Gary: The original Belden Lineman

[druzy]

[ginger90]

 

[alexa]

I hate when people brag about their kids like this. The reality is that kids are at different levels. I have a child her age in the gifted program but I would not go around telling everyone his grades and test scores. I just feel like as long as each child tries to do their best and to learn that is the best achievement for everyone. It never helps to tell everyone that you think your child is smart and go into specifics. I find it awkward when people say things like that to me about their child. Like should I share back and give competing test results?  Lol

[DangerousMinds]

Guess what Gary? No one ever had to "make" me read. I was a little bookworm whose favorite place was the library.

[Brooklynista]

Eh, Leah has a shitty mom and a new brother she's going to have to play sister-mom to. I say let Gary give her a bit of a spotlight where he can. 

[JocelynCavanaugh]

I do like that Gary mentioned reading to your children at home. That is the #1 thing any parent, from any socioeconomic/racial/cultural background can do to give their kid the best possible start in literacy and academics. Some kids are naturally voracious readers (sounds like @DangerousMinds and I were in that category!), but those who aren't will still benefit a TON from having literacy encouraged at home, starting when they're tiny. When I grade college freshman writing, it's so clear to me who is a reader and who just types like they talk and calls it a day. 

[alexa]

6 hours ago, JocelynCavanaugh said:

I do like that Gary mentioned reading to your children at home. That is the #1 thing any parent, from any socioeconomic/racial/cultural background can do to give their kid the best possible start in literacy and academics. Some kids are naturally voracious readers (sounds like @DangerousMinds and I were in that category!), but those who aren't will still benefit a TON from having literacy encouraged at home, starting when they're tiny. When I grade college freshman writing, it's so clear to me who is a reader and who just types like they talk and calls it a day. 

I was fine with that part, but I don't really like when people attribute a positive outcome to something they did exclusively.  It is great they read at home, like many other parents/children do, and I don't mind that being mentioned--but there are other parents/children reading at home that their kids are not getting straight As, and that is okay too as long as they are learning and doing their best.  I guess I just didn't care for how it was worded.  I wouldn't go up to someone at work and say, oh, my son got As all year, and part of that is because we participate in his education and read to him at home/he reads a lot on his own, etc, etc.  They would probably think, well, I don't ignore my child, and he/she reads too.  

Edited June 4, 2018 by alexa

[NannyBails]

@alexa, I hear what you are saying and I agree that boasting about your kids doing well because you make them read is problematic.  I wonder if Gary posts things like this because there's a neglectful parent involved who doesn't read to her child and probably doesn't care if her child has the good attendance record that she does.    He may be trying to send a message to Amber and/ or other family members who don't prioritize education.    Or maybe he just didn't think about the situations you mentioned?

[druzy]

[JocelynCavanaugh]

3 hours ago, alexa said:

I was fine with that part, but I don't really like when people attribute a positive outcome to something they did exclusively.  It is great they read at home, like many other parents/children do, and I don't mind that being mentioned--but there are other parents/children reading at home that their kids are not getting straight As, and that is okay too as long as they are learning and doing their best.  I guess I just didn't care for how it was worded.  I wouldn't go up to someone at work and say, oh, my son got As all year, and part of that is because we participate in his education and read to him at home/he reads a lot on his own, etc, etc.  They would probably think, well, I don't ignore my child, and he/she reads too.  

I can see how you read that into it, but it didn't come across that way to me. 

[druzy]

Weekly update for Gary's thread title

@Fairydusted

Amber has a bed. I have Leah and Spite chickens.

@Kazu

Gary Lives the Spite Life

@MargeGunderson

Gary: Spite Life; Like Thug Life with Chickens

[ginger90]

[CaliforniaLove]

4 hours ago, druzy said:

Weekly update for Gary's thread title

@Fairydusted

Amber has a bed. I have Leah and Spite chickens.

