Posts by Kate Cox2

James Perez54 said:They have nobody to blame for their loss of status but themselves.

But I’m curious—could you elaborate on what you mean by that, exactly?

Kimberly Robinson2 said:We didn't get any parental notice about this!
There was this little scrap of paper—I don't have a photo because he already turned it back into the school—where you're supposed to sign off to give permission for the kid to go here and there for a certain amount of money. It didn't mention anything about going to McDonald's, but everything else was laid out right there.

Furthermore, I really don't think a mother should take a child's account of what happened at McDonald's at face value. I see plenty of you writing about how the child didn't ask to borrow money, but... are you actually sure about that???

I'll find out more on Monday. Once I hear the teachers' version of events, too. For now, I know my kid doesn't "beg"—he doesn't even really grasp the concept. He’s just the type who accepts things if someone offers them (like when he's over at a friend's house). Actually, I just found out that the first time he was at a buddy's place, he ate a fried egg... he wouldn't touch an egg like that at home to save his life! But there, he loved it...😍 Though that's nothing compared to this situation. Even at our place, if friends come over and we have food, I offer it to them.

.......... and he just sits there giving those sad looks to the others eating their hamburgers, wishing someone had helped him feel equal to everyone else so he wouldn't feel less than them......

And how exactly am I supposed to help that kid so he doesn't have to stare sadly at happy families? He sees them everywhere—moms and dads taking their kids to the store to pick out treats and gifts, getting them something nice for Christmas, while he won't! Because he doesn't have a family. It's not his fault, and it's not anyone else's fault—it's mine. I'm the one who didn't want my kid to deal with constant fighting and crying... the one who ended up divorcing his father because he didn't care about the kids, only about his own mother and doing whatever she wanted... yeah, the kid isn't to blame, but seeing this, seeing how he looks at all the other children who get everything they want, it's heartbreaking. Though, personally, I didn't actually see him looking sad.

The only thing is, for Saint Nicholas, he asked for ONLY candy and firecrackers! Nothing else. He got a little gift bag for Saint Nicholas ($3.25 there was a Saint Nicholas themed bag at Walmart with a few chocolate balls for the tree)... and he was absolutely thrilled, though I didn't buy the firecrackers. He got a few tears in his eyes since he couldn't find them, but I just told him I bought them and it just wasn't time for them yet. And that kept the peace.

Well, I suppose there isn't much she can do while he's sitting there daydreaming about perfect families when his own is falling apart...
Still, she could have helped by taking him to McDonald's. And she did try... perhaps a bit clumsily, if I'm being honest, but I truly believe her intentions were pure... really they were.

I'm genuinely curious if that teacher follows this forum...🤣 it would be quite something if she actually showed up!!😁

Kimberly Robinson2 said:It’s honestly pathetic—not for them, obviously—that they get paid for a full 45-minute class period when they’re really only teaching for maybe 20 or 25 minutes. And don't even get me started on the prep work; by the time they actually settle those little monsters down in the classroom, what’s left of the lesson? 🤷

Look, if they want to celebrate, fine by me—they have their breaks—but they should actually do their jobs properly and save the festivities for after school is out...

Even factory workers eat and celebrate during their 20 or 30-minute lunch breaks, but once that whistle blows, they better be back at their stations!

I can already hear someone typing out some lecture about "educational differences," or asking why a blue-collar worker didn't just go to college to become a teacher instead. To that, I'll say this ahead of time: just shut up and do your job. Stop whining about how low the salaries are when you aren't pulling $667 shifts like a laborer working six days a week for
!
I know it isn't easy for them, but let's be real—it isn't easy for anyone else either.

