I feel like we really have a lot of choices here in America, although those choices are definitely dependent upon economic abilities. Depending upon your area (and I consider the ability to move to an area that has more educational choices an economic factor), you might have have public schools, public alternative schools, charter schools, private religious schools, private prep schools, private alternative schools, true homeschools, co-op homeschools, hybrid schools, and combinations of all these, not to mention the online options. Yeah, I agree w/ Wintermom, and I'd also add that their view of responsibility vs accountability makes a difference. Not only do they expect their teachers to teach well, they expect their administrators to follow through and make sure that their teachers are doing just that. I think that unions here in America would make that difficult, too. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, one of the habits is thinking win-win. I don't think America thinks very win-win about anything, much less education. It seems like everything is us vs. them. And as Stephen Covey points out in his book, unless it is win-win, it's most likely doomed to lose. I feel like this is the key to Finland's success, and sadly also the key to America's failure. Unless America can change the way we look at education, that we need to help everyone to succeed, then we are going to continue to fail.

The article did say that there private schools, only few of them. It is interesting to note this from your link: Student intake at government schools is limited and entrance examinations are usually required. I wonder who they are limiting? The link looks to be a resource for non-Finnish looking for education in Finland. Are they limiting non-citizens? Or do they require examinations for their own student base? ETA: I'm not expecting you, Mbelle, to go find those answers for me! I'm just thinking, musing aloud, not exactly asking rhetorical questions but not aiming them at you personally. ?

What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success This is an older article from 2011. My dd's professor showed this to her, and in turn, dd (math education major) showed it to me. I thought it was interesting. And yeah, my first thought was "That can't happen here." What doth the Hive think?

Thank you! I found where you're talking about! ? It's not the same as social groups, and it's not under community. When I followed Amira's invite, I figured out where they were. Thanks!

I'm on my Chromebook. There's a drop-down menu called "Community", and under that, there's "Social Groups" but when I click on "Social Groups," I just get an error. Maybe I should try on my phone.

Whenever I go to Community>Social Groups, I get an error. Why can't I see the social groups? And isn't there a social group for political topics? I wanted to ask a question about the Georgia governor race.

That's what I've found, at least in my area. Bible-believing Christan is synonymous with an inerrant, literal belief of the Bible. I believe the Bible, but I don't believe it was ever meant to for literal interpretation, so then I guess I don't fall under that mantle. ?

I know exactly where you're talking about. Yeah, Atlanta is crazy. I don't really think people necessarily drive faster there than other places in Georgia, it's just that there's so many drivers! I typically drive about 10 over the speed limit, but I admit, if the traffic is going faster (as it usually is in Atlanta), I'll go faster, too.

Someone was/is gaslighting a relative and tried to pull me in. I refused to go along with and pulled out proof that he was, in fact, lying, and that he had a history of lying and specifically gaslighting. He got mad and cut off all communication. Now I don't talk to relative or him.

Sorry I missed your question, but yes, Baseball mom is exactly right.

Extremely simple and delicious: 2, 2 li ginger ale and 1 carton of your flavor of sherbert

I try not to be a perfectionist, but I do insist that they help out. The kids have certain chores I expect them to do, but nothing major: unload the dishwasher, taking out the trash/recycling, feeding the animals, etc. I've done more detailed chore lists before with allowances and rewards and such, but they don't seem to last. Only the minor things, like unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash, last. I think part of why those small things work, is because they're small jobs. It doesn't take them that long to do, and it's consistent. I don't fuss about it. I don't argue or nag....I'm very matter-of-fact about those things. It's their job...they need to do it. But the. best. tool I've found for getting my kids to get things done is ScreenTime. It's an app that another homeschool mom showed me, and I am in love. :001_wub: I set "tasks" that must be completed to earn screen time on their devices. I also have an outdoor time (which means, no screens at all), a bedtime with specific apps that they're allowed to use (like Audible) before their device blocks them completely at "Lights Out" time. So, they start off with a little bit of time, but then everything from getting dressed & brushing teeth, to doing school, to completing chores gets them time. I set how much time each task earns and can "pause" (completely block their device) whenever I need to. It has been the best and simplest thing to get chores done! But each of my kids have Kindles plus a couple have phones, so it works for me. If your kids don't have devices that they're in love with, it might not work for you.

Thanks again, everyone! We're going down to the police station once she gets off work. I'll let you know how that goes.

Thanks, y'all. I texted her and told her to hold off on telling the other girls...but she's at work, too. I also tried the police, but no one picked up. :glare:

A friend of mine--let's call her Zenobia--found a sd card with some inappropriate pictures on it. The sd card belonged to a former friend--let's call him Hugh--that she ended up cutting off because of his behavior. The pictures do not appear to be taken with permission! They include those of girls going to the bathroom. Most appeared to be at his former place of employment, and he would have had to hide and plan to get those pics. Zenobia knows most of these girls. At least one was/is a minor, 16 yo. Hugh no longer works at the place the where the pics were taken. Hugh also does not respond well to confrontation. What do you suggest Zenobia do? She hasn't really looked at all the pics, just enough to know what was going on (hiding the camera & taking pics when the girls went to bathroom, at least). There is no ownership info on the sd card...just pics. Should she turn in the card to the police? Should she contact the girls she knows that are in the pics and let them know what's on them? I'm going to call the non-emergency police number and ask them, but I am curious what the Hive thinks. UPDATE: So we went by the police station this evening. It wasn't open, but I talked to .someone through a speaker button, and he sent an officer to meet us in the parking lot. A bit different than I imagined, but okay. The officer was very supportive of Zenobia bringing the SD card to him, asked lots of questions, took lots of notes. He'll be passing the information to a detective who will be getting back in touch with Zenobia. It was definitely the right thing to do, and yes, they do take this kind of thing very seriously! I did find out that it's not photos but video, and at least one video includes one of Hugh himself setting up the phone and leaving it! The officer also found Hugh's (real) name to be familiar...not a good sign. The officer told Zenobia to go ahead and let the other people in video know and ask them to call in, too, but of course, to NOT tell Hugh. So, it's going to be a few days before anything else happens, but a case file has been opened, which is good!

