Your son/daughter has seven absences.

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

This is what we just got back from our eldest sons school, and he's only a seventh grader...wth...

And it is written as to how the letters look, also...

Letter 1.



ABE HUBERT MIDDLE SCHOOL
1205 A STREET...GARDEN CITY, KANSAS...67846


DATE: 02/17/09

DEAR PARENT/GUARDIAN
THIS LETTER IS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR SON/DAUGHTER HAS ACCUMMULATED SEVEN ABSENCES. TO HELP US AND YOUR CHILD FOR FUTURE ABSENCES WE WILL NEED A NOTE FROM YOUR DOCTOR TO VERIFY YOUR CHILD'S ABSENCE. THE NOTE WILL ALLOW US TO MODIFY YOUR SON'S/DAUGHTER'S ATTENDANCE RECORD.



wth is with all the capital letters? And wtf is with the doctors note? Are parents no longer competent to say if their child is sick or not?

Second letter


Attendance Information for Parents

Excused Absences:
Attendance is reported every period of the day. Parents/guardians are asked to call the school or send a note when their child will be absent from school. Excusable absences shall include medical or dental treatment, recuperation from illness, death or serious illness in the immediate family, unusual or unavoidable emergencies, or special situations deemed excusable by the administration. Excessive absences (more than 7 days during the school year) require a doctor's authorization or other form of verificatino in order to be excused.

Unexcused Absences:
For any absence not excused by the parent, the student's attendance shall be recorded as unexcused on attendance records.

Pre-Arranged absences;
Pre-arranged absences are discouraged. However, if necessary, a student in good standing in his/her classes with no prior attendance problems may make arrngements for a pre-arranged absence according to board policy JBD-R-2. Parents are responsible for notifying the schooll in advance if the absence will extend beyond the originally arranged days. Accumulation of more than 10 days will result in a reenrollment process and will require a TB skin test given.

The Kansas Truancy Law K.S.A. 721113 is stated below:
Whenever a child is required by law to attend school and is enrolled in school, and the child is inexcusably absent there from on either three consecutive school days or five school days in any semester or seven school days in any school year, whichever of the foregoing occurs first, the child shall be considered to be not attending school as required by law. A child is inexcusably absent from school if the child is absent there from all or significant part of a school day without a valid excuse acceptable to the school employee designated by the board of education to have responsibility for the school attendance of such a child.


Read through a bit of this, sheesh...http://usd262.net/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/3550/File/Board%20Policies/J1_Students%20Part%201.pdf?sessionid=48887f58d6afa 733f335d8f7e2074549

Am I wrong in thinking that this is really really wrong...?

[pinkmandy]

Yeah, they own your kids. Just ask them.

Homeschool. Private school. Something.

[torchbearer]

Are the truancy police after you ?

[LibertyEagle]

yeah, they own your kids. Just ask them.

Homeschool. Private school. Something.

qft

[MRoCkEd]

Dear Teacher,
I was indeed sick on all of those days.
Sincerely,
My Doctor

[tonesforjonesbones]

Yes do ANYTHING to get your kids out of indoctrination schools. They get money for every kid who attends...it's all about money. You could take your child to school until attendence is over and take them out that day and they wouldn't say a word as long as they get their dough. Tones

[heavenlyboy34]

Yes do ANYTHING to get your kids out of indoctrination schools. They get money for every kid who attends...it's all about money. You could take your child to school until attendence is over and take them out that day and they wouldn't say a word as long as they get their dough. Tones

I like that idea! :D I think I'll steal it if I ever have youngins and have to deal with this shit. Thanx, Tonesy! :) ~hugs~

[slothman]

Does anyone here think of required schooling as a form of slavery?
It's not just homeschooling that should be possible but no school at all if the parent wants it.

[coyote_sprit]

7 days? Serious? I skipped 3 months of school straight in 8th grade and they said nothing. They ended up sending a social worker bitch out though, so the next day I applied for home school.

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

My parents used to say that someone in my family died or some other problem and would take us on a vacation. I think that a family outing would be a "good" thing, but the way they state it,
Pre-arranged absences are discouraged. , wth is that supposed to mean? If a family wants to go on vacation, the children aren't allowed to go? Or summer the only time of "freedom" a child has? Seems so damnable to me...

