kiwik
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Posts posted by kiwik
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I think throwing out all old traditions leads to cultural impoverishment.
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23 hours ago, SummerB said:
Kiwik,
I’ve read some about homeschooling in Japan. Several years ago we were told that it was illegal, but that only really applies to Japanese natives, and technically it isn’t illegal. I have several friends here who homeschool.
As far as where they will go to university, it’s a bit early to determine but a couple of the kids have their hopes set on Germany. They definitely will not be able to do university studies here in Japan. Probably they will go somewhere in the U.S.Thank you to everyone who responded! It has been encouraging to read your suggestions.
That is good. Where I am the homeschooling laws apply to everyone in the country not just citizens so I assumed it would be the same.
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My kids learned using while language at school though they did do a little of OPGTR as well and they thought the progressive phonics books were funny when they were 4 or so. I honestly think for the majority of kids the phonics/sight words debate is not important. Most kids will learn however they are taught.
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Welcome back. I am glad you got back.
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On 10/20/2021 at 4:27 AM, Catwoman said:
I keep thinking that if the guy doesn't yell at the kids for other things, he's probably just terrified of dogs and he got scared when Calizzy's dog approached him.
If he was truly a threat, I would think he would already have a bad reputation in the neighborhood, and he would be constantly yelling at the kids when they were out playing and making noise.
Could he have truly felt threatened by the dog? A happy dog bounding over to get petted could be viewed as aggressive by someone who may have once been badly bitten by another dog in the past.
I know the guy was way out of line with his over-the-top reaction, and I'm not excusing that, but for Calizzy to immediately jump to the thought of the guy getting physically violent with her or her kids seems like an equally over-the-top reaction when it sounds like there have only been two altercations in five years, and both were about the dog. (And the guy didn't call the police and demand that the dog be removed from her home or anything, either. He just got angry and loud.) I just don't think it's entirely fair to think the guy might be homicidal because he lost his temper twice in 5 years.
I was thinking it sounded like fear too. It could be the guy is terrified of dogs. Many people get aggressive when afraid. If he is really afraid he is probably nervous when he is outside anyway. I would make or buy a dog run and put a second door or gate and automatic closers on the front door. Dog is either in the run of on a lead. But I grew up on a farm where dogs usually were confined when not working. Think of it like a pool here the law requires all pools to be fenced with self closing child-safe gates because it a toddler slips into the pool area because the older child forgot to shut the door the results are often fatal.
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1 hour ago, katilac said:
You are confusing the Americans.
Did they not have an equivalent? Because that is who I would be calling pandemic or no pandemic.
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9 hours ago, fraidycat said:
Are you asking me? Or just using my post as a jumping off point?
Random thought.
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23 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:
Jailing a Native American woman for having a miscarriage IS political. The feelings of anti-abortion posters don't really matter in this context. This situation is unjustifiable, and people shouldn't be trying to hedge a justification of it. It's got nothing to do with abortion so why that was brought into the conversation, I've no idea.
The utterly involuntary act of having a miscarriage - something only women can experience - has been criminalized. If you're not outraged about that, you should be.
And to be honest the only illegal thing she has done is take drugs. Charge he with by all means (though treatment would be more useful) but only that.
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17 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:
If a tornado knocks my house down while we are in it that’s very different from a third party with a bulldozer doing it.
One is an act of nature that it would not make sense to make illegal. The other is purposeful destruction with the goal of of causing loss of life.
Yes big difference.
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On 10/17/2021 at 2:23 PM, fraidycat said:
An an organism that cannot survive without using a living host to support it is, in every other scenario, considered a parasite.
I am myself pro-life for myself. But, because I'm not walking and never have walked an inch in any other person's shoes, I do not ever get to decide for them what they do and do not do with their bodies. Nor can I pretend that I know what is "best" for them. That takes a level of ego that I will never strive to possess.
I am very anti me having an abortion but I support other people's rights to have one. But this is not an abortion it is a miscarriage. What say she had a miscarriage due to a car crash - is that criminal? I do support adding a second charge when someone murders a woman who is in 3rd trimester but I doubt it would do anything but Make the relatives feel a bit better.
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On 10/17/2021 at 12:47 AM, cintinative said:
Thank you! It does help to hear that. Sometimes I feel like I am helping too much with the words. Is there a good guideline for what proper coaching looks like?
I looked up one of the programs for a college major that might be a good fit and they have only one composition class. YAY. Verbally he does fine expressing himself, but that process of getting it from his head to the paper is the problem--the psychologist said this is the processing issue.
I have the problem too. But since he is only 12 I figure we can repeat it with less help.
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2 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:
Homework is a huge problem by itself. The standard is 10 minutes per grade for homework. In reality, that works out to about 20 minutes per grade when you factor in looking for pencils, etc. Homework is supposed to be review so a child shouldn't need assistance from a parent but that's not realistic in my experience.
