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Haiku

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Everything posted by Haiku

  1. I found a cd-rom version cheap on Amazon, so I figure we'll give it a shot. If it doesn't work, I'm only out $6.44.
  2. I saw the information about Kinetic Principles of Physics in the Homeschool High School Physics thread. I think it looks interesting, so I emailed Perfection Learning about it. The woman who wrote back to me said that it is not set up for use in a homeschool environment. Can anyone explain why this is? I'm assuming that someone here has used it if it's in the high school physics thread. Thanks.
  3. I don't mean to sound flip, but my response to that would be, "Ok." He didn't practice. He got a lower score. How does he feel about that? Does it matter if it doesn't bother him? My son is an elite-level hockey player, so I understand the idea of doing the best that you can. But at 15, his primary interest with regards to hockey is having fun with his friends. Maybe your son just wants to have fun and not feel pressured. My son loves hockey, but other interests and priorities are cropping up, too, including "I'd rather just sit on my butt and watch Youtube than do drills in the basement." I think that's normal at this age. I'm not trying to pick on you. It has been hard for me to watch my son (seem) to lose his motivation for all-hockey-all-the-time, but I have to remember that it is his life and as long as I don't see him going down some dangerous spiral that could indicate something like depression or substance abuse (and I see no evidence of that), it's ok for him to not be as motivated right now, or for his interests to change. Being a teenager is tiring. I think it's normal to need more downtime and less pressure.
  4. If your son is in high school, it's really time for him to take ownership of his activities. If he is not practicing in archery, you are not obligated to continue to pay for it, but I wouldn't nag him about it. Having parents who nag about activities that are supposed to be fun kills the joy. Ask me how I know ... As far as the biology grades ... I just started back to school after nearly 3 decades years of not being a student. One of the first things I did was give myself permission to get Bs. When I was in high school, my parents were so strict about my grades that my mother once grounded me for three months for getting a B+ one quarter in English (freshman year, highest-level English class offered). My parents made me neurotic about my grades. I suggest letting your son own his own grades. If he can get As and Bs without studying, let him get As and Bs without studying. As a now wise and experienced adult, I can look back on my high school experience and see that I was entirely too anxious about it. It really is ok for a kid not to have a 4.0. I think we as a society err too far in the direction of "everything we do has to be done really well, and it's even better if it's done perfectly." Sometimes it's ok to just do ok.
  5. Sorry. Your example and your ancillary comments made it seem like you were taking a stand on the Civil War issue. I guess I misunderstood.
  6. There is a difference between reporting only "one side" of an issue and reporting factual information. Regarding your example about the Civil War, people now may say that "slavery was only a small part," but contemporary documents (primary sources) reveal that slavery was the big issue. So if you consider that bias, then yes, you will find bias in History of the World. Indeed, it is impossible to have "non-biased" history source because every author makes decisions about what information to present and what to focus more and less on. If you feel that SWB leans left, you will feel the same about her history series. It is, however, a good series, and imo, it's about as "balanced" as you can get. (I put balance in quotes because it's not a trait I always find desirable.)
  7. I also had a child who had an IEP, and I worked for a program that dealt with children in SBH (severely behaviorally handicapped) classrooms when I was a social worker. The law says what it says. How specific schools interpret it may vary, but the law deals with what a student is legally entitled to.
  8. No, because FAPE only applies to special education services and any types of supportive medical and behavioral services a child needs. A child with a 504-designated disability who would also benefit from advanced courses is not entitled to them under FAPE. In other words, FAPE applies only to things that are legally designated as disabilities, not to every aspect of an individual who has a qualifying disability.
  9. Agreed. Our willingness to underfund the education of our children (and, actually, of any person of any age who chooses to pursue an education of a variety of sorts) is repulsive.
  10. I find this country's overall lack of commitment to funding public education repulsive, but I don't find it repulsive that we have a law that at least attempted to ensure that our most vulnerable students receive what they need.
  11. FAPE (free, appropriate public education), specified in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is only required for students with disabilities. It is a huge misconception that schools are required to provide FAPE for all students.
  12. Having been through this with one who is now a college graduate, I recommend that you don't start the college search. Give the information offered on this thread to your dd, and she can start the college search.
  13. This made me chuckle. I have never, ever even thought about whether eyebrows are "in" or "out" or anything other than just there are on your face, doing their eyebrow thing. :D
  14. I have never gotten my nails done. I don't paint them or do anything other than routine maintenance. I don't even get my hair cut outside the home. My husband cuts it. I tell you this so you know where I am coming from. It sounds like you are spending $100 a month or so on nails and eyebrows (which I'm going to admit, I don't even know what eyebrow waxing is or how much it costs, I'm guestimating $25?), and I can see the need to cut back on that. That said, if you love having your nails done, then designate the $30+tip as your personal discretionary money (which everyone should have barring complete financial destitution) and get your nails done every four weeks. That $30 is presumably not going to be the budgetary item that breaks the bank, and you actually deserve to do something nice for yourself once a month.
  15. It's a massive giveaway to the rich because they get a hugely higher tax break in proportion to the middle and lower classes. It's not about absolute dollars. It's about percentages. Given that it was touted and promised as a middle class tax cut, it's not only not what was promised but also is a ridiculous deficit-buster. I'm not sure how that's hard to understand. People I know all along the political spectrum are unhappy with it. Our taxes are going up (and we are not wealthy), but even if they were going down, I wouldn't want the break given what it's costing both in increasing the deficit and in other respects.
