Mad science

[clevermanka]

Student suspended for tweeting that school sports teams were bad. The conflicting standards for what constitutes appropriate clothing for boys and girls is nauseating. I am so glad (for a number of reasons) that I'm not in high school anymore.

My three-day weekend was wonderful. A good combination of productivity and relaxation. mckitterick and I removed the following from the Chevelle: gas tank, front seat, back seat, door panels, carpet, and most of the carpet padding. We watched a movie. I met with Andrew and had a photo shoot for selling my bloomers on Etsy. I cleaned my old cast iron skillet with electrolysis and re-seasoned it. We ran an errand in KC. I slept as much as I wanted. All that in three days! Wonderful.

Not wonderful: I'm less than thrilled with my body progress. It's been a month since I increased my activity level to lifting three times a week. I admit I've slacked off a bit on the yoga. I'm only getting two or three home sessions in a week in addition to my two or three classes a week. But I'm up at least an inch around my waist. Last week I couldn't zip up a pair of jeans I was recently able to wear again. What the hell? Frustrating.

Today's Tumblr collection! Tuesday, May 14: Avengers.

Comments

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

nauseating doesn't quite cover that girl/boy discrepancy. grrrr. And, I fail to see how saying school's sports team is bad qualifies for suspension or cyberbullying.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I fail to see how saying school's sports team is bad qualifies for suspension or cyberbullying.

That's because it doesn't. I'm also 100% positive that the school's ridiculous over-reaction has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the kid in question is not white.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

He's suspending and banned from graduation, PLUS they took away his speech as class president? JEEEZUS.
So the model student gets punished for speaking his mind? What, are they training young politicians: "Toe the line and shut your mouth, or else"?
Twice my anger for the school dress code.

Puppies!
And my new crush is Jay Tavare *fans self*

Yay for the weekend awesome. Boo for body not behaving.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

He's suspending and banned from graduation, PLUS they took away his speech as class president? JEEEZUS.

Yeah, I'm trying to find a petition site or something. No luck yet. Not that I've had a lot of time to look. Catching up from taking yesterday off and all...

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Can't WAIT to get home and watch Cell Block Tango, A-style.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

It's REALLY GOOD.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Lifting is supposed to be THE most exercise bang for the buck.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm quite sure it is. Just...my body is weird and doesn't always respond the way most (normal) bodies do. I wonder if this is an adrenal thing or what.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Right here:

http://forcechange.com/64791/high-school-must-overturn-suspension-of-student-for-inoffensive-twitter-message/

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

While I agree a suspension is way out of line, as a parent who navigates the "anti-bullying" policies that schools put into place, I do *understand* how they arrived at their reaction. It all comes down to this bit:

“Wesley posted some very inappropriate tweets about the Heights athletic teams, aggressively disrespecting many athletes,” wrote Assistant Principal Monique Arndt. “After reading the tweets and taking statements from other students it was found that Wesley acted to incite the majority of our Heights athletes.”

If he deliberately talked trash about the players to piss them off, they gotta count that as bullying because he did it to them/publicly. It's one thing to talk to your friends about how your QB sucks, but it's another to shout "hey jones, you throw a pass like my grandma!" to the QB in the hall so that everyone else can go "boo to you jones!" and "yeah, you suck jones!". Is the latter bullying? In my world, no, because Jones should stop sucking at QB or suck it up if he does. but technically, yeah, it is - if you disrespect someone, on purpose in order to incite them, in a public environment so that others can join in the disrespecting ... that's what bullying is nowadays.

Would you think about it differently if he had tweeted something derogatory about a chick? If he had tweeted that the homecoming queen was as ugly as phylis diller or something? Or that she was as fat as X's mascot? Most people would. (not, mind you, that a suspension would be warranted in any case, but the *perception* of it would change.) And it's the same thing.

The difficulty kids today seem to have is navigating the fact that social media is public. And there are consequences to being an ass in public.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

So the model student

whoa! you pretty much just made this up entirely, as far as I can see. Nowhere does it say anything about him being a model student. And I'm pretty sure, if he was, that'd be in there to add to the outrage-factor of the article: "Teague, who is ending the year with a 3.98 GPA, will be allowed to graduate, but may not...".

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting angle, and one I hadn't considered. I would, however, like to see what the administrators considered "inappropriate," though. If he was, indeed, calling out individuals and belittling them personally, that's a different story.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Yes, I read several articles on him, formed an opinion and expressed it.

He had been selected by faculty to speak at a breakfast and that honor was taken from him, (as well as being able to attend other graduation events).

You don't get that kind of faculty recognition by being a mediocre student, IMO. I don't see a problem with using the term to describe him.

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

That tumblr pic on the boy's tshirt versus the girls obscene shorts is....well, obscene. Someone ought to whap some school admins upside the head on that item.

Glad you're getting the disassembly done on the Chevelle!

And of course, I just got done reseasoning my cast frying pan. I'm going to go looking for some flaxseed oil & do this next time!

My sympathy on the body, and yo-solidarity! I have turned into a yoyo, as far as my weight & shape are concerned.

Love that tumblr! If you go look at my very first tumblr post, it's some Avengers candies that were left in our office kitchen last Halloween. That's what got me started on doing tumblr. Go figure. And I'm going to chase this batch down on my dash & reblog that night watchman-I loved his cameo!