Look, I really don't want to believe this is just a typical daily occurrence... but if it is, then that school is in complete and utter shambles. I suspect situations like that are pretty rare...
In our faculty lounge here, people actually start heading toward their classrooms a minute or two BEFORE the bell rings. That way, by the time everyone reaches the room, they can all walk in and settle down immediately, allowing us to actually begin working right away...
At this rate, I think we probably deserve a higher salary than those professors of yours 😁

Kimberly Robinson2 said:After spending three years in my kid's school, I saw the reality of it firsthand:
- when the bell rings to start class, most teachers don't even bother showing up until five minutes later—and the last ones to finally drag themselves in show up after a solid 19 minutes. (I was waiting there to get some info, and honestly, I never even saw her)
- after waiting around for 25 minutes, I realized my teacher hadn't even bothered to head to the faculty lounge to type things up. No, she was just sitting there... with a WHOLE TABLE covered in sodas, pastries, snacks... basically living in paradise. It’s no wonder they find it so hard to get moving after a mere five-minute break!!!!!!

If I were running the district, they wouldn't know what hit them...🤣

🤦🤦🤦 (check out more of her posts) and also look at how she responded to this!

Oh, absolutely. That kind of thing happens in the staff lounge on a daily basis... 🤦
you probably just happened to stumble upon one of those rare times, maybe four or five times a year, when someone is celebrating something and decides to treat the whole department...

Jason Ortiz5 said:Exactly. 👍

I know not every teacher is the same, obviously. But I still remember my old teacher bragging to anyone who would listen about how much she "traveled" with her students on the school's dime. She’d act like she saw the whole world, conveniently forgetting that the parents were the ones footing the bill for every single mile. ☕Basically, the parents paid for her career highlights.

Well, of course she traveled; she had to lead the students on field trips! But let's be clear: teachers aren't getting paid extra through the kids. It’s actually built into the way American travel agencies structure their packages—they bake the cost of the guide and the teacher's supervision into the total price of the trip itself.

The reality is that kids can't just wander off on a school trip by themselves. And honestly, believe me when I say that many teachers would much rather skip the travel entirely than deal with the grueling reality of being responsible for 20 or 30 children in a different city or state from dawn until dusk.

I am in complete and total agreement with what Death of Art is saying here..
I suspect the teacher likely isn't even expecting to get those funds reimbursed at this point..

Regarding school field trips or other extracurricular fees—it’s entirely elective. If there's a fee attached, it’s by definition optional..

Furthermore, every single parent possesses the right to decline any arrangement or "deal" being presented to them within the school system..
Just as Kate Cox2 pointed out, you aren't obligated to accept anything that doesn't sit right with you..

Teachers simply propose these things because they believe it's a wonderful opportunity for the students. So, at the end of the day, those who wish to participate can, and those who don't, certainly shouldn't feel pressured to do so.

Joshua Jones13 said:They’re chatting in the designated chat thread, while staying strictly on-topic everywhere else. I guess that shows they actually respect the rules by not starting unnecessary threads just to talk.

It’s actually the same situation we all had on RiD; everyone stayed on-topic in the main threads while moving the casual chatter over to the chat rooms...

What I was really trying to get at is that on almost every single PDF, you find a handful of people who just want to chat, and those folks could easily be grouped together into one single , but for some inexplicable reason—it only ever seems to happen on RiD.

Honestly, I am just over it. Like I already mentioned, the whole atmosphere on RiD has become so unpleasant that I have no intention of posting there ever again..
Ali it simply isn't fair behavior..

James Lee3 said:Wonder about what, exactly?

Look, honestly, that sentence of yours is insulting—just totally garbage—and I have no clue why anyone would even make a statement like that...🤷
You guys don't seem to get that this is part of the problem. It’s not just about when things start with an eraser (regardless of how much you claim otherwise), it’s that everything always ends up being moderator condescension and subtle insults designed to belittle the person you're talking to.
And I also don't understand why every single purge on RID over the last year or two gets justified by claiming "that's just how the whole forum works," when nobody here is stupid enough to not check other PDFs and see that isn't even remotely true.

Changes were necessary, sure, you need some order, but no matter how "quality" these new moderators are supposed to be, when they actually go about closing or merging threads, it’s obvious they haven't spent any real time hanging out on RID.
If you really think none of the current forum regulars are up to the task, it wouldn't hurt if future moderators actually spent at least a month being active participants first, just to get a decent idea of what actually happens there besides constant arguing and mindless chatting...

