Congratulations to you and your daughter!

If you already have a mechanically reliable truck/SUV he can drive, or if a new truck/SUV will better suit his/your life when (if?) he returns to farm country, then I wouldn't buy another type of car JUST for L.A. There are plenty of trucks and SUVs around here. Yes, gas is more expensive here, but with mostly weekend driving the savings will be minimal. As for power, you don't need much when you are creeping along on freeway traffic at 5 mph or waiting for the signal at the freeway on ramp to turn green. :driving: Truthfully, there are times you need power on the freeways, but trucks and SUVs often have more power than smaller cars do. Also, trucks and SUVs are often more crash worthy than small commuter cars. Just a few thoughts which I hope help.

Dss like their new Ivars which redistribute weight in a back saving manner. That also causes less strain to the bottom seams, making the packs hold up well. They appear sturdy so far. Dss have the style called Alta. http://www.amazon.com/Annex-Pack---BLACK/dp/B003EASGAO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1428111038&sr=8-4&keywords=ivar+backpack

Faith, I just now read about all that you've been through and are going through. Please know that we are praying for your entire family. Sandra

My sons are14 and say they learned much from the WWS series. Even though they are natural writers, I chose WWS to help them develop a more methodical approach to their writing. Gifted writers sometimes find it hard to reign themselves in and follow the structure required of particular professional settings. I saw this periodically during the decades when I practiced law. By the end of WWS1, dss were able to use the program somewhat independently. HTH.

"The deeper meaning of a painting of a bowl of fruit is that the artist was obviously very hungry." Such a discerning young man. He recognized the work of a Starving Artist.

Great ideas. Since none of the Martial Arts moms chimed in on the prevention issue, I'll mention that a self-defense class would make a good gift to someonegoing off to college. While I forgot the physical defense aspects of a class I took long ago, I never forgot the assertiveness training that was involved. The teacher made all the gals walk past her as she gave cat calls or made lewd comments and each gal had to look her square in the eye and yell, "Leave me alone!." That kind of role playing can work wonders with a timid person who may never have practiced making a commotion. Another thing we had to practice was walking like a non-victim: confident, with shoulders back and eyes glancing around to notice danger, and an alert look on our faces. It's even possible to practice at home by marching up to a mirror, making a stern face and yelling, "Back off!"

Same thing here. There must be a missing brain convention going on.

Not long ago, some great advice was shared on these boards: Teach your students what to do if they are in a car accident. The recent discussion about rape culture on college campuses got me thinking that it might be fruitful to have a thread about things that we should teach our students to do should they (or their friends), become victims of sexual assualt. I worked for a Rape Education Program on my college campus in the seventies and our efforts indeed reduced the number of rapes at the school. Recently, one local college (Occidental) "quietly" settled lawsuits by at least ten sexually assaulted women who spoke against the school's mishandling of their reports of sexual assault. Seems like a step backwards, not forwards. When things are "quieted" it is easy for them to be minimized, and even to slip from our minds. If it's good to tell teens what to do if they get in a car accident, how much more important is it to teach them what to do if they are sexually assaulted? Please post any advice you can think of. To start, here are a few that I can think of: Call the police or community rape crisis center if there is one. Don't destroy any evidence, such as e-mail apologies from your assailant, and distrust anyone who tells you to do so. Know that showering after a rape can destroy evidence, so call the police first. If you can't remember what to do, search the internet for the steps to take. Remember that mom loves you, so call her. Parents, keep open the lines of communication so your students feel comfortable calling you in time of crisis, because pain and emotion may cause them to forget what to do. Not only will you be able to comfort them, you will also be able to remind them of important things, such as "Don't delete that e-mail apology from your assailant, and distrust anyone who tells you to do so!" You may have taught your students to be "innocent as doves," but don't forget to teach them to be "wise as serpents." And I don't limit that to warning them about predators. If you taught your students to trust authority, please also teach them to recognize the conflicts of interest around them. Help them evaluate all advice with the understanding that it may be tainted by unrecognized bias, conflict of interest (money, politics, professional standing, etc.) or even outright deception. TIA, Hive, for chiming in with any other advice you can think of.

Congratulations to your son. and KUDOS to his teacher!

You and dd have visited other schools, right? Were you treated respectfully at the other schools? This school isn't the only game in town, is it? The question, then, is whether this bigoted professor is an aberration, or merely someone who is speaking what others are secretly thinking. There may be no way to find out, but your daughter has now witnessed the fact that no number of advanced degrees can separate a human being from human bias or human foible. Decades as a trial attorney taught me this. Holding a degree in science does not exempt a person from bias. Consider this question: Have any scientific institutions ever excluded groups of people based on race or gender? If so, then no amount of scientific training removed bias from the hearts of the people involved, did it? Consider this question: Have any scientific studies ever been influenced by money? Have clinical trials ever been shortened for primarily economic reasons or to get a product on the market first? If so, then people in scientific professions are influenced by other considerations, aren't they? When you realize that science is not a separate, living entity, but a discipline that is only as good as the people employing it, you get a different perspective, don't you? Your daughter may encounter prejudice, but if she lets bigoted people discourage her from pursuing science, she allows them to make science an exclusive club. Doesn't it scare you that the professor you encountered wields so much power? Independent of his bigotry, consider the manner in which he draws categorical conclusions. What evidence supports his statement that the Bible was written by people on drugs? All 66 books of the Bible? All 40 authors? Suppose he believes that certain visions in the Bible sound like drug induced hallucinations? Is it reasonable for him to make a sweeping proclamation about the entire Bible, which includes writings that describe no visions? You no doubt already crossed this school off the list, and for good reason. Granting that professor power over your daughter's future would be a big mistake. Don't let one mean-spirited person dissuade your daughter. Best of luck to both of you.

