I think there's probably behind-the-scenes stuff going on with this, especially since she's facing other charges in the same county. Maybe they thought that if they brought her up on this charge, they could convince her to plead guilty to the other charges if they promised to drop this one? Not that that makes it okay, and I think the specific charge she's facing--larceny--is ridiculous, but I'm wondering if the intent wasn't so much to punish her for her schooling decisions but to create a situation where she'd be willing to plead to another charge she also had against her.

Reading more about this, I'm less inclined to see this mom as a hero, but I still think it's absurd to charge her with a crime, much less a felony.

I don't think that's a change from when we were younger, though, or our parents, or their parents. I do think what's changed is that we're now expecting more and more students to take cover more and more material, and so they're being rushed into classes they aren't ready for. Plus, I think we focus way more on grades now than in the past, so who can really blame students for wanting to pass with as little effort as possible when they're being sent the message that the grade they get matters more than what they learn? I just think we'd be far better off if the focus was on making sure students had the basic skills they need to do college-level work, rather than trying to get them into classes covering college-level work that they are not at all ready for. This isn't the time of year for me to discuss this, because I'm being deluged by e-mails from desperate students who "need" an A (or to pass) my class, and will do *anything* to make that happen. Why this didn't occur to them earlier than two days before final grades are due, I don't know. Anyway, the fallout from this attitude that all that matters is the grade you get and what your transcript looks like--who can have the most impressive-looking classes and the highest GPA is all that matters, and if you can manage that while not actually learning anything, all the better--is a big part of why we decided to hs. It is so rare for me to have a student who cares about learning at all, much less who cares more about learning than about the grade they get.

Or provide decent social services so families like this woman and her child can have a place to stay and he can be legally enrolled. The money that will go into her trial could probably get them a place to stay and food to eat for years. I agree that she should be commended for making sure her child got an education despite their circumstances.

Day off here. DS also got the day off on his sister's birthday. We do work on my birthday, though. ;)

If your PS won't offer it, you might want to see if there's a university nearby with a speech pathology/communication disorders department. If they do, they probably have a clinic where the students train, and usually they'll offer low- or no-cost screenings and therapy.

I wouldn't make a special snack, or an extra snack if the child was hungry an hour later. But, if an afternoon snack is part of your normal routine, I'd consider it more like a regular meal time (which I wouldn't make a child skip for not having eaten their last meal) and still offer it.

I ordered from the Pandia Press site, and got the ebook, so I'm not exactly sure about Rainbow Resource, but the worksheets are pretty much the program; there's not a separate text and worksheets. So I'd assume you're going to be getting the worksheets.

That's funny, because I always felt embarrassed of my handwriting being so loopy and curly. I thought it looked like the writing of a seventh-grade girl passing a note to a boy she had a crush on. ;) When I was looking for a handwriting program for DS, I really liked Getty-Dubay, and decided to use it. I did the adult program, so I'd know how to form the letters. I haven't totally adopted their system, but I'd say my handwriting now is kind of a cross between G-D and my girly, loopy cursive, and I'm happier with it. I think it looks more grown-up and authoritative, which is especially useful when I'm commenting on my students' papers. I'd definitely look into an italics program, like Getty-Dubay. Italics cursive is kind of a hybrid, and you might find that it works better for you than traditional cursive.

This is what I was trying to say. They really don't care about the content of your argument, as much as how well you can make an argument. It's really just an exercise in proving that you can make an argument (and express it in a thesis sentence) and back it up with examples (in a clear, logical manner--usually one point per paragraph). Sometimes the questions are such that you can get bogged down in figuring out what you think about the issue, and that can take up a lot of time.

I'll definitely be teaching cursive, mainly because I find it is SO much easier than printing, and DH agrees. I cannot stand to print for any length of time; I find it exhausting. If DS disagrees and finds that he prefers writing in print, that's fine, but I do want him to at least know how to write in cursive because he might also find it much easier. We're using Getty-Dubay, so it's kind of a hybrid cursive, but I do think it still has the advantage of being easier on your hands and wrists than printing.

I have to do the opposite. I tell myself I can't use the computer until I've done A, B, and C. Timers can be helpful. I use them for DS a lot, but I also use them for myself. They help me to keep from spending too much time doing something I can get lost in (like being online) and from getting agitated about something I don't want to do (like cleaning). If I set a timer for 10-15 minutes and tell myself I only need to clean until the timer goes off, that's a lot less intimidating than feeling like I need to clean until my house is spotless. I love lists. I'm also a fan of putting really, really easy things on my to-do list, to get a sense of accomplishment. I try to break down what needs to be done into the tiniest possible steps, and include things like "eat breakfast" and "get dressed" on my daily to-do list. That way I can at least manage to get something checked off, and that usually inspires me to do more. On a really rough day, you can always write down "wake up" and check that off right away. ;) The trick I learned in grad school was to try to procrastinate as productively as possible. So, if I don't feel like housecleaning and want to spend time on the computer, I at least try to use that time doing something productive, like doing homeschool planning for DS. If I don't feel like grading papers, I'll clean the bathroom. If I don't feel like replying to e-mails, I'll exercise. If I don't feel like exercising, I'll do the finishing work on a knitting project. Usually things that I'd normally never want to do (like cleaning the bathroom) start to seem really appealing when I've got something to do I want to do even less (like grading papers), so I try to channel that. I spent a lot of time working on course prep and doing housecleaning when I was in grad school, instead of writing papers. The papers did eventually get done, and at least I was doing something else I needed to do. I do not make schedules. Routines work better for me than schedules. Telling myself that I'm going to do things 1-4 before lunch works a lot better than telling myself I'm going to do thing 1 at 9, thing 2 at 9:30, thing 3 at 10, and thing 4 at 11. I NEVER stick to schedules, and I just end up feeling defeated and like I've ruined the day.

