Fishing and Morality

Pop quiz: You are in a boat with Mr. Reynolds on a lake with whitecaps. Mr. Reynolds can not swim. Caught off guard by a large wave, Mr. Reynolds gets swept into the lake. He has no life jacket and in a matter of minutes, without your help, he's toast. Do you A: restring your fishing line in case you hook into a monster walleye or B. check the ice in the cooler?

Last night I saw a great show about a 911 conspiracy. There were great arguments to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government planned the whole thing. All the evidence presented by one side made it crystal clear. As long as there was nobody there to discredit the findings, everyone is happy - right?

This morning I listened to a few people I work with who, unless challenged, can come up with some pretty interesting and profound statements. Kind of like the 911 conspiracy experts, they can justify about any opinion unless challenged by rational thought. Someone else has already probably coined this and own the copyright on it, but my title for these people are "Five Minute Experts".

A five minute expert is a person who really wants to sound smart so they listen to what alot of other really smart people tell them. They soak up really cool sounding facts, figures, catch phrases, buzzwords, in order to prepare. They prepare for the perfect moment when they have a really important group of people at hand ready soak up the really cool and profound knowledge that has been neatly prepared. The most important part of the preparation, however, is the exit plan. A five minute expert is not usually any good at backing up the really cool and profound information they share, so as a way to deal with any skeptics, they find cool and sometimes comical ways to deflect the counterpoints made by anyone who doesn't buy in.

One great way to do this is by using absolutes. Here is an example:

Guy One: "Students need to learn their lesson when it comes to behavior on my class so I kick anyone out who misbehaves."

Guy Two: "Wow. How do you handle that kid who is having a really bad day at home and happened to be in your class when they broke down?"

Guy One: (with some eye shifting and collar tugging) "Are you trying to tell me that every kid who acts like a jerk in my class just happened to walk into my class the very instant that they lost control over a bad family life. Really. Every kid. That doesn't make sense."

Guy One: "No. I am just saying that some kids have issues that might explain their behavior."

Guy Two: "Why do you hate expectations. I believe in America. What's wrong with liking America?"

Guy One: (thought but not spoken) "This guy has never developed a critical thought that didn't involve a professional sports team or an episode of American Idol."

I am not saying that I am the enlightened one. I agree that I have some pretty concrete opinions about life, school, politics, or what not that I won't waver from. A rational person has to concur, however, that to build an opinion, one must understand in one's own mind why such an opinion is made. There is no such thing as a black and white topic so some independent thought is important to decide which side of what arguments you want to be on. If you can't take a position, chew it up, spit it out, and make sense of it - you might be a "Five Minute Expert".

PS- I also hate cats. Challenge me on it and you'll see that at least on this one, I'm an "All Day Long Expert"!

Can you hear the sky is falling? If you listen close enough, you will.

I heard it yesterday as we were told of the latest and greatest new brainfart handed down by the education gods. Here's how it works:

1. A kid gets in trouble in school.

2. Administration hands down a punishment of suspension.

3. The kid goes home and hangs out for a couple of days to cool off and think about their actions.

4. The kid returns. (And is now able to go to their teachers to get all the missing work that they missed while away!)

Be it a test, quiz, project, whatever, the teacher now must allow two days for every day of the suspension for the points to be made up.

Lets play this out through an example or two, shall we?

Example A-

Billy gets into a fight with the local nerd and beats him to a bloody pulp. With no remorse, Billy is sent to the office and a punishment of three days from school is handed down. Upon Billy's return to school, teachers are now required to go back through their files to get Billy caught up. Just say that a major test was scheduled for the time when Billy was away. He now is allowed up to 6 extra days to work on his material to study for the test. Six days longer than those in the class who chose to follow the rules and not be suspended. I feel that there is NO punitive impact for his actions.

Example B -

Carl's dad dies. He is gone from school for three days to deal with family issues. Upon his return, he finds is work to be difficult as he can not focus on his classes. Even though he is suffering greatly, he comes to school with hopes that keeping busy will keep his mind off the stress of his life. He also is given six days to complete his work. Mentally gone but physically there. Seat time equals preparation time so ready or not, he must meet the same guidelines as Billy the Nerd Basher. Carl's crime - not keeping his dad here on Earth.

Both kids are to be treated in the same manner under our vail of equality. Even though I totally understand the the value of equality is an important part of our society's success, I think the value of justice should also be recognized. Maybe I am what people call "Old School", but I consider malicious acts to be grounds for punishment. I have this gut feeling that kids should understand that they are accountable for their actions. If they know that time off for bad behavior will result in loss of grade and they choose to do act inappropriately anyways, then light it up. Dish out the zeros and explain that the actions they chose led to reactions that were clearly explained ahead of time. It seems like a no-brainer .

Let's say Billy gets suspended 6 times in a quarter? Extra days every time. YEP! Luckily, Carl's dad can only die once!

Patton's quotes

Here is a sample of General George Patton Jr.'s quotes that I like. It makes you wonder how he would react to the political climate today?

“If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.”

“You can not be disciplined in great things and indiscipline in small things. Brave undisciplined men have no chance against the discipline and valour of other men.”