Oh, and p.s. Did you see that reblog of the 5yo girl as Susan B. Anthony, Coco Chanel, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall and Helen Keller, as well as herself? Here's a link to a larger view!:

http://www.jaimemoorephotography.com/2013/05/09/not-just-a-girl/

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

Oh, my impression was that he was speaking simply because he was the class president because "He is no longer giving the class president’s speech at the graduation ceremony." The faculty-chosen speaker at a breakfast must be a totally different event which doesn't readily come to light for me (with, admittedly, the very little googling I'm willing to do over the issue).

Our class president gave both the speech at the graduation ceremony and the speech at the senior dinner and he was the school's biggest pot dealer (which is why he was elected president) and a total slacker, so my opinion/personal experience of whether being president makes you a model student obviously differs! :)

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

:chuckle: I can see why YMMV in that case!

Yeah, while I was looking for a petition on him, I came across a few other articles in which he was praised for supporting the other students by being there, cheering them on, being chosen for this speaking event (they've decided to let him attend, but not speak) and so on.

Have I mentioned that I'm quick and voracious with a search engine? LOL

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I did see that photoset of the adorable girl. What a great idea!

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

The one tweet (https://twitter.com/Rolltide_Teague/status/329950066708197376) is being chosen as "starting it all" and Wesley's explanation of it seems valid. He says he was comparing calling the athletic teams "HeightsU" (calling the High School a University) was comparable to the (disbanded in 1986, so non-existent) WSU teams.

From my overall impression of what I've read, the multiple tweets are what other students posted, antagonizing him and then he responded. Quite frankly, it sounds to me like he's being thrown under the bus for how the other students responded to his tweet. *They* were threatening him, and then the admin is saying his suspension is over his initial tweet, (http://www.kwch.com/kwch-bh-news-heights-senior-suspended-over-twitter-fallout-20130508,0,6924967.story) so I believe that it's still overreaction on the school's part.

But yes, I see your overall point about kids and social media. For that matter, I think we've all been privy to posting something taken the wrong way, and suffering fallout from others who misconstrued our intent.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

For that matter, I think we've all been privy to posting something taken the wrong way, and suffering fallout from others who misconstrued our intent.

Oh, absolutely! Additionally, posting also allows the "out" of "oh, no, i didn't mean to upset you" even if you damn well did because it's always possible to make a case that someone miscontrued something when they didn't. So it's all around a dangerous ground.

And, as i said, i think the punishment is preposterous all around but I can appreciate how schools are screwed "in this day and age" (old lady that I am) because it was one thing when it was a group of Mean Girls whispering and giggling in the back of a classroom compared to a 'for all the world to see' online LOL about it now. So I can understand that the crackdown has to start off total and then ease off instead of the other way around, as far as the enforced definition of "bullying" goes. Because the genie is out of the bottle and girls are going to be tweeting "can you believe she wore that dress? #omgsougly" from prom forevermore!

is being chosen as "starting it all" .

Well, yeah, and it did. And my personal opinion is that it was on purpose since he posted "let the flood of subtweets start!" right afterwards (just scrolled through his tweets)*. So, he did what people do online when that urge hits and that's start shit because he was in the mood to start shit. I'm not buying any after the fact "oh, i didn't know i was starting shit". He started shit. And in my world, THAT'S OKAY but there are nonetheless consequences to it.

*and, interestingly, when the subtweets did start, someone quoted him/that original tweet and said "oooh what a class president we have" and he responded with "I'm not class president anymore". And that was on the original day, in the original tweets, before any suspension or anything so what's up with that? and another kid said he was on both teams so to watch his mouth and Teague responded with "Chris, you have rings in both sports. Ain't talking bout you." So, he had an audience in mind specifically when he posted.

ANYWAY, all this long thing to say the kid isn't some misunderstood choir boy, he knew what he was doing when he did it (the "hah this is fun!" to the replying tweets nails that), and there it is. But I don't think he should get suspended for it!

ack! edited to fix insane html

[poincaraux.livejournal.com]

How'd the seasoning go? How many rounds did it take you? I followed that method for seasoning a griddle, and it (a) took forever (b) came off very quickly. So, I probably did something wrong, but I want to hear some more good reviews before I try again.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

the crackdown has to start off total and then ease off instead of the other way around, as far as the enforced definition of "bullying" goes.

I agree with this, when it's deliberate bullying, but I'm not in agreement that expressing an opinion that offended the kids who coined the phrase "Heights U" constitutes Bullying. It sounds more like an upperclassman v. underclassman poke at posturing.
Hmm, about that "I'm not class president anymore".. I wondered about that, too. I'd venture to guess that he said he was no longer class president just as a one-off meaning "school's out", you know, defensively to the kid who tossed the sarcasm at him, but we have no way of knowing what is really going on behind tweets.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! I hope it doesn't come off quickly. The electrolysis was really a pain in the ass. I'm doing six seasonings (as recommended in the article) but haven't tried cooking in it yet.

[poincaraux.livejournal.com]

I think it's likely that I was a bit too extreme in the "use as light of a coating as possible" business, as it took me more than six seasonings to get a reasonably thick/dark coating. So, hopefully that was the problem.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Hm. Well, my coatings are pretty light. The pan looks almost dry by the time I'm done wiping it out. I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Honestly, if this doesn't work, I'll give up on cooking in cast iron. I've never had one season properly and everything sticks. It's annoying and unappealing and I'd rather just stick with cooking in ceramic than give this yet another go.