Aelwydd
-
Posts
3,105 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Aelwydd
-
-
I think it is more common for high schoolers to be put into online charter or public independent study programs where they can do credit recovery programs. Of course many then drop out of those public programs, which leads to anti-school choice groups pointing to charter schools as failures in and of themselves, when often they are just the last stop on the public school failure train.
No, ma'am. Texas has multiple online charter schools, but these are all classified as public, meaning attendance is required and students sit for the same EOY testing. (A side note: in Texas, you cannot even enroll in the online charter programs unless you have attended a B&M public school for the previous year at least.) If a child drops out of a public online charter, it is accounted for by the same school officials.
What I refer to is the somewhat widespread practice of TX school officials formally reporting drop outs as "home schooled," when no such thing is occurring, not even ostensibly.
Some of these students drop out and then pay $300 for a degree from an online mill. These "schools" can do this because they call themselves online homeschooling, and are classified as private.
In both cases, the "private school" loophole helps TX mask a 30% overall drop out rate.
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-private-schools-help-lower-texas-dropout-numbers/
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Dropout-statistics-under-fire-780684.php
-
1
-
-
Ca is the same. High school is an all or nothing proposition. Florida has a really nice middle ground, but I think the chances of Ca creating laws like that is unlikely.
Ca couldn’t afford to have all these kids enrolled. Where’s that money coming from? I’m hoping the finances of this squelch the legislature’s enthusiasm.
Too true.
Does California also use its lack of home school oversight as a way to shield its actual H.S. drop out rate?
-
K, you win. But not by much. Ca currently doesn’t define homeschooling as a separate thing. We run tiny private schools around here. We have to file one form a year, no follow up after that. We need to teach the main subjects in English and keep an attendance calendar, which amounts to keeping track of absences (um, zero?). No testing.
I find the lack of oversight actually a little disturbing. In Texas, the lack of any regulation at all means that home schools are, de facto, persona non grata- legally treated as though they are in a separate, parallel, and unrecognized educational universe.
School administrators didn't even see my kid on the educational map. It can make it difficult for formerly home schooled students to matriculate into public schools, especially high school. It's common policy among many ISDs not to recognize unaccredited high school credits. They are also frequently diffucult to work with when it comes to partial enrollment, and participation in school athletics and clubs.
So, a 16 year old gets enrolled as a 9th grader, regardless of his home school academic transcript, because most ISDs simply won't recognize those credits.
Basically, the state's attitude seems to be, yeah, we don't monitor you, but neither do we have to pretend that your "school" is real.
It's that dismissive attitude that causes me to rank Texas, overall, as unfriendly to home schoolers, regardless of how "friendly" the law appears on paper.
-
1
-
-
Right now, I believe Ca’s homeschool laws are easier than or comparable to Texas. We’d like to keep it that way.
What Texas home school laws? There are none. All TX home schooling is defined by one court case, Leeper vs. Arlington. That case, which has been upheld in multiple rulings since 1987, classifies home schools as private schools, and therefore not subject to oversight by state education officials. Home schools are expected to cover only five areas: good citizenship, math, reading, spelling, and grammar.
If certain subjects like history, arts, economics, foreign languages, and science seem to be entirely missing from that list...well, yeehaw lol.
There are no testing requirements, no minimal attendance set, no record-keeping, paperwork or reporting required. No oversight, period. Zip, nada, nothing.
If California matches Texas' "standards" I'll eat my cowboy hat.
Here are two sources, one pro and one critical of Texas home school law:
Pro:
Con:
https://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/statement-on-texas-supreme-court-homeschool-decision/
-
Let me tell you, there is no more maladaptive creature on the planet than a Texan forced to live in California (which is distinctly different than a Texan who has escaped to California). I’ve known a few, and not a day goes by that they don’t mention something that’s better in Texas or worse in California. Mostly both.
Yeah, there is the other creature though, the conservative Californian that moves to Texas to avoid taxes, only to find they hate the seasons, the allergies, the lack of ocean breezes, the scenery, the extremely high property taxes and piss poor health care system and non-existent senior care services...
