Bev in B'ville
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Posts posted by Bev in B'ville
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That's fantastic Jean. Does he know which one he'll accept?
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My dc went alone to the scholarship interviews. Since my dc were homeschooled, I wanted the admissions folks to see for themselves that the kids could function independently without a parent around. As Jane said, I wanted my kids to sell themselves.
Between you and Jane you've managed to put very succinctly what I've been floundering around with here.
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We had feedback from one admissions person who complimented my son on his confidence and comfort level with adults. I think going without parents can have advantages!
Much of this is probably dependent on the student him or herself. My son viewed college visits as his business. To be honest, I am an extrovert. I fear that I might speak up too often if I were part of the process. It was better for me to back off and let my son sell himself.
Yes, I've made sure that I stayed out of the college application process as much as possible. Dd picked the colleges she wanted to apply to, completed the applications (and accompanying essays). I did my part with transcripts and school counselor letters and such, but I really feel this is her journey to make.
Thanks for helping me solidify my decision on whether to go or not.
Edited: I just informed my dd that I wouldn't be going with her to the interview. She actually thanked me for not being "one of those helicopter moms." LOL!
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None of the colleges to which my son applied were within a few hours drive. In fact, he flew by himself to most for visits and interviews. He noted that this was less than common at most schools which struck him as peculiar.
I think that colleges are not surprised and may in fact expect parents to accompany their students. College is a huge financial investment for most parents and hence the institutions are pitching both parents and students.
I can see where if dd's interview was on a campus I haven't seen, then I probably would go with her. However, none of her previous interviews have yet to be held at the actual school. One was in a private meeting room in an emergency room (the interviewer was a doctor), the second interview was in a restaurant and now the third will be at person's house (where there will be multiple interviewers and multiple kids present).
I drove dd to the first interview and sat in the ER waiting room, but I have to say I felt really stupid being there and the doctor was somewhat surprised, too. The interview at the restaurant I did not drive dd to. I think I might have felt like a stalker sitting at a nearby table. I definitely don't feel comfortable going into someone's private home uninvited so I'm leaning towards letting dd drive herself for the third interview. There should be several cars parked out front as there will be five interviewers and several interviewees. The interview is only scheduled to last fifteen minutes. I'll just have dd text me when she arrives and when she leaves, I think.
Next month, we do have a scholarship interview full weekend with another school and the invitation specifically invites parents, so that one I'll definitely attend. However, if the invitation didn't specifically include my dh and I, I would be more wary and look at it more closely before deciding to attend.
:confused:
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My dd has a scholarship intervew Tuesday and I plan on letting her drive herself. My understanding is that they don't want to talk to me, just my dd. I'm not trying to cut the apron strings and run or anything, but I also don't want to be a mom who's hanging out with no real purpose.
If my dd didn't have a driver's license already then of course I would drive her, but I don't want to be perceived as "one of those moms" who can't let go and let the young adult handle something like this on their own or seem over eager.
Will my presence make a difference (good or bad)?
Advice from BT/DT parents? Did you go and if so, why? Why not?
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Everytime someone does something utterly stupid, someone, somewhere utters "There should be a law against that..."
The reality is that stupidity cannot be legislated. New laws simply mean people find new ways to get around them, sometimes to their own (or others) detriment. Darwin at work.....
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I have NEVER encountered someone who believes this. Perhaps you are using some hyperbole, though, and just making the point that some people have different ideas than you do about the legitimate functions of government.
I have never met someone who called in the government to help when they woke up one morning to find that they were out of coffee, even though that IS a SERIOUS problem. :D
Tara
There were citizens of our great country who, after Obama was elected, stated that they could now quit their jobs because Obama and the gov't would take care of them. :001_huh:
Out of coffee! National crisis for sure (at least in my house). :lol:
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The bottom line in this whole discussion is accountability.
We raise our children (at least, most of us do) holding them accountable for their choices and actions.
Good choices/actions (e.g. an 'A' on a test) ---> Good consequences (e.g. more playtime or a special dessert, etc.)
Bad choices/actions (e.g. an 'F' on a test) ---> Bad consequences (e.g. less play time, no dessert, no video grames, etc.)
However, adults seem to get a pass on this and the logic fails. Adults make bad decisions, but they're not held accountable.
For example, people who bought homes they couldn't afford and then the gov't bailed them out. People who refuse to better themselves so they can get a decent job and be contributing members of society; gov't gives them money to live on. Where's the logic? Since when do we not hold adults accountable for their actions? Since when did we say "It's okay that you made bad choices in your life, here's some money."
I don't lament having public assistance. However, it should be temporary, it should have more oversight so that the people receiving it spend it wisely (not on flat screen TV's or iPhones, etc.) and continued assistance should be contingent on receiving job training of some sorts (college, tech school or OJT) not necessarily provided by the gov't.
