(REDBOOK)What makes men cheat? Marriage counselor M. Gary Neuman dug through past research on male infidelity and found that most answers came from the wife's point of view. Wouldn't it make more sense to ask the guys? he thought. So for his new book, The Truth About Cheating, Neuman surveyed 200 cheating and noncheating husbands to get at the real reasons behind men's infidelity — including what cheating men say could have prevented them from straying. Here, some of his findings:
48% of men rated emotional dissatisfaction as the primary reason they cheated.So much for the myth that for men, cheating is all about sex: Only 8 percent of men said that sexual dissatisfaction was the main factor in their infidelity. "Our culture tells us that all men need to be happy is sex," Neuman says. "But men are emotionally driven beings too. They want their wives to show them that they're appreciated, and they want women to understand how hard they're trying to get things right." The problem is that men are less likely than women to express these feelings, so you won't always know when your guy is in need of a little affirmation. "Most men consider it unmanly to ask for a pat on the back, which is why their emotional needs are often overlooked," Neuman says. "But you can create a marital culture of appreciation and thoughtfulness — and once you set the tone, he's likely to match it."
66% of cheating men report feeling guilt during the affair. The implications are a little scary: It isn't just uncaring jerks who cheat. In fact, 68 percent of cheaters never dreamed they'd be unfaithful, and almost all of them wished they hadn't done it, Neuman says. Clearly, guilt isn't enough to stop a man from cheating. "Men are good at compartmentalizing feelings," Neuman explains. "They can hold on to their emotions and deal with them later." So even if your husband swears he would never cheat, don't assume it can't happen. It's important for both of you to take steps toward creating the marriage you want.
77% of cheating men have a good friend who cheated. Hanging around friends who stray makes cheating seem normal and legitimizes it as a possibility. The message he's subconsciously telling himself: My friend is a good guy who happens to be cheating on his wife. I guess even the best of us do it. You can't simply ban your husband from hanging out with Mr. Wandering Eyes, Neuman says, but you can request that they spend their time together in an environment that offers less temptation, like at a sporting event or a restaurant for lunch rather than at a bar or club. Another strategy: Build your social circle around happily married couples that share your values — it'll create an environment that supports marriage.
40% of cheating men met the other woman at work."Oftentimes the woman he cheats with at the office is someone who praises him, looks up to him, and compliments his efforts," Neuman says. "That's another reason why it's so critical that he feel valued at home." Luckily, there's a clear warning sign that your husband is getting a little too cozy with a colleague: If he praises or mentions the name of a female coworker more than he would a male counterpart, your antennae should go up — and it's time for the two of you to set boundaries about what is and isn't okay at work, Neuman says. Is it acceptable for him to work late if it's only him and her? Can they travel together to conferences? Have dinners out to discuss a project? Ask him what he'd feel comfortable with you doing with a male colleague.
Only 12% of cheating men said their mistress was more physically attractive than their wife.In other words, a man doesn't stray because he thinks he'll get better sex with a better-looking body. "In most cases, he's cheating to fill an emotional void," Neuman says. "He feels a connection with the other woman, and sex comes along for the ride." If you're worried about infidelity, focus on making your relationship more loving and connected, not on getting your body just right or mastering new sexual positions. (But know that sex does matter — it's one of the key ways your guy expresses his love and feels close to you, so be sure to keep it a priority.)
Only 6% of cheating men had sex with a woman after meeting her that same day or night. Actually, 73 percent of men got to know the other woman for more than a month before they cheated. This means that you may have time to see the warning signs before infidelity occurs — you might even see it coming before he does. Keep an eye out for these common signals: He spends more time away from home, stops asking for sex, picks fights more frequently, or avoids your calls. Your gut reaction may be to confront him, but most men will deny even thinking about cheating — especially if nothing physical has occurred yet. Instead, Neuman suggests, take charge of what you can control — your own behavior — and take the lead in bringing your marriage to a better place. Don't hesitate to show your appreciation for him, prioritize time together, and initiate sex more. Give him a reason to keep you at the front of his mind, Neuman says. And be open about how you feel about what's going on between the two of you (again, without mentioning any third parties). Try, "I think we've started to lose something important in our marriage, and I don't want it to disappear." In the meantime, commit to keeping tabs on your relationship and doing what it takes to keep it working for you.
