Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Free Application for Debt and Enslavement

As doctors, policemen, teachers, or whatever we do to help others, we do it, and take an oath to help and not hurt others. Since the introduction of FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid several young people have been led into a long period of debt with little in return for their expense. Granted it has helped some, but the statistics are out, and they prove that our youth are being set up with debt that drives suicide, frustration, anger, drug abuse, and a whole list of ills. Sadly, the government, education, and banking bureaucracy behind it could care less, so long as they are making money. You have it right young people, you are pawns for someone else’s mansion, swimming pool, or fine luxury auto. You are their slaves and interest on the debt you owe makes them laugh and smile.

Currently we have a huge demand for blue-collar and skilled  labor in America., but this knowledge is not being shared with you at school. Why? It does not benefit their bottom line or alignment with College Board or colleges. The demand for skilled construction, machinists, auto mechanics, dental hygienists, physical therapy assistants, nurses and assistants, chefs, bus drivers and street car operators, hair stylists, train industry, petroleum industry, linesman for electric companies, Gas plant operators, Transportation Inspectors, Elevator installers and repairers, Electronics repairers, etc. The list is long and many of these jobs can be obtained from on the job training or as little as an associate degree for under $10,000. Many of these jobs offer salaries that far exceed the average college graduate salary without the burden of deep debt. In fact, most will send you over $75,000 a year with 401k, health benefits, and a nice yearly vacation.

Our schools have long pushed the mantra of college, college, college. You do not want those blue-collar jobs, you want a professional job. High schools have even eliminated programs on campus for blue-collar or skilled labor. This has created a huge shortage of qualified workers in many blue-collar or skilled labor fields.

Let’s look at how a young high school grad in blue-collar or skilled labor can do better than their college bound friend.

For fun let’s look at the job of a truck driver who can spend as little as $6,000 on six weeks of skilled labor schooling and hit the road making $65,000 local to over $100,000 long-haul across the country.

Let’s say your friend is receiving all that fine FAFSA loan money for college. A college in Florida has yearly expenses of $43,000 a year for a teacher’s bachelor’s degree. Let’s assume your friend finishes in five years. Their total cost for their degree is a whopping $215,000. Let’s also assume your friend received grants and half of their schooling was free. That leaves them with loans of $107,500 dollars.

Let’s look at their loan pain now. Let’s assume they have 7% interest and it must be all paid off in ten years. Based on that premise they now owe $1,248 dollars a month in loan debt.

Your happy graduate friend is coming home to Houston and lands their first job as a teacher making $52,000 a year. Which gross is $4,333 a month. From that right off they have insurance, taxes, and teacher retirement deductions of about 18% on the low-ball side leaving them roughly $3,553.06 net income. They need to pay their college loan back. $3553.06-1,248= $2,305.06. Your friend now must pay rent and the average for a one- bedroom apartment in an average area is $1,200 a month. Let’s now deduct that from your friends pay. Your friend now has $1,105.06 for groceries, gas, utility bills, job expenses/clothing, car payment, etc. Your friend will have little of anything left at the end of the month for the next ten years. Let’s assume they graduated at 23 years old. At age 33 your friend will start having money left over to perhaps save for a house. Your friend is frustrated! I see it all the time.

Now let’s look at you who decided to break away from the sheeple and be a renegade. You decide on that trucker program at Houston Community College for $6,000 in six weeks.

You hit the road at 18 making $60,000 a year. That is $5,000 gross a month. Let’s assume you also have 18% deduction for taxes, social security, insurance, etc. That leaves you with a gross of $4,100 dollars a month. Before you friend ever graduates college with their debt and starts a job you will make $246,000 dollars more than them over five years and that is a low-figure, because this does not assume your pay raises or how much you work.

Your friend starts life at negative -$107,500 in the hole (liability) after-college and you start off life with assets. Depending on how well you manage or invest your money it could be a substantial amount of assets. You might even retire a millionaire at 50 as a trucker because you were wise.

Your salary will always exceed your friends even if they pursue a master’s degree in education unless they enter the highest levels of management.