I have an aunt and uncle who made that move a few years ago. My sisters and I have a running bet on when they'll move back to CA.
-
1
-
-
I’m pretty much a lifetime Texan (I lived in Louisiana for a couple of years).
When we moved to California, it took me less than a week to realize I never wanted to go back to Texas even for a visit.
I sure hope I never have to.
LOL. I understand, as a 5th generation Texan, who lived and home schooled in Texas most recently for almost a decade.
We moved to MN in 2015 and love it here. All the wild boars in Texas could not drag me back, lol.
-
2
-
-
"Should I take home this super cute adorable puppy I found/ rescued/ saved from a burning building on my way back from the farmer's market???? Pics attached!!"
- The answer to that is YES, 100% all the time, in fact we've already dispatched the closest WTMers to your GPS location. They come with blankets, doggy treats, and squeaky toys. Expect them in 10 minutes.
-
28
-
-
Just to be clear, I do not know if Condit was motivated by racism. Some of the characteristics common among mass murderers are also common among racists. I am waiting to see if they conclude anything from the hit list they found.
The racial argument I'm pushing back against is that law enforcement, the media, and pretty much all of white America treated this case with disinterest and prejudice because the first victim was black.
Understood, and thanks for clarifying that. There are so many confounding factors, it's hard to judge the real effects of predjudice on this case right now. The first thing that pops in my head is the Unabomber and how much attention did his initial victim garner in the press? What was the intensity of the response from law enforcement and the public?
It's been decades and of course now social media has everything in real time. I think it's definitely something that should be studied once we have a clearer picture.
Hindsight is 20/20.
-
I agree with Chocolate - all indications are that from the beginning, they investigated diligently regardless of the color of the first victim's skin.
After the 2nd black person was killed, the narrative began (again) that police and white people don't care when black people are murdered. It was a reach then and it's a reach now. It's an agenda being tacked on to a horrible situation.
I agree that I don't think Conditt was primarily motivated by racism. When I stated that I suspect he'd been radicalized, I meant on several fronts. Those that ascribe to the extreme right (I'm talking anti-religious, neo-fascist types) don't hate just one aspect of society; they despise all of it. They hate all groups, liberal and conservative, religious and secular, that espouse humanist ideals. That means they hate the single black preganant teenager, but they also hate the pro-life volunteer trying to find housing and health care for her and her baby.
In other words, if my suspicion is true (and I fully acknowledge that's all it is now), and Conditt was taken in by one of these groups, his hatred, therefore, his violence, had multiple targets. Whether it's the black teenager, the Hispanic (representing immigrants ), or people just walking and riding bicycles ("Those libtards in Austin are part of what's infecting America"), they all represent something the neo-fascists want to dismantle.
Society, itself, and the rest of us.
-
6
-
-
The community college was indeed asked for a statement, I have seen it in numerous articles.
My bad, I did not realize that. The (3 or 4) articles I've read so far had not mentioned anything but the fact of his attendance there. But I'll take your word for it.
-
We have moved (out of state) 5 times in the last 15 years - FB was a way to stay connected to people or reconnect with people. I closed my account once we were more settled in a place, but then our co-op did everything through FB (not unlike your Hockey situation), and the women’s group from church, and the drama group the kids were in, and even my local friends turned to connecting/communicating through FB (rather than email, text, and sometimes real life conversation). So I created a new account. Then we moved again and I wanted to find out things about our new homeschool community, when rec soccer started, where a good place in town to eat was, etc and it was all on FB. And this last move was hard (it’s always harder to meet people when you hit middle age and everyone is fairly established and not looking for new relationships), and I found that aside from my family and the cashier at the grocers I had no contact with anyone most days. Very lonely. FB was a place to feel a degree of connection with people I actually had a relationship with IRL, that just happened to be a thousand of miles away. I guess I post to say that there is some non-insipid appeal to FB, even some necessity when you’re involved with groups.