*WOW! Men cheat and cheat and cheat! So many people try to analyze why people do this and do that. The real truth is, if most people (men and women) focus on their signifant other at home and stop trying to find a reason to stray then we wouldn't have these articles. It's a shame that our society jumps on the drama and tries to give you answers that are ridiculous! The bottom line is; people cheat because it's their choice and they are selfish. It has nothing to do with the spouse. It's what the person who decides to cheats wants to do. Bottom line!*
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
Flat Abs Faster: 3 Reasons to Stop Crunching!
(REDBOOK) Good news! You never have to do another crunch again. The best move for flat, pulled-in abs is the plank. (To do a plank, get in push-up position and lower your arms so your elbows rest on the ground. Hold for 45 seconds or longer and be careful not to arch your back.)
Here are three reasons a plank is more beneficial than a crunch:
1. The plank does more for your abdominal muscles.
“Your TVA’s (transversus abdominis) get a far greater involvement with a plank”, says Alex Figueroa, fitness expert and founder and lead trainer for Priority1Wellness.com. In addition, the abdominals receive both strengthening as well as aspects of flexibility through the plank. The crunch is an isolated exercise, and it does its function well”, says Figueroa, it strengthens the rectus abdominus. But it’s “far from functional, and for most people, far from what is needed for a healthy balanced body”.
2. The plank is a multi-tasking move.
Who does just one thing at time in life anymore? Why should your abs exercise be any different? A crunch only works your abdominal wall, while a plank is a total body exercise that also engages your core (abs & lower back), helps better your posture and works shoulder stabilization. Plus, “You never know when you are going to need to support your own weight and lift yourself off the floor,” says Jackson Williams, assistant fitness manager for the Sports Club/LA in Boston.
3. The plank better for your back and core.
“A plank helps protect the back from problems that stem from sitting at a desk all day. It strengthens the abs and core, while crunches exacerbate lower back issues,” says Rick Richey, Performance Enhancement Specialist and owner of R2Fitness. "Planks are ideal because they strengthen and stretch the body at the same time, says Stephanie Vitorino, fitness manager for Equinox in Woodland Hills, California and star of the "Body Target 60” DVD. “With a lengthened back, arms and engaged glutes and legs, you are able to gain integrate your core stabilizers which are critical for a healthy back and core,” explains Vitorino.
Jessica Smith is a certified fitness lifestyle expert and creator of the 10 Pounds Down DVD series.
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Here are three reasons a plank is more beneficial than a crunch:
1. The plank does more for your abdominal muscles.
“Your TVA’s (transversus abdominis) get a far greater involvement with a plank”, says Alex Figueroa, fitness expert and founder and lead trainer for Priority1Wellness.com. In addition, the abdominals receive both strengthening as well as aspects of flexibility through the plank. The crunch is an isolated exercise, and it does its function well”, says Figueroa, it strengthens the rectus abdominus. But it’s “far from functional, and for most people, far from what is needed for a healthy balanced body”.
2. The plank is a multi-tasking move.
Who does just one thing at time in life anymore? Why should your abs exercise be any different? A crunch only works your abdominal wall, while a plank is a total body exercise that also engages your core (abs & lower back), helps better your posture and works shoulder stabilization. Plus, “You never know when you are going to need to support your own weight and lift yourself off the floor,” says Jackson Williams, assistant fitness manager for the Sports Club/LA in Boston.
3. The plank better for your back and core.
“A plank helps protect the back from problems that stem from sitting at a desk all day. It strengthens the abs and core, while crunches exacerbate lower back issues,” says Rick Richey, Performance Enhancement Specialist and owner of R2Fitness. "Planks are ideal because they strengthen and stretch the body at the same time, says Stephanie Vitorino, fitness manager for Equinox in Woodland Hills, California and star of the "Body Target 60” DVD. “With a lengthened back, arms and engaged glutes and legs, you are able to gain integrate your core stabilizers which are critical for a healthy back and core,” explains Vitorino.
Jessica Smith is a certified fitness lifestyle expert and creator of the 10 Pounds Down DVD series.
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Diana Ross To Visit 'Oprah' For First Interview With Family & First TV Performance In 4 Years!
Diana Ross will make her first television performance in four years on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" later this month -- and she's bringing her family with her, Access Hollywood has confirmed.
In addition to performing, the "I'm Coming Out" singer and former Supremes legend will also sit down for her first-ever interview with all of her children and her grandson on Oprah's February 25 episode.