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I fully support the Fair Tax, but that was not the point of my post. The point was the people kvetch and whine about all the lazy good-for-nothings who steal their tax money by defrauding public assistance but, economically, those people are a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the ways the wealthy steal their taxes.
Tara
You should take care not to label an entire group based on a few instances. My dh and I have never cheated on our taxes, ever. We don't know anyone who has cheated. Most pay their taxes.
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Rich people abuse the system to a larger degree than poor people do, but poor people are the ones who get blamed for being lazy snakes in the grass. Tax evasion and wage fraud cost this country huge amounts more than welfare scamming does. But rich people are seen as some sort of holy grail who can do no wrong because they supposedly drive the economy, even though the economy would completely and totally collapse without low-wage workers.
Tara
If you're worried about people cheating the tax system (and people of all income levels do this), then it's the tax system in this country that needs revamped, not income redistribution. The Fair Tax method, for example, would tax people only on what they spend with tax credits going towards people in certain groups. The wealthy, by definition, would end up being taxed more because they spend more.
Business people and entrepreneurs drive the economy because their businesses provide the jobs (duh!). If they don't have the income resources to support their businesses and/or expand (in order to hire more people), then they go out of business or move their businesses to a country that's more tax friendly to them. So, without those businesses there would be no jobs for low-wage workers. Watch Illinois this next year. Because of the tax hike implemented you will see businesses leaving that state to go to states that are more tax friendly and those jobs will also leave Illinois. It's going to be a perfect case-study of what happens when taxes are raised too high.
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We live in a small Southern community filled with contrasts - very, very wealthy individuals who have huge mansions, elaborate horse stables, and polo ponies and very, very poor people who live in shacks with no heat who hope and pray to get a few hours working at Walmart. There are no jobs. No, they can't "just move." Where would they move to? Did the rich do something to "deserve" their wealth? Much of it is inherited wealth, some is people who were in the whole investments thing and got lucky. Our family is comfortably middle class and is acquainted with many in both groups.
Certainly, some people who receive public assistance are the classic "lazy bums." But the majority are people who are struggling, who can't afford college and can't get a living-wage job without a college degree, who are trapped in an area with a horrendous educational system. My heart breaks for them and we support them however we can.
Only .001% of people in the upper income class inheritied their wealth.
As to your second assertion that people just got "lucky" with their investments. First, they had to have worked to get the money to invest in the first place. Second, they didn't just haphazardly or blindly invest their money. They did their research. In other words, they spent time and energy looking into the investment and decided it was worth the risk.
As to your third point, that people can't afford college, both my dh and I were in that class of people. Without hard work on both our parts neither of us would have gone to college (see my reply above for more details on our backgrounds).
Both my dh and I give back to our community. However, I would very much prefer that the gov't not take my money and give it indiscriminantly to people. I would like to have a say so in how it's spent. That's one of the reasons I think private charity is a much better option. All communities do not have the same needs and only the people in the community know what they need and how best to help. I don't think one approach to all problems (i.e. giving money willy-nilly) is helpful in the least.
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:rolleyes: Yes, it is so much better to keep people enslaved to the government than tell them to go and support themselves.
Many people fall on hard times and need help and it should be available through faith based programs- as it once was. But sooner or later you have to learn to fish for yourself and become a productive member of society.
Hold on while I get my flame retardant suit on...
I get so tired of hearing people use their socio-economic status to perpetuate their state of living. The whole 'woe is me, I was born poor...never had the opportunities that others had to go to college because no one would pay for it' just doesn't fly with me.
I call BS on that attitude. Both my dh and I were poor growing up. My dh was the oldest of three and was babysitting his siblings overnight when he was just six years old while his mother went to one of her three jobs. She was on welfare at some points in their lives. His mother made sure education was a priority in their lives, though. My dh worked hard in school, ended up the valedictorian and won a scholarship to college because he worked hard. He didn't sit back and wait for gov't or anyone else to hand him something.
I was in the same boat with my family. I chose the military option. I was in the reserve for eight years and they paid for my college while I was in the reserve. I worked full-time to pay my living expenses while going to college. At Christmas time I worked more than one job so I could have a bit more money (for things like textbooks). It took me longer than the standard four years to graduate because I couldn't always take a full load of classes, but I did it. Was it easy? Absolutely not.
Too many people in gov't programs expect someone else to get them out of it. They need to put on their big girl panties and do it themselves. Problem is, too often it involves hard work beyond what a person is willing to do.
And, as far as income equalization. I worked very, very hard to be where I am today as has my husband. I absolutely abhore the idea that someone would take my paycheck and give it to someone sitting on their a$$ at home because it's only "fair." When income equalization occurs what you'll see is that those who previously worked hard to earn their incomes and enjoy the benefits will simply stop working hard. Why should a person work hard when their neighbor gets the same amount of money for flipping burgers? Productivity and ingenuity will disintegrate.
