[Persuasion on Netflix]

I watched it and now I'm sad.  Were they going for a Bridget Jones' Diary vibe?  It didn't work.

I did enjoy the casting of  Richard E Grant though -He would have been perfect in a better movie.

 

[All the little tech schools]

I can answer some of your questions from visits and knowing students who have attended.  My son is headed to RIT this fall and to be honest he loved the campus. I'm hoping he will enjoy being there as well, everyone we know who has attended absolutely loved it there and in particular raved about the co-op programs. We have a large engineering program at our high school so many kids each year head off to small (and large) tech schools.

We know quite a few students that attended WPI their reviews are a mixed bag.  

DS's second choice was Stevens.  I think we were a little scared off though by the added costs that kept cropping up. for a school that is quite expensive in the first place.  Most students we were told move off campus after freshman year and that area is very expensive and kind of a headache to navigate. and park.

 

[WWYD about this(child being rude/food allergies)]

14 hours ago, KSera said:

Agree with your post. I’m actually really surprised that so many people find this not a big deal from a ten year old. I feel like those responses are more how I would feel if she was more like seven. I have had four 10-year-olds so far, one of them was very recent, and she would definitely understand that this was very mean and dangerous behavior.  I don’t think ten is too young to understand you don’t berate kids with LTFA and tell them to stay home so you can eat peanut butter. Seven years old would be different, but I wouldn’t give a pass at 10 (which it doesn’t sound like Mrs. Tiggywinkle is going to do.) 

I agree hormones are weird at this age and might be at play, but that still wouldn’t negate consequences for something this serious. 

I agree with this.  You mentioned some of the other kids are in public school.  Kids in public school are used to food allergies (nut free classrooms for snacks, nut free tables in the cafeteria, etc.)  My experience is that sometimes kids in kindergarten maybe first grade and/or their parents have confusion  about what can be sent in and when, but by the time they are ten they are in 4th or 5th grade that seems late.  It is pretty commonplace to them by then.

[AP or Dual Enrollment - Transcript Poll]

Public schools here weigh only for class rank not for final GPA.  The grading scale is out of a hundred and honors classes are multiplied 1.1 times.  AP and DE classes are multiplied 1.2 times.  It is almost impossible to have a tie for valedictorian because the weighted GPA would be something like 108.23.  Also core academics are weighted differently than electives.

Through the years I've heard many people discussing the weighting at our local schools but most people don't realize that it is only for rank even though it is explicitly explained.  It is understood that most colleges do their own weighting calculations for admissions.  

 

 

 

[Transcript Question]

Here are a few things that would affect your son as a public schooler  if you were in my state.

Only so many high school level classes  taken during middle school can count towards your high school transcript.  The state is specific about the number and type.  You may want to check the rules in place for your state

Many middle school students on the upper tracks take high school classes usually say for example Spanish 1 and 2 .  But even though they are honors for middle school they are not the high school honors classes so they cannot be weighted as such.  They are regular high school CP Spanish 1 and 2.  That is why most people do not want to include those classes in the high school GPA.  Freshman year then can then opt t take honors level Spanish 3 which would be weighted as such and then honors/DE/AP levels going forward.  Schools here do not weight for GPA usually just class rank, but that is important as well.  Providing those classes from the outside would allow you to call them honors if that is what they were, not because he took them in middle school. 

Colleges also often use their own methods to weight classes so this could come into play there as well.  I am unsure too how they would view the CR - If it is like a P  then it might be weighted as a "C" - you may want to check on that.

 

 

[Puritanical college prep & sheltering teens]

My daughter actually attends UMass Amherst and your system is different from ours especially at the university level.  You have multiple individual universities and UConn is just one university.  there are a few satellite campuses but they are essentially part of the same school.  UMass did accept her DE (ECE) credits from UConn that were obtained in the high school classroom.  

 

 

[Puritanical college prep & sheltering teens]

We have an extensive vocational high school system here so most people earning vocational degrees do so through high school programs or possibly trade school after high school.  Community Colleges are limited in their scope (although that is growing) and you may be able to transfer some classes to one of the state colleges, but it used to be few universities would take the transfer credits.   That may be changing a bit too.  

 To put it into perspective I am 52 and I have never met anyone who graduated from a CT community college or even took classes at one.  I know one person who teaches at one and she teaches English to adult non naïve speakers.  Our system is noting like those of many other states although they are trying to grow it.  What most states have for CC more accurately looks like our state college system.  Many students go one or two years at a state college then trying to transfer to UConn (or elsewhere)

Although back to DE - The DE (or ECE) classes in high schools here  are usually either associated with UConn or local private universities.  Not the CC or state colleges.