Also, I am 100% willing to do homeschooling, but my wife is one of those who believes that the school system is right I've tried so hard to convince her otherwise. I mean, hell, she was a straight A student, I was a droptout, yet I can out smart her 10 to 1...

[coyote_sprit]

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.sml.pdf

Give her that book.

[tonesforjonesbones]

HUGGGS HEAVENLY!

I want to buy that book...too bad she doesn't have more interviews on youtube.

TONES

[heavenlyboy34]

Does anyone here think of required schooling as a form of slavery?
It's not just homeschooling that should be possible but no school at all if the parent wants it.

Not only is it slavery, it is propagandizing the youths. :p:(:mad:

[heavenlyboy34]

hugggs heavenly!

I want to buy that book...too bad she doesn't have more interviews on youtube.

Tones


hugggs tones! :d

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

I will give my wife that to read, but it will be difficult. She doesn't like things that bore her, and she barely ever listens to me when I tell her the government isn't helping us.

Again, she was a straight A student, yet she doesn't remember hardly anything she learned in school, how can she think that the school system is all that great? I asked her about this before, she thinks that the knowledge isn't important, and the only thing that is important is the paper that states you did it. Which makes me wonder how anyone can think that a piece of paper is that important? Or that a piece of paper is worth anything in the first place.

Then again, with my mom and sisters, I am constantly put down and called stupid because I try to explain something logically rather than just dumbing it down. Whenever I study something I am put down rather harshly, by almost everyone I know. The last time I "tried" to get logical and talk about things the way I wanted to, my mom called my wife and asked her if I was seeing a psychiatrist.

It seems rather ingrained that knowledge isn't important at all, and considered nothing, at least where I live. Makes me wonder wtf...

[dannno]

I will give my wife that to read, but it will be difficult. She doesn't like things that bore her, and she barely ever listens to me when I tell her the government isn't helping us.

Again, she was a straight A student, yet she doesn't remember hardly anything she learned in school, how can she think that the school system is all that great? I asked her about this before, she thinks that the knowledge isn't important, and the only thing that is important is the paper that states you did it. Which makes me wonder how anyone can think that a piece of paper is that important? Or that a piece of paper is worth anything in the first place.

Then again, with my mom and sisters, I am constantly put down and called stupid because I try to explain something logically rather than just dumbing it down. Whenever I study something I am put down rather harshly, by almost everyone I know. The last time I "tried" to get logical and talk about things the way I wanted to, my mom called my wife and asked her if I was seeing a psychiatrist.

It seems rather ingrained that knowledge isn't important at all, and considered nothing, at least where I live. Makes me wonder wtf...

Do they watch a lot of TV??

That sounds horrible.

[coyote_sprit]

I will give my wife that to read, but it will be difficult. She doesn't like things that bore her, and she barely ever listens to me when I tell her the government isn't helping us.

Again, she was a straight A student, yet she doesn't remember hardly anything she learned in school, how can she think that the school system is all that great? I asked her about this before, she thinks that the knowledge isn't important, and the only thing that is important is the paper that states you did it. Which makes me wonder how anyone can think that a piece of paper is that important? Or that a piece of paper is worth anything in the first place.

Then again, with my mom and sisters, I am constantly put down and called stupid because I try to explain something logically rather than just dumbing it down. Whenever I study something I am put down rather harshly, by almost everyone I know. The last time I "tried" to get logical and talk about things the way I wanted to, my mom called my wife and asked her if I was seeing a psychiatrist.
That was depressing.

[dannno]

I will give my wife that to read, but it will be difficult. She doesn't like things that bore her, and she barely ever listens to me when I tell her the government isn't helping us.

Again, she was a straight A student, yet she doesn't remember hardly anything she learned in school, how can she think that the school system is all that great? I asked her about this before, she thinks that the knowledge isn't important, and the only thing that is important is the paper that states you did it. Which makes me wonder how anyone can think that a piece of paper is that important? Or that a piece of paper is worth anything in the first place.

Then again, with my mom and sisters, I am constantly put down and called stupid because I try to explain something logically rather than just dumbing it down. Whenever I study something I am put down rather harshly, by almost everyone I know. The last time I "tried" to get logical and talk about things the way I wanted to, my mom called my wife and asked her if I was seeing a psychiatrist.