Those who are willing to work hard and make sacrifices to get ahead shouldn't be punished for their effort. If a person is unhappy with their standard of living, then they should get off their a$$ and do something about it rather than waiting for someone to hand it to them on a silver platter.
Yes, I know...getting on my own flame retardant suit.
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Georgia had to drag out all three of its snow plows from the moth balls (jk, but really, people wonder why snow is a big deal here and it's because we get it so seldom that GA doesn't buy the equipment to deal with it).
The funniest part about snow/ice in the south is not the run on the grocery store, but how people wait until the ice hits before venturing out to the store. Obviously, most Georgians do not know how to drive in these conditions (and let's face it, ice is hard to drive on no matter where you are). So people wait until after the storm hits, get in their cars, drive 20 mph (or less) in the fast lane with their emergency blinkers on the whole way. Gah!
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the elephant enclosure. I ran the Disney Marathon and hit the elephant enclosure about mile 19 or 20 I think? I was already sucking air at that point and that smell almost put me out I think. :)
I did get to run behind the Tarzan character in a loin cloth for a while. Talk about motivation....
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Ds got an acceptance letter today to Embry Riddle.
That's great news! :hurray::party::cheers2:
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These two points are what bothers me so much about the "accreditation" thing in GA. What on earth does having an "emergency plan" in place for a terrorist attack have to do with the quality of my child's high school education? It's absolutely absurd!!
QUOTE]
Actually, those accreditation requirements are the same for any school, even the public high school down the street from me. I didn't mind having a plan and my consultant didn't make an issue out of it either. He just saw that I had one and checked the box.
I, for one, am glad they don't evaluate my curriculum choices. My consultant did look at them (he has a ph.d. in education and was superintendent of our school system for a long time), but he didn't claim anything wasn't good enough. Of course, I hold my school up to tougher standards than Georgia would require anyway (even my graduation standards are much tougher - more in line with a national standard). Really, I left him no room for criticism of my curriculum.
He did ask to see my dc's test scores (standardized test). I showed him our ITBS results (which I did yearly vs. every three years as required by GA), ACT scores, PSAT scores, SAT-II scores, and AP test scores. I had examples of my dc's work in every subject set out for him to review if he chose to and he took a cursory look at it. You could say I went a little overboard, but like I said, it was more an issue for me of not giving him anything to complain about.
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Very interesting! Thanks so much for sharing this information. I will definitely be checking into this. $200 for the entire high school years sounds much better than $250 a year. I looked at the website. Would I begin with contacting a consultant in my area? There is one listed in a town just south of me.
I printed out the application and filled it out. Then I copied/pasted the twenty-six requirements into a word processing program. I answered each one of the requirements with what I was doing to comply (I bolded their requirements, and my answers were not bolded, to make it easier for the consultant to read). Don't assume that something doesn't apply to you. I did. I assumed the whole "emergency planning" requirement didn't apply to me (e.g. what I would do in case of terrorist attack or suicide on school grounds, etc.). I ended up surfing the web until I found one from a school (Montana maybe?), downloaded it, and changed it for my school.
Then I contacted a consultant. Local is good, because if they're not you pay their travel expenses. I had all twenty-six items out and available for inspection when he arrived. The first visit was a run-through and he made suggestions. The second visit was quick with him quickly checking the prior items and spending time on the suggestions he'd made. On the document I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I noted the suggestions he wanted in red (under the item it pertained to) and then what I did to comply under that. He said he liked that I did that as it kept it from having to spend a lot of time digging through things.
Like I said, it was all very easy to do. They DO NOT interfere in my school in any way (they don't tell me what materials to use and such), but your dc will have to at least meet the minimum requirements for graduation in Georgia. Otherwise, they leave me completely alone, no surprise inspections or other stuff. I've been accredited for four years now and it's been great. No problems.
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I guess as a mom, I want my ds to get the shot. But, ds is very against the idea! We are going to leave it up to him to do at campus if he feels he needs it, but I can tell you he will do nothing:sad: He has gotten the flu in the past, but since we moved to VA none of us has been sick. So, now he lives in GA and thinks he is immune to all types of virus.
Thanks for the advice. This ds is one that has to live through an experience to learn anything....he does not take advice well. Is there a curriculum for that?:confused: I have three other dss and maybe I can do better with them:001_smile:
Before Christmas, the CDC listed Georgia as highing the highest flu rate in the country. I don't know if that's still true, but might that sway him?