Diana's children who will be appearing on the show include Rhonda Ross Kendrick, "Girlfriends" actress Tracee Ellis Ross, Chudney Ross, Ross Arne Naess and Evan Ross. Diana's first grandson, Raif Henok Emmanuel Kendrick, is her daughter Rhonda's son with Rhonda's husband, jazz musician Rodney Kendrick.
He was born in August 2009.
The legend, whose career spans more than five decades, will take up the entire hour of Oprah's show no doubt talking about going from her humble beginnings in Detroit to international superstar and icon.
She is currently on the "Now" tour.
*It's about time*
Diva's Nation
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In addition to performing, the "I'm Coming Out" singer and former Supremes legend will also sit down for her first-ever interview with all of her children and her grandson on Oprah's February 25 episode.
Diana's children who will be appearing on the show include Rhonda Ross Kendrick, "Girlfriends" actress Tracee Ellis Ross, Chudney Ross, Ross Arne Naess and Evan Ross. Diana's first grandson, Raif Henok Emmanuel Kendrick, is her daughter Rhonda's son with Rhonda's husband, jazz musician Rodney Kendrick.
He was born in August 2009.
The legend, whose career spans more than five decades, will take up the entire hour of Oprah's show no doubt talking about going from her humble beginnings in Detroit to international superstar and icon.
She is currently on the "Now" tour.
*It's about time*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
111 charged in Medicare scams worth $225 million!
Federal authorities charged more than 100 doctors, nurses and physical therapists in nine cities with Medicare fraud Thursday, part of a massive nationwide bust that snared more suspects than any other in history.
More than 700 law enforcement agents fanned out to arrest dozens of people accused of illegally billing Medicare more than $225 million. The arrests are the latest in a string of major busts in the past two years as authorities have struggled to pare the fraud that's believed to cost the government between $60 billion and $90 billion each year. Stopping Medicare's budget from hemorrhaging that money will be key to paying for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder partnered in 2009 to allocate more money and manpower in fraud hot spots. Thursday's indictments were for suspects in Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn, Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La.
They show that "health care fraud is not easy money," Holder said at a press conference in Washington.
A podiatrist performing partial toenail removals was among 21 indicted in Detroit. Dr. Errol Sherman is accused of billing Medicare about $700,000 for the costly and unnecessary procedures, which authorities said amounted to little more than toenail clippings. The podiatrist billed Medicare for 20 nail removals on three toes of one patient, according to the indictment. He charged Medicare about $110 for each procedure.
A message could not be left at Sherman's office Thursday.
A Brooklyn, N.Y., proctologist was charged with billing $6.5 million for hemorrhoid removals, most of which he never performed. Dr. Boris Sachakov claimed he performed 10 hemorrhoid removals on one patient, which authorities said is not possible. An employee who answered at Sachakov's office declined comment Thursday.
Sachakov had been arrested last year on charges related to a separate scam. Sachokov denied the charges.
Authorities also busted three physical therapy clinics in Brooklyn, run by an organized network of Russian immigrants accused of paying recruiters to find elderly patients so they could bill for nearly $57 million in physical therapy that amounted to little more than back rubs, according to the indictment.
In Miami, two doctors and several nurses from ABC Home Health Care Inc. were charged with swindling $25 million by writing fake prescriptions recommending nurses and other expensive aids to treat homebound patients, authorities said. The services were never provided. A message left Thursday was not immediately returned.
In total, nearly three dozen defendants were charged in Miami in various scams that topped about $56 million.
Thursday's totals exclude busts two days earlier in Miami that netted 21 suspects accused of bilking $200 million from Medicare.
"These unprecedented operations send a clear message. We will not tolerate criminals lining their pockets at the expense of Medicare patients and taxpayers," HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said.
For decades, Medicare has operated under a pay-and-chase system, paying providers first and investigating suspicious claims later. The system worked when the agency was paying hospitals and institutions that couldn't close up shop and flee the country if they'd been overpaid. But as Medicare has expanded to one of the largest payer systems in the world, he agency has struggled to weed out crooks. There are about 1.3 million licensed suppliers nationwide with 18,000 new applications coming in every month.
"We can arrest and charge people every day and it still won't make a dent until changes are made to Medicare," said FBI special agent in charge John Gillies.
He called for criminal background checks and fingerprints of providers. He also suggested Medicare use unique, secure numbers for patients instead of Social Security numbers, making it easier to cancel Medicare cards in fraud cases.