It seems rather ingrained that knowledge isn't important at all, and considered nothing, at least where I live. Makes me wonder wtf...

Oh ya, Esoteric Agenda (free on google video) explains this stuff really well. People who do well in school usually accept the information they are given, accept authority and also accept the information that is not presented to them. What I mean by that, is a straight A scientist who does not think for themselves much will not only reject the idea that the medical establishment CANNOT be wrong about certain important things of which I and others who are not highly trained in the sciences adamantly disagree with, but they will also reject the idea that those who are trained in business or law believe in fundamentally flawed ideas. So when you go up to most scientists and try to explain that we have an inherently bad, dishonest monetary system they don't believe you because they reject the idea that mainstream academia of any kind could possibly be so off-base.

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Oh ya, Esoteric Agenda (free on google video) explains this stuff really well. People who do well in school usually accept the information they are given, accept authority and also accept the information that is not presented to them. What I mean by that, is a straight A scientist who does not think for themselves much will not only reject the idea that the medical establishment CANNOT be wrong about certain important things of which I and others who are not highly trained in the sciences adamantly disagree with, but they will also reject the idea that those who are trained in business or law believe in fundamentally flawed ideas. So when you go up to most scientists and try to explain that we have an inherently bad, dishonest monetary system they don't believe you because they reject the idea that mainstream academia of any kind could possibly be so off-base.

One thing that I have found rather odd and frightening at the same time, is the few times that I have seen psychiatrists throughout the years, they all think the same thing, except for one, that "only" and "only" their way of doing things will work. Such as immidiately they will prescribe some mood altering drug in order to contain that which makes your mind chaotic rather than try to find some method which would utilize that chaos and incorporate it rather than just push it out like it was a desease.



Do they watch a lot of TV??


Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...Yeah, they watch a lot of tv. One time I got mad at my wife and turned off the TV. She left for a couple of days...I almost never watch TV. It is way too bloody boring sitting in front of something for long periods of time...:|...Um...that I'm not interacting with...:D...

[ryanduff]

Did anybody else catch this in the second note?


Excused Apsences:

Spelling like that doesn't make the district look too combetent (sp?) :p

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Oh, you should see the letter that was sent, too...It's pink, and the paragraphs get closer to the edge of the paper towards the bottom, and not to mention the character set they used is rather aweful. Not to mention there are lines on the right side as well as the middle through the wording "a child is required by law to attend school and is enrolled in school, and". I'm guessing that their computer skills are some what lacking...It's not too difficult to set up the bloody margins...And why pink paper in the first place?

"Edit", Ok, the Excused Apsences was my fault...This is what I get for not looking at the keyboard but every once in a great while, but hey, just one typo, at least that I can see, not too shabby...

[ItsTime]

Oh, you should see the letter that was sent, too...It's pink, and the paragraphs get closer to the edge of the paper towards the bottom, and not to mention the character set they used is rather aweful. Not to mention there are lines on the right side as well as the middle through the wording "a child is required by law to attend school and is enrolled in school, and". I'm guessing that their computer skills are some what lacking...It's not too difficult to set up the bloody margins...And why pink paper in the first place?

"Edit", Ok, the Excused Apsences was my fault...This is what I get for not looking at the keyboard but every once in a great while, but hey, just one typo, at least that I can see, not too shabby...

Send it back with a letter grade on it asking them if they are the ones teaching your child. :cool:;)

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

I'd give it a 57%.
-20% FOR CAPITALIZING ALL LETTERS IN THE FIRST LETTER.
-20% for incompetence in copying/printing the second letter.
-3% for the pink paper.

[RSLudlum]

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.sml.pdf

Give her that book.

Or Rothbard's "Education: Free & Compulsory" which I finished last night. It's really short and a very enlightening book that discusses state compulsory schooling's attack on the parent/child relationship and individuality.



At the base of totalitarianism and compulsory education is the idea that children belong to the State rather than to their parents. One of the leading promoters of that idea in Europe was the famous Marquis de Sade, who insisted that children are the property of the State.

Murray Rothbard, Education: Free & Compulsory, (Auburn: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1999), p. 34



If you don't want to spend $6 for the book (here (http://www.mises.org/store/product.aspx?ProductID=94)), you can read it online:
http://mises.org/story/2226

[pinkmandy]

Kansas Homeschool Laws (http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Kansas.pdf)


Resources (http://www.homeschoolcentral.com/support/kansas_homeschool.htm) if you want to do some more research and learn about all the opportunities/activities/benefits of homeschooling in Kansas.