Let’s assume from your $4,100 a month net pay you have $1,200 a month rent. You now have $2,900 net income after rent. As you can see from the above example you will always exceed your college educated friend if you are wise with your assets/money. No debt and you started making money faster.

Unfortunately, many, but not all, teachers and counselors who are advising students to go to college often have little experience with understanding money. They often do not understand their 403b. Many are in debt themselves. They just follow orders and push programs because that is what they are told. Some never research anything or understand it, which I find sad, since they are in the business of learning. That is why I offer you this free example. I signed an oath to help people.

Is this designed to steer you away from college? No! It is designed for you to reflect! An opportunity to reflect on a side that nobody is sharing with you. College is a HUGE commitment and cost.

My job in educating you is to give you the pro’s and con’s. Assets are always a pro over liabilities. Asset’s do place you in a position of less worry more often than a load of liabilities.

If you are thinking about being away from mom and dad, partying, or signing up for one of the many degrees that are worthless in the real world, I would advise you to reflect. You could be setting yourself up for a life back at home with mom and dad if they are willing to accept you.

Debt is the modern word for slave. If you owe debt you are owned by the master, you are paying too. Free Application for Debt and Enslavement to the master! Please do your research and carefully weigh your options before taking on loans through the FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid. What will place you in a better position short-term and long-term? Do you want to owe money or make money? Who is benefitting from all that interest you must pay back? What is your passion for life?  Find out about ALL your options!

I hope this helps you in your decision-making process and gives you some insight into what is being hidden from you. Good luck!

The Truth About The Media. There are two sides to every story.

Here is my side that would be selectively edited or never aired on television.

Today I was featured in the news regarding covering a HISD French class and being unqualified. I am a certified teacher with a Bachelor’s of Science degree. I am not highly qualified because I am not certified in this particular subject. In my role, as a substitute teacher it is not required. The whole story is FAKE news, because I am a substitute not under contract as a full-time teacher as portrayed.

http://www.khou.com/news/investigations/i-team-french-teacher-at-hisd-school-doesnt-speak-french/160708733

First and foremost most associate teachers are placed in positions on temporary or long-term basis. Education today has a real talent pool issue, but not because we do not have qualified teachers. We have a shortage of teacher’s across America, because many good ones are sick of the system and chose not to work, and some teachers have to be removed for a variety of reasons, from criminal issues, to not doing their jobs.

My job is to be as qualified as I can in an emergency wherever I am placed. I have had numerous assignments in all subjects. Often I have to learn new material on the spot and teach it the best I can. I am extremely reliable with a strong track record of success for over 13 years.

At times, I do better than the actual teacher of record. I have been placed in settings where the kids did not have success with a full-time teacher of record, and the students pass tests with me the associate (SUB) teacher. I even had a teacher ask me to adjust my teaching because benchmark tests in my room where better than there tests. This person told me I was making them look bad and as a substitute it did not matter, but for her it did.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult for a full-time teacher of record to be terminated. Unions protect some of the worst people, and I am qualified to say this as I once worked as a union steward. Often teachers become tenured and think they are owed something special for just hanging around. They think,” I earned this right.” Right to what? Wasting taxpayer money to the tune of $65 or 70 k per year? As Mr. Cius stated in the interview. He is paid for doing nothing. What a waste!

The video that KHOU Channel 11 obtained of me walking into the school was illegally obtained by hiding on HISD property. Yes, you read it right. Trespassing. The reporter Jeremy Rogalski, contacted me via my private home number, and asked if I wanted to interview. I stated that I wished not too. I also followed up with e-mail stating that I was not interested in interviewing. The following day he, along with his camera man, hid beside my vehicle on HISD property, and tried to jump me. Good thing I keep my eyes open.

The photos of me in my classroom were also obtained without consent. I am certain a student took these photos. Now the funny thing is KHOU is being paid advertising dollars. My photos were used while KHOU made money. I have not been compensated. I do believe it is illegal to use a persons photo while making profit without compensation, but who knows, maybe the media is granted special privilege.

