Odyssey of the Mind

AUFred said:
My daughter had awesome instructors when she was in the gifted program. It was a real gifted program.
When my son came along there had been a lawsuit concerning the gifted program not being diverse enough. They diluted the program by allowing points for things having nothing to do with being gifted. All of the good gifted teachers left and toward the end of his time in the gifted program it was a glorified babysitting day.
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Indeed. Things are not the same anymore. Heck, you can get on to Honor Roll w/B's. Something that never happened when I was in school.

A lot of times they now have to teach to the least in the class. No Child Left Behind, FCAT and all that.

Tho, all in all, I do like her school. It's one of the better public schools in our area so I'm thankful for that.
 
We have good public schools here. They are budgetarily strapped and are cutting programs left & right. The gifted program is no more but there are tons of programs for the underachievers and those with learning disabilities. The no child left behind is killing the school systems. My wife is the bookkeeper at the elementary school of approximately 650 students. There are literally a dozen or more aides whose job is to stay with one child all day long to assist them. Here they literally spend months preparing the kids to take tests which have an affect on future funding. We are going to have a group soon who are dumb as a box of rocks but great test takers.
 
Two elections ago we had a chance to vote in a Governor whose platform was to untie funding from the standardized tests.

He didn't win. We consistently vote for people who do not have our better interests at heart. It would be funny if not so disgusting.

Down here we have a lot of kids who don't speak English. It drags everything down.

You're right. It's all about the test.

PBBB is lucky that way as she has consistently tested on at least Level 4, more likely Level 5 since the beginning. It's one of the reasons she qualified for Duke's TIP's program. She always helps her school in anyway she can ;)

As an aside, I really think getting her Hooked on Phonics & Math when she was about 4 helped her a lot. She's always tested way beyond her grade level in reading. College level in 6th. She's not quite as strong in math, but still tests way above the average. I really think those programs, tho expensive, really helped her grasp the basics all those years ago.:nod:
 
MoonOwl said:
Two elections ago we had a chance to vote in a Governor whose platform was to untie funding from the standardized tests.

He didn't win. We consistently vote for people who do not have our better interests at heart. It would be funny if not so disgusting.

Down here we have a lot of kids who don't speak English. It drags everything down.

You're right. It's all about the test.

PBBB is lucky that way as she has consistently tested on at least Level 4, more likely Level 5 since the beginning. It's one of the reasons she qualified for Duke's TIP's program. She always helps her school in anyway she can ;)

As an aside, I really think getting her Hooked on Phonics & Math when she was about 4 helped her a lot. She's always tested way beyond her grade level in reading. College level in 6th. She's not quite as strong in math, but still tests way above the average. I really think those programs, tho expensive, really helped her grasp the basics all those years ago.:nod:
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My son taught himself to read before age 4 he was reading to me. He is one of those people with the ability to grasp anything quickly.
 
AUFred said:
He had a broke leg before he was 2.
He has had stitches multiple times.
He got an eye infection while in Wales which resulted in an ulcerated cormea and possibly could have cost him sight in that eye.
He had a growth removed from the bone in his leg last summer.
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Geez..... :willy_nilly: I think I remember you posting on his leg?

hehehehehehehehehe..... In some ways, typical boy :cool

So far, the worst for PBBB is eating pavement wiping out on her bike. But hey, scars can be cool :cool She was very lucky the last time. The bike took the brunt of her wipe-out. PS was able to straighten it all out and she learned how to work on her bike :nod: Plus she's learned valuable lessons about going down hills and then turning. All about control. :nod:

Tho, her palm did get cut pretty good when she slipped and caught a tact strip when she was about 3. But she healed quickly.

Being a parent ain't for chickens.
 
MoonOwl said:
Geez..... :willy_nilly: I think I remember you posting on his leg?

hehehehehehehehehe..... In some ways, typical boy :cool

So far, the worst for PBBB is eating pavement wiping out on her bike. But hey, scars can be cool :cool She was very lucky the last time. The bike took the brunt of her wipe-out. PS was able to straighten it all out and she learned how to work on her bike :nod: Plus she's learned valuable lessons about going down hills and then turning. All about control. :nod:

Tho, her palm did get cut pretty good when she slipped and caught a tact strip when she was about 3. But she healed quickly.

Being a parent ain't for chickens.
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Josh has a shirt that says..."Scars are tattoos with better stories."
 
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