Maybe I'm being elitist and pro-intellectual...

[Lil Brat]

Diagnosed with ADHD in the 1 Percentile ~ highly uncommon for girls ~ at age 5. According to the school system: ADD & ADHD do not qualify a child for an IEP. She's just lazy or I'm a bad parent who doesn't discipline her to get her stuff done... stressed She's the quiet one, doesn't get in trouble ~ DUH, she mentally checked out. stare It is frustrating, because she's also very bright and in all these years, we've had 1 teacher who could get through, just the 1. Same teacher that managed to motivate & engage several others in the Alternative Program they let her be in that year. Budget cuts - cut the program, no tenure - cut the teacher. evil One of the few outstanding ones they had on board.

I feel for your struggles, and the ones your sister-in-law faces. More of the same attitude that kids are adaptable thus they can all fit that one style if you just push them hard enough. xp  

[Psyzapp]

Wow. *shakes head* I'm so sorry, Lil. *hugs* I'm always stunned when I hear what kinds struggles families have to go through with schools regarding this type of thing. It astounds me.

I wish I had some iron-clad useful solutions for you that work.  

[Bao Sanniang]

Amazing how a few months can make you completely and unconsioucly change your opinion on something.

Please delete this thread.

Also, sad  

[Lil Brat]

Why delete it? Great discussion going on. And yes, for the ones who get left behind, there are the over-achievers like my oldest who get held up waiting for everyone else to catch up. Were it not for Running Start, she might not have been able to get in to a college - this is that same district that does not offer advanced classes that most colleges expect you to have taken if you want to get in to them.  

[Bao Sanniang]

Good point.  

[damecharlie]

Lil Brat

Diagnosed with ADHD in the 1 Percentile ~ highly uncommon for girls ~ at age 5. According to the school system: ADD & ADHD do not qualify a child for an IEP. She's just lazy or I'm a bad parent who doesn't discipline her to get her stuff done... stressed She's the quiet one, doesn't get in trouble ~ DUH, she mentally checked out. stare It is frustrating, because she's also very bright and in all these years, we've had 1 teacher who could get through, just the 1. Same teacher that managed to motivate & engage several others in the Alternative Program they let her be in that year. Budget cuts - cut the program, no tenure - cut the teacher. evil One of the few outstanding ones they had on board.

I feel for your struggles, and the ones your sister-in-law faces. More of the same attitude that kids are adaptable thus they can all fit that one style if you just push them hard enough. xp

Actually, Brat, they can't say that. It's ILLEGAL by the FEDERAL government. Your school system could actually be sued for not following this rule LAW. If your child's schooling has been so horrendously setback and they have done jackshit about it, even with your persistence, they can get in big ********' trouble.

Here are some websites, I would be throwing IDEA or Section 504 in their faces, and soon. Being 17 and still on a 7th grade level and the school district doing nothing about it is just big freaking BULLSHIT.

Webbies: IDEAs Federal Government Website

Educational Rights for Children with ADD and ADHD in Public Schools

Section 504 specifically

For the Section 504 page, I would specifically look down near the bottom where it talks about a local school or school district violating this law and filing a complaint/reporting them to the federal government. With them already failing NCLB, they are probably already on the watchlist. evil

Makes me wanna come to Washington and BEAT SOME HEADS. evil mad  

[Lil Brat]

The problem with 504, where the school gets off is this quote: Only the school can determine if your child qualifies for accommodations. That was taken from the site when I scrolled down.

Their determination: She is not learning disabled nor is she a discipline problem. She simply lacks self-discipline and the parent doesn't enforce any rules. stare For being such a bad parent, I've got two others who excel, now how in Hades does that happen.

Only 6 months to go, she turns 18 and we'll work with her friends mom on a program to get her a GED. Small district, minimal funds... 1 more kid to go and retribution happens. It's not right, I know, but somehow they've managed to wiggle out thus far.

*Hugs* Appreciate all the support.  

[Psyzapp]

Makes me want to fly to Washington and HOLD THEM while Dame beats them. evil  

[Krego-sama]

Maybe the government feels that a nation of mediocrity would be easier to control 3nodding

I certainly wouldn't put it past them.

The only intelligent people that make it in politics are the ones interested solely in helping themselves. The rest are smooth talking idiots.  

[Captain Grace OMalley]

I have to agree with you, but I don't think that is the only problem with schools. With the schools around here, there are some school trying to reduce the drop-out rates by allowing students to graduate through minimum attendance requirements instead of grade requirements. A lot of schools here are under-funded and can only afford class room sets of books, so students don't have books to take home to study with or do any homework, and most of them in that situation don't have internet for research at home.

I've spoken to younger students and the schools are no longer teaching kids to read, they are leaving it up to the parents, most of whom don't know how to teach their kids. Half the teachers in the school system aren't as concerned with actually teaching students as long as they can get them to make it through their class with a D, which somehow is a passing grade?

I've even spoken to some of the teachers while riding the city bus, and they have said that they were forced to graduate students from high school that could not even put together a complete sentence. I knew that the school system was bad when I went through it, but it wasn't this bad. The neglect from teachers, the school district, and the government has been growing, and I'm not impressed when half the kids I talk to have either already dropped out, or plan on dropping out soon because school is a joke to them. They've stopped teaching them, don't provide adequate study material, and have dumbed down the curriculum, the kids don't even find it worth their time anymore.  

[Officer Hot-Pants]

Slowest runner gets eaten by the bear. You stop to help him, and you don't have a large-gauge shotgun with you, you just eaten with him.

Rather than worrying that everyone meet a minimum standard, a better policy might simply be, oh, I don't know-- pushing people to be the best they potentially can? You know, like we used to? Given that the world's sciences, technology, and (arguably) cultures have generally moved forward rather than backward, I'm inclined to think it was working (compare the last 100 years to the last 10,000). If the slower or disabled need extra help, give them just that; extra help. Don't grab everyone else by the collar and say "whoa, whoa, slow down; Jamie's lagging behind". It's a policy that doesn't work anywhere else, so why the hell would it work in education???  

[damecharlie]

TRUE story, sir. 3nodding I 100% agree.  

[Officer Hot-Pants]

The education part, or the part about the bear? xd