The question that was not asked on camera to the student being interviewed was this,” Do you speak French? Let me hear you carry a conversation in French that your teacher of record taught you. Do the majority of your French 2 classmates speak fluent French that you learned from your teacher of record? Did your associate teacher improve the bland classroom and try to decorate it a little? Does he give daily assignments? Do you all make your best effort in class to do your work?” The news media focus on the associate teacher was wrong. The focus should have been on the teacher of record, and why the teacher of record was put out of the classroom.

Another question that should have been asked by the reporter to the teacher of record, “What did you do to be removed from the classroom? They just do not arbitrarily remove teachers.” From my entrance day I can tell you unequivocally that the teacher of record stating on camera,”That the kids are not learning.” did not teach them well either. It was clear to me that many could not speak the French language after two years in his class. The reporter should have also asked, “Mr. Cius. Why do you take the taxpayers money for doing nothing at all? Because you just want a paycheck?”

Never have I been removed from a classroom in 13 years. I don’t expect to be either, because I do my job, and I do it well. My children attend HISD schools and are quite successful thus far. I am a graduate of HISD schools. HISD can be as good or bad as your want it and just like any other business they have great employees and bad employees. It is up to the individual to make that choice. There are people who have and people who do not have for a reason. Some chose to work and others do not.

The media needs to do a better job of ethical and honest reporting. Here are a few stories where the media got it right. This teacher I had personal dealings with. Interestingly, she did not like me assisting with class when I had knowledge to share.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/hisd-teacher-reassigned-after-high-speed-chase

I replace people like this because suddenly a class is without a teacher do to their poor choices.

http://abc13.com/news/hisd-teacher-charged-with-intoxication-manslaughter/1309078/

Or this

http://www.khou.com/news/crime/hisd-middle-school-teacher-charged-with-indecent-exposure/149942137

I could go on and on about the need for associate teacher coverage and moral upstanding qualified teachers. It is a tough job for very low pay that many would not rather do, but I love it. I also know most of my students love and appreciate what I do for them. That is the best!

Until then remember there are always two sides to every story. If it came from Moyer, you know it is facts. I do not deal with twists or spins on stories using fiction.

And the fact is I am awesome at what I do.

Fact or fiction? The answer always lies in research.

If you know anymore facts regarding this issue perhaps students who talk to the misplaced teacher of record privately, or why this teacher of record may have been removed, please comment. If you know or can relate to this story, share what you know about schools around America.

Thank you for reading.

Everyday all over America children are wasting free food that is provided by tax payers. The food manufacturers are in bed with the school systems and government. They sell units and receive credits for each unit. In other words, money. In one school alone, anywhere between 10 to 20 gallons a milk go to waste daily, and close to 50 or more pounds of food. When you add up how many schools are giving away breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this adds up to a ton of money for food manufacturers, and a lot of wasted tax dollars. Worse yet, this food could feed the truly hungry.

I took this photo before this food was thrown away. Several of these plates went into the trash. Perfectly good food. If you are homeless or hungry, a school dumpster is a great place for food. I wish American’s would get pissed off like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Ralph Nader, and rally against the crime of a broken system. It is ridiculous!!

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Recently, I went to a presentation by Dr. Hugh Ross, astrophysicist. Dr. Ross presented scientific data that points to the existence of God. He explained that he came to God based on this verse 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test everything, but hold onto what is good. He explained that this is the scientific method. It is written in the Bible. I could not agree more, because science is the testing of a hypothesis. Science and God should never be enemies in my opinion.

One of the leading Atheists, Lawrence Krauss stated there must be a God. We know that during the Cambrian period we had a sudden rise in land masses and oxygen levels rose to sustainable levels for life. This coincides with Genesis and what God explained to us happened in the seven days of earth’s development. The book of Job also covers Earth’s development in chapters 37,38, and 39. Interestingly enough, we now know that scientifically Darwin did not get it right. Richard Dawkins even agrees that most vertebrates were found during the Cambrian period. All of this is based on the most recent science. God is allowing us to discover that he is real and that he created the universe.