Thank you for raising these issues. I plan to contact the high school to learn whether or not the curriculum really matters. If all that matters is the placement results, then I will look at switching to AOPS Algebra for the rest of the year. Thanks again, everyone.

Thank you for the advice, everyone. Although there is flexibility in most things, the school is very rigid about which curricula can be designated as Algebra on the transcript. My son wanted the Art of Problem Solving as his official curriculum but the school said the transcript would designate AOPS Algebra as math and he would get no credit for Algebra when he goes to public high school if he uses AOPS Algebra. So son is using Chalk Dust Algebra, which is approved. Although AOPS is still on our shelf for supplementation and fun, doing both as full programs is too much. It would be nice if some differentiation were available for bright students, but it sounds like that is a privilege, and not a right in California. I haven't been able to find too much information on that issue. Thanks again, all.

We homeschool through a California public charter school. When my son scored a perfect math score on standardized testing back in second grade I asked the school about support for gifted students. I was told to chat with another mom who had a gifted child, and that was it. Now, after years of similar performance in all categories I am concerned that my son isn't being challenged enough. If there is evidence of giftedness, does the law require testing of a child who attends a public charter school that is not a brick and mortar school? Since we have been homeschooling, I never felt like we needed the label "gifted" even though performance and family history make the designation likely. Ds will attend a brick and mortar public high school, which prompts a second question. Is it even worth worrying about if he will leave the charter school that he is with now? TIA for any info, advice or comments you can offer.

Yes, I will check the high school forum. The school here offers 24 AP courses (46 sections)and requires parents to sign statements declaring that they are not enrolling students in AP just to boost their GPAs or to get them accepted to college, but because they value scholarship.The parents must also promise not to involve their children in too many extracurriculars. This suggests the courses are offered for their intrinsic value, which is more in keeping with our educational philosophy. Sorry to hear you have so few offerings there. Thank goodness for the Art of Problem Solving. Good luck and thanks again. :)

I appreciate the advice, Heigh Ho. Kudos to you for years of supplementing your son's education. I actually called the school to ask which textbooks it uses so I could compare them and decide among the various programs the school offers, but the school does not disclose the name of textbooks to parents for some reason, The school gives a very general description of the various programs and based on that the student must rank his 1 through 5 choices. It seems like many parents simply demand their dc take all Honors and AP classes, become one of the school's 40 valedictorians and get accepted to an Ivy league school. They supplement by sending the dc to tutors and test prep courses. After years of appreciating education for its intrinsic value, I'm a bit of an outsider in all of this. Not that I'm against that level of achievment--I was raised in gifted classes and was valedictorian of both my junior high and my high school--but I have come to value the depth and richness of classical education. I like your idea of the 2 hour time block. Especially during the first semester as we learn how demanding the classes are. Ds' standardized test scores will put him in the Honors classes. The only AP class offered in grade 9 is Human Geography. Did your son take that course? If he did, was there value in the material and did you have to supplement it? If so, what supplementary materials did you use? If you don't have time to answer, don't worry. Another member of the hive might chime in. Take care and thanks again.

Thanks for the replies, ladies. Heigh Ho, is your afterschooling a continuation of homeschooling or have your dc always attended brick and morter schools? Ds will be going from a classical pedagogy to a fast paced, competitive environment, so I may postpone afterschooling until the second semester. I don't want to sacrifice deep reflection to the AP arms race which I'm told drives the high performing students, but I also don't want to overload ds during the first semester by afterschooling in Latin. He will continue with piano, so that may be enough to start with. Any advice on how to keep the balance? TIA.

Ds may go to a public charter school next year, 9th grade. Although it offers some "integrated" programs such as integrated STEM, Global History of Ideas, and IB in 11th and 12th grade, none of the programs follow classical pedagogy or classical content. I am wondering whether afterschooling in Latin will be a good idea. Ds will be taking Spanish at the school but also wants to continue his Latin studies. Do any of you still afterschool at the high school level? If so, what do you do? TIA

Congratulations to Calvin and to you too! Good luck to you both in the week ahead.

Has anyone's dc taken classes at YDACS? If so, I'd love to hear your opinion of the school and the classes it offers. TIA.

Bravo!

This will be dss final year in a homeschool charter school. They joined in second grade and they are currently in 8th grade. They will leave the charter school at the end of the school year. It will be impossible to pursue a classical education in high school if they remain with the charter school, because the curriculum options are very limited. Is part of the hoop-jumping you find tiresome the fact that the curriculum options are limited? Are you finding yourself straying from the classical pedagogy as a result? (I'm assuming you follow it in whole or part). The most common reason students leave our charter school at the end of 8th grade, I believe, is because limited curriculum options virtually eliminate one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling. For us, the benefits of belonging to the charter school are fewer in high school. In the earlier years, I appreciated the feedback of STAR exam results and online assessments in math and language arts. The second grade STAR results confirmed our use of Singapore Math, for example. By high school the focus shifts, and the benefits of rhetoric stage classical education outweigh most of what the charter school can offer. Finally, one ds is adamant about using Art of Problem Solving curricula for his high school math, and the charter school will not give credit for it, even though the school acknowledges that AOPS is a more rigorous math program than anything on the approved curriculum list. The school itself is limited in what it can offer, even if it would prefer to do more. I hope this helps. Good luck in deciding what to do.

Here in So Cal we have year round farmers' markets where organic produce is readily available, so I always thought of it as a "climate thing" but maybe it's really a "crunchy thing." Thanks for the vocabulary lesson, Jane!

Thanks for the info, Jane. What's a "crunchy" town, btw?

This is an interesting discussion. I don't know if this qualifies as a philosophical reason, but what does a dorm student do if he wants to eat only organic food? Is that an option at many colleges?