DDA Chapter 26

[tmfranlk]

Good morning, DDA!

Deb - Rachel hasn't figured out how to get to her locker much yet either. I keep telling her that she will soon enough once the halls settle down, but we'll see. Her bag is so heavy! She alternates 1st and 3rd floor for every single class all day, but her locker is on the 3rd floor nearby so hopefully she'll figure out how to make it work. Good luck on the job hunt!

Glynis - Glad you're feeling better! I like the sound of Katie's English/History class. That combo sounds like it would be very interesting and a lot of fun.

Jennifer - I'm glad the blood helped some. I hope he continues to improve quickly!

Becky - Amazing what technology can do! I'm glad they could still do everything laproscopically. Keep resting!!! How nice to have your trip waiting for you at the end.

Elizabeth - That's the hard part - when there's some A, some B and some both. Rachel's middle school was like that and should could have done something similar with "block" classes. The blocked ones meet for longer time every other day. She decided to do all standard so that she did have hour and 45 minute classes.

Jen - Good luck going back tomorrow. Enjoy your last day of summer.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Tia, I hope Rachel figures out a way to utilize her locker!

DS only has 4 textbooks. The Biology book stays at home, and they are working on a novel in English so he just has to carry Geography and Algebra. Geography is an A class, Algebra is B, so he only has to carry one book each day. And those classes are after lunch, so he can get the book when he goes to get his lunch from his locker. The only class he has every day is English. Whatever class is in that time slot is the class he will have daily. I was hoping his math class would be the daily one, but no such luck.

Beth, technically there are 3 graduation plans. The "minimum" plan is the one I would prefer for DS, but I guess they only allow that as a last ditch plan for kids who may drop out. The other 2 are "recommended" and "distinguished", and the requirements are much more rigorous. DS's ideal course load would fall somewhere between minimum and recommended. He would have no problem meeting the minimum, but there are bits and pieces of the recommended that aren't going to work very well for him. They also keep changing the requirements so it is hard to keep up. DS wants no part of foreign language, and 4 years of math and science means he will be spending the majority of his Jr. & Sr. years in tutoring, NOT performing in shows. At some point the counselor and I are going to have to have a serious meeting.

Jennifer, I hope your dad is improving!

 

[KristineN]

Jackie has the same schedule every day....

Chemistry Accelerated
Study
Photography 2
Lunch
AP European History
English 2 Accelerated
Spanish 3 Accelerated
Geometry Accelerated

Next semester she loses a study and gains PE. To me her afternoon looks terrible. But she hasn't said too much

 

[KristineN]

Becky I hope you are feeling better!!

Hope all of you are doing well!!

Nothing really new here....hanging around. Doctor twice a week. Each appointment is somewhat tedious. All 7 doctors have informed us that it is a miracle we have made it this far. I guess I am amazed myself. Bill has been a trooper. I overheard him talking to the kids the other day, "remember, for now I am the mother" Every once in a while I do catch him muttering, "a woman's work is never done" But overall I couldn't ask for better! Cerclage removal is in 2-3 weeks...I am very nervous about it.

 

[Tammi67]

K - is that going to be painful? I'm not familiar with it at all.

 

[KristineN]

I'm not sure...sadly I goggled it and of course read several terrible stories online. He told me that if they can't get it out, or if it's painful they transfer you to the hospital and give you an epidural and then do it in the OR. But really, who wants to do it that way?!

K - is that going to be painful? I'm not familiar with it at all.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Jackie has the same schedule every day....

Chemistry Accelerated
Study
Photography 2
Lunch
AP European History
English 2 Accelerated
Spanish 3 Accelerated
Geometry Accelerated

Next semester she loses a study and gains PE. To me her afternoon looks terrible. But she hasn't said too much

There have been studies that show kids learn better in the morning, but DS's schedule is heavily weighted with academics after lunch. Jackie's afternoons look brutal. Geometry was my last class of the day my freshman year. I failed.