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Thanks pinkmandy. Reading through it right now.

However, will still be quite a battle to explain the up sides of homeschooling. When I mentioned that some people on here have stated their liking of home schooling, she emphatically said NO. As if I was mentioning we should do it...Eh, at least I started the dialogue, the question is if I can make a decent argument for her to feel that it would be a good choice.

Ok, went down and asked my wife a few questions. There were commercials on, so I was able to get some info from her, though rather meaningless, it is what she said...

"They need to be around other kids"
"I just don't like it"
"They need the interaction and go to dances and other school events"

And I know the arguments against these, but she just came back with "I just don't like it"...

Not to mention that I have to fight with the kids all the time. My wife always takes the kids' sides and tells them that I'm teaching them wrong, therefore they don't listen to me much any more.

[CoreyBowen999]

Hell in my district we are only allowed 3.

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Hoo boy, my wife just said she had a problem with Homeschooling. "It helps them to be on a set schedual so they are prepared for having jobs when they get older"...So I came back with, "If they learn much faster and better being homeschooled, such as working with their strengths rather than their weaknesses, they could then be better prepared for owning their own business, be it an internet business or else. They would, also, then, create their own schedual, or learn to work with whatever schedual They desire". But she just came back with, "They need a set schedual"...

[pinkmandy]

Hoo boy, my wife just said she had a problem with Homeschooling. "It helps them to be on a set schedual so they are prepared for having jobs when they get older"...So I came back with, "If they learn much faster and better being homeschooled, such as working with their strengths rather than their weaknesses, they could then be better prepared for owning their own business, be it an internet business or else. They would, also, then, create their own schedual, or learn to work with whatever schedual They desire". But she just came back with, "They need a set schedual"...

At this point, you are hitting a wall that could just spiral into an ego thing w/her. Now would be a good time to ask her for a compromise. To just open her mind a little and attend a homeschool get together. No decision making or anything- just go meet people and see what's up.

Check out the resource link I gave you and find a group that 'fits' you- whether it be Christian or whatever- and contact the folks who run it. Tell them you and your wife would like to learn more and ask if/when you can tag along for a get together or something. Actually seeing the families, how the kids interact, the intelligence levels of the kids *might* change her mind.

That would be my advice. *fingers crossed*

Oh, and you might also want to get the book Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto. Best book ever imo. Short, easy to read so she might not get bored, right to the point. It's written by a teacher, too. ;)

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Thanks...However, unfortunately, will have to wait for quite a while. She started getting upset because I was constantly trying to point out what homeschooling was like from what I've been reading through the links, and what I've seen before from someone I've known who has gone through it. Anyway, she got so upset she yelled at our youngest son and began crying and told me that the teachers went through college and were thus better equipped to handle teaching than we are...

Either way, a lost argument (And I don't mean an argument such as yelling or such, an argument such as someone trying to convince someone of something)...

[micahnelson]

I was homeschooled, private christian church schooled, private parent run schooled, and public schooled.

If your kid is not self motivated, and/or you aren't gifted, don't homeschool. I learned a ton- but nothing I was "supposed" to. That isn't necessarily bad- if your kids still like to learn. I did.

Public School was ok, but I went to high school there only. I didn't learn much, and could have learned less if I wanted to. Some great teachers- mostly people trying to get a pension though.

Private church run school was similar to public school. The teachers tried to make everything about religion, except for my science and english teachers. Thank God for them. My English teacher became our history teacher (small schools that often happens). She was a huge influence, teach us to research and assume nothing.

Private parent run school was the best. Best teachers and facilities by far. Free market, what can I say.

Bottom line is, most of your learning won't happen in school regardless of the quality of the school. Find ways to make your kids interested in learning, teach them to think, and the indoctrination machine won't affect them like their peers.

[RSLudlum]

told me that the teachers went through college and were thus better equipped to handle teaching than we are...



Are they really that much better 'equiped' to teach YOUR children? If they are so much better at teaching why not just drop them off at the age of 2 and then pick them up when they're 14 so you and your wife don't have to bother/interfere with their schooling. Wouldn't they be so much more educated since the teachers with 'education degrees' know better?

