Burro Genius

There are always at least three sides to every story. My version. Your version. The truth.

In the interest of being sure the truth is always told, I offer only one true accounting of what teachers can REALLY be like.

I don't happen to believe that teachers need more money, more money, more money. That was true ONCE. Not anymore. When you read the Tampa Tribune and they pictify your 'ideal' next-door neighbors --- the ones who deserve 'special' discounts --- it's teachers, firemen, cops, armed-services people and nurses. First of all, these folks all have access to credit-unions and very very easy and readily available low-rate financing. MOST of them are already making WAY MORE money than average folks. I don't think they need any extra help living next door to me. To tell the truth, I don't want their asses there. A friend of mine in Seminole Heights had to go to court to get his lovely 'teacher next door' to stop intimidating and harassing him. She had taken out an injunction against him and almost went to jail for her lies and miscreant behavior.

Anyway .... I've talked to enough teachers to remain uninspired that they need more of my money. Or yours. They're too relaxed for me. No stress there at all because they have all the power. After work they forget about your kid and off to a bar or their own kids. That's all well and good but yknow what? They want to hold themselves up as DESERVING OF MORE and I want to ask WHY??? WHY THE HELL do you think you deserve MORE? You don't.

Some of you do; the rest of you are just part of the problem. We'll never get rid of you and until you get arrested (and even still then from my reading -- you just go and get your licenses re-upped) you have access to my child's mind. Out of 22 teachers I encountered in public schools here and in other counties only three of them merited the awesome, incredible respect one reserves for a true teacher. Three out of 22. One actually told me that she didn't want to teach and wanted to work for her parents' car dealership. Honey, pack your shit and move on. This was the same teacher who was once vociferously remarking on the lack of acumen of a child in her charge and me (all puzzled because the chld is a walking calculator) took the papers she referred to and said .... 'uhhhhh, derrrr --- these are NOT this child's papers) She tossed them in the trash and could not find any more examples of his poor work. Why? Because she was LYING. I hope she does title work until her fingers fall right off. And, yknow what? I liked her personally; I enjoyed talking with her. She was cute and funny and endearing and likable. But, when it comes to my child, lady all I want you to do is be a TEACHER. Teach. Not your philosophy or your ideology or your smart-ass attitude. Teach the subject. Close the book. Shut the hell up if you can't say anything nice.

I found many instances of teachers intimidating children subtly. But, I didn't HAVE to look, I've observed it. All the fences around schools make them look like prisons. They ARE prisons and the dark side is quickly taking them over. Talk to teachers. At some point you'll see that most are not worth the first paycheck never mind an additional one.

For the record: When children in my charge started school I thought teachers were ... close to HEAVEN .. the highest level of decency one could find. That was MY personal experience. I had to be TAUGHT differently. Thanks, Elia. You've done a bang up job. Pay them more? No thanks. Let people who love the job and want to teach make sacrifices like with EVERY calling. If they took the money out of politics we'd have public servants again. It's true.

When Victor Villaseñor stood at the podium and looked at the group of teachers amassed before him, he became enraged. He had never spoken in public before. His mind was flooded with childhood memories filled with humiliation, misunderstanding, and abuse at the hands of his teachers. With his heart pounding, he began to speak of these incidents. To his disbelief, the teachers before him responded to his embittered recollection with a standing ovation. Many could not contain their own tears.


Testimonials:

Victor Villaseñor has done it again!
With Burro Genius he has reached into the darkened regions of our collective heart and soul and found a ray of sunshine and hope. Having been dealt an unusually cruel and heavy load to bear by the American educational system, Victor’s amazing burro resilience not only helped him survive but also gifted him with the ability to forgive. His message transcends cultural innuendo and historical time frame. We are all guilty. Victor Villaseñor is truly a guardian deity of the human race.
Burro Genius is a must read for all public servants, including those of us in the mental health profession!

Joel Moreno, M.S.
Training Supervisor
Kern County Mental Health System of Care

I truly enjoyed Victor Villaseñor’s new book, Burro Genius. This should seriously be reviewed as a resource/professional teaching book for individuals who master in education. I would seriously ask that you consider meeting with various professional colleges of education (Specifically the Chairs or Deans) and see if they would be willing to place this book on the mandatory reading list for graduate students. It gives incredible insight into the mind and conscious of a child who has a difficult learning process. Also, the Orton Dyslexia Society could truly benefit from this book. . . . this book is a goldmine to educators.


Lucia Ortega-Villasana, Director
UECC Center For Public Service
Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
University of California, Riverside




I just finished Burro Genius! My God, what a book!

It made me remember Miss Mason, my 6th grade teacher, who grabbed a kid and slammed him into a cast iron heater. His collar bone was broken. The class was completely terrified of her, and her deed went unpunished.

Victor Villaseñor tells the awful truth about adults who bully and intimidate children. Teachers, priests, principals, nuns, school yard supervisors, .... who think breaking a child is the proper way to educate him. I am amazed that Villaseñor’s rage didn't consume him, that somehow the spirits of his ancestors broke through that rage and delivered him to the place where he could see these enemies of all children as, pathetic, and lost souls.

I believe every teacher, and adult that has a position of authority over children should read Burro Genius. Children come to us wide-eyed and with the electric current of wonder and too damn many of us go about trying to extinguish that spark.

Villaseñor has dyslexia, but no educational professional caught on when they should of. Instead they labeled him a "dumb Mexican" and tried again and again to beat him down. But the miracle of life runs strong in this original American writer. Do yourself a favor, read Burro Genius before you scold another child!

Stan Cooper,
Ethnic Studies Teacher
Paso Robles High School
Paso Robles, California




Book quotes:
The Kingdom of God is within us.
What lies before us and what lies
behind us are small matters compared
to what lies within us. And when we
bring what is within out into the world,
miracles happen. Jesus Christ
Henry David Thoreau