[Puritanical college prep & sheltering teens]

12 hours ago, Frances said:

My husband took a few required classes (statistics, economics) at the local CC before he went back to grad school. They were both complete jokes. The idea that anyone was getting college credit for either of them was ridiculous. And I’m sure they weren’t even the worse things offered.

Here Community College is not really considered college level for most courses.  There are no DE classes in conjunction with community college so no one would be getting credit for CC classes.

Also I am surprised at people's responses to prompts.  Any exam that has questions where you need to answer in an essay form are basically prompts.  From coursework to AP exams they are everywhere, and across all subjects not just English.  

 

[Puritanical college prep & sheltering teens]

4 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

K, so I just prowled the CT Department of Education offerings, and there seem to be two different state-funded programs that get college-level content to high school students, neither of which are called "dual enrollment."

• "Early College Experience" - In this program, flagship UConn comes into selected high school campuses -- the university sends *its* instructors to a total of 160 identified partner high schools who teach a total of 201 identified courses.  University-hired teachers, physical high school building, all HS students.  The high schools seem to have to go through some series of qualification hoops to become eligible as a "partner."
• "College Career Pathways" -- in this one, individual high school kids go onto 4 year state college / community college / state vocational & tech campuses and are able to take qualified courses (more than 100, but not open-ended selection).

Tuition is free but transportation is not, so a school like @MEmama  's would have to arrange for a school minibus or something if it were using the CCP program as their main Advanced Calculus offering.  (Education funding in CT is different in a zillion ways from most other states.)

 

Those two programs are open to any student/ high school that wants to qualify to use them.  There are some other programs targeted particularly to vocational training, performing arts, and GATE.

The ECE classes my children have recently taken in high school are almost identical to the DE classes I took in high school when I graduated in 1987.  The classes are taught in the high school by teachers that had to be trained and certified specifically to teach them  The materials, tests, quizzes, assignments and finals mirror those taught in that same class on campus.  That is how a college like UCONN would award credit for the class and why other colleges would accept the transfer credits.

CCP is something that usually applies to students attending vocational high schools and I believe involves community colleges.  

 

[Breading and Pan Frying]

I've always done flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs.  That seems to work for me.

[Do all states have these college laws?]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I assume these are actually laws that apply to the public university system in Texas. I can't imagine how they could tell private institutions to follow these rules. In that sense, yes, other state university systems have overarching policies that apply to all students across all public universities. These do seem particularly restrictive.

For college? No. I had no idea there were states that required a state government class for college students. Sorry, but that's absurd. Texas, you're not that special. Every state has a state government and unique history. I've never in my life heard of students being required to take a college class in state government.

My parents met in college in the 60's because they were required to take a class called The History of the State of New York.  They were seated alphabetically, met, and well the rest is also history.

[Are fried pies southern? A poll.]

Fried pies ?

Arkansas ?

[Deleted]

Did you speak with the school counselor or psychiatrist?  Many schools have a lunch bunch or lunch group that caters to kids with a variety of concerns.  Usually the students can get together as needed, to eat separately in a small group with the counselor or an aide.  Would something like this help?

[Less choice of coursework in high school]

My kids have had a fair number of choices.  There are about 120 - 150 students per grade and I think larger schools have even more options.  There are 8 periods in the day and 4 of them are usually the core subjects which usually fall along a track CP, honors or AP.  Students can pick and chose where they want to fall as long as pre-requisites are met.  There is also a state mandated one semester Personal Finance class and the school dictates that they take two hears of Phys ED (which includes health) and two semesters of music/art.  After Freshman year there are a fair amount of options even within the core subjects.  You can take an accounting track for your math or marine biology or forensic science instead of AP Bio, etc.  You have 3-4 periods to fit in the electives (many of the sciences are double period labs).

My son does a special engineering program at the school which includes a specific class to be taken each year.  I was worried with that extra class and his 4 years of Spanish he would have a hard time fitting in other electives but that hasn't really been the case.  Junior year he did have to settle for CP Spanish rather than Honors because that is what fit in his schedule.

 

 

[Assumptions about gender]

19 minutes ago, Terabith said:

When I was talking to the driver's ed people, I finally did say, "Lyr is non-binary.  Will that be okay with your instructors?" because, well, we live in southwest Virginia.  They said it would not be an issue but continued to use he/ him pronouns. 

They meant "Okay" they would take your money.

