that I shouldn't have been a chem major, but I did it anyway (probably out of spite to everyone who thought I couldn't). Schrodinger equation, meet my fist.

I've always said it: 80% of college in NOT the education.

That being said, if you are happy making sandwhiches, then do that. Follow your passions and love living life. The only thing I'd say to you is that if you don't put the time in now, if you ever do want to change direction in life, it'll be a whole lot harder to do. Did I mention that college is a ****-load of fun?

 

[Sherpa]

I can assure you that people don't get that in the real world. It's as simple as telling them it's an unacceptable way to treat people. You can exercise your options in the REAL world. You are over a barrel as a HS student. If you want to be called a dumb bastard, that is fine. It is bullsh*t for a teacher to engage an 16 or 17 year old kid as an adult. You want to be all grown up??? You'll get to be soon enough. It's not a teacher's place. I'll not change views on that. If a teacher wants you to be all grown up, he should try some positive reinforcement.

I have not had people yell at me, with the exception of one supervisor. I explained to him how we were grown ups and then I went straight to HR. A kid shouldn't have to tolerate that either.

I'm not saying what the teacher did was right.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>

I've always said it: 80% of college in NOT the education.

That being said, if you are happy making sandwhiches, then do that. Follow your passions and love living life. The only thing I'd say to you is that if you don't put the time in now, if you ever do want to change direction in life, it'll be a whole lot harder to do. Did I mention that college is a ****-load of fun?

Well, the first couple years were a ****-load of fun. I was ready to be done at the end.

 

[Radarr]

Think about all the classes you sat through, probably paying half-attention to most of the time. Was it that, or all the people you met and all the crazy stuff you did that made you into the beer n00b you are today? I'm not saying you don't learn anything in college, but the connections you make with people are more inportant in the "real world" than the collection of facts that are now stored in your brain.

Well, the first couple years were a ****-load of fun. I was ready to be done at the end.

Your school must have sucked. I got to drink twice last week with one of the entrants in the Maxim Hometown Hottie (she's in one of my classes ). Although I do see where you're coming from - I really am sick of writing up experiments and living off of the afore mentioned $2000 a year.


I'm not a girl, so I don't carry a camera with me to the bars, but I'll save you all the trouble anyway:
THIS IS USELESS WITHOUT PICS.

 

[kinghami3]

Go there and surround yourself with thousands of people your age and see what you're missing. I'm finishing college in 11 days, and I often think of how I'm going to miss it. Basically 0 responsibility (other than school work), you meet some of the most interesting people you're ever going to meet in your life (like the granddaughter of the Pabst family), and you get doors opened up that you're not going to have open if you don't go. And spending thousands of dollars? Are you serious? I made about $2000 this last year just because of financial aid and scholarships -that's with a 3.3 GPA, too. I'm graduating with a degree in chemistry. What the hell am I going to do with it? Well, obviously, I can solve problems. Maybe I'll go to work for the FBI. I am really good at math, so maybe I can go into accounting or stock trading. Also, as a nerd, I was forced to be very social. I can go into PR or marketing. I spent a lot of time dinking around taking theater classes and met some really crazy people who publish books left and right, but none of them know how to design a cover for the book. Graphic arts? Sure, why not? Oh, the best part is that even though I'm not the best qualified out there for any of those positions, I now know a whole bunch of Ph.Ds and future Ph.Ds who can write really kick-ass letters of reccomendation becuase they know me and what I'm capable of. They all know that I shouldn't have been a chem major, but I did it anyway (probably out of spite to everyone who thought I couldn't). Schrodinger equation, meet my fist.

I've always said it: 80% of college in NOT the education.

That being said, if you are happy making sandwhiches, then do that. Follow your passions and love living life. The only thing I'd say to you is that if you don't put the time in now, if you ever do want to change direction in life, it'll be a whole lot harder to do. Did I mention that college is a ****-load of fun?

Dang, I wish I went to a public school

 

[Radarr]

Dang, I wish I went to a public school

[nelson] ha ha [/nelson]

Community College of Washington State University Cougars for LIFE!!!!!1!11

 

[SkaredShtles]

Think about all the classes you sat through, probably paying half-attention to most of the time. Was it that, or all the people you met and all the crazy stuff you did that made you into the beer n00b you are today? I'm not saying you don't learn anything in college, but the connections you make with people are more inportant in the "real world" than the collection of facts that are now stored in your brain.

The first couple of years of school was fun because classes were on the whole pretty easy. The last couple years were alot of work. And I don't like work. I made a bunch of friends from all over in college - but I'm only in contact with one anymore, and that's very infrequent. I did discover the joy of tasty beer whilst going to school.

Your school must have sucked. I got to drink twice last week with one of the entrants in the Maxim Hometown Hottie (she's in one of my classes ). Although I do see where you're coming from - I really am sick of writing up experiments and living off of the afore mentioned $2000 a year.

Yeah - I just got sick of statistical analysis and all the other garbage that went along with advanced Finance courses. That and I had some financial pressure to get finished in 4 years so I didn't get to slack off quite as much as I would've liked.

 

[caputo1989]

To Caputo and everyone who thinks the teacher is a jerk:

Maybe we're not hearing both sides of the story here. Sure, teachers shouldn't crap on their students as a matter of course, but, I imagine there was some sort of buildup to this situation.

Wreckless? Does this have to do with riding your bike? If so, that's none of his business so he can screw off. But if he's just sick of you being an ass in his class, or you have been demonstrating some sort of lack of respect, then maybe you should heed his words. Inwardly at least...could be a blow to the ego, but I think that some kids need that nowadays. In MY day.....

I just didn't like the tone which was closer to: "Yeah man, teachers are assholes, man. Keep tryin' to bring me down, man" , or whatever...

He thinks im wreckless because of the stories he hears from other students. Everyone thinks im nuts, but that doesn't bother me much as i know it.
Its when he old me that I am a burdon to his class that bugs me.

I've scored a 29 on my act and have a 3.0 gpa. It boggles my mind that a public high school teacher would say that.