Wow, so many posts while I was making dinner. I tried liking all of them because everyone was contributing interesting info to the discussion, but I'm out of likes. It's interesting to me that the parents of UCLA Community School, with 81% low income students, are trying to opt out because they feel it takes away instructional time from low income and ESL kids compared to others.

I am making corn chowder tonight in honor of our chowder discussion! It's the best I could do on short notice. I don't eat pork but when I want a smoky flavor I use smoked salt.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/38bb63200a934cbf83fc23adc6eddbdd/school-districts-parents-odds-over-breakfast-class Why is this bothering me? Wasted food? Nutritional propaganda? Lost classroom time? I can see the good side as well (food for all the kids, less shame about free breakfast if everyone has it, possibly better learning outcomes) but somehow it feels...encroaching. I guess going to the cafeteria early is a problem, so to fix that it's now in the classroom and part of class time. It feels like it's being driven by money, although some people working on it I'm sure have more altruistic motives. Other thoughts?

I know! What do you mean I have to go buy eggs for it?!

Wow, yuck. I mean, they asked you for info about why you dropped the course, you provided it, and then this?! :thumbdown: I agree that there's something else going on behind the scenes. Maybe the email writer is friends or related to the bio teacher.

Yes, I would wait for the dishwasher model!

Yes, we didn't have vending machines in any of my schools. In elementary and middle, I would have brought food from home if the OP was the provided lunch. In high school we had an open campus at lunch so I could have gone to the store. As an adult, I would probably eat the provided food.

Robochef gets cooking I actually like to cook, but some days...sigh.

:lol:

:lurk5:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I agree that the 11 year old might benefit from an evaluation if she's both brilliant but cannot remember to capitalize the first letter of a sentence and is struggling with MM4. It sounds like maybe the younger needs to have a more self-directed experience. Perhaps encourage her to take the lead? I agree with putting the books away for a few weeks and moving to field trips, drawing, music, science projects, unit studies, etc. and letting them help you figure it out. This time of year they could do a plant study, nature walk, make a garden, etc. I'm right there with you on the middle school issue. :thumbdown:

As an adult, I would eat it if I had no other choice. As a teen, I would have bought a Snickers instead.

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray: I'm pretty sure with Dante we're going downward....

I love that you felt the need to add "legally" to your post. I take it you won't be offering up the creators of the exam questions.

I'll call. PM me the number. :toetap05:

Yep. DS is also a serious and gentle guy and gave up an activity for this reason before he even joined. He had been thinking about signing up for a group when we happened to run into the group in a different context a few days ago. At first we were wondering who the really obnoxious kids were (saw them shove a toddler from far away) and then we got close enough to read their t-shirts and realized they were that group. The leader was letting them run amok. DS turned to me and said sadly, "Well, maybe they're not all like that, right?" And I agreed, but I know him well enough to know he's written them off based on that experience.

I was curious so I Googled a bit and found this NYT piece about selecting a college and it had a link to this web site to help weigh factors when deciding on a college.

Not my kids, but I've sat for it. I was exhausted when I finished, but also elated. Best of luck to your son and plan a relaxing evening!

Does either place have a garage? We stacked the stuff we moved ourselves into the garage. That stuff was thing we could live without for a while, such as extra sheets, turkey roaster, photos, sports equipment, etc. One possible plan: 1) Declutter and pack things you can live without for 8-10 weeks. 2) Move those boxes into a garage or out of the way location in the new house. 3) Pack a few boxes of necessities right before the move. Suitcases work well for this. Clothes, toiletries, first aid kit, sheets for each bed, stuff to clean dishes, paper plates, etc. 4) Move the necessities into the house early morning of the move. Have movers move the heavy things you need moved. That night, set up beds and start living in new house. 5) Pack up and clean anything left at old house.

I agree architecture is not s STEM field. My relative who's an architect has a BA in fine art and received an advanced degree in architecture after taking a break for many years. He did not do more math and science than basic Ged Ed requirements.

I have relative who's an architect but I don't have the answers to several of your daughter's questions. I'll just add what I know. One important thing he told me was that you really have to look at the connection between the architecture school and the community, plus the growth in building design of the local community. New architects get connected into the local scene through work found for them through schools, and the more work the better. My relative was accepted at a few architecture schools, including one that was more prestigious than the one he attended. But the prospects in the city of the more prestigious school were not as good (economy) so he took the less prestigious program in a growing city and has been able to find good placements through the school.

Wait, people leave? :p

Oooh, I had forgotten about these. Off to check my library. Thanks for the list. ETA: My nearby library has all but 4, one of which has not been translated from Polish, but only if I search individually. Canongate seems to not mean anything to the catalog.

I agree with Corraleno. Predators use filters to select kids by pushing boundaries more and more and watching the parents' reactions. The parents who seem clueless about the fact that their boundaries are being pushed are the ones whose kids are targeted. It's possible that the texting is a filter, as is the last-minute juggling. The late night trip could be a real filter. Things just get pushed more and more until the predator knows the parents don't react to suspicious and weird occurrences.