@Kazu

Gary Lives the Spite Life

@MargeGunderson

Gary: Spite Life; Like Thug Life with Chickens

While I love these (and you clever little devils!!), Gary's shirt was so iconic those first couple years of TM, I kinda don't want to see the thread title change. #beldenlineman4eva

[druzy]

4 minutes ago, CaliforniaLove said:

While I love these (and you clever little devils!!), Gary's shirt was so iconic those first couple years of TM, I kinda don't want to see the thread title change. #beldenlineman4eva

For all of the threads the original thread title will be a choice in the poll ?

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, ginger90 said:

Lol, I love what a cheapskate Gary is. 

[EmeraldGirl]

Yeah, this one is hard for Gary. That damn T-shirt can never be unseen. What could compare? Spite chickens and an oversexed mother = winning in Anderson, Indiana? 

Not as catchy. 

[malaluna]

Gary: Livin' a Picnic Life

I'll always remember Amber yelling at Gary: "have a picnic life, bitch." It was so hilarious because he was like what "have a picnic life???" 

Fast forward to the present and Gary IS living a picnic life. He has a gem of wife, spite chickens and all. So HA Amber.

[druzy]

[druzy]

[ghoulina]

LOVE that picture! Despite the hair loss, Gary should actually go hatless more often. 

[MissMel]

20 hours ago, malaluna said:

Gary: Livin' a Picnic Life

I'll always remember Amber yelling at Gary: "have a picnic life, bitch." It was so hilarious because he was like what "have a picnic life???" 

Fast forward to the present and Gary IS living a picnic life. He has a gem of wife, spite chickens and all. So HA Amber.

Dad Bod, Spite Chickens, and a Picnic Life

[druzy]

I ❤️ Gary!

[FairyDusted]

LMAO!!!!!! Fuck I love Gary. That's a very nice photo of him and Kristina. Those girls of his are aces. That baby will do anything to be just like Sissy Leah. They all look happy. That's all that counts for me. 

[druzy]

[EmeraldGirl]

Gary looks great in that picture. I hope it’s weight loss and not just the angle. 

[druzy]

 

[heatherchandler]

On 6/4/2018 at 6:47 PM, CaliforniaLove said:

While I love these (and you clever little devils!!), Gary's shirt was so iconic those first couple years of TM, I kinda don't want to see the thread title change. #beldenlineman4eva

I agree!  He will always be the Original Belden Lineman to me.

 

On 6/4/2018 at 7:32 PM, ghoulina said:

Lol, I love what a cheapskate Gary is. 

 

I have done this too, I think I got a free dinner out of it.  I would never sit for 5 HOURS though!  

 

On 6/5/2018 at 12:59 AM, malaluna said:

Gary: Livin' a Picnic Life

I'll always remember Amber yelling at Gary: "have a picnic life, bitch." It was so hilarious because he was like what "have a picnic life???" 

 

 

Yes - that was awesome - I believe when Amber (strung out on pain pills at that time, we now know), she was like "what did you guys do today?" and Gary and his friends (high on weed, I believe) said that they had a picnic.  

 

Is that weird that someone got a license plate named after him?  He's like a 3rd-line player on a crappy reality show.  I am a fan, but this seems a bit much!

[druzy]

[Marley]

It definitely looks like he’s lost some weight.

[EmeraldGirl]

Go Gary! I can see it in his head/face. Keep the hat off. 

[NannyBails]

20 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

Is that weird that someone got a license plate named after him?  He's like a 3rd-line player on a crappy reality show.  I am a fan, but this seems a bit much!

And the guy "earned" a follow because of it.   Wonder if he's bragging to all his friends that Gary from Teen Mom follows his Instagram?

[meredithalmighty]

As far as the posts regarding Gary sharing Leah's reading scores, being featured on a reality show makes him a public figure and to continue to be paid to be on MTV's Teen Mom- he has to share his life and brand with the general public. I bet he's read the numerous comments on Amber's page and realizes how illiterate the majority of TM fans are. While I don't follow him on social media, I'm sure he gets hate mail from Amber's fans regarding Leah's custody situation and how unfair it is for Amber. In light of the criticism he faces, he has every right to brag about how well Leah is doing with school. I bet Leah's current reading ability is the equivalent of Gary's Mom- Gary does not come from a privileged background at all. Leah's reading scores are a huge accomplishment, and I can see why Gary posted it although I do not share information about my daughter's test scores to prove something to others. But I'm also not a public figure. 

