Help with school note/advice

[SirDuff]

BTW, the OECD stats have been really interesting to look at - the US is a world leader in cancer care, but your life expectancy at birth is awful and you're almost off the chart when it comes to obesity. Canada has decent life expectancy, but only "good" cancer care - with notably lower survival rates compared to the US - and obesity is also a serious issue. Thanks to @SirDuff for recommending them!

Our cancer stats are also embarrassingly old (Stats Can is not updating them as quickly as other countries are updating their data).

Full Disclosure - I led the Canadian data submission for Quality of Care data (which includes the cancer stats), so I tend to suggest it whenever the topic comes up.

 

[Colleen27]

I know that's a narrative that's been told with greater and greater frequency over the past 15 to 20 years, but more and more evidence is actually pointing to some curiosities in that assumption. For instance, why would it be necessary for the superiorly educated Chinese to rely on cheating on SAT/ACT or hiring out the writing of essays, etc? Why would cheating of foreign university students be necessary to the point of epidemic?

An attorney I work with has a sister who teaches at a high school in our metro area that runs a program where 20 or more Chinese students come here for a year to study at an American high school. They've built a dormitory and have teachers from China with them as well. They study much more than the hours they are in classes at the high school and are very restricted. I'm sure some of their classes are to stay on top of their home school's curriculum, however apparently it's come to light that their teachers also spend the time drilling them on rote memorization of the material in their American HS classes by using material saved from previous years. The American teachers started to notice strange patterns where either all Chinese students were getting perfect scores on all tests or quizzes or they all made the exact same mistake -- generally an unusual one as well. The students generally slept through their American classes and were never able to answer in class questions, despite being fluent in English.

My oldest daughter started learning Mandarin in MS and kept up with it through graduation. She's picked it up again in college and is quite fluent speaking and reading, trying to get the writing perfected, but it's an art and she doesn't really have the time to put in the proper focus. She's also pursing very advanced math and science courses and has had many experiences of being one of very few Americans in plenty of her courses. Because many of her classmates are from China and speak Mandarin she winds up understanding much of what is openly discussed around her regarding the cheating going on. She's realized how many of them in fact do not understand how to perform the complex mathematical calculations we've been led to believe they can do in their sleep. Anything unexpected or creative that requires thinking out of the box? Forget about it. Stop and think about how many American companies have been lured to China and then promptly walled out of their own companies with their proprietary information stolen. My husband is in grad school at U of M as well and has seen plenty of cheating, including a massive chaotic open uproar during a final exam that the professor simply ignored. Why? Well the influx of foreign students into our universities is bringing a lot of cash -- and forcing a great deal of our colleges to go on incredible building binges, especially housing.

When you really pull back and watch a lot of what's going on critically you start asking yourself how true it is that our educational system is lagging they way we've been ingrained to accept.

I wouldn't put China in the group of nations outperforming us in education. We have Chinese exchange students in DD's high school every year and I wouldn't consider them more advanced at all, and I've heard that echoed by teachers who work with Chinese students in their districts as well. They have different skill sets - better at memorization, not as good in analysis and extrapolation (though part of that might be a language deficiency, even for those who speak excellent English). And from what I understand, there's not the same cultural taboo against cheating that there is here. The emphasis is more on outcomes than on the process, and I don't think that encourages the same depth of understanding and individual engagement with subject matter that we expect of our students.

I also don't lay the "failures" of US education entirely at the feet of the K-12 educational system. Much of it is that we don't have the same social supports in place so students come to school less ready to learn, at least in some areas. And we depend heavily on parental engagement to support schools, not just by helping our own kids with their homework but in fundraising for books and technology, organizing clubs and activities, planning and supervising field trips and extracurriculars, etc. That makes for a very unequal educational experience in our country, where students in communities with the most social capital and parental engagement have a distinctly different experience than kids in communities where the adults are more stressed or less capable. And of course, we fund and regulate almost every aspect of education on the state or local level, which also leads to inequality of methods and outcomes.