But my accounts have been closed for a while now, and I don’t think I will ever go back. Nor to IG or SnapChat or whatever. I’ve learned how to be the annoying one who says “I’m not on FB so you’ll need to email those announcements out†and I’ve come to realize I have to be a force in the counter current away from virtual connection and back to human connection.
I do get that, as someone who moved from Texas to Minnesota just a few years ago. I've chosen to leave or forego joining groups that exclusively used FB or just requested email communication on the side.
It is frustrating to not always be in the know. But honestly, I resent social media's intrusion so much that I just can't bring myself to give FB/ Twitter/ Snap Chat the time of day. Heck, even WTM's "exposure" concerns me, but I know SWB offers this place as a service to her fans and readers and not to exploit people. That makes the difference for me.
-
3
-
-
Quit? I never joined because I thought FB to be stupid and insipid. Now, I think it's harmful and divisive, like much of social media.
My 15 yo ds does not have an account either, and he only got Snap Chat because his hockey team uses it to post practice times (much to our mutual annoyance).
I work in the tech industry, I'm very aware of how little privacy we have these days. I'll be damned if I help them out by virtually stripping for FB's investors though. Pun intended.
-
7
-
-
Hahaha!! What will everybody do for their WTM week off?
Timing is everything.
If I was Catholic, I could offer up my suffering during Holy Week. As an agnostic, I'll just raise a glass to my fellow sufferers. Hehe.
:)
-
2
-
-
Despite the fact it's been several years since Conditt graduated high school, the novelty of home schooling is definitely being targeted by the press as a factor.
Look at this USA Today article.
They actually got a statement from the President of the Texas Home School Coalition. Now, I have yet to see any press ask the administration at Austin Community College for a statement, regardless of the fact that that was the most recent educational institution Conditt attended.
You'll also note that Tim Lambert, THSC president, claimed that Conditt "reportedly walked away from his faith" years ago. Clearly, he and the others in his community wish to distance their religious and educational philosophies from Conditt's actions in the public mind.
I actually am inclined to believe Lambert's statement. There has been distinct rejection of establishment religious conservatives by distilled, secularized "alt-right" groups that hate women, gays, and are virulent racists. They are just fine with abortion for minority races. They use phrases that hearken back to Nazi Germany, like "blood and soil" to reference white nationalistic ideals.
I was raised in the South, in deeply conservative evangelical Christianity. Though I am an agnostic Episcopalian now, I still appreciate the strong emphasis on equality among God's children that was instilled in me from church. Yes, there was and is sexism, racism, and anti-gay messages in Christianity; but there are also messages of love and universalism built into it that can and are used to counter those that just want a divine blank check to hate.
I would say the same of Islam and Judaism and other religions.
Conditt's opinions, as expressed in the press, make me strongly suspect he got caught up in some dark corner of the internet that promotes a very hardened, and dangerous form of ultra-right nationalism. Without the moderating effects of his family, church, and home school community to combat the messages he was receiving, I do believe he was effectively isolated and radicalized.
So, despite the police statement, I do suspect this was a form of terrorism, of the kind used by Nazi thugs in the 1930's to, well, terrorize, destabilize, and spread their noxious ideals.
Of course, this is all said with the caveat that it is just my opinion and still mere speculation at this point.
-
7
-
-
He was 23 now, no longer a teen or homeschooled. His blog was from 2012 when he was 17 (and appears to be for or in response to a government class he was taking at the community college). On that blog, he described himself as conservative and not into politics and not able to really defend his stance on things yet. It is possible he was just a horrible person with no ideological reason for blowing people up but instead maybe boredom and access to youtube.
Read my follow up post. Your response is exhibit A for why I do not expect he will be labeled a terrorist.
-
2
-
-
Which is not to say that any of the above was his ideological motive. Only that it unlikely he would be labeled a terrorist, IMO.
More likely, "a lone wolf" or generic "serial bomber."
