u/Sense_Difficult

Looking for experienced Correction Officer's opinions. I am preparing a group of teachers for an exam for the School Building Leaders test, and I find that many of them have worked in schools that have violated the CBA for so long that they don't even realize how wrong it is. This is causing them to get some really easy questions wrong on the test.

What I have noticed over the last 18 years is that whenever I have had a CO in our classes as a career changer, they never get the questions wrong. They immediately pick the right answer. They never fall for the distractors on the test.

Both operate under Taylor's Law and the CBA Both are public employees

So what's the difference

COs are non exempt employees so this means they get paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours. One of the types of wrong answers on the test that teachers will always pick (because they are exempt employees) is all kinds of free extra work, staying after, creating lesson plans for other teachers. These are all the wrong answer but they pick them because this is what schools do in real life.

So the first question I'd like to ask, is how does this work in a Prison? I've looked up some information and is it right to say that you cannot stay and work off the clock because the building can't afford to pay you overtime.

In a school it would be something like "If you stay late, I'll let you leave early for the baseball game next Friday."

I'm trying to convey to the teachers that a Correction Officer would NEVER pick that answer on the test because they are not allowed to stay in the building if they are off the clock?

But what do I know? Any insights would be helpful.

I've been using the free AI on my computer so it doesn't save the conversations. This means I have to start over again each time. It's been helping put together some test prep materials. And I have to keep forcing it not to do a data dump on me but to listen as I write out long paragraphs of brainstorming type ides.

It kept praising me for being very intelligent because I was using "two different vectors" in my prompts and isolating ideas to 1% of the typical users. And I kept telling it to stop with the overpraising and flattery and stick the subject.

Finally we created around 5 different mini practice quizes with 3 questions each and answer options. It created it as a PDF so I could share it with myself. And by the fifth time it started glitching. The PDF wasn't coming up only the title.

I take a break and come back hours later. I put everythign back in again, similar conversation. This time though, it started answering questions before I finished writing them. And then repeatedly getting answers wrong.

The one that really freaked me out was when I wrote a prompt had answers ABC written in the prompt (haven't sent it yet) and it jumps in with the answer saying that i's obviously D. Gives this huge data dump explanation. And it was wrong

So can you "overload" AI using it for free? Or is this kind of a sales thing where they're annoyed because I'm using it for much for free.

ALSO PLEASE NO SNARK I don't understand how any of it works.

I've been thinking of this for a few days because I've been watching Tornado videos. And I remember seeing this documentary years ago (which I can't find now) where the medical experts explained that sometimes people who have minor injuries after a tornado will wind up dying because of bacterial infections they can't treat. Apparently when the tornado rips up the ground, it unearths bacteria that humans haven't been exposed to in decades. And it gets fatal fast.

I could only think, imagine surviving a tornado only to die later because you go septic because a scratch on your arm got dirt in it?

I'm curious if people know other weird things like this? Medical Expertise appreciated!

As someone who has been a true crime buff for decades, it's somewhat annoying to watch how certain cases wind up getting pulled into such polarizing discussions that it seems like a huge mystery when it's actually a simple solution.

A few that I think of.

The Karen Read case. IMO she accidentally killed him. They were both drunk, he goes to see the vibe of the house. Get's inside and realizes he doesn't want to stay. So he comes back outside. She's in the middle of rage texting him, and doesn't see him in front of the car. He drops his phone or bends over for some reason and she puts the car into gear and hits him, and he falls backwards and hits his head again. Then he lays there undetected until morning. This is why she suddenly realized she had hit him. She sobered up and had that "realization" moment that all binge drinkers have once they sober up from a brownout type of state.

Darlie Routier. I've shared my theory on this before. She was attempting a murder/su but she survived. This is why the neck wound was serious. She made up the story of the intruder in advance because she wanted her family friends and society to think she died trying to protect her kids. She planted the sock earlier. This also explains her hypomania in the days after. She honestly thought she was going to die that night.

There are other missing person cases where the spouse disappeared after the death of their parents. Just vanished without taking their Identification information and never surfaced under their name again. I always wonder if some of those cases are a situation of someone who has suffered with gender dysphoria and finally "escaped" to go make another life with another identity. It's always interesting to me that in several of the cases, the persons parent or parents had recently died. Seemed like they were waiting for that to escape because they didn't want to do that to their parents.

Do any of you have "simple theories" on cases that created a ton of controversy?

Trigger warning.

This is the first time something like this has happened to me and I was surprised by my immediate reaction. A casual friend who I've been a sort of mentor to for the last two years called me for advice. He's a young father with a 5 year old daughter and the daughter's mother is his ex-girlfriend. There's been issues with him not paying child support, and the mother moving out of state and taking the daughter which is probably a good move.

