bullets13

i'm a teacher in BISD.  but don't worry, i'm on break for another 6 minutes... it's not felt as hard in the older grades, where it's all bookwork and lectures, but for younger grades where you need art supplies and laminating film and construction paper and all those sorts of things, you notice when all of a sudden most if not all of that expense is coming from your own pocket... especially when you've lost your bonuses and are all of a sudden paying for insurance that has been free for 10 years. that's when the kids suffer.

except for the whole spending freeze, and the fact that schools are getting ZERO money for supplies and classroom necessities.  i mean, it's not like kids need supplies to learn, right!

number 3: who cares if it's the private citizen's fault?  if he's a republican, blame the democratic government!!!

why would the guy bother properly managing this land when it's not his property?  and this is the most ridiculous thing seeing all the conservatives and all of the conservative propaganda machines making this guy out to be anything less than a nutter.  by reading the headlines, conservatives get exactly what they want... another "example" of the government abusing the private citizen.  the truth, of course, is that he has let his cattle run free for decades on government land, where they have adversely affected the entire habitat, not just tortoises. 

It would seem to me that Ms. Klug knows exactly what she is, or she would not have taken such drastic steps, and endured such ridicule and hate to become it.

  I find it ironic that you use a guy with tattoos on his body indicating that he hates and is for the suppression of a certain group of people as an example of why Lumberton should be able to suppress a certain group of people. As to your question about the tattoos, I personally would not have a problem with them if he was no longer associated with the group and did not carry those beliefs anymore, but there's a difference between ostracizing someone in a hate group and becoming a community hate group to ostracize someone just because they're different.   People keep bringing up dresscodes, but that's not the issue here.  The issue is whether or not one accepts her as a woman.  If not, that's your belief, but dress codes have nothing to do with it.  She lives her life as a woman, does everything as a woman,has or is in the process of becoming a woman (i'm not completely familiar with where she is in that process) and based on her outfits i've seen in the media, attends school as the most conservatively dressed woman on campus. 

there were what, 5 or 6 parents in all of lumberton that cared enough to step up and speak against her?  it's not like you have hundreds of people lining up.  and my suspicions were greatly validated when about 90% who answered me on facebook supported her, with about 90% of those who answered being from this area.

The same LISD parents who had a problem with it are the ones who took it to the media, thus making it an issue for others outside the district. And lets say less than a majority of LISD parents want Klug gone (the more I talk to people inside and outside the district the more I suspect this is the case)... Should the minority be able to decide that?

on an interesting note, i did an impromptu poll on facebook this weekend just to see how "radical" my views are... when asked if they would have a problem if their child was in Ms. Klug's class, the results were as follows:   Based on people who commented, messaged me, or liked an affirmative or negative post by someone else, the results came out 32 in favor of her teaching, 5 against.    i know you guys think that i've just got a bunch of ultra-liberal friends, but i'm from SETX, went to ETBU, and my friends span the total political gamut.    some interesting notes:  Out of the 5 dissents, one was from a liberal friend of mine from Chicago.   9 teachers answered, and 8 were in favor of letting her teach.   Out of the 6 people that answered that i KNOW to be extremely conservative, 3 were in favor and 3 against.  (I've also talked to other conservatives i know from the area in person, and again it's been pretty split). I had 3 homosexuals answer, so you can discount their results if you want. One of the dissents has very strong opinions about sexual sin, except for when it comes to her 4 year sexual relationship with her boyfriend that they're exposing their teenaged kids to. All but four who responded were from SETX, and of those that weren't, one was from Alabama and one was from Louisiana. (since the "normal" people from SETX was an issue earlier in this thread)

it's an assumption that her being transgender somehow means she can't do a good job, or will poison the kids' minds, etc. etc. etc. 

I symphathize more with Ms. Klug.  It boils down to personal opinion, and my personal opinion is that i feel worse for someone who is cast out because of their appearance despite their performance than i do for a parent who doesn't want their child exposed to real-world issues. 

making assumptions without knowing someone... sounds familiar. if only i could put my finger on where else that's happening elsewhere in the area.  oh yeah, right here, on this issue.

i will reply to this before i leave, however.  I have seen nothing to imply that Klug is disgruntled in any way.  every quote i've read has been upbeat, and the footage i've seen of her seems to show a happy person.  it's important to remember that this is not a fight that she brought to the district as a disgruntled ex-employee.  disgruntled parents (perhaps rightfully disgruntled, depending on your side) brought this fight to the district.  all she's done is answer requests for interviews and show up for the hearing that decided her fate.

it's all good, bud.  As for this particular issue, i think it also is important to me because i can understand a little what Klug is going through.  I'm a man who teaches pre-k.  I've been doing it for 8 years, and now i've got a great reputation in the community i teach in, and actually get requests for students to be in my class from parents i haven't even met.  but i've had instances where kids have been pulled out of my class not because i'm not good at what i do, but because i'm a man.  and i can honestly say that i understand why someone might be uncomfortable with that.  it's not an everyday occurence for a man to teach this age group.  but just because i'm not the prototypical teacher does not mean that i'm not more than capable at what i do... and there are many parents that have been hesitant at first to have me as their child's teacher who have since then requested me to teach siblings, friended me on facebook so i can keep up with their child, etc. etc.  so for me, as i honestly can say i understand why parents would not be comfortable with this, the most important thing is that the child is being treated well, and that the teacher is doing their job.  and by all accounts, Klug has satisfied these requirements, and as it truly is about the kids, to me that is by far more important than her appearance.  If she was using her position to try and indoctrinate the children, i would actually side with you.  but i've heard nothing of the sort.  so i'm going to end this now by saying that while i disagree with you, i do understand you.  i've got a long weekend of moving into my new house, so i doubt i'll be back on here much, and i don't know if by the time i get back on i'm going to have the energy or desire to answer 20 posts directed at me from 15 different people, but we'll say.  have a good weekend.

