Thank you. You phrased it better than I did. The fact that the phrase "garbage can diagnosis" exists isn't the problem for me. The fact that he felt empowered/entitled enough to use it so casually is what rankles me.

I agree. But I think it's a teensy bit disingenuous to pretend that this language doesn't occasionally indicate, or reinforce, a less than caring mentality. For example, I've heard excellent, caring teachers in the privacy of the teachers' workroom say, "That kid doesn't have ADHD. He's got BRAT." But reaching the…

While I understand what you are trying to explain, it doesn't make that language acceptable no matter how much a doctor works with real people and real problems. In my profession (teaching) which is held in far less esteem than your wife's profession, we also have dismissive and pejorative phrases for our clients. …

Really? I remembering once reading that only children are often the most psychologically/emotionally healthy adults. They wind up with a solid sense of self because they were never forced into competing for parental attention or affection.

Yes, yes, yes! I get so tired of people proclaiming they "love Disney!" and yet have no idea how ruthless Disney is and how much of a stranglehold they have over this area.

Newman!

Thank you. I know a lot of nuns. Probably more than most of these commenters put together. I have worked with them for years and years and years and been educated exclusively by them. Some of them are great. Some of them are not. Most of them fall somewhere in the middle. This is mostly because they are people…

Some of the comments, on the other hand, are....well, let's call them "discouraging." I think "astonishingly delusional and narcissistic" would actually be more accurate, but maybe I'm being harsh.

Okay, if you feel that you are qualified in a way that this woman is not then I'm sure some high school near you would be happy to schedule you to speak at some point. Call them up and ask.

Right, so that's why she spent time at another university taking post-bac courses in pre-med. She's attending medical school next fall when the Miss America gig is over.

Well, I work in a high school every single day and have for a very long time. If there are "prom-posals" happening they are not happening in large numbers. There's a pretty fair number of students who go to the prom with friends and not as dates. Secondly, I suspect every school administrator in the US would…

Except for the fact that she holds a B.S. in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan.

It's three days of in-school suspension — it's not that big a deal. He was told not to do it, he did it anyway, so he's being held accountable for what he freely chose to do. Notice that he managed to get the focus directed on 18-year-old, pre-frat boy behavior instead of this woman's actual speech about STEM…

You are exactly right. As far as my husband's family knew, they were just southerners who had lived in the same state since at least the 1860's. They neither knew nor cared where their European ancestors came from. When I worked on their genealogy I discovered that their family was originally English (not a big…

Soldiers who are "addicted" to a combat high are suffering mental distress. They aren't brave or not brave. They're ill. Believe me, people who serve in the military do not view this kind of behavior as positive or healthy for the individual or the unit. And all kinds of soldiers serve in combat and go on…

Good point. Plus, Sr. Cristina seems pretty happy with what's she's chosen to do with her life so I don't understand why anyone would want either one of them to ditch everything and run off with each other. But then again I don't understand all the comments that seem to suggest, "Oh, look at the cute nuns!" It's as…

My thoughts exactly!

But of course! Teachers are the national scapegoats for some.

Actually, it took only a few seconds before someone came in here and blamed teachers. That's much more par for the course in the US when it comes to education. You really need to keep up.

I've got no problem with sex education, but I am confused by your sentence about the Common Core. You wrote about "...another list of possible national sex ed standards called Common Core..." The Common Core does not cover sex education. It covers mathematics and English/language arts. While ELA is covered pretty…