Here's a story that every HR person should keep in mind when they're hiring. One of the Domino's employees who made the nasty video that got so much attention earlier this year has just been kicked out of her community college because she's a registered sex offender. The manager who hired this woman might want to look into changing his/her hiring practices.
A friend of ours teaches special needs children in a high poverty school here in Winston-Salem. She's signed up on DonorsChoose.org to raise a couple of hundred dollars for some equipment she needs for her class. Here's the description:
"I teach middle school students with moderate intellectual cognitive disabilities, mild physical disabilities and/or mild to moderate autistic tendencies. My 30 students are unable to read grade leveled materials but LOVE to read. My program's number one goal is to get my students to become readers and writers and most importantly to LOVE SCHOOL!We graduated to middle school but all of our technology was left behind!!! I moved up to the middle school with my students, however, with budget cuts there is no money for my "new classroom". During their elementary years, my students had daily access to specialized computer programs, adaptive hardware and the opportunity to learn computer applications in a small group setting. This year, we have are not so lucky. My goal is to have my students write, edit and publish self created books weekly. Due to the numerous physical and cognitive limitations of my students, they need to write books at a pre-K level and read books presented in a variety of formats, ranging from paper to computer. I am in need of materials to save and print student created PowerPoint books. Some of my students are capable of paper copies, however, others will need to read their books on their home computers and will need a way of "bringing home" their published work. Once home, my students will be able to share their love of books with their families.
I am in need of paper, computer ink, book binding combs and several thumb drives. With these materials, my students will be able to participate in a weekly literacy lesson which will produce a book that is not only accessible, but interesting and appropriate for all of my students with moderate cognitive delays.
MY STUDENTS NEED YOU!! With your support, you will give my students access to the world of literature.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the downtown Winston-Salem baseball stadium might be cursed? Much as the Red Sox suffered through generations of the Babe's Curse I fear that Winston-Salem may have to suffer through years of the Bane of Billy. I say this because it seems like even good news related to the stadium comes with issues and according to the mayor there's lawyers to blame:
Winston-Salem's mayor blames paperwork for holding up the downtown stadium loan.
Mayor Allen Joines tells WFMY News 2 that there are 22 laywers working on more than 100 documents to secure the loan.
He says the problem is trying to get them all to agree on the language.
At this rate we might have baseball downtown by opening day 2015.
A GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman said that there is no evidence that Alli causes liver damage."
If you measure intelligence by standardized test scores then our kids are stupidifying. Sadly the SAT remains the most prominent barometer of our children's education, which to me is much like describing the weather by merely looking at the temperature.
On any given day I could tell you that I've observed the decline of civilization first hand (show me a parent of a teenager who denies this and I'll show you someone even dumber than their kids), but somehow I think my parents would have said the same 25 years ago and their parents would have said even worse 50 years ago. If our kids are so dumb then how the hell did they figure out how to text 4,000,000 words a minute using a phone keypad while their parents struggled to tap out a random OMG in 30 minutes using a QWERTY keypad on a Blackberry?
Befuddled 