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linders

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Posts posted by linders

  1. S21 had many good choices, including in-state that would have been nearly free, but today we put down the deposit on Georgetown (gulp!). Plans to study economics and government, potentially law school. After a really good visit there two weeks ago, his decision was set. He is already looking forward to interning "on the Hill" either with government or a non-profit. It will be a challenge, but he's ready for it.

    It seems like yesterday that I was sitting with him on the couch with "the Dewey book" (Phonics Pathways). And playing RightStart math games. And reading SOTW. He wouldn't be where he is without all the support and ideas I got on these boards. He presented his senior thesis yesterday, and S19 came home from college for that. As we were driving over, S19 said, "You know mom, a big reason we did so well is because you homeschooled us for so long. You made us ask questions and think." 😂

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  2. I got a PM asking for S17's stats with respect to getting into Georgetown - I'll share here in case anyone else is interested.

    First - no real hooks. No URM, hasn't cured cancer, hasn't done anything at a national level.

    Numbers - ACT 35 (one and done), SAT 1550 (his third sitting). Couldn't take SATII, which GT usually wants to see, although they were more flexible this year. Seven APs with 5, a bunch of 4s, and a 3.

    ECs - student council exec past 3 years, exec and chair in Interact (our main service org), Boy Scout leader, many service hours with the last 2. Sports, but nothing at state level. Involved in politics - worked on a primary campaign, pollworker, etc. 

    I think his passion for politics and economics came through in his essays and interview, and probably in his recs as well.

    And in the end, these selective schools really are a bit of a lottery.

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  3. It has been so long since I have been on here. My S20 and S17 left homeschooling for a small B&M school before they began high school, but I stayed on here because I felt more connection to you all who are deeply involved in education than the parents at the school, who generally "leave it to the school." I do think that homeschooling and my continued engagement when they attended the B&M school made a difference. I have two young men who follow the news closely and can talk at length on myriad subjects.

    So, college. Many congratulations to everyone on their acceptances! And hugs to denys and defers - I am confident that everyone will find a place that is a good fit for them. S20 already attends and is thriving in the Honors College at the U of South Carolina. S17 was just accepted there as well, along with Clemson and Furman (with Furman's second highest scholarship). Emory is still out there, along with a couple of others.

    But the big news is that S17 was accepted EA to Georgetown. This is my child who lives and breathes news and politics and economics. He can give me a fully-updated rundown on every one of the cabinet nominees. He reads books like Freakonomics for fun. He has been stifled living in a small, very conservative Southern town, where he worked on a primary campaign knowing it was a hopeless cause. We know we will have to pay a hefty amount of the hefty tuition, but a can't imagine a location better suited for him. I still want him to visit, even if it is unofficial (in person tours are still on hold). But I think that is where he will end up.

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  4. We just returned from 5 days at a beach rental a 2 hour drive from home. Rented from a group we knew well who had implemented "deep cleaning." I still disinfected every conceivable surface as soon as we arrived. Took our own pillows and fleece blankets, put their pillows and bedspreads/blankets away since those don't get washed for each new arrival. We aren't actually lay-on-a-hot-beach people, we rode walked on the beach in the early morning, then bikes and kayaked the rest of the day - easy to social distance. Ordered take out from our favorite restaurants. Never needed to go into stores - had brought beverages, breakfast, and snacks with us. I'm pretty paranoid but felt good about it.

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  5. S17 was able to log in. 3s on Chem and Calc AB (surprised and disappointed on Calc), 4s on Lit and Gov (disappointed in Lit, felt he had a great essay), and 5 on Stats (the class he took independent study this year and shirked most of the year. Go figure.)

    Best wishes to all. A weird year.

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  6. From watching DH, who is on Facebook with a large number of "friends" (acquaintances), I see a big negative. DH is open about his opinions on Facebook; he is also a bit of a sarcastic person and likes "poking." His real friends, people who know him, are able to read his posts with that understanding. Many of the rest can't, and the ensuing debates - all electronic - get heated. He complains about it, I tell him he shouldn't be having debates like this remotely with people he barely knows. It is aggravating to me because I have to work with some of these people - in person - in other settings, like scouts.

    I am not on Facebook, but I am on Instagram and Twitter. I limit Instagram to interesting photos. I rarely post on Twitter, although I express my opinions through my "likes." I've only once heard about that.