I understand your dilema also. I've had the same arguement with my wife before and given our circumstances we can't homeschool right now. But I will say my wife did come around to seeing the positive side in homeschooling. It's a very big hurdle for many to overcome, when they percieve the majority of their education came from outside-schooling and not from interactions at home and with friends. Those instances at home are taken for granted and not considered 'education' by the elite educationists, which deem it merely 'socialization". Why is it when many people are asked the question "Who was your greatest influence in your life?" is it a mother, father, relative, or good friend? Goes to show you what kind of 'schooling' they really value.

good luck. ;)

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Well, it isn't I can't find ways to get my kids to learn, it's getting my wife to let me teach them.

I had taught a lot to my boys, but then my wife started telling them I was teaching them wrong. (Throughout the years that I did take school seriously, I've always done well with math, so that is no problem). I've, also, noticed that my kids have good skills at certain things, my youngest is best at math, my eldest at Language arts.

I have a 6 year old nephew that has learned that a+a+a = 3a, and I can use any letter of the alphabet in any way, such as k+k+k+k+k, etc, and he will answer it in a couple of seconds or less. I'm not afraid of teaching them. I know a lot about geography, history (Roman, Greek, American, Cherokee, Classical Maya, Tzotzil Maya, and bits and pieces about many other nations), quite a bit about mathematics [Self taught] (Number theory, calculus, algebra, trig, geometry, even things that I don't have enough knoledge to explain well as of now), not to mention everything I'm learning about politics, etc, etc, etc...

The biggest problem is my wife. She doesn't believe that I can teach them, and that I'm way under qualified (because I don't have a piece of paper written by a college to state otherwise). Since she told them that I am teaching them wrong (such as trying to teach my youngest different methods to do a math problem, simple things that I learned when I was his age), now the boys tell me that I am teaching them wrong and wont listen to me and go to their mom.

Anyway, anyway...What do I know?

[EgwaTlvdatsi]

Are they really that much better 'equiped' to teach YOUR children? If they are so much better at teaching why not just drop them off at the age of 2 and then pick them up when they're 14 so you and your wife don't have to bother/interfere with their schooling. Wouldn't they be so much more educated since the teachers with 'education degrees' know better?

I understand your dilema also. I've had the same arguement with my wife before and given our circumstances we can't homeschool right now. But I will say my wife did come around to seeing the positive side in homeschooling. It's a very big hurdle for many to overcome, when they percieve the majority of their education came from outside-schooling and not from interactions at home and with friends. Those instances at home are taken for granted and not considered 'education' by the elite educationists, which deem it merely 'socialization". Why is it when many people are asked the question "Who was your greatest influence in your life?" is it a mother, father, relative, or good friend? Goes to show you what kind of 'schooling' they really value.


I asked her about if they were more qualified than us, and she just said, "They know better".

However, I've come to the conclusion that my wife will never find it appealing, just appalling. I had started up this argument a few months ago, with about the exact same out come, except she didn't get as emotional as she did tonight, she just said "NO"...

[micahnelson]

Anyway, anyway...What do I know?

Marriage counselor. Your problem isn't your school its the trust relationship between you and your wife. If shes telling the kids not to listen to you I wouldn't even try to work it out without help.

[asimplegirl]

There is a form of homeschooling that has videos and lesson plans already made from "college educated " teachers... one of them in particular has students graduating high school and entering college at rates MUCH higher than public schooled students.. average age is around 15..

Lucky for me, Hubby I both went to college and know that it is a crock in certain area... ( I went for things that would help my life, like early childhood education and holistic nutrition). Thing is, we would be just as happy if our children decided to become greeters at walmart. Whatever makes you happy. What goo dis a life with a GREAT piece of paper and a high paying job, and a HUGE social life if you aren't happy? That's just how we think.

[pinkmandy]

Marriage counselor. Your problem isn't your school its the trust relationship between you and your wife. If shes telling the kids not to listen to you I wouldn't even try to work it out without help.

I agree. I get the impression you aren't getting the respect you deserve in that relationship and/or communication skills are off if you can't have a rational discussion with her about your kids' educations. :confused: In the meantime, she needs to know it's totally inappropriate for her to undermine you as their father when you are helping them. If she has an issue, she needs to handle that with you when the kids aren't around.