Sebelius has promised more decisive action on the front end, by vigorously screening providers and stopping payment to suspicious ones, under greater authority granted by the Affordable Care Act.
Authorities also announced Thursday they were adding strike forces in Chicago and Dallas.
*I say it's about time! When it comes to rising medical cost in America; the medical schemes and scams are responsible for the a great amount of it. It's a shame that it took this long, however, maybe now progress can be made in keeping track of criminals that set out to do this sort of thing. Hopefully this will send a clear message to people who are thinking about getting into this line of hotmess work. All in all, we know that this administration isn't playing around and twiddling they're thumbs*
By: Diva's Nation
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More than 700 law enforcement agents fanned out to arrest dozens of people accused of illegally billing Medicare more than $225 million. The arrests are the latest in a string of major busts in the past two years as authorities have struggled to pare the fraud that's believed to cost the government between $60 billion and $90 billion each year. Stopping Medicare's budget from hemorrhaging that money will be key to paying for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder partnered in 2009 to allocate more money and manpower in fraud hot spots. Thursday's indictments were for suspects in Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn, Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La.
They show that "health care fraud is not easy money," Holder said at a press conference in Washington.
A podiatrist performing partial toenail removals was among 21 indicted in Detroit. Dr. Errol Sherman is accused of billing Medicare about $700,000 for the costly and unnecessary procedures, which authorities said amounted to little more than toenail clippings. The podiatrist billed Medicare for 20 nail removals on three toes of one patient, according to the indictment. He charged Medicare about $110 for each procedure.
A message could not be left at Sherman's office Thursday.
A Brooklyn, N.Y., proctologist was charged with billing $6.5 million for hemorrhoid removals, most of which he never performed. Dr. Boris Sachakov claimed he performed 10 hemorrhoid removals on one patient, which authorities said is not possible. An employee who answered at Sachakov's office declined comment Thursday.
Sachakov had been arrested last year on charges related to a separate scam. Sachokov denied the charges.
Authorities also busted three physical therapy clinics in Brooklyn, run by an organized network of Russian immigrants accused of paying recruiters to find elderly patients so they could bill for nearly $57 million in physical therapy that amounted to little more than back rubs, according to the indictment.
In Miami, two doctors and several nurses from ABC Home Health Care Inc. were charged with swindling $25 million by writing fake prescriptions recommending nurses and other expensive aids to treat homebound patients, authorities said. The services were never provided. A message left Thursday was not immediately returned.
In total, nearly three dozen defendants were charged in Miami in various scams that topped about $56 million.
Thursday's totals exclude busts two days earlier in Miami that netted 21 suspects accused of bilking $200 million from Medicare.
"These unprecedented operations send a clear message. We will not tolerate criminals lining their pockets at the expense of Medicare patients and taxpayers," HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said.
For decades, Medicare has operated under a pay-and-chase system, paying providers first and investigating suspicious claims later. The system worked when the agency was paying hospitals and institutions that couldn't close up shop and flee the country if they'd been overpaid. But as Medicare has expanded to one of the largest payer systems in the world, he agency has struggled to weed out crooks. There are about 1.3 million licensed suppliers nationwide with 18,000 new applications coming in every month.
"We can arrest and charge people every day and it still won't make a dent until changes are made to Medicare," said FBI special agent in charge John Gillies.
He called for criminal background checks and fingerprints of providers. He also suggested Medicare use unique, secure numbers for patients instead of Social Security numbers, making it easier to cancel Medicare cards in fraud cases.
Sebelius has promised more decisive action on the front end, by vigorously screening providers and stopping payment to suspicious ones, under greater authority granted by the Affordable Care Act.
Authorities also announced Thursday they were adding strike forces in Chicago and Dallas.
*I say it's about time! When it comes to rising medical cost in America; the medical schemes and scams are responsible for the a great amount of it. It's a shame that it took this long, however, maybe now progress can be made in keeping track of criminals that set out to do this sort of thing. Hopefully this will send a clear message to people who are thinking about getting into this line of hotmess work. All in all, we know that this administration isn't playing around and twiddling they're thumbs*
By: Diva's Nation
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
Why Do They Hate Social Security?