I have no doubt that the best American public schools are as good as if not better than the best schools around the world. But our average outcomes also include a lot of schools that are about as similar to the best as the county fair is to Disney World. For every school like the one where your DD learned Mandarin, there's another school like the one I pulled my daughter out of because they didn't even offer advanced/accelerated courses or lab sciences in MS, much less a choice of world languages.

 

[Colleen27]

So, in your opinion, has the new health plan really helped for the better? I've been hearing mostly critical commentary from US news sources, who seem to be saying that it's only made things worse. But, I know how unreliable they can be! If things are actually improving, that's fantastic.

It all depends on who you ask. The voices in the media tend to be affluent and educated - the people least likely to have had problems with the old way and who had the potential for the most negative impact from the new. Talk to a group of blue collar or self-employed people at the working class end of the spectrum, folks who couldn't afford insurance at all or who couldn't buy an individual plan at any price, and you hear the opposite. At best it was a mixed bag, and the inability of our so-called leaders to stop posturing and trying to throw the baby out with the bath water means there's no fixing it to make it better.

I'd take the Canadian system over ours any day. Yes, I talk to Canadians at the doctor's office from time to time (though not as often as at the gas station or the bar!) but on whole I think it is more sensible than our system of crazy billing, discounts for being with the right insurer, multiple levels of profit-seeking, and the general rationing of care by ability to pay rather than by medical need.

 

[gwynne]

It all depends on who you ask. The voices in the media tend to be affluent and educated - the people least likely to have had problems with the old way and who had the potential for the most negative impact from the new. Talk to a group of blue collar or self-employed people at the working class end of the spectrum, folks who couldn't afford insurance at all or who couldn't buy an individual plan at any price, and you hear the opposite. At best it was a mixed bag, and the inability of our so-called leaders to stop posturing and trying to throw the baby out with the bath water means there's no fixing it to make it better.

I'd take the Canadian system over ours any day. Yes, I talk to Canadians at the doctor's office from time to time (though not as often as at the gas station or the bar!) but on whole I think it is more sensible than our system of crazy billing, discounts for being with the right insurer, multiple levels of profit-seeking, and the general rationing of care by ability to pay rather than by medical need.

I will just say that I believe our system is still in transition and it's going to take time to get it right.
I wish there was goodwill to work as a team toward this, rather than a lot of attempts at personal point scoring. But, one can hope with small steps we will get there.

 

[Nancyg56]

So, in your opinion, has the new health plan really helped for the better? I've been hearing mostly critical commentary from US news sources, who seem to be saying that it's only made things worse. But, I know how unreliable they can be! If things are actually improving, that's fantastic.

I do agree that there is no perfect system anywhere. And we also have improvements we need to make.

And, just like you, I would not trade my gov't health insurance for your private one. I'm grumpy enough as it is about having to pay deductibles for my family's dental care, and keep an eye on yearly caps and other such insurance nonsense. I really, really wish this country had the same system in place for dental and eye care, that it has for general medical care. Oh... and more gov't coverage for prescription meds would be nice, too (although I do appreciate the private coverage we have, as well as the gov'ts efforts to keep prices low).

BTW, the OECD stats have been really interesting to look at - the US is a world leader in cancer care, but your life expectancy at birth is awful and you're almost off the chart when it comes to obesity. Canada has decent life expectancy, but only "good" cancer care - with notably lower survival rates compared to the US - and obesity is also a serious issue. Thanks to @SirDuff for recommending them!

I think for some it is better, others not so much. There was state subsidized insurance prior to this Obamacare, so I am not sure how it is shaking out.

For my insurance, my deductible is $150 per person, $300 cap per family, and no higher than $400 per person per year OOP. I can go to any Dr, hospital, have almost no precert.

 

[Nancyg56]

If you live in the US and are paying "nothing" or minimal cost for health care, you are either in an economic group that is covered by government assistance, or you are paying through your health insurance... premiums, co-pays, deductibles, cost shares. It's not free!