  16. We are comfortable but not wealthy. According to the Marketwatch tax calculator referenced in this thread, our taxes will go up because of the GOP tax plan. I have used three tax calculators now, and all three of them have said our taxes will go up. Yay.
  17. Because it benefits a country as a whole to have a more educated populace, and therefore it is a legitimate concern of government to ensure that more citizens have access to higher education.
  18. I would encourage you not to continue to think of this as a "bad screw-up." Expecting that our children will always do well in whatever they undertake, and treating less-than-expected outcomes as failures or tragedies, really just encourages them not to take risks or to put way too much pressure on themselves. Your son is young, he has mental health issues, and he tried something new. It didn't turn out the way he hoped it would. Certainly, it can be a learning experience to identify ways he could approach the situation differently, but it seems like shaming him to label it a "bad screw-up." My dd recently had to take an incomplete in her first ever DE class. It was up to the teacher whether to give the incomplete, and while we were waiting to hear, my dd was incredibly anxious. If she had to skip the final and just take a zero for it, it would pull her overall grade down from an A to a C. My brother-in-law, who sits on the admissions committee of an Ivy League school, said that they view one C or D on an otherwise good transcript as a "talking point," and he told dd not to worry about it at all. I am going back to school starting next semester. I will be studying something completely new for me, and I am starting with a tough class. I was worrying aloud to my husband about what would happen if I didn't get an A. He told me, in his eminently practical way, "Nothing will happen. Either you will get the grade you need to continue in the program, or you will take the class over. Don't worry about it." And he's right. I busted my behind in college, graduated summa cum laude, and was selected as my program's outstanding graduate. I worked in my field for five years, switched to a job in an entirely different field for 3 years, and have basically been a stay-at-home mom for the last 16 years. I regret the pressure I put on myself (and that was put on me by my parents) when I was in college (and high school, for that matter). My life would literally not have been an iota different if I'd had a lower GPA and enjoyed college more.
  19. My thoughts: It is the child's education. It doesn't really matter how much you worked and sacrificed beforehand for a specific school or program. They are the ones who have to study the major, and they are the ones who have to work the job. I have told my kids that I expect that they major in something where they have a reasonable chance of finding a job in their field that will earn them enough to support themselves. Other than that, it's not up to me. That said, I have also told my kids that they get an allotted and pre-determined amount of college money from us. Barring an unforeseen crisis, when the money is gone, it's gone. If they want to take five or six years to graduate, it's up to them to fund anything beyond what we have allotted. I changed my major three times in college. It's not unusual. My dad tried to force me into a science major when I was not interested in one. I don't want to do that to my kids.
  20. Given that there are 3,026 four-year institutions of higher learning in the US, being in the top 9.9% isn't bad.
  21. Life is not fair. There will always be people who try to cheat the system, regardless of what the system is. We can't let this unhinge us. We just have to do the best we can do and let the chips fall where they may. I would not encourage my child to report another student for cheating unless the class's honor code required them to do so. Even then I would think twice. Too many of these situations turn into a "my word against theirs" situation and, honestly, I don't want the emotional fallout of that for my kid. My dd who graduated from college in the spring reported a classmate who cheated (and dd had electronic proof of the cheating). The professor did nothing, and dd was upset about it for weeks. It wasn't worth the emotional price she paid for getting involved.
  22. Absolutely. As soon as I read the OP, I thought, "He has ADHD." People are often confused because they think kids with ADHD have to be hyperactive, but that is just one symptom that may present. It's not a requirement or the defining factor. ADHD is an executive function disorder, and all the things you describe are executive function issues.
  23. Several things stand out to me. 1) My oldest daughter (now in her mid-20's) kept a schedule similar to the public schoolers' schedules that you mentioned. She did go to public school, and she did play sports. In some respects it was good for her, but in others it was Not Good, and the stress and burnout it produced have continued to negatively impact her through college and into her post-college life. (She also has some learning disabilities that make schoolwork take longer for her.) 2) Every person is an individual. Just because my daughter was able to cope (to some degree) with a crazy schedule doesn't mean my younger two could. I would not expect them to keep a schedule like that just because their sister or some other random schooled kids did. It would not work for either of them. 3) If your son is occupied by school for 8 hours a day (including lunch and 10-minute breaks because, let's face it, that is not free time for him, and if he were in school that time would be counted as the time he was at school), then you are bumping him up over 40 hours a week by requiring Saturday homework. 4) In my opinion, and based on my experience, kids who have learning issues shouldn't be expected to just "suck it up" and spend however much time is necessary. You reach a point of diminishing returns where the added time and work is just stressful and not educational. I have a 15 year old, too, and she does NOT spend 8 hours a day on schoolwork. She would not be able to handle that. She also had a summer job, but we required that she quit when we got back to school in September. She has other interests and responsibilities, and we didn't feel we could just keep piling things on. So, in answer to your question, I don't think that your son's schedule is reasonable, and if your son is showing signs of stress or discontent, I urge you to take that seriously and find ways to cut back. Two of my kids have learning challenges, and piling stuff on and causing stress is not, in my opinion, healthy or productive. I think Lori had (as usual) some excellent ideas. I would suggest cutting school back to 6 hours a day and, as mentioned, accept that anything that didn't get done is evidence that too much was planned.
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