I love to get Christmas letters. It's because of threads like these that I don't send them anymore.

From wiki:

That's true, but I don't want to make it any easier for them!:D

This is what I wondered about. What information do they get when they scan it? How about when they scan a credit card? Anyone know?

I've been looking forward to this year's list. Thanks for posting.:)

Yep. This is what bothered me the most.

The uvula is the thing that hangs down from the top of your palate. The epiglottis is flap of tissue at the base of your tongue. A swollen uvula isn't usually a big deal. A swollen epiglottis is a life threatening emergency and if that's what you're talking about you need to go to the ER now. Usually you can't see the epiglottis without sticking a mirror down someone's throat, but if it's really swollen it's possible that it is visible. If you are absolutely sure it's you're uvula, don't worry. If you're not sure, go in.

Exactly. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the kids actually benefited. But in reality, I don't see how anyone wins.

Sorry that wasn't clear. It was one test, 4 pages long. The kids were supposed to decide how to divvy up the work. They decided to each do a page (my dd apparently did 2 pages, although I'm not entirely clear on the details.) Each group had the same test. The other 3 kids didn't even finish their pages.

We don't have honors classes in our middle school. She is in the TAG program, but that is only for one class per year (Science in 6th grade, Reading in 7th and Social Studies in 8th). They do a few group projects in TAG (not many), but they are well thought out and the students actually work together and learn something from them.

:banghead:

I'm going to have to read that again. Thanks for the reminder.

How effective is that, do you think? I don't see that my dd's communication skills are improving. I do see her becoming resentful, irritated, frustrated, and bored. Meanwhile, she isn't learning much science. And the communication skills of the other kids aren't improving. They're goofing off while my dd does all the work.

:iagree: They spend an awful lot of time on these group projects. I'd like to know if there is even a shred of evidence that it does any good. My observation is that it doesn't. My generation didn't do a lot of group work in school. Yet we seem to work in groups just fine. I don't know why schools suddenly felt the need to emphasize group projects. Was there some crisis of working together that I don't know about?

On a TEST? They do group projects constantly. IME, the kids DON'T work together. The good students do all the work, and the other students watch. The good students get annoyed and frustrated, and the poor students don't benefit in any way, except they get a higher grade than they deserve. If anything, it hurts the poorer students because they get a decent grade without doing any work or learning the material.

What is the point of a group test? My dd returned to ps for 7th grade this year. I'm not a fan of all the group projects they're doing, but I can live with it. But the group test is a new one. Dd is a straight A student, and science is her best and favorite subject. A few days ago she came home upset because she had a group test in science with 3 other students, and she knew it was not going to turn out well. Let's just say the other 3 kids aren't stellar students. It was short answer, fill in the blank format, over NEW material. They were given a textbook and told to look up the answers. The teacher has told them in the past that it's more important that they know how to find information than actually learning the information. :confused: So the 4 kids each did a page. Dd's page was fine. The other 3 pages were not. The actual score is not a big deal- it's only 7th grade and it's only one score. But I can't for the life of me figure out why the teacher thinks this is a good idea. I'd like to email her but I'm not the most diplomatic communicator. Can you give me some ideas on how to approach this?

Is that typical? I don't mind showing my ID, although it's a little ridiculous. I hardly look 17. But they scanned my DL. Why do they need to do that?

In general, I don't like wine. But I had a 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris from Adelsheim vineyards at Thanksgiving that I thought was excellent.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

My dh used to hum when he was concentrating. His second grade teacher snuck up behind him once and whacked him on the head with a ruler. He never did it again but he still hates that teacher.

It's also anti-bacterial. It works as well as, or better than, traditional topical antibiotics for MRSA. We've been using it successfully on my dd's recurrent skin staph infections and molluscum.

I made Mulligatawny yesterday. Mmmmmm.

That worked. Thx.

I'm getting a blank screen. TIA.

I never felt like I was "shipping" anyone off, and I find that a little insulting. Preschool was loads of fun for my kids. They made friends, they did crafts, they learned about different cultures and music and art and animals. My dd knew more about the Impressionists at age 5 than I do as an adult, and that knowledge and love of art history has stayed with her. They have great memories of preschool, and go visit their old teachers every couple years. Of course it wasn't necessary, and I'm sure they'd be perfectly fine if they hadn't gone. But I believe it enriched their lives, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.