Posts by Funchback

80

Your REAL name???

by Odrade in

jw
friends

have any "faders" ever accidentally "outed" themselves by signing their real name to a post?

i'm really paranoid about that, and often go back and recheck my posts to see if it says "odrade.".

odrade

Funchback

I've been posting my real name on this Forum even when I was an active JW with "responsibilities" in the congregation.

I guess Jehovah must be taking a nap.

43

Seen any good movies lately?

by StinkyPantz in

jw
friends

the husband and i went to see "house of the dead" the other night, and 30 minutes into it we had to leave because it was so horrible.

rarely have i seen such bad acting outside of a highschool drama performance, and i have never left during a movie.. thing is, i love going to the movies, so it was a major disappointment.

have you seen any good ones lately?

Funchback

'Lost in Translation' starring Bill Murray.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/27/60315/1.ashx

7

Lost in Translation

by Funchback in

did anyone else see this movie?

i thought it was hilarious!

bill murray is a funny guy.

Funchback

Six...

I suppose there won't be a Rost in Tlansration - Part II, eh?

7

Lost in Translation

by Funchback in

did anyone else see this movie?

i thought it was hilarious!

bill murray is a funny guy.

Funchback

wasasister... I just saw it tonight, too. I guess whatever he said brought closure to them both because he had a BIG ol' grin when he was walking away.

Another funny part was when he was talking to the old Japanese woman in the hospital.

7

Lost in Translation

by Funchback in

did anyone else see this movie?

i thought it was hilarious!

bill murray is a funny guy.

Funchback

Did anyone else see this movie? I thought it was hilarious! Bill Murray is a funny guy. One of the funniest parts was when the Japanese woman was telling him to "Lip my stockings!"

One thing I need help understanding: What do you think he was mumbling in the girl's ear at the end of the movie? I'm lost (no pun intended).

41

"We Miss You! (but only at the meetings)"

by Funchback in

it has been a good (7) weeks since i've last attended a kh meeting.

this weekend, however, the calls of "encouragement" came rolling in.

on saturday, a brother (actually a very decent, likable, and genuine man) left me a message and said that he misses me at the meetings.

Funchback

luna... You mean I gotta hear that expression for (10) more years???

By the way, welcome to the Forum!

41

"We Miss You! (but only at the meetings)"

by Funchback in

it has been a good (7) weeks since i've last attended a kh meeting.

this weekend, however, the calls of "encouragement" came rolling in.

on saturday, a brother (actually a very decent, likable, and genuine man) left me a message and said that he misses me at the meetings.

Funchback

DIM-

Most definitely. I look forward to it.

Also, I got ANOTHER call today from another sister who said EXACTLY: "We miss you at the meetings..."

Why is it ALWAYS "we"??? She is single. She doesn't have any kids. Why can't she say "I" miss you???

Also, again, why is it ONLY at the meetings??? Oh, wait! I know now! It's because Dubs don't do things together recreationally on a regular basis.

3

JW in the News - Taping Children to their Desks

by Funchback in

i don't know if this is a repost...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6987929.htm

coral gables.

JW in the News - Taping Children to their Desks

by Funchback in

i don't know if this is a repost...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6987929.htm

coral gables.

Funchback

I don't know if this is a repost...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6987929.htm

CORAL GABLES
Aide, teacher face angry judge
A judge slaps a schoolteacher and her volunteer aide with high bonds for allegedly taping down 6-year-olds for misbehaving.
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR AND CHARLES SAVAGE
[email protected]




Vonda Christie (left) and Ivonne Nieves (right). CHARLES TRAINOR JR/HERALD STAFF

Judge chides teacher,

aide in tape abuse case

A veteran schoolteacher and her classroom volunteer, charged with using tape to bind misbehaving students to chairs and a blackboard, received higher-than-usual bonds -- and a verbal backhand -- from a Miami-Dade County judge on Friday.

Vonda Christie, a first-grade teacher at Coral Gables Elementary, was given a $50,000 bond, which she posted about 2 p.m. She is charged with five counts of child abuse, but police said she only watched while volunteer Ivon Nieves Marrero bound the five students, all 6 years old, for unruly behavior in late August and early September.

Marrero is charged with five counts of child abuse and false imprisonment. She was held on $100,000 bond and was still in custody Friday evening.

