You said a mouthful there. The biggest jerkoff in my class did time in the State Pen and guess what? My tax dollars went to give him a free college education while he was in prison.

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1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

Wishful thinking, probably.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Particularly those of you with personal experience as the educators and educated. This forum always amazes me with what it produces.
We are considering useing a cyber school like this one: http://www.pavcs.org/ They provide the support of a certified teacher to consult with, a computer, and cirriculum.
I am actually very lucky that my wife can work from home (she is leading the charge on this one as usual) just last year this option wouldn't have been available to us.
It seems that the school is moving too slowly in finding a way to reach him and I'm not sure they can be expected to given their circumstance. He needs personal attention to get past his revulsion for the work which has been a series of failures and frustrations in the traditional enviornment. Halfway through the third grade he is hitting all time low grade marks and has decided to selectivly conceal homework assignments that are 'only worth 5 points'... that is when he even brings home all the homework materials. I have requested that the teacher monitor his agenda (where assignments are recorded) and whether he has the right materials comming home but it has not happened more than a day or two in a row all year. In a way I don't blame her, I'm sure she has plenty to do and I'm also sure that these organizational skills are part of what he is supposed to be learning.

So based on that it seems we cant do better than home schooling at this point. Thanks again for the input thus far and I'm looking forward to more to come.

P.S. Property taxes are a joke... I think they are punishment for the years of only property owners getting the vote... there is a movement in the PA legislature to eliminate them but it will probably get burried after the next election or did they do that already?

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

I am a public school teacher and we pulled our three elementary school children out of public schools. We homeschool because of a lot of factors, but the main ones are the poor behavior, the multiculturalism force-feed, and our desire for their education to be centered around Western Civilization and its values - values mostly abandoned in public schools.

Robert Davis

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Robert Davis

I don't know too many of the details, but I know my old boss at my co-op job home schooled his kids... his wife stopped working, and was full time teacher. The Huntsville area has lots of home schoolers, and as a result, there are many resources available that made it very attractive (if you have the time!). Also, the active community allowed his kids to have LOTS of social interaction with other students of all ages. Don't know how comparable his resources are to the site you linked unfortunately....

As far as the attention thing goes, I was diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive) over the summer, and am now on medicine for it. I'm not sure what caused all of the bad reputation about Ritalin and don't know if it applies to Adderall (med i'm on), but the difference in my capabilities with medicine is AMAZING. Almost all of the self regulation things the doctor suggested I had developed on my own (except the take breaks often thing, made a noticeable difference too!), but they didn't help enough for me to be "normal." I'm not saying that alternative avenues shouldn't be explored to their fullest first, but the medicine can make a huge difference.

Re your son, it has also helped me enjoy school more as I am doing better... not sure if thats why your son is frustrated though. From what you've mentioned that sounds like it, and I would imagine home school would be a great way to overcome the frustration, start enjoying learning again, and get a better education to boot

G'luck with the situation and hope everything works out!!

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John Robbins
'05 E320 CDI - 240k
'87 300TD - 318k

It's a constitutional republic not a democracy

Speaking of which, why does my neighbor, who has a house three times the size of mine(and valued three times as much as mine), pay less than $750 a year in property tax? I pay more than double that. We both have homestead exemption. I guess I will keep my mouth shut, till the day comes that he complaines about my Sportster with straight pipes.

Makes me wonder where Omegaman was mis-educated.

