Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : WHY?? Littleton Colorado -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: aleta who wrote (279)	4/26/1999 5:28:00 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Respond to of 368

aleta, >>Instead of being encouraged to continue the pursuit of his goal to have a career in the film industry either in front of or behind the camera (hopefully both) he was told in front of the entire class by one 5th grade teacher, who had asked what the children wanted to do with their lives, that he'd better pick something else because he had no talent. A science teacher in the 4th grade told us that our son, who had made all A's in science prior to her becoming his teacher, wasn't capable of A work. She graded his papers in such a manner to insure that he had an 89 average each grading period.<< That's truly frightening, but I can totally relate. You must have been in total disbelief after your extremely positive experience with his previous school. "Over-educating" your son?! How pathetic. It just disturbs me no end to hear about situations such as yours. The sad thing is that I don't think our experiences are isolated incidences. For example, I don't want to turn this into a private school/home school vs. public school debate (you obviously had one very good public school experience) but, I don't recall hearing stories about kids in private education taking the violent route that we've heard about in the recent school yard killings. You have to ask yourself why. The kids in private school are just as exposed the the media and broad culture as the rest. So what is different? IMO, it has to be the freedom and flexibility of the individual private schools (I'm including homeschool in this) to institute rules and disciplinary measures on the students when they are appropriate. For example, if my son had gone to his private school wearing clothes or symbols espousing Nazism, I would have gotten a phone call, been asked to meet with my son and the principle and I would have been told that unless he wore appropriate clothes, he would be expelled. Now imagine in the public school trying to tell a student that he can't "express" his political views with swastikas, etc. I can hear the ACLU now. I think this is a serious problem and I'm not quite sure how it will ultimately be resolved. Years ago school districts could put into place things like dress codes, (including things like no T-shirts with printed material on them), hair, tattoos, just about anything to do with the outward appearance of the students. In other words, the administrations were able to establish minimum "codes" and were able to use judgement and discretion in enforcing them. I'm afraid the "genie" is out of the bottle and that's why we hear these calls for swinging the pendulum back the other way, going to the extreme of uniforms, etc. I'm not against uniforms but I think it is sad that there seems to be no achievable middle ground. BTW, did I say SHAME on LISD? They deserve it. bp

To: aleta who wrote (279)	4/26/1999 5:54:00 PM
From: Mike 2.0	Respond to of 368

You are not venting at all. Sounds like the teachers are the bullies in your situation! I can just imagine your child's teacher, up late at night, meticulously calculating your son's grade to equal 89%. How pathetic! Shame on LISD!! (Thanks bp, after reading your last reply I added that to my post just in time! The above-mentioned "teacher" -and she knows who she is-should be doing her math on a McDonalds cash register!! Then your family could order everything on the menu that costs 89 cents-she's so good at that number >:-) School systems are one of the last monopolies in the US. Maybe the _real_ solution lies in dismantling the monopoly of the local public school system altogether, and implement a school tuition voucher program. You should check out the new issue of Time and look for this article: Adam Cohen/Cleveland With reporting by Ken Myers/Cleveland, Nation: A First Report Card On Vouchers Cleveland's program gets mixed grades. Parents are happier, but students may not be learning more. And vouchers may be dividing the city., Time, 04-26-1999, pp 36+. Here is an excerpt for discussion purposes (shouldn't/can't reprint entire article here due to copyright violation) that makes this issue especially timely for you: "Vouchers may be the next big thing in American education. Thousands of students in Cleveland and Milwaukee, Wis., are using tax dollars to attend private schools, and Florida is poised to adopt the nation's first statewide program. Texas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania may follow." I hope this possibility provides some relief for your situation. BTW, I got this article via E-Library (www.elibrary.com). There is a 30 day free trial and IMO worth paying for thereafter. Further info re this Time article: predictably, Al Gore is quoted at the end as opposing vouchers for private schools (that public school monopoly thing again...they are kind of cozy with the Democrats ;-). I too once agreed, thinking public $ to private schools an abomination...well that was then this is now. Now I view it as a "straw man" arguement on the part of the teacher unions who want the status quo. Lastly (I'm the one rambling, sorry) here is one more quote from the article again for specific discussion point: read this (my emphasis): "However, the most troubling aspect of the Cleveland voucher experiment has nothing to do with test scores and everything to do with the danger that vouchers could undermine the role that public schools have played in American life. Public schools have long held the promise of being America's great equalizer, mixing students of different races, classes and religions in a single student body. At their best, public schools have united diverse groups of students, many of them immigrants, by passing on the nation's shared civic heritage, from George Washington to George Washington Carver. Public schools have the ability to teach democracy simply by being open to all children, and regarding them--and their backgrounds and religions--as equally worthy." Taken in the context of Littleton, CO and other hazing-based tragedies this paragraph IMO rings just a little hollow. :-(

To: aleta who wrote (279)	4/26/1999 5:59:00 PM
From: Jody Ritchie	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 368

<<At a parent-teacher conference we were told that we were "over educating" our son.>> I have never even heard of that phrase. How is that even possible? This was a quote from a teacher? It's scary to think a person with an education would be saying your child knows too much. I don't even know what my reaction would be. <OT> I know this isn't the proper forum, but there are many parents here, so I'm hoping someone can help me out. Last night, my wife and I were discussing when our 18-month old would start Kindergarten. I looked up the district's web page today and it states the child must be five years old by 9/15 of the year he or she is entering K. Our daughter was born on 10/1 and will be ready for K before she's almost six. Are there usually ways to "test" your child to see if he or she can enter K a little early? This is a cause of great concern for us and we may begin looking into private schools in the area. Our daughter is in a playgroup with others her age and is more advanced and alert than the others. Even other parents make comments on how advanced he is. I'm really afraid of getting stuck in a public school system that will cause her education to be delayed a year. Not to mention that she would likely be bored. I know it's early to think about these things, but if I need to get her name on a private school list a couple years in advance, we need to be think about it. Thanks in advance for any advice or resources you can provide to me. Sorry for the OT post. Jody