was:Re: Clarification of a message: now: rebellion and mercury b

[Guest guest]

===>They don't make you fight in Ohio for special services, each Autistic

child is given a $20,000 per year school voucher to be used where the

parent

chooses. I've not heard any parents' grumbling, so might be okay.

Around here, most of the time you automatically get a special day

class, and usually with kids who are lower functioning than yours is

[altho noone was lower than my son when I started biomedical]. You

have to fight for anything more than that.

I would love to receive a voucher, provided I could use the money to

fund his program at home.

>>We have county wide open enrollment, meaning that you can take your

child to

any school, so the money follows the child. Bad school where you

live?, people

won't listen to what your child needs? you can pick up your marbles and go

where they will.

Most schools around here are already over-enrolled. Even if you live

right next door to a local school, you might be bused to a school an

hour away [max bus time here is one hour each way]. There are some

schools which are magnets, charters, etc. They either enroll by

lottery, or parents line up 3 days ahead of the enrollment date and

sleep on the sidewalk, hoping for an opening for their child.

>>The money following the child gives the parent a LOT more input and

is touted

as the main reason European middle and high schools are said to be highly

superior to US schools where the districts get monies no matter how

poorly they

perform. IMHO, this needs to be the case countRy wide.

I definitely like this idea better than what we have here.

>>With public schools, you also don't have much input as to what your

children are learning. Sorry, deleted your concerns about your

children being

taught on their level.

For #1, he is at grade level [8th] in math and history. High school

level grammar. College level science. After assisting in developing

his own curriculum, he receives his weekly schoolwork assignments each

Monday, and can do them in whatever order, and on whatever days, he

wants, so long as it is all completed by the next Monday.

For #4, she is in 3rd grade but just this past month has moved to the

3rd grade books for most of her subjects. It took me about 3

curriculum tries before I found one that met her needs. And actually,

it is not " one " , but a combination of several different curriculums

for the different subjects. She follows a daily schedule.

For #2 and #3, it also took me several curriculum tries. They follow

a daily schedule.

#3 and #4 love worksheets, #1 and #2 hate them.

We do year-round here. Start first quarter in late July, end first

semester the day before Thanksgiving. Off until the new year. Third

quarter starts first week of January, second semester ends at the end

of May. First quarter is lighter workload, so they can enjoy the end

of the summer. They all also have daily chores. For all kids except

#1 who makes his own schedule, Fridays are half-days, some days are

" unschooling " days, some subjects are taught on the weekends. This

schedule, if you can call it that LOL, has worked very well for us for

the past four years or so.

I know of no school, public or private, that would be a good match for

these kids.

>>Each child has their own computer

Two years ago, I thought #3 was not yet ready for phonics, but I

bought him and Clifford computer " educational programs " , and my

parents bought him Curious and Reader Rabbit. Within two

months, he knew phonics and was ready to move to more advanced reading.

#3 also taught himself how to install and uninstall programs, modify

computer files, reconfigure hardware, and generally make my husband's

life miserable from fixing all the problems LOL

#2 also taught himself to read using the computer, altho it was not as

easy as it was for #3. Another idea that was VERY helpful, is that

one day #3 found the closed-captioning button on our VCR [my kids

don't watch TV except for videos], and he turned it on. I was about

to turn it back off when I noticed #2 reading the captioning. This is

what started him reading, because he could *hear* the dialog and *see*

the words at the same time, then followed by the computer programs.

All four of my kids have their own computers [usually cast-offs from

people who have paid my husband to upgrade theirs].

>>Did you know that a parents' have the right to see the curriculum

used to

teach their child before the school year starts?

Seeing it won't help me, I need to *choose* it.

====>In Ohio (not sure about other states) you can opt out of any part

of a

curriculum you don't agree with.

Being that this is a government school, I would not trust them to

implement the opt out program. And personally, I would prefer an " opt

in " program, with those classes as electives.

What does your child do during the time the other kids are in the

classes you have opted out of?

>>We also don't see any bad behavior coming home, we have

surmised this is because inappropriate behavior in school is swiftly

and firmly

dealt with, I've seen this for myself.

Well that is a point in this school's favor. Hopefully you will find

a similar situation in high school. My #1 says that as soon as adults

are not nearby, about 90% of the time most kids his age are talking

about sex.

At least I don't have gangs around here to worry about.

>>lion's share of public education is paid for by property tax owners?

It's not

welfare. Are the schools in your state paid for solely by the state?

We are under what we call Prop 13. Our property tax rate is capped at

1% of value when purchased, with a 2% increase each year. Additional

money for public education is *supposed* to come from lottery funds,

altho implementation of that program is questionable. Every election

it seems, there are bonds on the ballot to fund something related to

public schools. Schools are always saying they don't have enough

money. At the beginning of each school year, there is a list posted

of supplies that parents need to buy for their kids [local charities

help the lower-income kids with this requirement]. Teachers here have

to buy basic supplies like paper and pens with their own money. And I

live in a middle-class city in a relatively middle-class county.

>>I'm not trying to convince you to send your children anywhere,

Don't worry, there is no possibility of anyone coming even remotely

close to accomplishing that. My kids are doing very well at home.

There is nowhere better for them to be. My local district does not

even know my family exists.

>>We're more than satisfied with the quality

of education she is receiving at the public school.

Well, considering that most schools in the US are under-achieving,

with test scores in the lower ranks, high school graduates who can't

read, high dropout rate, drugs and sex and gangs and violence, and

some schools subject to state take-over, I would say the school you

are describing is definitely not the norm. But it is good to know

there are a few out there that appear to be achieving what public

schools are supposed to be achieving.

Dana