[druzy]

[Scarlett45]

Happy Father’s Day to Gary. My favorite Dad of the TM Cast. 

[TheRealT]

On 6/3/2018 at 9:53 PM, alexa said:

I hate when people brag about their kids like this. The reality is that kids are at different levels. I have a child her age in the gifted program but I would not go around telling everyone his grades and test scores. I just feel like as long as each child tries to do their best and to learn that is the best achievement for everyone. It never helps to tell everyone that you think your child is smart and go into specifics. I find it awkward when people say things like that to me about their child. Like should I share back and give competing test results?  Lol

I get what you're saying, but, frankly, it's doubtful that Gary has an understanding of education/child development/etc. as sophisticated as yours or, probably, as high a level of educational achievement as you have. I think Gary started his parental journey as someone who wanted to be a good dad and thought that included supporting Leah in getting the best education possible, but who likely had little idea how to accomplish that beyond making/encouraging her to read, buying her some educational toys/videos, etc. He was probably relieved and maybe a little surprised when his efforts paid off with Leah doing well in school. He talked on the show about how he regrets not taking his own education very seriously and how he doesn't want Leah to be held back by a lack of education in any way (when he explained why he was so loath to let Amber have her overnight on school nights). I think the whole school nights with Amber issue, which was based in not wanting to Leah to break her perfect attendance record in elementary school, indicated how serious Gary is about how important Leah's education is to him and how careful he feels he needs to be about not taking ANY chances. I know lots of well educated parents who think nothing of taking their kid(s) out of school for a few days for vacation (or whatever reason, really) or of their kid(s) being late to school a couple of times. But they have reason to believe that their children's educational success is more or less guaranteed, while someone like Gary has much more reason to worry that one false move could have a significant negative impact on their child's future. All of that to say, I think he also sees/talks about Leah's success in school somewhat differently than more educated parents might. It's like the thing of people who went to elite colleges not naming their colleges in casual conversation (so as to not seem pretentious, but in some ways/instances it's more pretentious than just naming your college).

[druzy]

[Bridget]

On 6/3/2018 at 9:52 PM, JocelynCavanaugh said:

I do like that Gary mentioned reading to your children at home. That is the #1 thing any parent, from any socioeconomic/racial/cultural background can do to give their kid the best possible start in literacy and academics. Some kids are naturally voracious readers (sounds like @DangerousMinds and I were in that category!), but those who aren't will still benefit a TON from having literacy encouraged at home, starting when they're tiny. When I grade college freshman writing, it's so clear to me who is a reader and who just types like they talk and calls it a day. 

You know I will always have your back! Keep preaching!!

I do hope that Gary & Kristina both regularly pick up a book (maybe something in grammar genre? ?) and read when Leah is reading instead of simply telling Leah she needs to read while they’re on their phones or doing something other than reading. If everyone turns off their devices, finds an interesting book to read and the whole family does that for X minutes each night, (akin to taking a walk after dinner or even bath/bedtime routines), once that habit is established, chances are that it’ll be there for life. I can already imagine Emilee “reading” her own book (or have G/K alternate nights reading with Emilee) when her whole family has reading time and she’ll grow to love reading instead of seeing it as a chore.

Parents have to model a ton for their kids, especially for the ones who aren’t naturally voracious readers.

I have implemented silent reading (25 mins) with both my middle & high schoolers when the schedule allows for extra time because I know they (sadly) don’t read at home. I don’t care what they read, as long as it’s their choice. When they read, I stop what I’m doing and I read too. I know it sounds really elementary school-ish, but I am pleased to share that even when students forgot their books and had to read a textbook instead, slowly but surely, their writing did improve, even if it’s by the tiniest fraction.  There were days when my timer went off and my non-readers asked to keep reading and it wasn’t even task avoidance behavior; they genuinely wanted to finish an article or read another chapter. My heart danced jigs on those days!