But yesterday he called me in a panic and just unloaded on me that the ex said that the daughter is saying that his (*the father's), 11 year old brother touched her inappropriately during the summer visit. Part of me wonders if this is just some sort of custody stunt. Some of the things the mother said don't add up. But of course, the wellbeing of the child is everyone's first priority.

But my immediate gut reaction was to end the friendship. I didn't tell him this and was positive and supportive. But in my head, I just NOPED out. I told him that teachers are mandatory reporters. So, I can't know this and treat it like a "family matter." I actually got annoyed (but again didn't let it show) that he dumped this on me knowing I'm a mandatory reporter.

I don't work with children in a classroom. So, I've never experienced anything like this. Thankfully nothing like this has ever shown up in my personal life. But it occurred to me that this must happen to teachers all the time. How do you handle it? I wouldn't be able to maintain a friendship with someone who told me something like this happened to their child. Especially if it was treated as a "family matter." Just thinking of this freaks me out.

*Note, this is not about body shaming or things like that. But I'm honestly curious. I wonder if it has gotten worse with social media and AI etc. Mostly because Iphones have automatic filters on them that most people don't even realize they are using. They honestly think they look like the photo.

The reason this came up for me is that I found a bunch of photos from about 7 years ago, when I had lost a ton of weight and started dating my now partner. When we'd post photos on social media, we'd get all sorts of praise for being attractive as a couple. And then I remember people just showering me with compliments. in person, as well. I remember how I "thought" I looked back then. And when I found the photos again, I did NOT look like what I had in my head back then. LOL

It was actually a little bit embarrassing because I really remember walking around thinking I looked like Charlize Theron or Jean Harlow. People would say I reminded them of them but honestly looking at the photos now, in all seriousness I looked nothing like them. I actually looked like a blonde Bea Arthur, who is fabulous in her own right btw, but not the same at all.

I wonder if it was just the vibe I was giving off or something? But I also know what it's like as a 55F to look back on photos and realize I was much harsher on myself than I should have been. I've never experienced looking back and realizing "Girl you were DELUSIONAL! LOL"

I wonder how many people were rolling their eyes behind my back while I was strutting all over the place. LOL

Is this a new thing? Has anyone else experienced this themselves or dealt with it with others? I'm genuinely curious.

I have watched a few scenes. I kept wanting to go back to it. And only today did I realize that I don't feel moral or ethical in watching a movie with Robert Blake in it knowing he got away with murdering his wife Bonnie. I know some people can separate the "art" and the artist but I just can't.

As someone who has taught teenagers for ELA and Math for workshops that usually met on weekends or twice a week, I've never really had that "teacher in the classroom" kind of interaction with my students.

I've also never had to deal with behavioral interventions except for a few incidents with young men who absolutely did not want to be in an SAT prep class on Sunday mornings. The reactions from them and dealing with my own sons made me realize I didn't have the patience to teach like that full time. So, I moved into college level instruction.

But all throughout reddit I see teenagers posting, and some show up here. And some of them really set off red flags to me. Bringing up SA and self harm in very graphic ways. There seems to be this sort of Munchausen type of behavior that's based on attention seeking that really creeps me out. Please note, I'm not talking about a student seeking help for a situation involving SA or Self Harm. But more the kind of ruminating about it which is a red flag to me that they need to speak to a counselor.

If I had someone like this in my classroom I would probably be very strict and professional and make sure I referred them to the counselors and did my due diligence as a mandatory reporter.

But I realize that my empathy would go right out the window. They would actually scare me because of potential liability. And I'd probably (honestly) get annoyed with them trying to bring drama into the classroom. I'd want to only focus on the learning.

I realize I'm older now at 55 so perhaps that is part of it. But is this something you all deal with on a regular basis? Or is this just showing up more online on reddit? I can't imagine having to deal with this year after year.

I first noticed this when Motorola cell phones came out. The whole movie trope of "missed phone calls" and how the love interests are "just missing each other." Messages left on answering machines where the love interest explains something like "If you really want to be with me, show up at the airport tomorrow at 3, otherwise I'm getting on the plane." but it's ten seconds after the other lover walked out the door.

Disaster movies where the family has no clue that a flood or tornado etc. is heading their way.

Blackmail frame jobs with PIs who take photos.

Murder mystery type shows where someone is framed because the real killer deceptively plants evidence. Or the good ol, 'faked car accident" where someone is driven off a cliff or into water.

Movies like The Firm used quite of few of these tropes to ramp up the drama but don't work any more because of the kinds of technology we have these days.

I think this is why so many television shows that are coming out nowadays are reboots that take it into the past into our Gen X days. Because it opens up a ton of possibilities for plot lines that no longer exist. I noticed this with Dexter etc.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Watching Mindhunter and how they are trying to put together the analysis reminded me of a theory I had about mother son relationships. Especially how we see that Bill Tench is obviously clueless about what's going on with his son.