Thanks, everyone! Here's my update (good news...kinda): I called Samsung. I didn't ask anything about a warranty, just said that I had just received the phone in December and the screen died on it. They were very nice and said they'd try to help, they just needed the imei number off the phone. When they looked up the number, though, the warranty (you know, the one that does not exist) expired June 2017. They assured me that regardless of what the seller said, this was a preowned phone. However, Samsung was happy to give me a warranty that started when I got the phone, they just needed verification that the phone I purchased was indeed the one with that imei number. They were very pleasant and helpful. So I went ahead and started that process. Upon reflection, Samsung assumed that a warranty applied to my phone based on the sell date. They never questioned that at all. The manual that came with my phone was "off." It looked mostly like an official Samsung manual...except the margins were off and the top words were nearly chopped off, like the pages had been cropped wrong. Personally, I think the manual was a fake that was designed to keep people from questioning any problems with the phone. I went to Amazon and told them what Samsung told me. I asked for a refund and for the seller (that sold me a used phone as a new phone) to be penalized. They were happy to give me a full refund and promised legal action against the seller. Long story short, I'm getting a full refund on my not-new phone. I'm happy that Samsung is willing to stand by their phones and take care of their customers (which they didn't need to do--it wasn't their fault some crook scammed me). I'm happy, as usual, with Amazon's customer service and quick action. I'm using my old phone right now, which is ironically also a Samsung. It's old and has a cracked screen and minimal memory space, but at least it works! I am going to take my time, maybe save a little more to go with my refund, and find a new phone.

Thanks, I will check into that.

Thanks. I will give it a try. At least, my old phone still works. It's cracked. But at least I'm not without a phone at all. We actually didn't get two. I chose the Samsung. Dh wanted the Walmart iPhone, so that's what he got.

Dh and I got new phones for Christmas. We have a limited budget, so I couldn't go with a real nice (pricey) one. I picked out which one I liked and thought it would be good. It was at the top of our price range. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074MHNNK2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Last week, the screen kept blanking out on me. I had to reseat the battery to get it to work. Yesterday, I couldn't get the screen on at all. I *thought* there was a 90 day warranty on this phone. There's not. The window for returns/issues ended Jan. 31. There is absolutely no warranty. The manual that came with the phone is very specific that it is being sold "as is" and there is absolutely no warranty of any kind on this phone. Last time I had a phone where the screen quit (years ago), the cost of repair was more than the cost of the phone. I'm afraid that's what's going on this time. Am I just out almost $200 :scared: :cursing: Does anyone have any suggestions?

UPS pickup won't provide a label. They will only pick up items that already been labeled with shipping paid. I agree with katilac. You notified them of the problem. If they want the stuff back, it's their responsibility to provide you with the means to do that. At the same time, it might not be worth their time and effort to get those items back. Also, it's entirely possible that items that have been discontinued and never sold are included as extra gifts to their customers.

There are two types that I see. Both advertise as "come listen to me and learn somthing new." Both want you to buy something from them. The first is honest and gives you something. They spend time covering a topic and yes, there's a good chance you'll learn something. It's probably basic and if you've done much research in said topic, it might not be new to you, but generally, it's not necessarily time wasted. Then they end with a plug of various sorts and lengths on why you should buy their product and learn more. Nothing wrong here. I expect them to try to make money. They gave you something, but if you really want to delve into their research, it'll cost you. I look at it more like a free sample. The second is what I would call a scam. They promise to give you something, but all they're doing is stealing your time and telling you why you need to give them money. If they promise me I will learn something if I listen, and instead all I learn is how to depart from my hard-earned money, then they have lost my trust and I most certainly will not be giving them any of my money.

I am not an experienced air traveller, so this is just a thought, but if they cannot continue to their destination, maybe it would be easier to return to the originating airport and start over than to go to some other airport, particularly if it's an international flight and there's customs & security to deal with.

I've packed up boxes of clothes and labeled the box with the size. My weight has kinda stabilized, but for years, it would fluctuate based on pregnancy, post-pregnancy and "normal". My closet is too small to keep up a wardrobe in 3 different sizes, but I knew that my weight would change, so I didn't want to get rid of clothes I no longer fit. I would suggest hanging on to the clothes that you love, and donating the others. When you get back to that size, then you'll probably want a few new things anyway. If you never get back to that size, you'll eventually reach a point where staring at that box is more bothersome than just taking it and donating it.

The sizing seems pretty standard. I typically wear a size L in tops. I tried both large and x-large, and the large fit great. The x-large was too big.

I have not ordered much, but I'm very satisfied with the quality that I've received. The tunic is definitely more delicate and not designed for heavy use. I've had it since before Thanksgiving, and I pretty much wear it weekly. I do NOT have toddlers or babies anymore, though, so there's little pulling and tugging. I have this sweater, which is my go-to sweater/jacket when I go out. When I got it, it looked much more sheer than in the picture, but I was impressed with how warm it actually is. It's the perfect lightweight "jacket" for me. I think they have items for everything: some geared for festivals, conventions, etc.; some for more formal, ritual use; and some for daily wear.