Backroads Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 Had an event last week that can barely be qualified as an incident, but it has stayed with me for several reasons. It was with my work (an online school). We were having a truancy meeting with a family. Again, it was interesting in many ways, but Mom's big argument for why her family needs a way around the truancy issue is because of religion. Her family is very religious (not Latter-Day Saints) and do not want to attend in-person school due to problematic influences. Okay, I can totally respect that. Not an uncommon reason for people attending our school at all. She complained about stuff in our curriculum but how it was still better than she could see what was there and discuss these things with her kids. Again, very fair and understandable. The odd thing was that she kept saying "You Mormons just don't understand. I used to be Mormon and no one understands how important these family values are." The thing was, I'm positive I was the only church member at that meeting. Yet she just kept repeating stuff about how Mormons don't understand anything and referring to us as "those Mormons" just because we happen to be located in Utah just like her. Nothing came of it, but it was really strange for a professional setting. MrShorty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 I would have encouraged her to homeschool. She is also free to move out of the state. I don’t see a problem. Would have been a very quick meeting. Vort, Backroads and Carborendum 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backroads Posted May 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 (edited) 12 minutes ago, mikbone said: I would have encouraged her to homeschool. She is also free to move out of the state. I don’t see a problem. Would have been a very quick meeting. Oh, our admin at the meeting is very good at these kinds of remarks and actually addressed those first two in subtle around-about ways. She can't homeschool because she's a single mom to a bunch of kids who also has to take care of her sick and elderly relatives and she is the only one earning an income (this is actually why there was a truancy meeting as nothing was getting done because she was never home) and therefore can't afford to homeschool because who would earn an income and pay the bills? She also can't move out of state because of sick and elderly relatives she has to take care of. (Frankly, there was a collective eyeroll post meeting). ETA: I also should mention that because we're in Utah it's next to impossible to counsel people out of publicly funded schools due to our school choice laws, so that often makes for funny stories. Edited May 16, 2023 by Backroads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 42 minutes ago, Backroads said: Had an event last week that can barely be qualified as an incident, but it has stayed with me for several reasons. It was with my work (an online school). We were having a truancy meeting with a family. Again, it was interesting in many ways, but Mom's big argument for why her family needs a way around the truancy issue is because of religion. Her family is very religious (not Latter-Day Saints) and do not want to attend in-person school due to problematic influences. Okay, I can totally respect that. Not an uncommon reason for people attending our school at all. She complained about stuff in our curriculum but how it was still better than she could see what was there and discuss these things with her kids. Again, very fair and understandable. The odd thing was that she kept saying "You Mormons just don't understand. I used to be Mormon and no one understands how important these family values are." The thing was, I'm positive I was the only church member at that meeting. Yet she just kept repeating stuff about how Mormons don't understand anything and referring to us as "those Mormons" just because we happen to be located in Utah just like her. Nothing came of it, but it was really strange for a professional setting. It is my personal philosophy that when someone has a chip on their shoulder and wants to pick a fight (usually verbal) – do not ever let it upset you or in any way cause you discomfort. There is a Buddhist “attitude” of avoiding the carrying of (or helping to carry) the burdens of others that they refuse to let go of. The Traveler Backroads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 13 minutes ago, Backroads said: She can't homeschool because she's a single mom to a bunch of kids who also has to take care of her sick and elderly relatives and she is the only one earning an income (this is actually why there was a truancy meeting as nothing was getting done because she was never home) and therefore can't afford to homeschool because who would earn an income and pay the bills? She also can't move out of state because of sick and elderly relatives she has to take care of. She can. It just might be challenging… Not your problem. Backroads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 I also blame the legal system and the government for many of the regulations. Sorry, our hands are tied. Please write your congressman. Just_A_Guy and Backroads 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backroads Posted May 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 5 minutes ago, mikbone said: I also blame the legal system and the government for many of the regulations. Sorry, our hands are tied. Please write your congressman. Ooh, I do this far more often than I should. Couple of years ago caused more drama than I intended. A mom wanted to take her kid's test for him. After she argued with me a bunch, I finally said my hands were tied (it was for a baseline assessment for state data, not even graded) and that maybe she could contact the ed department to argue her case. It didn't go well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDSGator Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 It’s obnoxious, but just let it go. Not a battle worth fighting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 57 minutes ago, Backroads said: She can't homeschool because she's a single mom to a bunch of kids who also has to take care of her sick and elderly relatives and she is the only one earning an income (this is actually why there was a truancy meeting as nothing was getting done because she was never home) and therefore can't afford to homeschool because who would earn an income and pay the bills? She also can't move out of state because of sick and elderly relatives she has to take care of. "I'm so sorry that your life choices have led you to this impasse. Best of luck with that." "Oh, you're still here. Was there anything else?" scottyg, Carborendum, mikbone and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 I’m in California so its not a problem for me. But, I would probably agree with her and state how those “Jack-Mormons” really get under my skin. I wish they could all be well behaving Latter-Day Saints and follow the example set by Jesus Christ… Alas. Backroads and Vort 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 "What makes you think everyone in this meeting is Mormon? Oh well, we are in Utah. Not everyone in Utah is Mormon, look at yourself for example." zil2, Backroads and mordorbund 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 (edited) As a surgeon a huge part of my job is expectation management. Ma’am, if you have a bag of Doritos and you jump on top of the bag and crush the chips to little bits and then hand me the bag and ask me to fix it, I will have limited options. I can’t return it to how it was. This is the picture of your femur… Edited May 16, 2023 by mikbone Vort 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 27 minutes ago, mikbone said: What sorcery provides that level of internal imagery? Just_A_Guy and zil2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil2 Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 30 minutes ago, mikbone said: Ma’am, if you have a bag of Doritos and you jump on top of the bag and crush the chips to little bits and then hand me the bag and ask me to fix it, I will have limited options. I can’t return it to how it was. Well, apparently your OCD isn't sufficiently advanced... Vort and mirkwood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 4 minutes ago, Vort said: What sorcery provides that level of internal imagery? CT scan with 3D reconstruction. zil2 and Vort 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 3 minutes ago, zil2 said: Well, apparently your OCD isn't sufficiently advanced... Unfortunately, you have to control the OCD. Its not like a puzzle that you can leave out on the table for a couple of days. You have limited time due to tourniquet, anesthesia complications, and possibility of infection. This took just under 2 hours. She walks. Wouldn't want it to be my leg. NeuroTypical, JohnsonJones, Vort and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just_A_Guy Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 “You Mormon government hacks are just trying to meet your church’s child-stealing quota.” ”No ma’am, they made us do separation of church and state. Now we can steal as many kids as we want.” mirkwood, Carborendum and mikbone 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 5 hours ago, Backroads said: she kept saying "You Mormons just don't understand. I used to be Mormon and no one understands how important these family values are." The thing was, I'm positive I was the only church member at that meeting. Yet she just kept repeating stuff about how Mormons don't understand anything and referring to us as "those Mormons" just because we happen to be located in Utah just like her. From my perspective, this isn't about mormons, or family values. This is about ignorance. Once you figure out how to deal with ignorance in the workplace, you will have figured out how to deal with this person. People are wrong about things. What's your responsibility to correct them here? LDSGator 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikbone Posted May 16, 2023 Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said: This is about ignorance. Once you figure out how to deal with ignorance in the workplace, you will have figured out how to deal with this person. Ignorance is easy - education. Stupidity on the other hand is infinitely more difficult. I get the impression that ignorance is not the issue in this particular event. Edited May 16, 2023 by mikbone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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