For years, we've heard that many serial killers have a toxic dynamic with their mothers and were often a victim of abuse. I've also wondered if something else was going on that the men of the era just never paid attention to because of the stereotypical idea that the mother is supposed to love and protect their child. It's treated as a sacred relationship.

And then for decades there has been the debate over nature versus nurture. But what if these killers are just born this way and their mothers could sense it in them very early on. They were usually the ones who were around them the most and I don't doubt that the mothers recognized something was really wrong even as a child.

Perhaps their abuse were desperate and misguided attempts of "beating it out of them" because they didn't have any other recourse. You also often see these mothers pushing them into religions or schools.

I've just always wondered if they completely misinterpreted what they were actually seeing and society just accepted it the way it was written down.

I find it interesting that Nancy was desperately trying to call Bill's attention to Brian and ultimately wound up leaving him because he was not paying attention to what was going on at home. We get a real sense of Nancy's desperation and attempt to protect her son because she doesn't know what's going on, but also being very afraid of him.

These two popped up on my FB feed. I was so happy

Kill Switch
Facebook

The Evil that Watches

Facebook

One stormy night when I was a kid my mother let us stay up late and watch oldies movies and Godzilla was on. We watched it together in our living room and we had one of those old fashioned 1970s metal fireplaces that extended out of the wall.

As soon as our mom got us upstairs in bed, our house was struck by lightning. I was about 7 years old at the time and honestly thought Godzilla was attacking the house. LOL The bolt of lightning basically illuminated the entire outside of our house and since it hit the chimney it blew the entire fireplace into the living room with this metallic echoing roar. And then the house caught on fire.

Everything was fine and no one got hurt. But to this day nearly 50 years later, every time I hear a really bad thunder storm, I think Godzilla is on the roam.

Do any of you have any locked in childhood memories that are misunderstood but you subconsciously hand on to them as an adult? Also, please can we keep this trigger free. and lighthearted!! :)

I haven't gone to the movies in years. I've heard this one is one to see in IMAX. Has anyone seen it? Is there a difference?

Just thought this might be an interesting discussion. I've read theories that the reason married women and mothers tend to like shows like Dateline and 48 Hours is that they usually the "planners" in their families. The most popular episodes among them seem to be ones where someone concocted some huge cover up and then gets busted by a simple mistake.

This got me wondering if this applies to teachers as well. From my experience teachers are very good at planning and multitasking. So, I'm curious how many teachers out there like shows like Dateline and 48 Hours and if this is one of the reasons why?

I've also considered the idea of liking the voice over narration and predictability of the shows. It seems like they are making "sleep marathon" versions of the shows that people can use as "white noise' to fall asleep to. That's kind of weird in its own way when you think about it. Millions of viewers being soothed into sleep by murder shows!

What say you?

I have been working in Training for a specific industry (which I can't mention without doxing myself) and one of the main problems that I deal with is people who are very "expert" in knowledge and skill set, completely missing the point of a liability or safety issue on a licensing exam.

I have done this for almost 20 years now and work with a lot of career changers. I've worked with Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, Social Workers, Educators, Counselors and Therapists. And I have been amazed at how they just don't understand the concept of liability for "the building" versus "personal liability." IOW they seem to prioritize "getting fired" over the idea of following protocol to protect the liability of the entire institution or system.

But the one group of people that I have worked with who always seem to nail the answer and understanding are former COs who worked in prisons. They just immediately seem to get the priority.

I am not asking for insight, unless you are willing to give it, I'm more concerned about making a training video trying to use a "different perspective" and using terminology or phrasing that would be disrespectful or just flat out wrong when using COs as an example.

A few terms I think I have right are:

CO's. Correction Officers.
Vulnerable Population. (It's my understanding that calling people prisoners or inmates is considered disrespectful)

I also want to make the point that a CO is responsible for the safety of EVERYONE in the building, including their coworkers and the vulnerable population.

Are there any pet peeves out there, when people try to talk about prisons and it just very much comes across as clueless or disrespectful?

TYIA

Trolley Square

I am quasi new to the area and have been trying to build up my front patch garden.

I do not have a green thumb. So, I have been planting and cultivating and trying.

I've planted snapdragons and Hotas plants and bluebells.

A few weeks ago an elderly woman was walking down the street with her dog when I walked out of the house. She said "someone" dug up my Hosta and plants and she was "trying to put it back in."

I didn't give it much thought. But then the next time I was cleaning up I realized 4 of them were missing.

This morning when I was watering the lawn and clearing the debris for the sweepers, I noticed four large lush white mushrooms had bloomed in our front patch. I wanted to grab the camera because I thought it was cute.

When I came back, they were gone.

Maybe the squirrels nabbed them? But does anyone else see anything like this going on?