I'm fortunate that I don't have any friends or relatives on FB or e-mail who routinely do this. My DH has a number who do, though. For a while he'd reply with a Snopes link or other link debunking the claim, but then realized that they didn't seem to care, because they'd just keep sending out more false, outrageous e-mails. So now he just ignores or deletes them.

I didn't force the issue with K, either. We had the advantage of DS already being really ahead academically, so, even though we weren't sure if we'd homeschool for first grade, we didn't feel pressure to cover any specific skills, because he was already where he was supposed to be at the end of the kindy year. So, if he really didn't feel like settling down for school on a given day, he didn't have to, especially after his sister was born, because at that point I just didn't have the energy to force it. For us, that didn't really create any problems when we transitioned to first grade and school stopped being optional. He understood that he was in first grade now, which meant he had to do school. He still grumbles, and sometimes has meltdowns, but he knows that he has to do school.

That's good to know. I was under the impression that if you typed in your essay on the computer, it was computer scored, but that might only be the case for the GRE at this point (if it's still the case for that). In that case you probably want to focus a bit more on content, but I'd still follow the five-paragraph format and mostly focus on persuasively making a point, and not necessarily on how strong that point actually is. I think that's the danger in these essays. You can get really bogged down in wanting to address the question in all its complexity, and the format does not allow for that. It's probably good practice to read a sample essay question, and then quickly choose a position and come up with three reasons to back it up. They aren't looking to see that you can explore the nuances of an issue, just that you can make and support an argument. You don't have to feel particularly committed to what you've written, which I know what be frustrating.

We're doing the Life Science volume right now. So far, so good. The samples available, IIRC, contain about 6 weeks or so of free lesson plans (maybe more). So you can get a sense of how the program would work for you. In terms of materials, it's very reasonable, for the most part. Nearly everything can be found at a grocery store or dollar store, if you don't already have it at home. The one exception is some of the animal labs: for some you need a snail, or worms, or roly-polys. Depending on where you live, they could be a bit of a pain to come by. They do give some advice on finding them, though. You could probably shift the lessons around so that they were season-appropriate without any real problems. If your weather is warmer when you start, you could save the human body unit (which is first) and do the plant section and the animal labs that require warmer weather, and then save the rest of the animal unit and the human body lessons for when the weather gets cooler.

My DS hates handwriting, but he loves making comics and writing stuff on the computer. His comics can sometimes be quite violent, in a cartoon-y sort of way (like stuff falling on a stick figure and crushing him). I just tell him how much I like what he's done, and how impressed I am with his creativity.

This is the impression I get, too. I know that after 20 weeks my practice wants us to bypass the ER for any issues and go directly to L&D (which is a MUCH better experience), and for most things they'd rather have us wait and come in for an early appointment the next day than use the ER. I think the ER, while maybe not actively hostile to pregnant women, just isn't well equipped to deal with them or with pregnancy issues.

Even for kids without special needs, I think it just takes some kids a lot longer to learn appropriate behavior than other kids, no matter how consistent or diligent the parents are. I have been shocked at the difference between my two kids. For my DS, "no" has never meant "no," from the time he was born. He hears "no" and thinks "I'm going to try this another 5,678 times, just to make sure she's *really* serious about it." He's the kid who, when you say, "No jumping on the couch," jumps on the couch again two minutes later, and then says, "But I thought you meant no jumping on the couch *then*, not now." He's the kid who, when he got extra time in time out for standing up when he needed to be sitting, spent about ten minutes trying to convince me that he "wasn't standing--it was a new way of sitting!" This kid... :banghead: He's almost 7, and it's only been in the last few months that we've had any success with him sitting quietly and calmly through a church service. This is not for lack of trying, or lack of discipline, because we'd been trying for years. It just took that long for him to get the message (or to be able to actually have the self-control to act on the message). My DD is so different. Even as a baby, if you say "No" to her in a firm voice, she bursts into tears, and stops doing whatever she was doing. At night, if she is sitting up in her crib, just hearing me come in there is enough to make her lay down and close her eyes. She does not want to upset us, and gets very upset herself when she does. She's a lot more like I was as a child; I was so afraid of upsetting people, and I was very compliant. I'm not convinced it was necessary the best way to be, but it certainly did make me an easy kid. I just try to remind myself that behavior at 5 or 7 or 9 doesn't indicate adult behavior. It really doesn't. I don't know anybody--especially boys--who act the same as adults as they did when they were smaller children. I was, as I said, a very obedient, quiet, and compliant child, but I don't think anybody would have used those words to describe me after I hit 13 or 14! I made up for my easy early childhood by becoming a very strong-willed, argumentative, and exasperating teenager. My DH was a really loud, rambunctious, and (by his parents' admission) annoying little kid, but he ended up being a really quiet, reserved, polite adult. I always need to remind myself of this, when I'm feeling SURE that my son's behavior, at 6, is indicative of the fact that I've ruined him for life.