''What we have here is five egregious cases of child abuse,'' said Circuit Judge Gerald Klein, responding to an argument for a lower bond by Yery Marrero, who is representing the volunteer but is not related. ``I have a lot of respect for you, but none for your client.''

Marrero has been on probation since February for cocaine possession, burglary assault and grand theft. An e-mail from Christie to the judge in that case showed she was aware of Marrero's record and still allowed her to work in the classroom.

''Who knows what other information she had to go along with that,'' said Ronald Manto, Christie's attorney. ``Whether that constitutes a crime or just bad judgment is another issue.''

Lawyers for both women have denied the accusations, suggesting the students' parents are trying to generate a lawsuit against the Miami-Dade school system.

''Children of that age can be almost be led into saying anything,'' Manto said. ``Children don't make very good witnesses.''

TEACHER SUPPORT

Many parents in the Coral Gables neighborhood where Christie taught for her entire 15-year career came to her defense following Thursday's arrest.

Alita Patterson, whose daughter was in Christie's class several years ago, called her an ''understanding, caring and kind'' teacher who took extra time to help her daughter learn to read at her own pace. Patterson said Christie also mentored an emotionally troubled boy whose home life had disintegrated.

''She has a little system of rewarding the children who have left her class,'' Patterson said. ``My daughter is now in fifth grade, but when she makes the honor roll, she goes and shows Miss Christie and gets a reward -- a pencil, an activity book. So she's kept in touch with these children through all these years.''

Patterson also said that Christie's methods of discipline were always something like extra homework, nothing physical. She said she didn't believe the teacher had anything to do with the tape incident -- and regardless, the charges were overblown.

''I don't believe that putting tape on somebody constitutes child abuse,'' she said. ``Inappropriate? Absolutely. Child abuse? Absolutely not.''

Darby Plummer, president of the Coral Gables Elementary PTA, said she had known Christie since they were both students at Coral Gables High School. Plummer said she always thought of Christie as a ``caring, amazing person.''

''I hope it's not true for the school, for the kids who it could have happened to, and the kids that could have witnessed it,'' she said. ``And for Ms. Christie's sake, I hope she wasn't involved, because I think the world of her and that continues to be my lasting feeling. I just have hope that it will all work out well.''

Evelyn Moore, a fifth-grade teacher and the union steward at Coral Gables Elementary, said she had the highest respect for her colleague and did not believe the charges.

As testimony to Christie's character, Moore said she was an adoptive parent and a devout Jehovah's Witness who never tried to impose her beliefs on anyone.

`SURREAL'

''It's almost surreal,'' Moore said. 'You just can't imagine this happening. We all do pretty much the same thing . . . We understand what it is to discipline students. We know where you draw the line, and we just don't do that kind of thing. And if you ask me if I believe she has done anything like that, the answer is an emphatic `no.' ''

Following standard procedure, the district has placed Christie on ''alternate assignment'' since the allegations were made. She receives her normal salary of around $44,000 for performing administrative duties outside the classroom until the investigation is complete.

The 38-year-old teacher's personnel file shows consistent but unremarkable performance evaluations. She has neither been in trouble before nor earned any special distinctions or awards, according to a copy obtained by The Herald.

Christie earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and early childhood education from the University of South Florida in May 1988.

Christie applied for a job teaching elementary students with the Miami-Dade school district shortly after graduation. She also said she was interested in coaching volleyball and softball and would like to be a club sponsor for cheerleaders.

Plummer said Christie had been on the volleyball and softball teams in high school, and had also been involved in student government.

''I have chosen teaching for my profession because I have the desire to help educate young ones about our rapidly changing society, and to help those same people to become functionally literate which is an essential tool for survival,'' Christie wrote in her application.

She got the job.

EVALUATIONS

In every annual evaluation in her file, every category -- including classroom management, teacher-student relationships and professional responsibility -- was checked ``acceptable.''

Few remarks are found in her files to supplement the checklists, though in 1992 her principal wrote, ``Ms. Christie is very concerned about her students.''

41

"We Miss You! (but only at the meetings)"

by Funchback in

it has been a good (7) weeks since i've last attended a kh meeting.

this weekend, however, the calls of "encouragement" came rolling in.

on saturday, a brother (actually a very decent, likable, and genuine man) left me a message and said that he misses me at the meetings.

Funchback

DIM-

I guess you (and all of us) shouldn't expect anything less. By the way, how's the baby?