This is more about a few parents' discomfort than about the kids as well. Also, I saw there were only 13 people who chose to speak, and if a decent portion of those spoke in her behalf, then only a handful of parents had a big enough problem with this to speak out. I would've expected dozens or hundreds of upset parents speaking out if your take on the general climate of this issue were true.

You nailed it. I see no difference there. Give me a break.

  now this is ridiculous.  what agenda?  she worked a job, and did it well.  the agenda was pushed by those who were uncomfortable with her.  i understand why they were uncomfortable, although i strongly disagree.  but don't go placing blame on her for simply working a job and making a paycheck. 

i think we should adopt liberal progressive ways of doing things on CERTAIN issues because it's the right thing to do... and from what i've seen and heard myself, there were PLENTY of people supporting Ms. Klug at the meeting.  as for me being "normal folks", i'm plenty normal, at least in my age-group. 

you're entering a gray area on the legality of dress code.  of more concern would be restrooming, but every school lounge i've ever been to had a uni-sex one seater, so that wouldn't be a problem.    and i agree to an extent with a parent having a say in what their child is exposed to... but where do you draw the line?  is Ms. Klug the line?  by all accounts she's pleasant, and she does her job, which she is vastly OVERqualified to do.  she doesn't talk about her sexuality, she dresses in extremely conservative female dress, and has substituted on other occasions for LISD without incident. if we're honest, a few parents in Lumberton would be unhappy if an African American substitute taught their kids (Calm down LRF, i'm not saying that everyone in Lumberton is a racist).  Would it be okay for them to raise an issue then?  would we not take offense to their protest?  It's a tough issue, because you have to balance Ms. Klug's right to work a job that she does more than capably, versus a few parents' right (not sure if it is) to not be uncomfortable.  I would think that there's no law saying that Lumberton parents can't take their kids out of LISD and put them into a private school, so i guess parents do have that right to pick what their kids are exposed to..   also, as an aside, i do agree that it would've been good to let parents know ahead of time so they could address it with their children, although it seems like the kids weren't exactly running home upset about it, conflicted and confused, or we would've heard about it after some of Ms. Klug's previous substitute jobs in the district.

  you have to realize you're not "normal folks" anymore.  you're still thinking SETX is the normal way of things.  it's not.  i saw the news, and saw a couple of people for and a couple of people against.  i've also seen a lot of feedback on social media.  were you at the meeting?

  i think this whole situation goes to show that "radical" is constantly shifting and changing from generation to generation.  support of Ms. Klug was widespread, even from areas that you and I both would not have expected.  (Yes i understand there were dissenters as well)  50-60 years ago blatantly discriminating against someone because of the color of their skin would not have been radical at all, and in fact what was radical was wanting equal rights for African Americans.  Southeast Texas was one of the last areas to get past that.  Now here we are, and it would appear that wanting rights for someone like Ms. Klug, who even a decade ago might have been completely run out of town, is no longer a radical position to take, even in backwoods Southeast Texas. 

LISD might not have wanted to do this, but this is the right thing to do.  this wasn't an issue until a couple of students  PARENTS OF STUDENTS were "distracted" by this teacher.  this was never an issue for the kids, it's a parent issue.  and while i can understand why someone might be uncomfortable, especially when they were raised to be uncomfortable with this issue, as Southeast Texans so often are, the fact of the matter is that times are changing.  which is why Ms. Klug garnered a tremendous amount of local support in what is a traditionally very conservative area.    All that being said, Lumberton probably wasn't quite ready for this, even in 2014.  But by going to the media instead of quietly talking to the school board and superintendent, the uncomfortable parents of the "distracted" students ensured with all of the attention they brought to the matter that Lumberton would have to retain her in order to A) avoid a massive lawsuit, and B) not incur the wrath of a great many people, including a surprisingly large number of Lumberton residents.  Had this been approached differently, then Klug would have likely just quietly stopped receiving sub jobs and nobody would've ever known the difference. 

have you seen pictures of the guy/girl?  she really looks quite ordinary.  i'd be pretty distracted if she came in dressed up like a drag queen, but from what i've seen in the media, i just don't see much there that is going to get the kids wound up.  as for distractions, i know a teacher that weighs nearly 600 lbs.  Should he be put before the board because he's a distraction?  should good looking female teachers be put before the board because they're distractions?  i remember in 5th or 6th grade we had a young, attractive teacher who wore tight, form hugging shirts, and it was generally quite obvious when it was cold in the room.  she was dressed nice, she didn't show a bunch of cleavage or anything like that, but on most days most of the boys had their attention glued to the teacher, but i don't believe many of us heard what she was saying.  all that to say, apart from maybe a temporary distraction, i'm having a hard time buying the argument, and it's even harder in light of the fact that this sub had apparently subbed there multiple times before without significant enough of a distraction for it to be brought up.

  yeah steve.  and they ought to tax the top 1% to fund it. 

that was the guy who brought it up and was interviewed for kbmt and kfdm's main argument.  was not directing that at you in particular...