I'm not sure...sadly I goggled it and of course read several terrible stories online. He told me that if they can't get it out, or if it's painful they transfer you to the hospital and give you an epidural and then do it in the OR. But really, who wants to do it that way?!

I am still blown away that they would give you an epidural for that and NOT deliver her at the same time. You really need to push them on that.

 

[KristineN]

No way that is happening unless you are doing a scheduled c section for which I am adamantly against....and they will not induce someone doing VBAC. So there you have it

I am still blown away that they would give you an epidural for that and NOT deliver her at the same time. You really need to push them on that.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

No way that is happening unless you are doing a scheduled c section for which I am adamantly against....and they will not induce someone doing VBAC. So there you have it

For your sake I REALLY REALLY hope they can get that cerclage out in the office!

 

[Tammi67]

I'm not sure...sadly I goggled it and of course read several terrible stories online. He told me that if they can't get it out, or if it's painful they transfer you to the hospital and give you an epidural and then do it in the OR. But really, who wants to do it that way?!

Sometimes the internet is a HORRIBLE thing!

 

[PNO4TE]

I have been following everyone's discussion about required classes with great interest. Our school system also has undergone vast changes in the 20 years our daughters were there, as well as years since they left. Take all that I am about to say with a grain of salt and it is offered based on what we discovered as the years went by (man, I sound ancient!).

Most colleges will not look seriously at a student who has done the bare minimum. There are a million kids out there with that background. Many schools won't look at a student with the basic requirements and the top schools will weed through those with the highest honors and still not take everyone. This is well documented, but I can tell you from personal experience both with our two as well as the 40 or so seniors I have seen graduate that GPAs of 4.0+ are a dime a dozen anymore.

Minimum requirements must still be met in order to get into colleges and minimum requirements must be met while in college. It doesn't matter if a student enters an Ivy League school, a state school or a conservatory. It doesn't matter what a student chooses to study either. One of our girls got a BA and the other a BFA. Both our daughters applied to and were accepted to private colleges, state colleges (including UVA and William & Mary) and Kristin also applied to conservatories as well as state universities with conservatory-approach curricula and they were still required to meet certain minimum requirements. A foreign language facility based on a minimum number of years of high school study as well as a certain number credits in English/Literature, math and sciences will likely need to be met.

With those courses firmly in hand and both with top HS grades our girls were still required to take hours of testing to make certain they were competent in those fields before final acceptance to the schools of their choice. Each of our daughters was able to opt out of the college foreign language requirement because they had studied for a number of years in high school. Their AP test scores allowed them to gain college credit as well as opt out of the college level classes in most of the other required curricula. Other than for those reasons there were no exceptions. Seems you either have to take it now or take it later.

 

[Glynis]

I'm not sure...sadly I goggled it and of course read several terrible stories online. He told me that if they can't get it out, or if it's painful they transfer you to the hospital and give you an epidural and then do it in the OR. But really, who wants to do it that way?!

My cousins wife had to have cerclage with all 4 of her pregnancies. They found out that her cervix was "incompetent" after 5 miscarriages. Anyway, the way hers worked was that the doctor and Ann chose a day for delivery, and the cerclage was taken out early that morning. Usually she would deliver within hours. But, like I said, her cervix is incompetent.

 

[my3princes]

I've just spent 2 hours arguing with the camper dealer. They called to say that they transposed some numbers or the 72 year old salesman made a mistake...and they wanted $4500.00 more. Obviously that is NOT an option. We left a deposit and was told the deal was done and I had spoken with them twice since and no mention of a problem. So the second phone call they came down to Wanting $3000 more. I still said absolutely not, have the owner call me. 3rd call (2 hours later) they will honor the deal and consider it advertising I have been sick to my stomache since the first call. I'm very happy that we are getting for the agreed upon price which we felt was a good deal to begin with, but not as amazing a deal as they'd like us to believe.