The Bible is 4 for 4 and 10 for 10 on predicting accurate events regarding Earth. The Bible has over 200 scientifically accurate positions regarding the Earth. The probability of this happening without divine inspiration would be 10 to the 300th power. The Bible is the only historically accurate book regarding Earth’s development and it was written pre-science. The science of Christianity stands up with evidence against the most hostile community.

For alot more information regarding this check out the many resources at www.reasons.org

In almost all public schools across America we are suffering from grade inflation or changing grades. Often, teachers find out after the fact that administrators have passed their failing students on, or the teachers are ordered to inflate grades to maintain employment. It is dirty secret. A large portion of American students are learning absolutely nothing, except the latest new game on their cell phone.

Schools are also stating that more students than ever are prepared for college. If we are passing them all on, how are they more prepared? 57% of college freshmen not prepared for college because they have been passed along. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/sat-scores-continue-decline–57-percent-of-incoming-freshmen-not-ready-for-college-001618038.html

We enroll a huge amount of students to college so that colleges collect the first year freshmen tuition from the impoverished students scholarships only to fail them out. It keeps money rolling, professors working, and a colleges in business. It makes high schools look great, because they claim,”We are sending students to college more than ever.”

Students are allowed to tell teachers things like,”Fuck you bitch! I don’t have to do shit.”, and often these students are warehoused, disrupting, making the teachers day miserable, and other students miserable, only so the school can collect federal dollars to keep a school open. These same students are often given scholarships. I know you are asking yourself,”How?” I ask myself the same question.

America’s education system is in deep trouble because it is plagued by corrupt people who are lying. This should be on the front of every newspaper in American along with the evening news. Many of the leaders are over-paid so they will stay quiet about the truth.

Here are a few examples, but if you research on your own, you will see there are thousands of examples. It’s like a modern standard.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/07/24/grades-changed-to-pass-failing-students-at-baltimore-city-middle-school/

http://gothamschools.org/2009/10/28/bronx-high-school-changed-grades-to-graduate-more-students/

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/01/20/grades-were-changed-too.html

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/04/14/remaking-the-grade.html

http://www.news-press.com/article/20131015/NEWS0104/310150033/Lee-school-grades-changed-after-issue-exams?nclick_check=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/economy/stubborn-skills-gap-in-americas-work-force.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Findex.jsonp

Being a teacher, I am consistently worried about the quality of future workers. It is quite amusing to me that we have a society that does everything to encourage failure. We no longer hold students accountable for their actions, or their work. Students have learned that they can “CHILL” in class and still be passed. Hundreds of thousands of students across America are allowed to disrupt classroom instruction, turn in no work, and they can still earn a passing grade. It is an epidemic!

It is not the teachers fault either. Teachers are told what to do on most occasions, rule followers with less thinking outside of the box, and are often asked to pass students along.  If they fail them, they are threatened with repercussions, or loss of employment.  Administrators enjoy six figure salaries while knowingly lying about the very quality of their schools. All of this decline is implemented by our government through policy. Does it make sense? I do not think so. It is alarming! Our financial system is also built on fuzzy math, debt, and much dishonesty.

The sad part of it all is that we keep telling ourselves we are #1. The best in the world. The best in the world cannot operate on dishonesty without it catching up. The alarm bells are ringing all around, but I am afraid nobody is listening. The attitude of the average American is,”If it’s not affecting me, then I am not worried about it.” Unfortunately, fire spreads, and eventually those who do not care will get burned too.  We are so worried with other countries and terrorism, but the reality is we are our own worst enemy, because we our not taking care of our own backyard.

 

A lot of times I am asked about my life and how I accomplish things. “Help! I hear.” Sometimes, I am the one asking for,”Help!”

So today, I decided to do a post about the things that benefit me, and I know can benefit others. These ten things can change your life.

Help! It’s right here.