Nothing is free. For some systems, it is paid through taxes, etc. FOr others, it is through insurance like we know here in the states. ours is covered through my DH Union dues and his employer contribution. Make no mistake, health care if free for no one, someone is paying for it.

 

[Magpie]

I think for some it is better, others not so much. There was state subsidized insurance prior to this Obamacare, so I am not sure how it is shaking out.

For my insurance, my deductible is $150 per person, $300 cap per family, and no higher than $400 per person per year OOP. I can go to any Dr, hospital, have almost no precert.

All the changes are definitely confusing! I like the previous poster's point about this being a transitional period. Hopefully, it's going somewhere good, for everyone.

BTW, I can also go to any doctor or hospital. If I need to consult a medical professional today, I can call the TeleHealth hotline to speak to a nurse. I can take a quick look online to see which of the Walk-In clinics in my town (of which there are many) has the shortest wait time. I can call my family doctor. I can make an appointment for this evening at my physician's "After-Hours Clinic". Or I can go to any emergency room (we have a few different hospitals in town). There's naturally no deductible at all, and I won't pay anything out of pocket.

One exception: If, for some reason, I decide to go to a hospital out of province, and don't have my health card on me, I will have to pay and then be reimbursed by my own provincial health plan.

What's a "precert"?

 

[Nancyg56]

All the changes are definitely confusing! I like the previous poster's point about this being a transitional period. Hopefully, it's going somewhere good, for everyone.

BTW, I can also go to any doctor or hospital. If I need to consult a medical professional today, I can call the TeleHealth hotline to speak to a nurse. I can take a quick look online to see which of the Walk-In clinics in my town (of which there are many) has the shortest wait time. I can call my family doctor. I can make an appointment for this evening at my physician's "After-Hours Clinic". Or I can go to any emergency room (we have a few different hospitals in town). There's naturally no deductible at all, and I won't pay anything out of pocket.

What's a "precert"?

Pre-certification for surgical procedures and tests. WE need oen for any invasive procedure, but that is it. My DH had some issues and his PCP got worried, ordered a series of MRI with COntrast that the neurologist said was almost unheard of. The tests were done on the Dr orders, and did not need approval. We had no wait for any of the surgeries and tests other than scheduling. His Dr's were the best, and there was no discussion about cost.

He is thinking of retiring and we will need to be making some changes, but all in all, our plan has been very good. Because I have an aversion for Dr's and tests, I usually do not make my deductible. Most care I need is covered at 100% and does not have deductible applied.

 

[Nancyg56]

All the changes are definitely confusing! I like the previous poster's point about this being a transitional period. Hopefully, it's going somewhere good, for everyone.

BTW, I can also go to any doctor or hospital. If I need to consult a medical professional today, I can call the TeleHealth hotline to speak to a nurse. I can take a quick look online to see which of the Walk-In clinics in my town (of which there are many) has the shortest wait time. I can call my family doctor. I can make an appointment for this evening at my physician's "After-Hours Clinic". Or I can go to any emergency room (we have a few different hospitals in town). There's naturally no deductible at all, and I won't pay anything out of pocket.

One exception: If, for some reason, I decide to go to a hospital out of province, and don't have my health card on me, I will have to pay and then be reimbursed by my own provincial health plan.

What's a "precert"?

For some it will be better, and for others, it is not going to be good at all. My DD and DSIL insurance is not what it used to be before the changes and they are not happy, The plan is good, but she has more OOP, and that makes her irritable. No socialized plan is going to be as good as what some of us already have, and for others, the plans will be more expensive. Honestly, it is not going to good for everyone, some of us have made decisions for our employment that placed us in a good spot Heath care wise. I am nto going to be able to match that.

 

[Magpie]

Pre-certification for surgical procedures and tests. WE need oen for any invasive procedure, but that is it. My DH had some issues and his PCP got worried, ordered a series of MRI with COntrast that the neurologist said was almost unheard of. The tests were done on the Dr orders, and did not need approval. We had no wait for any of the surgeries and tests other than scheduling. His Dr's were the best, and there was no discussion about cost.