Creators Syndicate – Among the mysteries of modern politics in America is why so many of our leading pundits and politicians persistently seek to undermine Social Security, that enduring and successful emblem of active government. In the current atmosphere of budgetary panic, self-proclaimed "centrists" are joining with ideologues of the right in yet another campaign against the program — and yet again they are misinforming the public about its purposes, costs and prospects.
Among the puzzling aspects of the crusade against Social Security is the zeal that animates its enemies, as if the present and future recipients of those monthly checks were somehow fattening themselves at the expense of future generations. Whatever drives these well-fed but poorly informed commentators, it isn't the facts.
First, let's remember that Social Security actually provides support at a very modest level. Last year, the average retirement benefit was $1,170 a month, or about $14,000 a year, with the average disabled worker or widow receiving slightly less. (It would be wonderfully educational for the cable talkers and newspaper editorialists to live on that amount for a few months — they would not only lose weight but gain empathy.)
Remember, too, that despite our status as the largest and most productive economy in the world, Social Security is among the least generous retirement programs among all the developed nations. As a percentage of the average worker's pre-retirement wages, the benefit has been declining for years and will continue to fall without any further cutbacks.
The check that used to replace 39 percent of worklife income will replace only 31 percent by 2031. Compare that with the average wage replacement in the nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — which was roughly 61 percent last year.
More important than those comparative statistics is the fact that the great majority of Social Security beneficiaries have no other cushion for their retirement — not because they were lazy or improvident, but because their wages were simply too low to permit much savings, let alone investment.
The foes of Social Security insist that they have no desire to force the elderly to eat cat food or go homeless — as they did in the years before the program existed. But we must cut drastically, they cry, because we can simply no longer afford the "entitlements" that we have bestowed so lavishly upon the old and the poor.
Whenever someone starts to talk about "entitlements," keep in mind that they are either trying to bamboozle or they've been bamboozled themselves. Under that category, most commentators mix up Medicaid and Medicare — two programs that are indeed endangered by rising health care costs — with Social Security, which will be solvent until at least 2037 and can easily be made solvent for decades to come with minor changes. This is a rhetorical deception perpetrated countless times every day in nearly every media outlet.
The actuarial experts whose job is to monitor Social Security's fortunes have long assured us that small and gradual rises in the tax revenues that support Social Security, accompanied by small and gradual shifts in benefits over the coming years, will solve whatever fiscal challenges the program may eventually confront. There is no reason to panic, and there is certainly no reason to consider wholesale changes in benefits.
Well, there is a reason, but only if your real aim is to destroy the system and replace it with something less useful but more profitable. Wall Street and its servants on Capitol Hill have lusted after Social Security's revenues for many years. And they regard the current uproar over the budget as a fresh opportunity to get their hands on a trillion-dollar bonanza. Given their record in recent years, it is all too easy to imagine how badly that would work out for everybody — except them, of course.
http://www.creators.com/
*Pundits, the media and others always want to sway from the facts. Instead they use they're time to play up the dramatics and scaring people into thinking that a program like this is sucking America dry. It's time to wake up and be aware of the truth instead of belieiving the hype. Again, when you look at whose trying to get they're hands on social security's profits then enough is said*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Among the puzzling aspects of the crusade against Social Security is the zeal that animates its enemies, as if the present and future recipients of those monthly checks were somehow fattening themselves at the expense of future generations. Whatever drives these well-fed but poorly informed commentators, it isn't the facts.
First, let's remember that Social Security actually provides support at a very modest level. Last year, the average retirement benefit was $1,170 a month, or about $14,000 a year, with the average disabled worker or widow receiving slightly less. (It would be wonderfully educational for the cable talkers and newspaper editorialists to live on that amount for a few months — they would not only lose weight but gain empathy.)
Remember, too, that despite our status as the largest and most productive economy in the world, Social Security is among the least generous retirement programs among all the developed nations. As a percentage of the average worker's pre-retirement wages, the benefit has been declining for years and will continue to fall without any further cutbacks.
The check that used to replace 39 percent of worklife income will replace only 31 percent by 2031. Compare that with the average wage replacement in the nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — which was roughly 61 percent last year.
More important than those comparative statistics is the fact that the great majority of Social Security beneficiaries have no other cushion for their retirement — not because they were lazy or improvident, but because their wages were simply too low to permit much savings, let alone investment.
The foes of Social Security insist that they have no desire to force the elderly to eat cat food or go homeless — as they did in the years before the program existed. But we must cut drastically, they cry, because we can simply no longer afford the "entitlements" that we have bestowed so lavishly upon the old and the poor.