-
4
-
-
I think they aren't saying that it's terrorism - yet - because they don't know a motive behind it all. If an ideological motive becomes clear, then it will be labeled terrorism.
According to the Statesman, he was a homeschooled, lonely teen, who was raised in a Christian home and expressed anti-abortion, anti-gay views on his blog.
-
8
-
-
It's one thing to subsidize bad habits and consistently bad life choices. It's another to help out my son in the case of a live-and-learn, odd case of a poor decision. I don't think it's particularly helpful to have a child spend decades in debt for something like that.
But I'm of the sort that my goal is to help ds to succeed in life and to get ahead. Not punish him and set him back for a mistake. Yesteryear's paternalistic message of "18 and you're on your own now, be responsible like we were" offers little hope in today's economy.
In any case, his asthma is something he has had since he was a baby, and viral-induced attacks are an ever present threat. One bad illness can land him in a hospital. Of course, he gets his flu shots and takes his meds, and excercises regularly. But we, his parents, will take care of his insurance and costs as long as we are able.
-
3
-
-
Particularly if they are on your insurance? I just don't understand how a young person trying to make their way in the world can have their entire livelihood, such as it is (lol), taken over by medical bills just from having a nickel sized cyst removedl! Ds has gotten 4 separate bills totaling over $2000 and we still don't know if the bill we got today is the last one we're going to get because they are all separate. This system is insane. He called to make payment arrangements for the $800 bill for the surgeon and thought he was doing well and then the hospital's bill came. This is outpatient, not general anesthesia and it was almost $4000 (reduced to $1025 thanks to insurance).
When you avoid using healthcare it's a shock when you HAVE to!
Anyway, griping aside, I'm just curious if your young adults who are on your insurance help pay premiums and/or their own medical bills. I WANT to help ds out but we're going to be hit with a huge bill ourselves soon. (The bill has a sliding payment scale thing for those needing assistance but you have to make $11k as an individual to qualify and he makes $16k.) I don't think there's a wrong or right answer here, just wondering how it works in other families. My poor ds' anxiety is through the roof now. LOL
So he makes 16K and has a $2000+ bill? There's nothing amusing to me about owing 1/8 of your gross (pre-tax income). Poor kid, no wonder he is anxious.
I've told my kid point blank, go to university in Canada or elsewhere and make a life there. The model of healthcare here in the US is unsustainable, and discourages entrepreneurship. We have excellent insurance through my employer but I can't ever start my own business. I don't dare risk losing our coverage.
We've had poor insurance in the past, and it's not just that it's expensive. It's limiting. Many of the best specialists will not accept crappy insurances or cash patients.
I hope your ds can get more of his bill reduced and that he can find a job with a better policy.
-
2
-
-
Coming into this late. I had a few LDS missionaries come to my house when I lived in Texas. I was worried for their health as it was very, very hot. I offered them bottles of water, said I was not interested in religious discussion, but wished them well and to be careful. A lot of Texans pack heat, and I would worry if it was my 18 or 20 year old having to ring doorbells of strangers. Between heat, guns, and aggressive dogs, most would stay home.
No particular point to this, just saying it's not exactly safe to do that kind of evangelical work.
-
3
-
-
The area schools have seniors complete a senior project their last few weeks of school. The seniors ask community business owners to give them the opportunity to intern at their company and learn about their business.
My husband was contacted by a couple of students and agreed to permit them to intern at our company. He has done this other years and it has worked out very well. This year, the kids have yet to show up. My husband just forwarded me an email he received from one of the students who was supposed to be interning: (I have copied it, but deleted all names, obviously)
"Hey D*, it's B.W. Just a heads up, our school might be randomly calling community sponsors like yourself and checking in on how senior projects are going. Hopefully they haven't called you yet but if they do: I was supposed to be there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of last week and A was supposed to be there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If they ask, it'd be great if you could tell them it's been going well and there have been no problems and if they ask what we have been doing, just name some different parts of your staff that you have delegated us to . Thanks a lot and hopefully we'll see each other some time next week haha."
