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In Oregon there are no Truant Officers searching for kids. I know of several kids that just don't go to school but when they want to. It's sad but the schools here don't care.
Sorry to answer twice, but in this case wouldn't you think it's more a parenting problem than school? BTW, just so you know, I'm a big advocate on homeschooling, so don't get me wrong.
It's from home that kids in schools do derive their attitudes towards school. Schools do not provide truant officers, they come out of our county budget, I think under social services.
Muslim kids are being given a 15 minute break. Remember back in school? High school classes are 50 minutes. Middle school 45-50. Lunch-40 minutes or so. This is an additional 15 minutes-for prayer.
If it's math, they miss 75 minutes per week. Now it's time for 'assessment,' they are now 'disadvantaged' to the kids that didn't leave. Is that fair? My guess is that the teacher is either having to give up time for the other students. Not right.
Any kid can say their own prayers whenever they want, as long as they are not disruptive. I can tell you right now, even 1 or 2 students getting out for 15 minutes of class is disruptive.
I wish we had that here. I know of 3 right off the top of my head that missed most if not all of the last school year.
Granted I know a lot that have issues with my choice when it comes to schooling my children. BUT... Anyone that knows my kids, knows that they are better now than they where when they where in. They absorb more due to how I teach them. I make it hands on as much as I can. We don't sit for hours like they do in public schools. They also have some say in what we learn. Like science, we make the choice as to what we do next. Currently we are studying robotics and electronics. We are thinking of doing some physics next. Not like I haven't been adding physics into robotics.
I teacher middle school social studies. I have three kids, all in or finishing up university, on their own for the most part financially. I read about your kids; my oldest is ADD with learning disabilities, middle gifted with ADHD, youngest 'gifted' but had behavioral disorder issues that I was able to avoid getting labeled, by the time he was in 5th grade I was teaching.
I agree with all your points. It's so true that the teachers so often are put to blame when it's the system and the parents that are the problems.
The system is the biggest issue I have when it comes to my children.
The point I pulled was when I was sitting in an IEP for my 2nd son. They where telling me that he was 2 yrs behind in this. A year behind in that. Then telling me that they where going to push him on to 7th grade. I knew that the best thing for him was to do another year of 6th. It wasn't just my choice on that too. It was his as well. He knew he wasn't ready. They pulled out their charts and statistics. They said that most kids held back this late become drop outs. I told them that my kid isn't a statistic and it also comes down to how we portray it to him. If we say "you're stupid and that's why we are holding you back" he will not achieve all he can from it. But... If we go with "you're going to have another chance to gain the skills you missed and get to do all the cool things you did this year again." He would see it as a positive and grow with it. They didn't see it my way.
We started out with a public school at home program. Connections Academy. It would work great if you had 1 kid or kids that learn on their own. I don't have that. We where doing 3 different things in science. Three different things in history. My head can't split that many ways. I found it hard to move from one topic to another. We drop them in Jan. I gave them a month off and then we started in with our own lessons. It's been bumpy but worth it. I've been amazed with all the cool things I've learned too. It's true what they say... Best way to learn is to teach someone else.
I had asked about his being retained several times before. They would tell me "oh he'll be fine in the next grade, he's getting services". They would never address my questions about dyslexia. They actually told me it's an archaic term. When in fact it isn't. I would come in with ideas to work with him and they would tell me "oh don't do that even at home, it will confuse him too much with what we are doing here". They would gang up on me. It's a classic move in an IEP to get the parents to do what they want them to. Oh you should of seen the looks when I said I'm pulling him. Homeschoolers are not very welcome in the schools. Even though they are required by law to help us.
. I'm on the local Policy Council and just finished serving as a state rep to the Oregon Head Start Association. I have talked with many elected officials on the topic of education. Thanks to Head Start I might even run for an office one day. But that's an entire different topic.
I've done that now. I'm so thankful to Head Start for helping me with that too. I'm not alone. I take the program director with me
Thankfully we are no longer in need of the services the schools provide. He's no longer on an IEP. He was mostly on it for speech. He was taken off in March. The speech pathologist at the middle school is one I like a lot. He decided he didn't need help due to the only letter he had issue with was his R's. He sounds like he's from Mass.
As for his being behind in the other areas. We've made up a lot of ground with the help of AVKO for sequential spelling (awesome program) and the focus of his strengths and acceptance of his weaknesses. It's helped a lot that he can pick what books he reads. He's now tackling Harry Potter 6 after finishing the other 5. We are doing the midnight selling of them at Powell books in DT Portland.
I've done some reading through the library. I'm also using my mom a LOT. I'll definitely check out the local college and see what resorces they have for me. I attended a community college in So Cal. It's a bit out of our reach now.
It's funny. At one time I swore I'd never be a homeschooler. I couldn't imagine myself doing it. It's not as hard as I think most would think it is. Connecting with the child is the biggest thing. I've learned to be a kid again myself. To see the fun in laying in the yard and looking at clouds. Our last topic in science was weather. We would talk about what type of clouds we see and how they are formed for the older ones. All while seeing what shapes we can see. Then there's the MANY trips to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). The trips to the zoo. I even make a trip to the store as educational as possible. From learning about prices to how to act in public.
I truly believe the aclu has a political agenda, and by their silence on footbaths at kansas city international airport, and community college, i think in the same city. They are being hypocritical, and because of that, might as be considered a terrorist organization against christians.
At least be consistent aclu
I support www.stoptheaclu.com
RHODE ISLAND ACLU FILES APPEAL ON BEHALF OF INMATE BARRED FROM PREACHING AT CHRISTIAN SERVICES
The Rhode Island ACLU has filed an appeal in federal court on behalf of an ACI inmate who has been barred from preaching during Christian religious services at the state prison. The plaintiff, Wesley Spratt, had been preaching at ACI services for seven years before he was unilaterally stopped from doing so based on vague and generalized “security” concerns. The appeal, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Carly Beauvais Iafrate, argues that the preaching ban violates a federal law designed to protect the religious freedom of institutionalized persons.
Spratt, who considers his preaching a “calling” from God, had been preaching at religious services on a weekly basis under the supervision, and with the support, of clergy at the ACI. The DOC provided no evidence of security problems during, or as the result of, his supervised preaching during the seven years he had been doing so. Nonetheless, when a new warden took over the maximum security facility in 2003, Spratt was ordered to stop preaching.....snip
ACLU attorney Iafrate said today: “RLUIPA is an important federal law that was designed to protect the religious freedom of people like Wesley Spratt. That law is undermined if courts give uncritical deference to prison officials in denying inmates the right to practice their religion.”
http://www.riaclu.org/20060111.html
Jewish kids get 'excused' absences. Not like being sick. Same with parents that pull them out for cruises and such. The state wants 'sick' day counts.
