CAT Tracks for January 26, 2011
CHAPTER 16. ADDRESS FEELINGS DIRECTLY


CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

Upon further review...

Certain comments made in my "intro" below clearly violate the terms and conditions of the no-name-calling cease fire unilaterally declared by CAT at 4:30 a.m. on January 25, 2011. The offending comments have been deleted and you are hereby advised NOT to make any effort to read between, uh, behind the lines.

The aforementioned cease fire shall remain in effect until midnight, January 28, 2011 (Central Time).


If you enjoyed "Chapter 15. The Seven Steps" from my latest psychological thriller...on how you, too, can have success in today's classroom, here's my latest installment.

If you did NOT, then it is clearly my fault. I apologize...and I promise to do better.

And...

That's enough of that charade!


Today is an SIP day and the District has already made plans for your professional development/salvation...at least after we get through the bloody beginning (i.e. the annual Bloodborne Pathogens training.)

The article below is for another day...

...provided to fill the void, those idle moments when a CAT's paws might be tempted to commit educational acts that would permanently scar those placed lovingly in their charge.

I tried to save you from yourself (and the multitudes of enemies near and far, from President Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, and assorted nutty politicians (of all persuasions) to Leotis Swopes and the Cairo Board of Education) by passing off the writings of Clinical Psychologist John Jensen as my own.

It was an approach designed to put aside my "negative feelings" and to implement Dr. John's "positive feelings" approach...to break through your natural reluctance to enlightenment, so characteristic of teachers everywhere - especially those "teachers" who become leaders in the evil union movement.

(CAT Tracks Editor's Note: I originally deleted the preceding sentence/paragraph as "name calling", but I have been advised that negative statements about teachers, and especially their unions, have reached the status of "common knowledge" and therefore are NOT considered in any way offensive.)

Anyway...

From the feedback I received "from the trenches", some trusting CATs (much as the innocent, eager-to-gain-acceptance students in their classrooms), well, how shall I put it..."bought it!"

Cognizant of the "Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me" self-admonition, it is clearly time for me to pull the plug on this approach. For you to blame me is acceptable; for you to cast blame upon thyself...inexcusable.

And, yes, I know...

It was a violation of Dr. John's principles for me to plant the seed of doubt into your eager-to-accept/eager-to-please minds. I should be supportive of your natural inclination to do good, rather than "rock your world"...to shake your basic need and yearning for safety.

However, the real world is filled with serpents of the two-legged variety, speaking unto you with forked tongues...snakes-in-the-grass who will take advantage of your natural CAT goodness, enticing the innocent and naive with silver bullets and golden calves designed to steal away their souls and their safety net (those hard-earned rights and protections contained in the CAT Bible, aka, the Contract.)

By posing as Dr. John in my "Seven Steps" post, I was simply alerting you. It was a TEST...BEWARE! The wolf could even approach you in CAT's clothing!

Trust, but verify!!!

As the idiom so wisely warns..."It's a DOG eat CAT world out there!"


BTW:

I actually read the article linked below. Somewhere, over the rainbow...in an ideal classroom...in an ideal world...with the proper degree in psychology...who could argue?

Teachers (including this old dinosaur)...

(Awww, c'mon! I can't even call ME a name?! I mean...it's a term of "endearment" to which I take no offense. Geez...lighten up!!!)

Grrr...

Most teachers (including myself) try (tried) to do this in the classroom everyday...with every student. With some, we are (were) successful...with some, we sadly fail (as would the good Dr. John.) As has been rumored, teachers are human...and, as such, succumb to human emotions...good and bad.

Yes, we know what to do, Dr. John.

And, as the idiom goes...

"If at first you we don't succeed, (we will) try, try again."


From the EducationNews.org Website...


Chapter 16. Address Feelings Directly

John Jensen is a licensed clinical psychologist and author of The Silver Bullet Easy Learning System: How to Change Classrooms Fast and Energize Students for Success (Xlibris, 2008), and of Practice Makes Perfect: How to Rescue Education One Classroom at a Time, which is being published a chapter a week on this site. He welcomes comments sent to him directly at jjensen@gci.net, and will email an e-book copy of either of the titles above to anyone without charge upon request.