The truth!!! 🙂

And it doesn't even matter that the mods have never once posted on the RiD PDF (except for rustydrifter10, who followed the rules just as strictly as the rest of us 😉)—their decisions make it painfully obvious they aren't actually familiar with the situation on RiD, considering they’ve shut down a mountain of high-quality, genuinely necessary topics while leaving a heap of nonsense active...

Furthermore, as James Lee3 pointed out, there were plenty of high-quality female users right there on the RiD sub-forum who could have been appointed as moderators... instead of bringing in a crew that just hangs out in some random chat room on the ŽK 🙄

hollowtrucker77 said:The forum rules and basic netiquette guidelines aren't going anywhere; they’re permanent fixtures here.
I highly doubt anyone is actually going to bother apologizing since the mods are the ones enforcing them anyway.
Let’s be real, this sub-forum has been looking pretty neglected lately, but honestly, maybe the users should take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves why they can't manage to maintain even a shred of basic order.
And this is coming from the very people who love to parade around using titles like "mother" or "parent" as if those labels somehow grant them instant moral authority.
It really makes you wonder about the state of things...

Excuse me? 🤔

What on earth are you talking about???

And honestly, if we’re talking about all this chatting—half the threads feel more like a live chat room than anything else. Just take a look at the men's and women's sections...

If you find five actually intelligent, constructive topics in there, you're lucky. Everything else is just endless chatting, spinning the same few ideas over and over again in different ways...

If that's the case, why don't we just go ahead and shut down half these threads with a heavy hand? Why let them stay open?

hollowtrucker77 said:Look, it’s because you all decided to start chatting at once, and honestly, not every single thread needs to serve as a dumping ground for whatever random thought happens to pop into your head at any given moment.
If you actually want to voice an opinion, just be a grown-up and move over to the appropriate topic or sub-forum, and we won't have any issues whatsoever.

To be perfectly specific, I haven't even been online for the last two or three weeks while everything was unfolding. Then, when I finally shared my perspective on a thread that seems to be getting under your skin, I got banned—simply because I was frustrated by the recent changes. In my view, that is entirely relevant to the discussion, since those changes have been bothering me ever since I became a parent. Before I had kids, I didn't even bother looking at that PDF.

It doesn't matter; the PDF is incredibly dull now. Some truly vital and useful threads have been shut down, yet these murky, useless ones are still hanging around... there's no spontaneity left, and everyone is walking on eggshells, weighing every single word for fear of getting a strike or a ban...
Honestly, this isn't how a forum should work. This isn't a job where I need to meticulously monitor every syllable I utter. This is supposed to be entertainment—a way to unwind the brain—but that PDF just isn't providing that anymore...

I don't mind a cleanup or even some new mods (I've seen some info on other PDFs)

but what really bothers me is how they actually went around being rude and downright obnoxious. On top of that, any single comment expressing dissatisfaction with the changes or the general vibe on the PDF was treated as if you were questioning moderator decisions—and that’s enough to get you banned..

I mean, WTFFFF? It makes it feel like you have to weigh every single word just so you don't accidentally mention a moderator's call and end up getting banned. And secondly—what are these mods, some kind of gods who can't be criticized? Give me a break..🙄

Anyway, do whatever you want; I've lost my appetite for that PDF and I won't be posting there anymore...😢
Honestly, I just don't feel like risking it, where every opinion I have turns into an interrogation of the "sacred" moderator decisions.👎

fadedtrucker8 said:It is illegal, I suppose...

But what choice do you really have if your work hours are 8:30 to 4:30 and after-school care is only offered for first graders? If you aren't in a financial position to hire private childcare for a seven-year-old because the local school district isn't able to provide extended care for second graders, you're stuck.😕

Look, I truly do empathize with the impossible dilemmas parents face when they have nowhere to send their kids after the bell rings... I was simply making a point.
Ideally, everyone would have a dedicated sitter for those afternoon hours, but let's be real—not every family has that kind of disposable income.

Megan Gray78 said:I just have one question:

Why on earth is everyone so terrified of letting a seven-year-old stay home alone for a bit? 🤷

Isn't this actually illegal? Leaving such a young child by themselves? 🤔

Or is this strictly a thing in Vicksburg and a few other parts of Europe?