[S/o Sick Shaming]

My daughters university requires vaccination. Vaccinated students will be able to be unmasked on campus (but that may change) and those unvaccinated will be required to wear masks.  Also unvaccinated students will be required to get COVID tested twice a week.  Any student wearing a mask and getting tested is obviously unvaccinated, no need for a roommate to be explicitly told.

Any unvaccinated student not following that protocol risks being expelled.  Last spring everyone on campus was masked and everyone tested twice a week.  If they did not follow that protocol they could not continue with their classes or even access their dorms for dining halls.  Students were expelled over non compliance so I am not worried about the school policing their guidelines this fall.

 

[Nm]

We live in a town where many people are quite wealthy and we are middle to upper middle class.  We live in a small house that is constantly in a state of renovation.  There have been a few incidents that have stood out through the years.  When my son was in first grade a friend asked if we were poor because he didn't have an IPad.  The first time my daughters friend came over (now her best friend) she was about 7 and she was fascinated by our window air conditioning unit.  She had never seen one before.  But these instances have been few and far between. Not really kids being mean but just unaware of what is outside their little bubble.  The pros have been that their schools have been excellent and they have been able to do things we could not necessarily afford.  Go on trips with their friends, swim in their pools hang out on their boats.  No one ever held it against them that we couldn't reciprocate - It never mattered.  They have never been made to feel less than. They have always had numerous friends and practically no drama (even in middle school! lol) 

No one ever really cared what brand kids wore.  Through the years there have been brands my kids were interested in but I'm a Marshalls/TJ Maxx/ Outlet shopper so those name brands were never more expensive than any other clothes I would be buying for them.  

My kids have never really had an issue.  I have sometime felt hmmm, disappointed I guess I'll say.  For example my house is too small to hold a pasta party for the swim team like almost all of the other parents do.  And kids don't hang out here as often as other houses because there isn't really a separate more private area.  Even the other thread about pantries got to me a little.  we don't have a pantry or any where for a pantry to be. 

 

 

[Academic advising]

Most High school seniors here have the opportunity to do a two week internship in a field they are interested in pursuing, towards the end of the school year.  The schools have lists of individuals and firms willing to work with the students in a large variety of fields.  Perhaps your local high school can put you in touch with someone that would be more willing to answer questions from a student.  They may even be able to provide internship opportunities.  

[Mom in Va. who lived through Cultural Revolution addresses school board regarding Critical Race Theory]

15 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

So much THIS! That drives me crazy and I see it all of the time these days. I see the claim that such and such book from removed from the curriculum but then we find out (after the fit throwers have already moved on to the next outrage) that one teacher didn't reach it that year or something like that. 

I follow #DisruptTexts on Twitter. Ive appreciated their perspective on literature but I've learned so much by how people react to them. 

The real problem is that if it weren't for their need to throw a fit, they wouldn't normally know what books were on their child's classroom curriculum or even that a list existed at all.

[When you were in middle/high school, were you taught anything at all about...]

Yes - In 9th grade in the 80's I had a class called American Studies.  It was a double period that combined History and English.  We briefly touched on it though.

[Graduation requirement – Civics Test?]

Taking a civics class is a requirement for graduation here.  there isn't specifically a test to pass, just that the class be completed with a passing grade.  In our local high school the classes that satisfy this requirement across the levels are Civics, Honors Civics, and AP Government.  They are normally offered in 10th grade.

[Easy dinner to serve outside?]

Sorry just saw the dairy allergy!!

[Easy dinner to serve outside?]

How about a lasagna with zucchini in place of the pasta.  That with a side salad might work.

[nm]

When My kids were in middle school they activities almost every day.

 

For my daughter

Spanish and band were part of her school day and she had them every day M-F

after school she had whichever sport/season  she was in for practice or a game.  soccer/basketball/track every day M-F sometimes Sat

in the evenings she had Girl scouts once a week and rec soccer, off soccer season, twice a week with games on the weekend.

On some Sundays she volunteered with a TOPS soccer program

She is an active kid and could have done even more if there were more hours in the day.  

My son

Spanish and band were also part of the school day every day

After School he had track every day and sometimes Sat in the spring

Evenings he had Karate twice a week all year long

 Flag Football in the fall, with practices two nights a week and games on the weekend.

he isn't quite as active as my daughter so the break during the winter where he only had karate worked for him.

 

[What do you think of this PS attendance policy?]

My son has gone back to full in person, but when they were hybrid he had to log in every period for attendance when it was his cohort's virtual day.  He still had to participate in each class just like the students there in person.  He had to take notes on the lessons, take quizzes and test, participate in discussions, etc.  If you aren't actually in those classes on those virtual days aren't you missing half of what is being taught?

And daily attendance has nothing to do with public school funding in many places.