 

[PNO4TE]

I've just spent 2 hours arguing with the camper dealer. They called to say that they transposed some numbers or the 72 year old salesman made a mistake...and they wanted $4500.00 more. Obviously that is NOT an option. We left a deposit and was told the deal was done and I had spoken with them twice since and no mention of a problem. So the second phone call they came down to Wanting $3000 more. I still said absolutely not, have the owner call me. 3rd call (2 hours later) they will honor the deal and consider it advertising I have been sick to my stomache since the first call. I'm very happy that we are getting for the agreed upon price which we felt was a good deal to begin with, but not as amazing a deal as they'd like us to believe.

That is horrible, Deb. I never for a minute thought that you would cave in but I am delighted that you stuck to your guns and got the price you were promised. I am not so sure that your experience with the dealer is going to be very good advertising, though!

 

[my3princes]

That is horrible, Deb. I never for a minute thought that you would cave in but I am delighted that you stuck to your guns and got the price you were promised. I am not so sure that your experience with the dealer is going to be very good advertising, though!

The man that called me today was involved in the original deal. Our salesman went to him twice to get numbers. I have a feeling that the guy that called me today was the one that actually made the error and he was then trying to pass the blame off on the old salesman. We saw the salesman to to him twice and he came back to us directly with the numbers. I don't even think he spoke to the owner today as he kept saying that he was because in the end he said it was the owner's sister that made the decision He also made inappropriate comments about how if we didn't want to spend more money then that is Not the unit for us. He was really talking down to me. I wish the owner had called me himself as I had plenty to say I can honestly say that I am not looking forward to picking up the new camper on Friday. I can just imagine the tension.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Elin, that all makes complete sense.

What I struggle with is having DS take courses he isn't likely to pass. Let's say he fails math and science his senior year, despite tutoring. OK, well, now his GPA is trashed, he hasn't met the 4x4 requirements for "recommended" graduation status, and he is out of time. Now what? He will still get his diploma because he will meet the minimum standards. The question is, is his standing now better because he took them and failed, or would it be better if he had just not tried to meet 4x4?

Both of my sisters made the mistake of enrolling in high school course loads they couldn't handle. Even with the extra points added for it being an "honors" or AP class, it didn't offset the low course grades. The middle sister was mad that the kids who took a full load of basic level courses were ranked higher than she was. Well, that's how it goes when you don't ace those super high level classes. She took a half-tushy stab at community college but never finished any classes. Then she got pregnant and married a clerk from a liquor store. End of story.

Diva is struggling, too. Her courses are too hard, and she is a senior. Her ACT scores are nothing to brag about. She will get into college simply because if you manage to graduate from high school the state schools in KS will admit you. Some of her high school classes will probably count as college credit, so she might be able to skip some of the required freshman college courses.

On one hand I can see the point behind 4x4, but on the other hand, there aren't enough choices for kids who don't want to pursue a math/science based degree. I am not opposed to him taking 2 years of foreign language, but I REALLY wish they had put him in it NOW so he would get it out of the way. *He* isn't interested in foreign language at all.

The kids can only earn one semester of credit in summer school, so while that would be a great way to knock out Health and Speech, the core classes can't be done that way.

Like I said, I need to meet with the counselor. We have to determine which is the lesser evil. Is it worse to take easier courses and fewer math/sciences, or is it worse to fail classes in a desperate attempt to meet the recommended guidelines? I am not opposed to DS doing 2 years of community college. I am not opposed to him going straight to a 4 year school, either. I just don't understand the options yet. The counselor needs to tell me the "If this, then that" nuts and bolts of it. There is a college planning website through the high school, but I need to register for the site with a special password they gave us at orientation. It's in an envelope on my desk.