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I went to a college/career fair in my town a few weeks ago. The college admissions officers there all said pretty much the same thing. Do a college prep course of study (4 English, 4 Math, 4 Science, 3-4 Social Studies, 2 Foreign Language and all the other requirements like Health/PE). They said to keep a record of any volunteer/communty service or leadership positions. They also said you don't have to do a fancy portfolio that is a "scrapbook" of their entire high school years. They did want a full description of all courses taken along with textbooks used. Teacher references from any outside courses taken are also a plus.
My understanding is that unless you have an accredated diploma, you aren't eligble for the Hope scholarship until you've completed your freshman year with a 3.0 average. Here is a link to GHEA's page about it. It says it is retroactive, which I assume means that you get that year's tuition paid back to you.
I don't know what the school's requirements are about subjects, but I can find out. I go to a church near there, and most of the kids in our church are there full-time or part-time.
My dd is a senior this year and my son is a sophomore this year. A couple of years ago, when dd was getting ready to enter high school, I began looking into accredited schools. They are all over the map in prices and conformity. I was lamenting how I felt about the degree of conformity to one rep for an accredited school when she suggested I get accredited. I looked into it and found that is was pretty easy to get accredited as a "non-traditional school." That's what I did. To get accredited there's a list of 26 items that you have to prove you do (e.g. keep attendance, do fire drills, keep records, etc.) Most of the items I was already doing and documenting, so it wasn't a big deal. An inspector came to my home the first time for a "run-through" of the inspection process, made a few suggestions and left (and no, he did not inspect my whole house, just my school room). He came back a second time, and voila, now I'm accredited.
For the past two years my dd has been dual-enrolled at a cc and it's been paid for by ACCEL (related to HOPE). If she goes to a public school next year (she's been accepted to Tech, but she's still waiting to hear from other schools), she will be immediately eligible for HOPE, no waiting period.
Here's the website where you can get started with the accreditation process: http://www.coe.uga.edu/gac/
BTW, the whole process cost me about $200; that's TOTAL cost, not yearly.
The best part for me? When applying to schools this year (she applied to 8 schools) I only had to submit a one page transcript (no portfolios or other proof required). Yippee!
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trying to decide before my ds goes back to campus:confused::confused:
The flu is miserable and complications can arise very quickly. My dd was vaccinated free on campus in October (and my ds and I went to a local pharmacy for ours).
A teen in Britain died this week from the flu.
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along with a textbook (with assignments by me), and The Teaching Company Chemistry videos.
My dd's opinion is that Thinkwell was fun, good videos, and she learned more from Thinkwell than she did either the textbook or TTC videos.
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required substitute teacher training and I went through it. It was conducted by police officers! I could have sworn I signed up for the wrong training. It was all about how to spot drug use. One of the main ways of passing drugs along is putting them in a book (especially inside the spine of the book) and then "loaning" the book to another student. I was amazed.
One of my teacher highlights while subbing in a middle school is breaking up a fight between two 8th graders (both of whom were taller than me). One of the boys spun around, pointed a finger in my chest and said, "If I can't hit him, I'm going to hit you!"
If I had said that to a teacher when I was that age, I wouldn't have been able to sit for a week, not to mention I would have been grounded, forced to apologize, etc. It's amazing the behavior we - as a society - tolerate these days.
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for both dd and ds. Last year my dd was a junior in high school attending a CC as a dual enrolled student. As an honor student, she took an honor's level math course. She was currently enrolled in Calc I at the cc at the time in addition to this honor's class. The other students were all at least taking Calc II, so she was a bit nervous going in, knowing she was behind the eight ball from the get go.
During the semester, the prof. jumped into proofs. My dd was the only student in the class who had any experience doing proofs. The other "more advanced" students didn't have a clue and, in fact, had never learned about proofs.
The prof. was actually amazed my dd knew how to do proofs and did them well enough to have her teach her classmates how to do them. She ended up copying a couple of pages from TT and giving them to her classmates. The prof. was impressed enough to recommend the school hiring her as a tutor in the student center and, later, for a "roaming tutor" program he developed.
I know some of the other programs are seen as more "rigorous." In fact, we tried Jacob's before switching to TT (my dd hated Jacob's and it left her in tears). My dd is good at math (she's taking Calc III this semester at the cc), but sometimes rigorous isn't the option that fits your dc. Find out what program your dc will actually learn from and use that one.
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Complaining about not getting federal assistance to pay her heating bills while standing in front of her large screen TV.
http://www.macon.com/2010/12/16/1379464/funding-cuts-leave-many-without.html
Sell the d#&$ TV woman! That should cover your heating bills for the remainder of winter in Georgia. I don't live all that far from her and come March our winter is done.
s/o on advice for scholarship intervews...Do you go with your dc?
in The College Board
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I agree that it's a good time to do a family visit as long as the parent does not go with their child into the interview or wait outside of the interview. Spending time on the campus is great!
However, not one of my dd's interviews thus far has been on a campus. They've all taken place away from the campus and are usually in the evening.