1. Banks- Banks have a main goal that is to make money and earn interest off their assets. Their goal is really not the customer even though they must pretend that they love      you to death. Banks have high priority for those who are ultra-wealthy and low priority for most of society. They often see the lower-income earners as burdens even though they are glad to have what little money you own to help their bottom line, which is to make money. So with that said, don’t pay the banks! Pay yourself! How do you pay yourself? Invest in stocks, mutual funds, and bonds that pay you interest(money). Avoid credit cards and borrowing! If you don’t have the money, then don’t buy it! Do not give the banks extra money, so that you can have a depreciating (losing money) asset. Think assets (what pads or lines your pocket), not liabilities (things that take away from your money).

2. Insurers- Insurers protect you from liability(responsibility to pay for loss) and protect the things your own(assets). Many times, we do not have the necessary cash flow to pay for huge losses. With that said, buy insurance on everything of value, that you cannot replace with the cash you have on hand. I believe in insuring everything possible.Insurance can be expensive, but the price is small when you have a disaster.

3. Retail purchases and autos- Purchasing anything new is like throwing money away in the trash. Why? Almost anything new loses extreme cash value. Purchase clothes, shoes, goods, and autos used so that someone else can lose the cash value and take the big depreciation hit for you. In return, you are benefiting your assets and helping the environment by recycling. The money saved can be invested so that you are paying yourself.

4. Groceries- Purchase fruits and vegetables that are in season so that you get the best value. Buy dry goods and other items in bulk if you have storage capacity to save money. Buy organic foods when possible to avoid chemically laden food products. Natural foods will save your retirement money for you and not prescription drugs to maintain your health. Avoid most cleaning products because they often do not work as stated and they are hazardous. One can clean and disinfect almost everything with bleach, lemon juice, vinegar, and soap.

5. Entertainment-  Always look for early season bargains on passes to museums, zoos, water parks, amusement parks, etc. The passes allow you to go to a place as much as you want without paying for a ticket every visit. The passes usually pay for themselves within one or two visits. For movies, hit the matinees and save up to 25% per ticket. If you want to take it further, pack your own food. This is always healthier and a huge savings.

6. Health- Avoid all drugs (prescription and illegal) as much as possible. The body hates drugs especially your stomach, liver, and kidneys. Avoid alcohol as much as possible and limit to no more than one drink a day maximum. Eat as many plant-based foods as you want, love and use fresh garlic, and limit consumption of animal products. Diets high in vegetables, grains, and fruits help you to have the power to enjoy life in your senior years and save your retirement money for trips and not prescription pills. At my age, I am watching friends far apart and break down, because they never took the lifestyle choice of being healthy serious. Protect your skin from the sun with sunscreen and clothing for that beautiful youthful look. Drink plenty of water and limit sugary drinks. I would say to avoid all man-made food additives as much as possible especially monosodium glutamate (makes you gain weight)  and high fructose corn syrup (diabetes link).

7. Donate- Donate what you do not need to charity organizations or others. Donate time to help make a difference in the environment or someones life. Donating time, money, and goods are great for the soul and health of the body. Another added benefit is the government recognizes the importance of donating and often many things can be used as a tax write off.

8. Religion- Prescribe to a faith and stick to its teachings as much as possible. I say as much as possible, because it is unreal to expect perfection. Of course, I am bias to Jesus Christ and Christianity, because Jesus washes me clean even though I am a sinner. Many religions base salvation on good works, but you can never have enough good works. It is impossible! We can never be perfect and Jesus knows this. A benefit of religion is added years to your life which is backed by research. It also gives one and improved state of mind and greater outlook on life.

9. Human relations- Listen and watch a person to know their heart and state of mind. Know who they hang around. Unfortunately, not everyone is nice or good. If something is great and another tells you it is bad, then you must realize that person is bad. If committing a certain act is bad and another tries to convince you it is o.k. that person is bad. Great people work to bring you up, help you, and show you good things. Bad people are the opposite because they tear you down, do not help you or your life, and they will show you in the worst way how not to be successful. A rattlesnake has a pattern and rattle for a reason. To warn you of it’s danger! Humans also have patterns and characteristics.

10. Education- I cannot state it enough! Read, study, and learn all that you can about as many topics as you can. Be a renaissance man/woman!