Homework requires a quiet environment with parents who can assist and check the work. My daughter needs access to a computer at home.
I heard that some schools have eliminated homework because it promotes inequity. Some schools have done things like assign a family activity instead of homework but then they realized that highlighted inequality too.
The worst homework ever was the age appropriate stuff. How many full time working parents have time or energy to bake or do craft stuff on week days. The time would be much better spend reading or talking or even snuggling and watching TV.
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4 hours ago, Ad astra said:
I didn't know I was gifted until high school when I took an IQ test and scored the highest (in the HG range) in my class. But it didn't do or mean anything for me because in my home country being gifted or having a high IQ is not nearly as valued as high-achieving and hard working. I did graduate from my high school as a valedictorian, went on to earn an engineering degree and a master's at one of the top 3 universities in my home country because I was self-motivated and worked really, really hard for years. To me, what I was born with--innate talent or intelligence--is just a bonus and potential indicator than didn't really matter much to know or tell anything about my life trajectory. I had to prove myself through consistency, diligence and dedication just like other people do.
So it baffles me when I see so much of the discussions in the gifted ed communities of US are focused over the identification of "true" giftedness regardless of achievement level and many of the gifted and talented programs are currently getting eliminated because many of the qualified students are supposedly high achieving, but not "truly gifted." IMO, high-achieving students also deserve to take advanced classes at their level in those programs and their achievements through honest effort and tenacity should be equally recognized and supported. I believe students should be assessed based more on merit and performance than just IQ or race or other factors, and receive the appropriate level of education accordingly, not solely by age. I hoped it would happen when son was tested HQ at PS and qualified for a gifted IEP but unfortunately what it offered wasn't enough, which led me to homeschool. In my homeschool, giftedness doesn't get discussed because we don't see it as important as other values I listed above.
You know what they say about the gifted ones doing well without help? That is true of high achievers and hard workers. It is not true of gifted kids. Gifted is more a special need and if there is funding for other special needs their should be funding for gifted. I want people with Downs Syndrome to be helped reach their fullest potential and I want the same for kids with super high IQs. Both can contribute more and have happier lives that way.
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On 12/31/2015 at 12:05 PM, Laura Corin said:
Those of you who didn't know that 'corn' was a generic word meaning 'grain'- where did you think the word came from? If the settlers didn't apply a familiar word to an unfamiliar crop, how did you think it was coined?
I am not in the US and I knew but I still think maize or pepper when corn is mentioned. I them have to make an adjustment for time and place. It happened with something I read recently..
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4 hours ago, katilac said:
I would also keep in mind that staying in the same company for another 15 or so years may not be realistic. The work landscape has changed, shorter tenures are much more the norm, and switching jobs is not frowned upon the way it used to be. I know lots of 50+ people who have had multiple job changes in recent years, and it's worked out very well for most of them. My husband worked for the same company for 25 years but he's made three switches in the last ten years. It's a different world.
It could certainly be age discrimination, but it could also be that the company is making changes that she disagrees with. She could be 100% right, but being right isn't going to pay off or change the direction of the company. I do think she needs to make peace with the fact that younger and less-experienced workers may 'win' a lot of the time, no matter where she is working. The upside of the new work world is that you aren't dismissed for 'job-hopping,' a potential downside is that seniority isn't always given the benefit of the doubt one might be accustomed to.
So, a physical, sure, therapy, maybe, but also maybe a job coach (formal or casual).
Those are longish-terms solutions, though. If she's having work redone and calling in sick, she needs to bounce.
That is a change. When I was young and inexperienced the older and more experienced always won and usually got most of the jobs.
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Me. When I was a kid I felt different at school but I loved in an extended family group so out of school it didn't matter. As an adult I try but it doesn't work that well. I do think I have ASD. My youngest has a diagnosis as do about 10 kids among the current generation (my cousins kids but none of my siblings kids so far). You can see it going back but it was easier to find your niche I think and the schools were calmer and more structured.
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In NZ we were told 3, then it was 6 weeks due to a combination of research and low supply, now it is 3 again. My take - somewhere between 3 and 6 depending on risk, supply and convenience.
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13 hours ago, Fritz said:
Just spitballing here, but how about more than one school offered on each campus. Being that everyone would not be choosing the same school maybe there would be more room to divide a school into 2 schools each with a different focus. That won't completely fix the issue I realize. Maybe the travel issue could be lessened somewhat by grouping a couple of schools on each campus.
I don't think it is possible to address every possible scenario to make everything work perfectly for everyone. I do think part of parenting is deciding what the major things are for your family and finding away to make them happen. If school choice is a major thing then it is up to the parents to find a way to make it happen (ride sharing etc). I was raised by a single mom with no extended family in the area so I get how challenging that can be.