He is thinking of retiring and we will need to be making some changes, but all in all, our plan has been very good. Because I have an aversion for Dr's and tests, I usually do not make my deductible. Most care I need is covered at 100% and does not have deductible applied.

I'm glad your DH got such excellent care, and I hope he's feeling much better!

Wait times, in my neck of the woods (and I know it varies across Canada), are highly variable. When my son chopped the top of his thumb off, we were in and out with it sewn back on in about 45 minutes. Spurting blood from a digit apparently bumps you right to the head of the queue.

My mother-in-law, who is dying of cancer now after years of treatment, does not have to wait to schedule her tests, either. When her doctor orders one, she gets it as soon as she can arrange transport. They don't mess around when you've got cancer. They also tried all sorts of experimental therapies on her, before she finally decided she was done fighting.

When I brought my son into emergency unable to breath, due to an attack of croup, he got seen right away, too.

But, when my husband suffered his first gallbladder attack, he got shuffled to the very back of the queue, waited for hours, and his attack had ended by the time the nurse finally showed up with a syringe full of painkiller. Which he refused, to her immense irritation.

And when my daughter fell down the stairs and knocked herself cross-eyed... again, back of the queue. Though, to be fair, once they'd established that her pupils were equal (which the nurse at the admitting desk did), there was nothing else they could do for her other than watch her for a few hours. So parking us in the waiting room was as reasonable a plan as any (if a bit uncomfortable for us).

By and large, I'm quite satisfied with the wait times we've experienced. Even if my husband's gallbladder attack could have gone better. (For future attacks, he stayed home and took OTC painkillers. Eventually he had the darn thing taken out.)

 

[2pinwheels]

We will let the teachers know we will be out next month, a couple of weeks notice.

Does your school have a student handbook or do the teachers have plans in place for this in writing? Ours do. I would check the rules.

I will write:

Teachers,

Our family will be out of town Thanksgiving week. Please let me know if there are any assignments you would like completed ahead of time.

Have a great holiday.

--Me

Believe me, we won't be the only ones out. The school has grandparents' day, a half day, and three days off. They plan for this to be a travel week for families.

 

[Magpie]

For some it will be better, and for others, it is not going to be good at all. My DD and DSIL insurance is not what it used to be before the changes and they are not happy, The plan is good, but she has more OOP, and that makes her irritable. No socialized plan is going to be as good as what some of us already have, and for others, the plans will be more expensive. Honestly, it is not going to good for everyone, some of us have made decisions for our employment that placed us in a good spot Heath care wise. I am nto going to be able to match that.

Technically, Canadian healthcare is not "socialized". Our doctors are private health care providers, who bill the gov't for their services. They're self-employed.

Also (despite what media sources often say) we don't really have a "single-payer" system, thanks to the lack of dental, vision and drug coverage. Most Canadians rely on private insurance for that, usually provided through their employer.

We do have, however, "universal" health care. Meaning, health care and financial protection is provided to all citizens (minus that darn dental and vision!).

 

[L&Lfan]

In the dark ages when I was a kid (1970's) our parents never took us out of school except for illness. Our Disney or any other vacations had to be taken in the summer or during a regular school break. I never actually went to WDW outside of June, July, August or December until I was out of college. And I also was that weird kid who hated to miss a day of school.

 

[Magpie]

In the dark ages when I was a kid (1970's) our parents never took us out of school except for illness. Our Disney or any other vacations had to be taken in the summer or during a regular school break. I never actually went to WDW outside of June, July, August or December until I was out of college. And I also was that weird kid who hated to miss a day of school.

In the dark ages when my husband was a kid (1970's) his dad would take him out of school every spring for a week-long hunting trip.

When one of my husband's high school teachers challenged him on it, his dad asked, "Are his grades good? They are? Then it's none of your business!" and took him out anyway. My husband's dad was born in 1931.

I wasn't so lucky! In the dark ages when I was a kid (1980's), even being sick to my stomach wasn't an excuse for missing school. I had to be basically at death's door before my mum would let me stay home.