You've already received good information from peolle who have " been there; done that"
I am of two minds on this subject--
My youngest son was educated in public schools, and there developed his love of music. He began with trombone lessons, and then, in middle school, his music teacher asked him to transfer to tuba, as she needed a tuba and had too many trombone players. He fell in love with the instrument. In high school he tooke a course on music theory. He desired to go on with music, and auditioned for the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cinncinnatti. For those of you don't know, CCM is one of the very top music schools in the country, on a par with Peabody. or Julliard. Lots of people tried to discourage him, and said he would never be accepted. But he was. He was given a partial scholarship, and required to maintain a "B" average. We expected him home after the first semester. Music Theory is the class that is used to seperate out the musicisna from the also rans. However, probably due to having studied in high school, ( and having an innate aptitude for it) he breezed thru it. He got his Bachelor's in 4 years, his Masters in 2 and will have his Doctorate in 4 years ( hopefully, in May!)
The point of this is not to brag on my son, ( well, OK there is some of that), but to demonstrate that there are opportunities in some public schools that are not available outside. The public system has immense resources, and if the rest of the system does not preclude the use of them, they may be valuable. ( Your local system may produce different results)

On the other hand, I know several home schooled high school kids, and they seem well educated, if a little weak on social skills.
My church operates a "Home School Umbrella Organization". We have a well qualified educator, who monitors all home schools in the umbrella. This is just another facet of accountability, but it also is recognized by the state of Maryland. ( Presbyterians are big on accountability.)

I would encourage everyone who is contemplating home schooling to investigate some form of accountability, as well as cultural opportunities to expose the children to as many career ideas as possible.

Q: How does your son brush his teeth?

A: With a tuba toothpaste!


Oooh.. that was a low blow!

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

There was an article in todays Baltimore Sun about Hillary Hahn--the popular violinist. There is a quote from her website about how she tries to make classical music more interesting for newbies. She suugests that they watch the eyebrows of the low brass section as they are truly expressive.
She's right. My wife and I have always enjoyed my son's facial contortions. It turns out he is not unique.

I sometimes wonder about kids being diagnosed as "attention-deficit" or having "attention disorders".

I spent most of my school days day dreaming and waiting for the bell. I hated the strict classroom, I hated homework. When I wanted to, I could easily obtain good grades. But I was strong-willed and I simply didn't want to. I wanted to be outside - moving, running, exploring.

Even in high school, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I got good grades in the final year so I could attend university. I then earned an Honours BSc. in Biology. I still had no clue what I wanted to do, I simply went into science as most of my friends did as well.

I'm now a musician in a successful rock and roll band.

Seems that in today's terms, I would have been put on meds and diagnosed with severe ADD and shipped away - when in reality I was simply bored. In the classroom, I was a "dreamer" and teachers thought I was lazy/bored/uninspired, etc. but slap a fishing rod in my hand and I would focus on that little red bobber with a zeal and intensity that would rival a chess master.

I suppose my point is that the rigid, structured confine of academia does not fit with some children and some kids simply rebel at trying to be forced into the mold.

Good luck with your child, and cheers to not slapping him on meds.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Yes. 99% of the time it is the simple fact that the student is not being kept involved. Most teachers are simply not very good at what they do, like most people in most professions - most simply do the bare minimum to keep their job and get their check. This way they can focus on what they love. Shopping, eating Big Macs and Diet Coke, or watching the NFL. When the student "acts out" they are drugged. Rather than listened to and worked with. It is MUCH easier for a teach to have a drugged out complacent student than one they have to challenge. Needless to say most of the teacher in today's academia couldn't challenge a house-fly.

This is a sad but true cycle. The politicans get kick-backs from pharm. industry, so why would *they* want to cure the problem. The doctors get kick-backs from writing the scipts, and the teachers get to go about their business with ease as they lecture in front of a room full of zombies.

But hey, this is how the world works. The best thing you can do is be a good parent and see beyond this trash and help to make YOUR child the best he or she can be.

My two cents.

Don't be so one-sided with your criticism. The kids themselves are sometimes at fault. The peer pressure to not learn can be very strong. But some kids just refuse to submit to the structure. Its a matter of will, and they view it as weakness to submit. So they win the battle, and lose the war--they lose the ability to be successful in life. Big Victory!

Yeah, because it can't possibly be the way the system is set up or... God forbid... oh, my... don't say it... the PARENTS?!?!?!

But figures there has to be a few that would blame the kid.