I'm an adjunct, and I always feel badly about *not* going to any department functions. I show up to teach my classes, and head home. Checking my mailbox a couple of times a month is about all the contact I have with the department. I've got a 6-year-old and a 1-year-old at home, and my DH watches the kids while I'm teaching then goes in to work, so I just can't manage it. But if my kids were older, at this institution, I'd definitely attend things. I really like the grad students and the other faculty I know, and, especially if I was interested in working in the department long-term--and maybe getting a position as a lecturer or something else a bit more permanent--then I'd try to attend more department functions.

Write a five-paragraph essay. Have an introduction that starts generally, then provides a thesis that indicates the three points that will be covered, cover each of those points in a separate body paragraph, then have a conclusion that restates the thesis. I teach college writing courses, where the five-paragraph essay is anathema, so I'm almost loathe to give this advice, but the two situations where I always recommend a five-paragraph essay are 1) computer-scored exams and 2) in-class essay tests. The SAT is like a combo of both. Computers like five-paragraph essays, and if time is an issue, it gives you a ready-made format. It's not going to be creative or eloquent or lovely, but it will get the job done, and in my experience computers tend to score that kind of essay very well. He'll want to make sure that his essay makes sense, follows logically, and doesn't have extraneous information, but, beyond that, form matters more than content. I'd tell him to focus his energy on making sure he's got a clear thesis, paragraphs that each focus on one main idea supporting that thesis, and a conclusion that restates the thesis, plus correct grammar and punctuation. That's the kind of stuff the computers that grade these things really pick up on.

I'm in Michigan. There's no regulation around homeschooling; I don't even have to register my son in any way.

Our kindy year was kind of a mess. DS had been in a charter school until October, and it took a while for him to get settled into the homeschool routine. Then we had a baby that March. I think I got through maybe 1/3 of what I'd hoped to cover over the course of the year. I say this only to assure you that, despite that, my DS is doing just fine. He still learned. He got back into the routine of school for first grade without any more issues than I would have expected from him. The main thing I learned, which works for us, is to do school as early as reasonably possible. For us, that usually means starting around 9 or 10, which gives me time to get stuff done around the house, DS time to wake up and get some energy out, and DD some time to play and have fun with us before we get to work. Then we'll usually work for about 90 minutes (more like 45 when he was doing kindergarten), and we're done and have the rest of the day to do other things. That works out way better for us than saving school for later in the day. I would love to be able to do school during my DD's nap, but some days she doesn't go down until 1, and if we put off school that long, there's a very good chance we're just not going to get around to it. Instead, we use her nap time for a quiet reading/rest time, and do school while she's awake. But obviously that's going to depend on the family and what kinds of routines work for them.

I agree with you; I think it's silly to expect any employer or institution to treat a parent-issued diploma as equivalent to a diploma issued by an accredited institution. I live in a state that has pretty much no regulations or oversight of homeschooling, and there would be nothing legally there to stop me from teaching my children nothing and then issuing them a printed-out high school diploma. Honestly, that's part of why, while I don't think we need tons of regulation, some regulation of homeschooling is a good thing. An employer in my state who knows what the laws around homeschooling are would be totally justified in wondering what kind of education my children received, because there is absolutely no oversight in place. That does trouble me, and frankly I'd prefer to have some accountability and oversight so that that wouldn't be the case, and schools and employers would know that a homeschooled student did indeed receive an education that met certain standards. I can't say I ever had to show or prove that I had a high school diploma, though. (Although I do have a recurring nightmare where I find out that I didn't pass some class in high school, and so didn't really graduate, and spend a lot of time trying to convince the guidance counselors and administrators that, as an adult with a graduate degree, I really don't need to finish that class, to no avail.) I didn't need it, as mentioned above, to get into college, and I have never had an employer ask for it. (Same with my bachelor's and master's. I've had employers look at my transcripts, but never at my actual diploma. I assumed those things were just for decoration. ;)) I imagine that a detailed and well-thought-out transcript would be far more beneficial to a student looking for work or college admissions than a parent-issued diploma.

This. I don't think it's overstepping or anything like that; states can and do require things beyond just course work completion for high school graduation. I just think it's a waste of time, and will have no real impact other than giving students one more pointless hoop to jump through.