With several years experience in education, I get asked quite often,”How do I choose a school for my child?” There are several factors involved, but I will go through a few things to be aware of and look out for.

The number one thing a parent should look out for is the willingness of a principal or tour guide to answer their questions, and allow them access to all parts of a school. There are times when tours are allowed, that principals advise their staff to keep certain areas of campus off-limits to visitors, even though it is public and you have every right as a parent to see every part of the campus. The reason for this is the school could have 25% high achievers, and 75% low achievers. What the tour guides want parents to see are the 25% high achievers, even though they may know it could affect your child in a negative way if they are mixed with low achievers. You might ask,”Why would they do such a thing?” The answer lies in Federal dollars. The more students in a school, the more money a school receives.  When principals think about keeping doors open ethics are often compromised, because in reality they know with a huge population of low performing students, the high performing students will avoid the campus. Principals will even keep their worst performing teachers, and fire their better teachers, because often, the better teachers complain about these types of administrators. Things get really hairy on mismanaged school campuses.

The number two thing a parent should look for is the school profile sheet. This information is public record. A parent should look it over carefully. Three things that often affect academics in a school are constant discipline problems, poor attendance, and poverty.  You can look at expulsions, in-school suspensions, and attendance information online. If you want your child to succeed, it is advised that you look for the schools with high attendance, low-free and reduced lunch, and little to no expulsions or suspensions, unless of course the school completely isolates it’s high achieving population. This is like a school within a school and the campuses are divided basically between achievers and non-achievers.

The number three thing a parent should do is online research. There are plenty of sites that give school ratings and reviews. They are often very truthful ratings no matter what a principal may say about them.

The number four thing a parent should do is talk to students and parents. If a parent talks about how good a school is please find out how often they go on campus or are actually involved.  A lot of times, you could get bad advice, if they are just throwing an opinion out there with no hands on experience at the campus. Ask the students,”Do you feel your principal and teacher care about you?” The kids will often tell the truth, especially the high-achievers.

In review, if the campus is totally open, the attendance is high, discipline problems low, most students are paying for lunch, online reviews are great, and you hear great word on the streets, you are more than likely picking a fantastic school for your child. Keep in mind that fantastic schools are fantastic because of parental involvement. So be ready to work as hard as your child.

 

Teaching in America today is quiet interesting. We have the education businessmen who push products to improve profit. We have the huge testing environment to check on progress. We have people in the system who tell fairytales about success.

If you ask any child including your own, about their perception of school change most will tell you that from elementary to high school they have noticed a decline in schools. Interestingly many parents blame the school system, which is partly to blame, but who has the child over 16 hours per day? The parent.

From my perspective as a teacher the person who has the most influence on a child is the parent. This is why as a parent, I spend a great deal of time teaching my own kids. Who has more interest in the product of your child’s success than you the parent? Nobody!

So if schools are to improve in America, we are going to need parents to step up to the plate and bring about change. Statistically, the best schools, have the most involved parents and the most educated parents.

The change resides in you!

Education is a very important thing. It can help you overcome a variety of obstacles in life. People always ask me,”How do you learn?” I learn by seeking information. Here are a few of my favorite internet sites. Enjoy!

How to fix a variety of things- http://www.ehow.com/, http://www.about.com/, http://www.diynetwork.com/, http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page

Art- http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Draw-8/

Guitar and Bass – www.songsterr.com

Drums – http://www.vicfirth.com/education/

Cooking- http://www.foodnetwork.com/chefs/100-greatest-cooking-tips-of-all-time/index.html

http://www.epicurious.com

Technology- http://www.popsci.com/technology, http://www.cnet.com/

Fishing- http://www.takemefishing.org/

http://www.tides4fishing.com

Paddling- http://www.paddling.net/

Surf Information- http://www.swellinfo.com/

State and National Parks: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/, http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/, http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/, http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

Weather: http://www.weather.gov/, http://www.weather.com

World Culture and Animals- http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Medical Information- http://www.webmd.com/

Drought information: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/