Whenever someone starts to talk about "entitlements," keep in mind that they are either trying to bamboozle or they've been bamboozled themselves. Under that category, most commentators mix up Medicaid and Medicare — two programs that are indeed endangered by rising health care costs — with Social Security, which will be solvent until at least 2037 and can easily be made solvent for decades to come with minor changes. This is a rhetorical deception perpetrated countless times every day in nearly every media outlet.
The actuarial experts whose job is to monitor Social Security's fortunes have long assured us that small and gradual rises in the tax revenues that support Social Security, accompanied by small and gradual shifts in benefits over the coming years, will solve whatever fiscal challenges the program may eventually confront. There is no reason to panic, and there is certainly no reason to consider wholesale changes in benefits.
Well, there is a reason, but only if your real aim is to destroy the system and replace it with something less useful but more profitable. Wall Street and its servants on Capitol Hill have lusted after Social Security's revenues for many years. And they regard the current uproar over the budget as a fresh opportunity to get their hands on a trillion-dollar bonanza. Given their record in recent years, it is all too easy to imagine how badly that would work out for everybody — except them, of course.
http://www.creators.com/
*Pundits, the media and others always want to sway from the facts. Instead they use they're time to play up the dramatics and scaring people into thinking that a program like this is sucking America dry. It's time to wake up and be aware of the truth instead of belieiving the hype. Again, when you look at whose trying to get they're hands on social security's profits then enough is said*
Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Pa. teacher strikes nerve with 'lazy whiners' blog!
FEASTERVILLE, Pa. – A high school English teacher in suburban Philadelphia who was suspended for a profanity-laced blog in which she called her young charges "disengaged, lazy whiners" is driving a debate by daring to ask: Why are today's students unmotivated — and what's wrong with calling them out?
As she fights to keep her job at Central Bucks East High School, 30-year-old Natalie Munroe says she had no interest in becoming any sort of educational icon. The blog has been taken down, but its contents can still be found easily online.
Her comments and her suspension by the middle-class school district have clearly touched a nerve, with scores of online commenters applauding her for taking a tough love approach or excoriating her for verbal abuse. Media attention has rained down, and backers have started a Facebook group.
"My students are out of control," Munroe, who has taught 10th, 11th and 12th grades, wrote in one post. "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying."
And in another post, Munroe — who is more than eight months pregnant — quotes from the musical "Bye Bye Birdie": "Kids! They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs. Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy LOAFERS."
She also listed some comments she wished she could post on student evaluations, including: "I hear the trash company is hiring"; "I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son"; and "Just as bad as his sibling. Don't you know how to raise kids?"
Munroe did not use her full name or identify her students or school in the blog, which she started in August 2009 for friends and family. Last week, she said, students brought it to the attention of the school, which suspended her with pay.
"They get angry when you ask them to think or be creative," Munroe said of her students in an interview with
The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The students are not being held accountable."
Munroe pointed out that she also said positive things, but she acknowledges that she did write some things out of frustration — and of a feeling that many kids today are being given a free pass at school and at home.
"Parents are more trying to be their kids' friends and less trying to be their parent," Munroe said, also noting students' lack of patience. "They want everything right now. They want it yesterday."
One of Munroe's former students, who now attends McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., said he was torn by his former teacher's comments. Jeff Shoolbraid said that he thought much of what Munroe said was true and that she had a right to voice her opinion, but felt her comments were out of line for a teacher.
"Whatever influenced her to say what she did is evidence as to why she simply should not teach," Shoolbraid wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "I just thought it was completely inappropriate."
He continued: "As far as motivated high school students, she's completely correct. High school kids don't want to do anything. ... It's a teacher's job, however, to give students the motivation to learn."
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association declined to comment Tuesday because he said the group may represent Munroe. Messages left for the Central Bucks School District superintendent were not returned.
Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said school districts are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to teachers' online behavior. Often, districts want teachers to have more contact with students and their families, yet give little guidance on how teachers should behave online even as students are more plugged in than they've ever been.
"This is really murky stuff," she said. "When you have a teacher using their blog to berate their students, maybe that's a little less murky. But the larger issue is, I think, districts are totally unprepared to deal with this."
Munroe has hired an attorney, who said that she had the right to post her thoughts on the blog and that it's a free speech issue. The attorney, Steven Rovner, said the district has led Munroe to believe that she will eventually lose her job.