I’m also honest and tell my students if they don’t love what they’re reading after two chapters, put it aside and choose something different. Life’s too short to read boring books.

My intent is to get them to understand that reading IS great/fun, but there are going to be times when they’ll have to read boring books for school (usually in my class!), but it doesn’t mean that ALL reading is as hard/boring/challenging as what is read in school.

One year, many of my 8th graders’ comprehension levels were so low that despite reading the book together, group discussions and answering text based questions, they still didn’t understand 1/2 of  the plot of “The Outsiders” nor could they differentiate among the characters. It was so frustrating, especially because it’s typically a book that almost everyone loves to read. Because their literacy levels were so low (comprehension, understanding elements of plot and ability to recall events), they hated life. I still don’t know how to feel about it.

(For those of you who have NOT read it, SPOILER ALERT:...................

 

 

the # of kids in my class who still didn’t understand that Dally committed suicide by cop even after I explained the basic tenets of law to them and used textual evidence to support the event to them was shocking. Sad. Sad. Sad.  I know some of my students are anti-police by nature, but they truly didn’t understand what happens when you do XYZ, as Dally die. I kid you not, during their presentations, nearly every trio had a section on how Dally was innocently murdered by the police!)

[JocelynCavanaugh]

14 minutes ago, Bridget said:

One year, many of my 8th graders’ comprehension levels were so low that despite reading the book together, group discussions and answering text based questions, they still didn’t understand 1/2 of  the plot of “The Outsiders” nor could they differentiate among the characters. It was so frustrating, especially because it’s typically a book that almost everyone loves to read. Because their literacy levels were so low (comprehension, understanding elements of plot and ability to recall events), they hated life. I still don’t know how to feel about it.

Okay, in their defense, isn't that the one that has people named Dally AND Darry, or some other absurdly similar naming scheme? I remember having trouble with that too. (I have some issues visualizing faces/characters and spatial settings, which is probably relevant...) I also had a really hard time with Ivy Larkin because the main character has a brother named Francis, and then all of a sudden she's talking about some guy named Frank, and I was like WHO IS FRANK. THIS BOOK MAKES NO SENSE. Eventually I think I asked my mom WTF that was about and she explained the nickname thing.

BUT in general, yeah, "kids today" are a MESS when it comes to reading and critical thinking. They seem to have zero experience with reading for comprehension AND zero concept of why it matters. While I wouldn't recommend Gary Shirley as a role model per se, there are people who look up to him, so if one of his followers comes away from that tweet motivated to read to their kids or take them to story time at the library, then it's a Tiny Triumph.

My shameful Teen Mom viewership has sparked some funny discussions with students, but it got me in trouble the other day. I have an online student whose first and middle name are very similar, with his middle name being the name of a TM kid -- think "Jason Jace Rosada" or "Benjamin Bentley Rivera." Since we only communicate online, and his email account shows his full name, I kept calling him "Jace" instead of "Jason." He was sweet and didn't mention it, but when I finally noticed my reality-TV-fueled idiocy, I apologized and said "This was definitely NOT because I watch too much Teen Mom. (Okay maybe it was.)" ?

[druzy]

[druzy]

[ginger90]

Meanwhile, Amber is in bed........

[ginger90]

Video 

 

[druzy]

[crazychicken]

Emilee is such a cutie and she looks so grown up. Gary looks like he has lost some more weight

[druzy]

[druzy]

[ghoulina]

lol @ "for her part". Very minimal part. 

[Stusan]

9 hours ago, ghoulina said:

lol @ "for her part". Very minimal part. 

I know! It doesn't sound quite right and I'm sure Amber's panties are in a bunch about it!

[druzy]

[druzy]