 

[PNO4TE]

The man that called me today was involved in the original deal. Our salesman went to him twice to get numbers. I have a feeling that the guy that called me today was the one that actually made the error and he was then trying to pass the blame off on the old salesman. We saw the salesman to to him twice and he came back to us directly with the numbers. I don't even think he spoke to the owner today as he kept saying that he was because in the end he said it was the owner's sister that made the decision He also made inappropriate comments about how if we didn't want to spend more money then that is Not the unit for us. He was really talking down to me. I wish the owner had called me himself as I had plenty to say I can honestly say that I am not looking forward to picking up the new camper on Friday. I can just imagine the tension.

Can you call the owner and lay some groundwork so that Friday is not so contentious? I wouldn't want to deal with that man again, either!

 

[babytrees]

On Katie's A day she has Health, English, Advanced Orchestra and Spanish. On B days it's Algebra, History, Creative Writing and Science. Each teacher requires their own 3 ring binder. Her locker is so far away from all her classes that she doesn't like to leave anything except her coat there during the day. We tried one backpack last year, but even with one day's worth of binders, it was hard to carry, and then try to remember to change out the books. Yikes!

So far, it's much easier this year. We'll see how it continues.

I am not exactly sure of Abi's class schedule other than she has Algebra every day and has an A/B schedule that includes U.S. Government, ASL (counts as foriegn language credit at this school...may not for college), English, Biology, Fitness for Life (a req) and band. All but Algebra are the highest class she can take for a freshman. Then, I think, every other day or something like that she "goes" back to one class for another block of time. Thankfully all of her folders fit in her bag and she seems to be figuring out the schedule better than me.

 

[tmfranlk]

Jackie has the same schedule every day....

Chemistry Accelerated
Study
Photography 2
Lunch
AP European History
English 2 Accelerated
Spanish 3 Accelerated
Geometry Accelerated

Next semester she loses a study and gains PE. To me her afternoon looks terrible. But she hasn't said too much

Yikes! That is a rough afternoon! Rachel tends to alternate tough and easier courses so hopefully that helps her.

Becky I hope you are feeling better!!

Hope all of you are doing well!!

Nothing really new here....hanging around. Doctor twice a week. Each appointment is somewhat tedious. All 7 doctors have informed us that it is a miracle we have made it this far. I guess I am amazed myself. Bill has been a trooper. I overheard him talking to the kids the other day, "remember, for now I am the mother" Every once in a while I do catch him muttering, "a woman's work is never done" But overall I couldn't ask for better! Cerclage removal is in 2-3 weeks...I am very nervous about it.

Good luck! I hope the removal comes easily. I'm impressed (and oh so happy!) with how long you've made it. Way to go, Mama!

Sometimes the internet is a HORRIBLE thing!

Isn't it though! Some days I am tempted to yank Phil's computer away or block all medically related sites with a highly encrypted password.

I've just spent 2 hours arguing with the camper dealer. They called to say that they transposed some numbers or the 72 year old salesman made a mistake...and they wanted $4500.00 more. Obviously that is NOT an option. We left a deposit and was told the deal was done and I had spoken with them twice since and no mention of a problem. So the second phone call they came down to Wanting $3000 more. I still said absolutely not, have the owner call me. 3rd call (2 hours later) they will honor the deal and consider it advertising I have been sick to my stomache since the first call. I'm very happy that we are getting for the agreed upon price which we felt was a good deal to begin with, but not as amazing a deal as they'd like us to believe.

What a mess! I can't believe it all. I'm glad you got everything worked out, though. Good luck on Friday.

 

[babytrees]

The high schools are pushing "4x4", which is 4 years of the 4 core classes - English, math, social studies, and science. The problem is that kids who aren't pursuing careers in areas of high level math and science kind of get set up to fail because those courses are so flippin' HARD by the time they get to the 4th year. The foreign language "requirement" is 2 years, which they can get one year of in middle school BUT they have to take a semester in 7th and a semester in 8th, which is bizarre.

the 2 years of language requirement has come down from colleges (and NCLB). ...most 4 year colleges require that 2 years for admission. We are hoping that ASL will be accepted at the colleges Abi will look into...although colleges still can make exceptions and I am sure Abi can apply for an exception.