"She could have been any person, any teacher in America writing about their lives," he said, pointing out that
Munroe blogged about 85 times and that only about 15 to 20 of the posts involved her being a teacher. "It's honest and raw and a little edgy depending on your taste. ... She has a deep frustration for the educational system in America."
Rovner said that he would consider legal action if indeed Munroe loses her job.
"She did it as carefully as she could," he said about her blog. "It's so general that it applies to the problems in school districts and schools across the country."
*This is a HOT "EDUCATIONAL" MESS by today's society. So what if the teacher blogs about her day and releases stress by commenting on how lazy her students just so happen to be. If anything, she was probably telling the truth, given students attitudes in today's modern society. People need to look at the big picture and keep it real instead of trying not to see the issues that teachers are facing. It's seems very clear the school has an issue with disciplining their students and probably losing good teachers.*
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As she fights to keep her job at Central Bucks East High School, 30-year-old Natalie Munroe says she had no interest in becoming any sort of educational icon. The blog has been taken down, but its contents can still be found easily online.
Her comments and her suspension by the middle-class school district have clearly touched a nerve, with scores of online commenters applauding her for taking a tough love approach or excoriating her for verbal abuse. Media attention has rained down, and backers have started a Facebook group.
"My students are out of control," Munroe, who has taught 10th, 11th and 12th grades, wrote in one post. "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying."
And in another post, Munroe — who is more than eight months pregnant — quotes from the musical "Bye Bye Birdie": "Kids! They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs. Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy LOAFERS."
She also listed some comments she wished she could post on student evaluations, including: "I hear the trash company is hiring"; "I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son"; and "Just as bad as his sibling. Don't you know how to raise kids?"
Munroe did not use her full name or identify her students or school in the blog, which she started in August 2009 for friends and family. Last week, she said, students brought it to the attention of the school, which suspended her with pay.
"They get angry when you ask them to think or be creative," Munroe said of her students in an interview with
The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The students are not being held accountable."
Munroe pointed out that she also said positive things, but she acknowledges that she did write some things out of frustration — and of a feeling that many kids today are being given a free pass at school and at home.
"Parents are more trying to be their kids' friends and less trying to be their parent," Munroe said, also noting students' lack of patience. "They want everything right now. They want it yesterday."
One of Munroe's former students, who now attends McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., said he was torn by his former teacher's comments. Jeff Shoolbraid said that he thought much of what Munroe said was true and that she had a right to voice her opinion, but felt her comments were out of line for a teacher.
"Whatever influenced her to say what she did is evidence as to why she simply should not teach," Shoolbraid wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "I just thought it was completely inappropriate."
He continued: "As far as motivated high school students, she's completely correct. High school kids don't want to do anything. ... It's a teacher's job, however, to give students the motivation to learn."
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association declined to comment Tuesday because he said the group may represent Munroe. Messages left for the Central Bucks School District superintendent were not returned.
Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said school districts are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to teachers' online behavior. Often, districts want teachers to have more contact with students and their families, yet give little guidance on how teachers should behave online even as students are more plugged in than they've ever been.
"This is really murky stuff," she said. "When you have a teacher using their blog to berate their students, maybe that's a little less murky. But the larger issue is, I think, districts are totally unprepared to deal with this."
Munroe has hired an attorney, who said that she had the right to post her thoughts on the blog and that it's a free speech issue. The attorney, Steven Rovner, said the district has led Munroe to believe that she will eventually lose her job.
"She could have been any person, any teacher in America writing about their lives," he said, pointing out that
Munroe blogged about 85 times and that only about 15 to 20 of the posts involved her being a teacher. "It's honest and raw and a little edgy depending on your taste. ... She has a deep frustration for the educational system in America."
Rovner said that he would consider legal action if indeed Munroe loses her job.
"She did it as carefully as she could," he said about her blog. "It's so general that it applies to the problems in school districts and schools across the country."
*This is a HOT "EDUCATIONAL" MESS by today's society. So what if the teacher blogs about her day and releases stress by commenting on how lazy her students just so happen to be. If anything, she was probably telling the truth, given students attitudes in today's modern society. People need to look at the big picture and keep it real instead of trying not to see the issues that teachers are facing. It's seems very clear the school has an issue with disciplining their students and probably losing good teachers.*
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