Anthony White8 said:Unfortunately, I know a few parents who had a rougher time, mostly because
the classes are way too crowded, the kids are struggling to keep up with the curriculum (which really depends on the teacher, obviously), and they're stuck in the same room all day watching way too much TV (which definitely makes you question the supervisor's credentials).

Regarding the class sizes—look, the Department of Education sets the maximum and minimum student counts, and there isn't a single teacher in the world who can change those mandates. I truly don't understand why parents expect local schools to stage some sort of revolution when the federal government won't even authorize it.

As for using the same room—well, it’s a classroom. They try their best to make sure it's large enough to fit a play rug or something similar, but let's be realistic: you can't demand multiple classrooms per grade or massive 500-square-foot suites when our American public schools simply DON'T HAVE them. We are already struggling just to cram every grade level in and somehow manage a single shift (if we're lucky!) because of the sheer lack of space. Expecting more is just unrealistic.

Now, about the TV watching. Every teacher in the school district is required to submit a formal lesson plan that clearly outlines exactly what they are doing with the children and when.
If they are lying and claiming they took the kids out to the playground when they were actually just sitting there watching television, then that is a completely different issue entirely, and it absolutely needs to be investigated and reported to the principal.

For almost any other issue, unfortunately, the school usually has its hands tied.

I’m still struggling to wrap my head around this specific point regarding the qualifications required for after-school program directors. 😕
Does there really need to be someone even MORE specialized than the elementary school teachers who are already managing the first through fourth grades?

Regarding the actual daily schedule—it isn’t quite accurate to say they just sit there staring at a TV all day. Their itinerary is actually quite structured: they have blocks for studying, followed by physical activities (which might be held in the gym if the weather is poor, or perhaps a walk outside, some playtime, or even a short field trip), then back to more study sessions, lunch, downtime, more learning, and then various activities...

At least, that is how it works in the instances I am personally familiar with. 🤷

I am aware that in certain classrooms, they might have a PlayStation or similar gaming consoles available, but those are really only brought out if the weather turns sour and the kids are stuck indoors.

Linda Ward312 said:She claims she loves me to death (even though we've only met a handful of times) 🙄.
I totally get where she's coming from—she's older and just looking for something to do... but damn, she had kids too, even if it was ages ago. I honestly can't tell how long she plans on sticking around 😱
I actually told my mom I'd pretend to be so sick I can barely talk, just hoping maybe that would get her to head out sooner 😁

Wait, you aren't actually letting her sleep over, are you?? 😲😲

Can't you just suggest she crash at your mom's place or with some other relatives instead?

Jesse Evans85 said:I heard some "well-meaning" advice today that honestly left me speechless: "Don't wash your hands after giving birth!" My immediate reaction was 😕, because if you're forty-five days postpartum, you're basically walking on eggshells trying to recover, so you have to be careful. I wouldn't even let my daughter wash her hair for forty-five days! Me: 😲 wtf???

I have heard all sorts of nonsense in my time, but I truly believe this might be one of the absolute wildest 😕
honestly—it is just unbelievable how much pure idiocy people spout as if it were gospel 🙂

I’ve recently noticed that my left foot occasionally turns completely blue... it’s never happened before, and I’ve been spotting this over the last month or two.
I gave birth about four months ago, and ever since the delivery, I’ve felt this numbness stretching almost the entire length of my left leg. Honestly, I didn't think much of it at first—I just chalked it up to the physical toll of childbirth and expected it to eventually fade away...
That sensation has actually diminished somewhat, but then I noticed these blue nails... and the strange thing is, it only happens while I'm sitting down.🤷

Should I be worried? I am aware that cyanosis—blue-tinted nails—is typically an indicator of poor heart or lung function, but in my case, it isn't constant; it only occurs sporadically while seated, and strictly on my left foot.

Oh, absolutely... I also deal with those pesky little leaks after using the restroom 🙄 but I’ve been diligently practicing my Kegels, so I’m really hoping things turn around soon. 🙂

Honestly, I just feel completely mortified.