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  7. Which to take first, Gov or US History, is a bit of a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" question. However, I will offer this - it's a high-stakes presidential election year. S17 just finished AP Gov, and the teacher was able to incorporate a lot about our election process into the class. She was inspiring! So much so that half the class, including my son, ended up working for campaigns during the primary. They all became poll workers. They had permission from the administration to skip school every time a campaign came to the area. It was pretty cool.

    If you started with Gov in the fall, you could also do that.

  8. On 5/19/2020 at 4:42 PM, mathnerd said:

    What happened essentially took away the level playing field from the students.

    Anecdotally, I'm not sure there has ever been a level playing field, at least where the public schools are not good.

    A neighbor teaches AP Lang at one of our public high schools. He spends much of his time on classroom management - our district promotes "AP for all" with no "gatekeeping" to ensure kids who take AP are prepared. Thus, some of the kids can't read the material assigned for class and aren't prepared to discuss. He can't do much in the way of discussion anyway because of some of the truly awful things students will say. He has kids who toss things around the room, and he has little recourse - can't send out of room unless they seriously harm someone, and they know it.

    Kids who get to go to better schools, public or private, have a big advantage in APs - better prepared. a stronger peer group, potentially better teachers. And kids with more resources can get AP test prep books. They likely have more time to prep - not working or helping care for family.

    The current situation made it worse, but it was never level.

  9. Well, I shopped for my own breakfast this morning. II'm usually up hours before the rest of the gang and like to eat about 8-ish.  Much to my surprise, DH was up at 7:30 announcing he would make me breakfast. Then I found out his menu plan; homemade sausage gravy (gross!) to serve over hash browns, with fried eggs and bacon (I never eat fried eggs). I gave him a funny look, at which point he said, "Why, what would you like?" Nice buttery croissants and fresh fruit, to include strawberries and kiwi (no one else in our house likes kiwi). "But we don't have any of that!" Yes, which is why I'm already dressed and hopping to the store when it opens at 8. Which I did.

    I wasn't at all upset by it - that was my plan. It was funny at the store, though, all the men and teens at 8 am buying flowers, cards, and candy. Maybe they thought it was sad that I was buying my own breakfast?

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  10. We-e-ell...I think it might depend on the class, and what the student ultimately covered. As noted by the OP, the tests will not cover the full content of the AP classes, and some students won't have had that material. For some courses - science and math come to mind - it would be a disservice to both the student and the university to be awarded credit for the comparable college course. Credit for Calc AB? How do you move on to take Calc 2 if you didn't actually cover all the material in Calc 1? What I could see instead would be testing (perhaps CLEP tests?) to determine whether the necessary content was mastered. For other courses - history and AP Lit come to mind - it might be more feasible to award credit.

    Yes, the kids have worked hard. It sucks. I don't think this is an area where there can be a one-size-fits-all answer.

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  11. We live in SC, just across the border from Georgia, and usually with travel there often (the closest Costco, Whole Foods). Can't wait to see how the Georgia "reopen now" experiment  pans out. Hard to imagine how hair and nail salons, massage therapists, etc will maintain social distancing. I can see a way to do so theoretically at theaters - sit every 3rd or 4th seat, every 2nd or 3rd row - but doubt theaters will enforce such rules and that it will be cost-effective for theater owners.

    Planning to skip Georgia for a while, although I fully expect our own governor to follow suit soon. 😬

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  12. 8 hours ago, happysmileylady said:

    Because here in the US, we have never ever denied emergency/lifesaving care to people simply because their life choices have put them a greater risk (even very much greater risk) and I should hope we never ever start doing so.  Chemo should never be denied to those who have lung cancer due to those who spent decades smoking, ER services have never been denied to drunk drivers who are critically injured in their single car accident....there is absolutely no reason to ever consider this to be different.  

    Yesterday, DH and a long-time friend who is a libertarian had this discussion (on speaker phone) for two hours. Friend lives in Seattle and thinks all the shutdown rules violate his civil rights (he is retired and well-to-do...the shutdown is not affecting his income, just his ability to go out.) DH firmly believes (as do I) that we all have a responsibility to take actions to protect the whole community, so it was a really fun discussion.