So this student doesn't know my husband at all, but addresses him by his first name, then asks my husband to lie for him and his friend and even offers suggestions on what to say, and then puts the entire thing in an email? Wow.
Idiots.
-
I don't know what is happening in your life right now, but I felt dread reading your post. I'm not generally the praying type, but when I read your posts, I did send up a desperate little plea for you and your family. I keep thinking of you and hoping your family receives some sort of repreive from whatever is troubling you so deeply.
Hugs.
-
5
-
-
I don't know your situation, but it sounds like a situation where even The Church would have approved...
If a fetus is a human person, and killing a human person is murder, then abortion is logically murder. However, I would argue that the surgical abortionist is the murderer and the mother is an accomplice to varying degrees of willingness. Of course if a human at some age isn't a person yet or a human embryo at some stage isn't human yet, that doesn't apply. And if you define murder as the legal crime only, then most abortions are not murder in most countries.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Killing is not de facto murder. Not when it's a soldier at war, or in self defense, or if it's an accident. Or if it's abortion. Murder is a legal definition that according to U.S. law, does not encompass abortion. (I really don't care what "natural law" definition the Catholic legalists go by.) But as far as I know, no recent Pope has called women who abort murderers (although they are course excommunicated...something that a murderer of a toddler is not even subject to, interestingly enough).
But if some people are suggesting that people like Sadie should possibly, maybe, just a little..be called a murderer, because of a religious concept of law only makes me think, what poison is this? Because that mentality is toxic. It bleeds over to more "innocent" cases of miscarriage, where now you have Faith and dmmetler also being accused of murder. NONE of them are murderers.
And you know what the proof of that carryover effect is? Every woman currently imprisoned in countries like El Salvador for the crime of a miscarriage. They get accused of abortion and then some judge condemns them as murderers and they lose everything including their freedom.
I already shared that I don't like abortion, and that it's an imperfect and costly solution to multiple issues we have in society. But there's a reason that wasteful, consumerism-based societies have high rates of inequality, abortion, violence, etc. It's because waste (excrement) starts at the top and rolls downhill to the most vulnerable...and women make up a majority of impoverished populations.
So they are least empowered, most easily disposed of...but wait, not their fetuses. But those women get caught with hard choices and impossible quandaries.
All the while, poor can be condemned through insufficient or inaccessible health care, a dearth of prospects that lead to dangerous environments, no access to healthy food, safe shelter...but hey, drug companies will send them hundreds of pills for their woes.
But who are the ones that work to create or maintain the status quo that condemns theses people to shorter lives, poorer health, and frequently more violent deaths?
Do the complicit ones get labeled murderers? Oh, well maybe just accomplices...
(As if.)
I think that's the reason why a lot of pro-lifers do NOT hold women who've had abortions as murderers. Because we're all implicated in the Big Picture. Which is probably why Pope Francis keeps going after the root causes of things like abortion, like poverty!
Francis is not alone, but I wish all religious leaders and their groups had the same moral consistency in this. And the same compassion.
SADIE, Faith, Dmmetler...whatever whackado tells you you're a murderer, it's pure horseshit. There are enough authentic religious folk out there that reject it as such as well.
Done with this.
-
9
-
-
No they just listen to sermons by asshats. At my father's funeral on Monday, my mother's pastor preached hello, fire, and brimstone to and managed to work in some very dark comments on rape and murder!!! Not a damn word of comfort, kindness, mercy, or love. So my theory is they learn from revered leaders.
This is why it is so difficult to have rational discussions about a topic like an artificial womb. The emotional fervor gets in the way.
I guess it's inevitable that abortion would be brought into the discussion on A.W. technology. I was wanting to explore more of the other implications because it potentially affects a whole lot beyond that.
I'm so sorry this has caused painful reminders for you, Sadie, dmmetler, Moxie, Medic Mom, others here.
.
-
2
-
California has TWO bills in the assembly
in The Chat Board
Posted
Yeah, I think Texas holds that dubious crown.