With the current system if you live in an area with a crappy public school you are stuck with it. Having a choice to take your child's money to the school of your choice at least allows for the option of leaving the crappy school. I think you should be allowed to take that money and use it for private school, a different public school, charter school, and possibly for homeschooling. Not sure about the homeschooling thing though. I like the idea myself, but that could open a can of worms.
But when all the kids move to another school the other schools get overstretched either someone has to pay to make the school bigger or the school has to start turning people away. Meanwhile the scrappy school has not got any help and since it has lost the kids whose parents actually have skills and their funding they are now poorer and less skilled. Also a bunch of kids are travelling long distances to school. I would be better to put more effort and money into improving the crappy school. And if you are unlucky and the school 100 m down the road is full you have to travel across town to another school which is pretty silly.
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On 10/14/2021 at 11:31 AM, Roadrunner said:
What I don’t understand is why we can’t fund schools on per student basis across the state so no matter where you are or who you are, you get the same funding. I mean it’s a public school. If the only advantage of white schools is in the funding, this should be a relatively easy fix.
It sounds simpler than it is. We do it in NZ. But you also have to stack the funding in favour of the poorer areas. Here every year most school run a thing called a gala which is basically a fundaraiser. Schools with rich parents take in the money - poor schools not so much. So now you have one group of schools that has the X amount the government has given, a second group that has X plus $2000 from fundraising and a another X plus 100,000 from fundraising. Rich schools also take overseas students who pay the school for the privelege (I really don't see how that is legal but it is). Also schools have a board of trustees. A school in a rich area has a board stacked with professionals and people working to get ahead whereas the board of a poorer school will have fewer experts (lawyers, accountants, business people can really help). The upshot is you have to rank the schools rich to poor and find the poor ones more. But then the richness rating (it was called the devil's rating) came to be used as a way of judging schools.
I would much rather have the system we have than a local tax system but it has major pitfalls that must be carefully avoided.
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On 10/11/2021 at 11:17 AM, Fritz said:
Nothing on the face of them. It's how they are implemented as I already stated. Just like CRT they claim it's one thing but in the classroom is is not presented that way just as @Roadrunner has already posted. Schools need to be focused on academics not social justice. If you and others would prefer your schools to focus on social justice then allowing for school choice would be a good way to ensure parents can choose the education they would like for their children to have. What's wrong with school choice? You haven't answered that yet.
The main purpose of schools is social indoctrination. What the children are indoctrinated with depends on the time and place at the time. A secondary aim of schools it to make sure everyone is numerate and literate enough to be useful to those in charge - the degree and type of numeracy and literacy once again varies. If the aim was actual education the schools would be set up differently. Occasionally excellence occurs but it is by accident rather than intent. Discuss with quotations as required - please remember to list all references. We all have a different idea of the job of schools.
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On 10/9/2021 at 5:43 AM, Tanaqui said:
What about people assaulting teachers and other staff on school property? Bringing weapons on school property? You are being lied to, or you are actively being mendacious.
I don't know what the DOJ is but if it is to do the police then yes if there are threats and assaults they should be called and trespass notices should be issued.
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2 hours ago, frogger said:
When are you going to say what should actually be done?
Oh, you are only capable of name calling, not problem solving.
The only thing than can be done is to guilt people into behaving in a responsible way. In times past that was done by shaming and shunning the person and by extension their family. Either the family sorted it out or the person was ejected. We haven't quite worked out a modern day equivalent. Maybe stocks in all public parks?
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It looks like home schooling is not entirely legal in Japan so you might want to investigate that first. I didn't read extensively but it seemed to say it was illegal but some authorities showed discretion. My oldest son did some research in the subject earlier this year regarding home schooling and most Asian countries he looked at were anti or simply didn't acknowledge it existed.
Many of us aren't in the US but that is different to being abroad. Where do you see them going to university or living as an adult.
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I thought Cheryl Lowe made sense and tried FFL. This was based on the fact that I struggle to learn other languages by speaking - I also don't pick up slang well which I think might be an ASD thing ds12 and I share. It turns out we both hated FFL. We are finding Cambridge Latin enjoyable though. I am finding it easier than he is because my knowledge of English is greater
They are twice the price of Lukeion or CLRC though so they would have to be pretty amazing.
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How am I going to do this????
in The Chat Board
Posted
Well in NZ we get kicked out next day if possible but the midwife visits for a few weeks. Care is then bonded over to a charity that gets funding for it but it is not a lot. Doctors are not involved in maternity care after 6 weeks pregnancy. But public health nurses do things like dressing changes for people who have been discharged from hospital. Our midwives aren't like the ones on call the midwife but I suspect the ones in the UK aren't now anyway.