    Friend said he has the right to choose to  get exposed - when he gets sick and is hospitalized, that is on him, and he (or his insurance) should pay all healthcare costs. And everyone else should have the same choice with the same consequences. Essential workers? Healthcare workers? They "chose" those professions, so same logic. People without insurance? They should have "chosen" better jobs for better insurance.

    The discussion devolved to motorcycle helmet laws (if you choose to go without a helmet and are in accident with head injuries, you have tacitly agreed to no medical care), seatbelt laws, lifestyle choices, even your choice to have children (you want children, you pay for their education). There was absolutely no recognition of the community good.

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  13. On 4/13/2020 at 7:04 PM, Janeway said:

    He says he hates doing anything virtual. He says unless he can go to the colleges in person and speak to the people in person, he just won't bother. In fact, I wonder how college would even work out. Don't colleges require a lot of "google doc" and stuff like that these days? He says he hates doing anything on the computer...

    My S19 is a Finance/Accounting double major in the Honors program at UofSC. And yes, even before colleges transitioned to online, he had a lot of online work (and this even though all his classes were <30 students). At his school the "Google Classroom" equivalent (which he used in high school) is "Blackboard." If you don't check Blackboard often, you are toast. Teachers give directions and information online, and all of his assignments are submitted online. Grades and comments wrt those grades are provided online. S has online discussion groups, and one TA has always done study sessions via Zoom. His books are online (we made the mistake of buying one hard copy, which was bad - the homework assignments were all accessed and submitted via an online link to the online book.)

    Sure, there is much person-to-person (at least if you have smaller classes), but you must be comfortable with online work.

    ETA: Re the move to virtual instruction, most of S19's profs have been holding "live" classes where the students can interact and ask questions. This has only worked because he has small classes - wouldn't be the same in a large lecture, but I don't know that those offer much two-way interaction anyway.

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  14. 17 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

    My guess is if it’s open book, it’s going to be haaaard and I am not sure how one does that in 45 minutes. 
    May this point I really wish they had just postponed it till mid June. 

    Our AP Calc/AP Chem teacher expects that the FRQs will be "humdingers" given the open book aspect. She and I share the same concern - kids will look at the difficult prompt and get flustered, and it will take time 10-15 minutes to settle down. Which is a good chunk of 45 minutes.

  15. 7 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

     

    The first thing I calculated in my armageddon shopping list was how many bottles of wine I would need if I had to shelter in place with my kids for a month!

     

    A couple of days ago DH went out to do a little extra shopping. He called with this question, "How much wine should I buy to get you through being stuck at home with DS16 for a month?"

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  16. On 2/7/2020 at 8:57 AM, Ktgrok said:

    That said, if he decides to get his stress hormones under control and not all angsty, I will discuss one night. My guess is he will say one night isn't worth it. Grandma would be happy to sleep with DD2 and would manage, but two nights is beyond my comfort zone for how long I'm willing to be away. 

    Well, if you are willing to consider one night, I would offer him that chance. If he turns it down, then it is on him. I personally think one night would be quite worth it, and a gracious compromise on your part.

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  17. 7 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

    Except...I've never left the youngest alone even for one night. And she still wakes up crying for me on a semi regular basis - she has nightmares sometimes and other times just kicks all the covers off and wants mom. And she still nurses. And yeah. So I wasn't excited like he expected. More concerned. He got all quite and I know he's disappointed. Part of me feels I should just say yes because he's sad. Another part of me says I shouldn't do something I'm not comfortable with for MY birthday celebration...

    And I mean, he works so much, even he has only gotten DD to sleep maybe twice in her life. To go from me doing it every night to dropping her off and leaving her for two nights? Without even asking what I thought of the idea first, or considering any of that?

    Very, very gently. I'm I understanding your siggie correctly that the "baby" is almost 3? No judgement here on nursing and nighttime cuddles. However....maybe at this point, DH is feeling the loss of bonding time with you. You mentioned he works a lot. That relationship is important, too.

    Yes, he should have asked, but...could you possibly consider a one-night thing? Has your mom previously spend time with the little one? If you feel that your mom is a good cuddly grandma, she can handle the one night. And it might actually be good for the little one - I really don't think one night will traumatize. And ultimately, it would likely be good for you, too.

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