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ThatHomeschoolDad

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Posts posted by ThatHomeschoolDad

  1. Zero in Scotland.  There's a small charge for a prescription in England - £8 except for children, those over 60, those on low income and, I think, some people with chronic diseases.

     

    L

     

    My prescriptions run around that price - usually under 10.  The plan we have was negotiated by DW's teacher's union, which is a word that unfortunately engenders hostility.  Throw it back two generations, and about a third of all workers were unionized;  now, well....there are a very few remaining professions.

     

    The point is collective bargaining helps control individual costs, and if that collective includes, say, 300 million people under a universal umbrella, I would imagine costs could go down quite a bit.  It could perhaps even work at the state level, but then you'd have radically different coverage state to state, and unfortunately, it would be driven by local politics.

  2. We have a friendly resident in our house -- the woman who owned it before we did.  She told DW's friend she was staying around to watch over DD, which is just fine by me.   She does hang around now and then, maybe less so now that DD is 12.5.   Every once in a while you'll walk through a little patch of cigarette smell, although no one has smoked here since she died in 1991.  There have been some other visitors, but all very loving.

     

    We have a standing agreement that she is welcome to stay, but I do not want to see or hear her at any time for any reason, lest I break out all the stops to exorcise...not that I would have a clue about how to do that.

  3. 7 is a bit young for a band instrument -- usually that's 4th grade (9-10ish).  Recorder is a great first step -- Get "Recorder Karate"  book and recorder set from Amazon.  Another option is to go to a good sized music store that will let him try out several instruments to see what clicks.

  4. I'm with regentrude... My oldest reads really fast - faster than I can read. At first I thought he couldn't possibly be reading that fast, but then he'd give me details that he wouldn't have gotten from skimming.

     

    Ask some comprehension questions to see if he's picking stuff up.

     

    Ditto for DD.  Blazingly fast.

     

    If you want to check for comprehension, there are annotated versions of books that can help you see if it's all really sinking in.

  5. Our local youth orchestra is always looking for oboe, bassoon, French horn and viola, as there are less people leaning these.

     

    Good luck!

     

     

    Yes -- double reed players are rare indeed.

     

    On the other hand, DW had a former student, now out of med school, who got a scholarship for playing trumpet in the Notre Dame marching band for four years.  I would not discount sticking with french horn and switching to mellophone to march somewhere.

  6. Paper tend to go in a 3-level office tray organizer thingie on a shelf in a bookcase from my childhood.  A the moment, said bookcase is in danger of tipping forward from the profusion of craft stuff, but that's just a sign that we have to do our quarterly clean out.

     

    I vacillate between onions in the dark pantry and onions in the fridge crisper drawer, but I haven't decided if there is an advantage to either.  For now, the onion's spot in the pantry has been taken over by something else.

  7. DW is a middle school band director, and recommends 4th grade (figure about 9ish) to start a band instrument.  Sure some start younger, some older. For flute, there are curved head joints to move the keys closer.  Clarinet and sax might have an issue with finger spread.   Cornets are a bit smaller than trumpets, but no such thing for trombone and tuba (I think).  French horn (DD's instrument) is more compact, but heavier, with a very tricky mouthpiece.

     

    Best bet is to go to a music store that will let you try several different instruments to see what clicks.   Whether you wait until next year is probably a function of your son's physical size.

  8. I disagree with these assertions. I have not seen "more and more schools" wanting SAT2s. In reality, there are very few schools (the Ivys & most selective ones) that absolutely require SAT2 exams.

     

    Absolutely require is subjective, based on the competitiveness of the college and the program within the college to which you apply.  Per the College Board:  "Approximately 160 institutions require or recommend SATSubject Test scores for admission and placement of incoming students."   On that list are indeed Amherst College, with a 2012 admissions rate of 11.9%, but also the University of Mobile, with an admissions rate of 80%.

     

    On the flip side, fairtest.org maintains a sizable list of schools who no longer require the SAT I at all.   Granted, some of them are still very competitive, like Middlebury, which kinda hedges its bets with a policy of "SAT/ACT not required if other college level exams specified by school, such as SAT Subject Test, Advanced Placement, or Int’l Baccalaureate, submitted."

     

    There's also the idea that if you make your school "SAT-optional," the only scores you'll receive are from standout students with 2350's, which certainly doesn't make you look too shabby in the US News rankings.

     

    It's still a big game....a very expensive, big game.

  9. Is there such a thing as a bucket list for one already dead? It would seem the sky is the limit. The dead can't break laws, so go ahead and drive that Bimmer through the showroom window on your way to cash a million dollar fake check.

     

    It's like the movie Groundhog Day IRL.

  10. I had a low-functioning gallbladder, with intermittent LRQ pain.  I had the HIDA scan and all, but the recommended surgeon said taking it out wouldn't really change my chances of having the same pain anyway.

     

    Fast forward two years and another surgeon took it out to gain better access to my liver, which he then proceeded to flood with chemo.  I can't say I miss my gallbladder at all.  None of the digestive issues happened.  As for pain, I have some, but I suspect it's related to adhesions, plus all the other things going on in there.

  11. How come no one suggests limiting the resources spent on pets?

     

    Pet health is definitely a first-world problem.

     

    In another hemisphere, daughters are sold into marriage at 12, and pregnant shortly thereafter.  Boys, on the other hand, sometimes go to school....on the profits from the sale of their sisters.  Much will change if girls are valued equally with boys, but that requires massive change to social norms and beliefs held for centuries.

     

    Not for nothing, but Malala Yousafzai was totally ripped off by the crusty old men in Stockholm.

    :thumbdown:

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