“Few men are killed by the bayonet, many are scared by it.”

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.”

“Courage is holding on a minute longer.”

“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won’t.”

“I am a soldier. I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.”

“One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is the loyalty to their subordinates.”

“A pint of blood will save a gallon of blood.”

“A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.”

“Perpetual peace is a futile dream.”

“If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”

“If I win, I can’t be stopped. If I lose I shall be dead.”

This one is the best of all:

"No bastard ever one a war for dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

Today is the first Friday of the second quarter. I thought that my first quarter classes were the tops. If this first week is any indication of the rest of our nine weeks together, I might have to add to that list. I am blown away how well this year is going. I don't know what to attribute it to but I am really enjoying the mix of students in each of my classes.

Although we still have our bumps, this is shaping up to be a great year at LHS!

It's tourist season, what's the bag limit?

I am a neurotic, paranoid mess. People think I've gone off the deep end because all of my conversations tend to gravitate to one common theme. I'm not sure, but maybe a call to 3rd floor is in order.

My current state should be caused by bad students, ignorant parents, a close minded administrators. This is not the case as I have had one of the best school years ever with all the parties mentioned above doing great and wonderful things. There is one thing that is tearing me to shreds today - hunters. Deer hunter members of the orange army, to be exact!

So, I was pumped last week, looking forward to a relaxing weekend in pursuit of that elusive buck that has taken residence in my dreams of the past 3 months or so. On Friday night - or what I like to call Deer Season Eve- we pulled into our hunting "camp", which is nothing more than our old farmstead up by Lake of the Woods. I had been getting word that farmers were seeing some nice bucks crossing our land so I was already filled with adrenaline when I saw three faint lights dancing within the wooded portion of my neighbor's hunting spot. Now, I admit to being very protective of my hunting land, but my neighbor is three levels more intense than am I. I know something was up. As advised by Jeff, the local C.O., I called in what I considered to be suspicious activity. To make a long story short, I was able to confront three Brainerd residents exiting the neighbor's land, carrying typical hunting gear, including deer stands. They gave me some song and dance about a lost and hurt hunter and ensured - no proclaimed - the that FOR SURE had full permission to be there by the landowner himself! A LOW county deputy showed up, took info, and that was it. After some follow up, it was clearly shown that their whole story was a crock. Guess what happened - yep, nothing.

Later in the weekend, as I was packing up after a morning hunt, I was approached by another out-of-towner and WELL KNOWN poacher. He inquired as to my exact leave time (he knew that I was a teacher and had to be in school on Monday) and if anyone was hunting with me. He wanted to know alot of what I thought was really odd details about deer movement on my land and who was hunting where. I tried to create an impromptu story to throw him off my trail, but it was poor and I think he saw through it. He explained that his son (a guy that my hunting buddy caught heading to one of our stands a couple of years ago) was coming up to hunt during the week - like I said, this guy knew I would be gone during this time - and that he planned to hunt some land to the east of us. I explained that most all of the land was privately owned but he didn't seem too worried. His sone was coming and that was that.

Well, I had to pack up and go back to work that evening, fully understanding that this former co-worker of mine was going to be reporting back to his son that they would have a green light to our hunting land and it would be free of hunters. I am convinced of that!

The icing on the cake came on Monday night in the form of a phone call. I was working on my dog's kennel, so I didn't take the first call. Rather than leaving a message with my wife, he insisted that he talked to me directly. When I called him back, he asked some non-sense question about goose hunting. I am sure that he was just double checking that I would was not up at our land and wouldn't be until the weekend. Am I an idiot or is that not as clear as it can get that these guys know how to play the system?

Lots of people have been telling me to report these happenings and to let law enforcement handle the situation. I've done the reporting but I understand that the local deputies and C.O.s are as busy as they can get during this time and to dedicate most of their time to one chunk of land is unrealistic. Besides, most poachers are wise. They know enough to plan a back up story and they study land boundaries to create quick exit strategies. It becomes such as cat and mouse game that it sucks all fun out of my hunting. I am at the point that I believe I should sell all my hunting stuff and take up scrapbooking! My alternative to this is make tourist season into a real season, with a daily bag limit of one and possession limit of two. That makes way more sense to me!

Hunting - Deer and other

Tomorrow is the beginning of the MN firearm deer season. Some call it the Orange Army. I don't really enjoy rifle hunting as much as bowhunting, but I still love this time of year. I get to see friends that I only see during this time. It is as much a culture thing as any other trait here in northern Minnesota. My wife allows me pretty much free reign because she grew up in this culture and understands that I refrain from other guy activities throughout the year. I have the best wife in the world! We are indeed entering the greatest two weeks of the year!!!

BTW - Yesterday I heard about an argument between two people that I know well. All I have to say is I think it is AWESOME when a person can stand up to others and call it like it is. Too many times, rude people take the attitude of "there's my way and there's the wrong way". Many, including myself, often feel that there is no point to get into what evolves into a petty argument with these people and, therefor, enable this arrogant air. I have to be careful not to get myself in a blog fightfest, but big time kudos to that person who laid it all out so to silence the army of arrogance. That was sooooo cool!