My Recent Comments

• I am so glad that "puppy mill" pet stores are going out of fashion. What a great way to promote and save shelter pets. @Leon...are you always so negative? Can't you see the good that goes on around you...no matter how big or small? Are you sure your last name is not "Cynic" instead of "Ceniceros"?
  2 weeks ago
• The amount they are paying these consultants is the same as a first year teachers salary. Why are they spending so much money to find someone for this job? These are public funds that are being used like it is a private business.
  1 month ago
• My question is how messy was their house that this was able to remain hidden for 8 years!
  1 month ago
• I am a teacher and I believe that we as a profession should be held accountable for our job. It is one of the most important jobs in the world. However, the way teachers are evaluated is not consistent across the state or nation. The new system is still very subjective and what one person might see as a lousy teacher, another person might see as a great one. I also don't feel that the state test scores (AIMS) should be used to evaluate a teacher's ability as a teacher. My role as a teacher goes well beyond what a student scores on a test given only once a year. There are too many variables out of my control when it comes to a student's life: divorce, no food, death in the family, and just lack of family guidance and support. Why should my job depend on things I can't control. I think a fair system is to have several people from different schools or from a state board visit my class unannounced and watch me teach a full lesson...not just the principal come in for a few minutes every few months. I think more teachers would be all for accountability if the assessment was fair. The problem is that the current one is too subjective and not a fair assessment of our true teaching abilities.
  2 months ago
• As a teacher, I am personally getting tired and broke buying supplies like papers and pencils for my classroom. These are basic things that schools or parents should supply...why am I doing this and practically every teacher out there doing this? Why? Because of the kids...and if we don't do it, no one else will and the state knows this and is taking advantage of this fact and has been for years! Ask a teacher how much they spend out of their own pocket to bring meaningful and engaging lessons to their classrooms and your children....you'd be shocked! Be sure to say "thank you" to a teacher when you hear about all the money they spend out of their own pocket for your kids...remember we make and get less and are expected to do more. Heck, I am having to take a second job just to meet household expenses so my students don't go without.
  2 months ago
• Darn autocorrect....I meant *their* and not *there*[huh]
  2 months ago
• @leon, as usual you are misinformed about the power of unions in this state...they have NONE! The teacher unions here are more like associations and are optional to join...unlike other states. You'd be shocked at how many teachers in AZ do not belong to a union or believe in what they stand for. Teachers here in AZ do there best with what they are given. We are here to teach because we love to teach...no teacher said that they got into to teaching for the money! It is hard work and truth be know, legislation from people who know nothing of education are making all the rules. No matter what you say about teachers in this state will bother me because you are entitled to your opinion. Please just realize that you cannot lump us all under the same net of this image of teachers/ education that you have. Teachers are not the problem with education, legislation brought down by those who no nothing of teaching is what ties our hands and only the children will suffer by falling further and further behind.
  2 months ago
• I agree that more mental health facilities are needed in all areas, not just in Gilbert. However, the proposed location (legal or not isn't even an issue) needs to be thought through more carefully. Why on earth would anyone with an ounce of common sense put a mental health facility...especially one that will have inpatient care and not just a counseling center...be NEXT to a school? I know most of the patients will be there on their own free will, but would you want to live next door to a prison? With all the "what if" out there and what has already happened in schools, it would be reckless to put the facility there. Common sense trumps zoning laws in my book.
  2 months ago
• @teacher13...as a fellow teacher, I completely agree with you. When you calculate the hours, we do make barely over minimum wage. I am in my 8th year teaching and have been making the same amount as someone who just got out of college and is a brand new teacher...how is that fair? it is a sad day when I could make more working at Target, McDonalds, or at a local gas station. When you think about it, the state of Arizona and MPS are lucky that they have people that actually want to teach. If teaching wasn't a calling, the classrooms would have no teachers.
  2 months ago
• Wonderful to know! I am a teacher and I spend about $1000 a year on supplies for my classroom. Parents claim that they can't afford supplies for their children, but I end up buying supplies for over 30 kids...it gets expensive to say the least. This organization will help take the financial "ouch" out of being a teacher.
  2 months ago