Nikki (Woo Sah)

In April JCPS announced we were going to get 30 Hybrid buses this year, 15 now and 15 more coming. They did this with the help of federal grants, but also used some of their annual budget.

http://www.wave3.com/story/15210045/jcps-buses-get...

I admit I was a bit frustrated at the number of buses we were going to be running. 30, I believe, is one of the highest Hybrid bus quantities in the nation. My opinion at the time...accept the grant, but use the annual budget for other improvements and/or needs. Some low income schools are still using textbooks that state George Bush Sr. is the current president.

This year 6 schools also got extra money to put in solar panels. 3 other schools are still in need of new roofs due to damage and old age.

Now I'm being told that when my 10 year old son enters 6th grade next year, even though he still uses 1st grade readers (autism), he will be required to have a Kindle. A Kindle?? On a school supply list?? At my expense??

Is it just me or has the world gone from going green to going mad?

Any similar problems/changes with your child's school district? Do you support them, or question them?

Every month for the past 5 or 6 months I've been getting severe toothaches that start at the same time as PMS and end a week or so later. Sometimes it causes the whole left side of my face to hurt and throb. Could possibly be jaw pain rather than a toothache, but the pain is pretty widespread on that side so it's hard to tell exactly where it's coming from. Any ideas?

Okay, I've questioned the practice in the past, and even gone as far as to say it was bad for children. I get it now, and I apologize.

My daughter has some behavior problems, no one's denying that. She was suspended for having an attitude last week, we appealed the decision and she went back Monday. We asked her therapist to pay a little visit to check up on her (parents can't do that here). She called us at 7pm that night and informed us that the teacher had grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her seat an walked her to the corner. She proceeded to get right next to her ear and shouted "Stop". My daughter had been talking to the child next to her. There was a lot of shouting and verbal aggression (from a teacher. WTH?) There was a lot more in the report, but I'm trying to make this brief.

A hardship transfer is being arranged for my son (he was in K at same school, and the whole place has me concerned) but I think Heaven would be better off if she stayed home for a while. She's very worked up at the thought of returning to classroom. I'm afraid the stress will result in what will be considered bad behavior, and bye bye new start. The problem is I have no idea where to start, and JCPS just keeps telling me to sleep on it.

Do I just withdraw her from school? Is there a set curriculum? Do I report to anyone?

Sorry it's so long, and I appreciate any advice, tips, or suggestions. I know I could have posted this in Education, but my Dad taught me to never talk to strangers :)

A recent answer to a question I asked earlier has me curious. Are their topics you won't discuss in front of your children? What if the topic concerns your child (school uniforms in this instance)? Are your children privy to your opinions on "Adult" things? Just interested in opinions.

Sorry for the quotations (in light of the mass " " usage today) but I felt they fit.

Gave her my opinions, she wants to hear more.

Heaven has a gray hoodie with navy blue flowers. It's her favorite article of clothing. She wears it to and from school, and then swaps it out for a solid one at school... Until today. She spilled OJ on the solid at breakfast and couldn't wear it. She said she was cold and put the other back on. She was told she couldn't wear it. She refused to take it off, arguing that she was cold. The office offered her one they had lying around. She refused, arguing it wasn't hers. She then went into "I think I'm grown" and began quoting MY opinions of uniforms. Uh-oh. We got the call and hour ago to pick her up for a 3 day suspension. BTW Heaven is 8.

Here are her questions.

Should I have been suspended?

Do you think I was suspended because I wouldn't wear it, or because they were mad I didn't like their uniforms?

Should I have to wear someone elses sweatshirt when I have my own, just because it's the rule?

They told me if I was cold, I would wear anything. Doesn't that mean the same as if I was cold they should have let me wear anything?

Do you think teachers should have to wear uniforms, too? Wouldn't that be more fair, since we do?

Our district used to place kids based on race and maintaining integrated schools. The requirements were that each school had no less than 51% white and no more than 70% white students. A supreme court ruling finally said that it was unconstitutional and they had to get rid of it.

Most parents assumed that our children would be attending neighborhood schools after that, but they just created a new assignment plan. This one is based on socioeconomic status. The district was split into clusters of around 10 schools. Each cluster has schools from both low income and high income neighborhoods. Basically each school must have half from the high income zones and and half from low income zones. It's become an issue because students are attending schools that are up to a 90 minute drive from their homes, longer on a school bus.

I'm just curious if this is common in other school districts, or if most just allow students to attend the school closest to their home.

Does your district have an Assignment Plan, what is it based on? (race, income, etc)

What are you're opinions on such plans? Do you think they are beneficial or a problem?

Sometimes it's made up of food crumbs, sometimes tiny bits of paper, plastic, and other unidentifiable substances that follow them everywhere. Are speck trails a universal phenomena, or are my kids just especially gifted? If its universal, how many times do you vacuum a day?

It's only been a few weeks since my ex and I split up. The kids are living with me but see him almost daily and stay will be staying with him on weekends. We're trying to keep everything out of court, so we've worked the arrangements out ourselves.

The problem is I've noticed myself letting the kids get away with things they've never been allowed to do. Their dad is the one with the money who can take them out to do things or buy them stuff, so I guess I'm trying to be the nice one out of fear that they may change their minds and want to live with him.

I know it's bad parenting and I'm working on it, but I'm curious as to whether it's normal to feel that way. In your experiences did you have this fear? Did you break your own personal parenting rules because of it? How long does it typically last?

This is a hypothetical spinoff of another question. If you found out your child was transgendered, what would you do? Would you support them, and what do you consider that to mean? Would you allow them to dress and live as the opposite sex? Would you allow hormone therapy? Is there anything you wouldn't allow? At what age do you think a child is mature enough to "know"? Just curious about opinions.

I claim to practice non-judgment, and yet I judge those who don't practice it. Ultimately, it's the same thing. So admitting that we all judge something....what/who do you judge? What are you teaching your children about judgment and criticism?

My daughter's school is starting their pen-pal program. She just brought home the list of other participating schools (nationwide). A couple of the "schools" are internal programs at juvenile detention centers and some are part of hospital programs. My SO suggested she choose one of the kids from the hospital list, but she wants to write to a girl at one of the detention centers. My SO is against it, I think it's a good idea. All of the children in the program are between the ages of 7 and 12. Would you let YOUR child? Why or why not?

A spinoff of Charm's question. Do you agree or disagree with school systems censoring books?

Some of the books that are often banned now, were considered classics when I was in school. To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse Five, Catcher in the Rye, Tell Me Why the Caged Bird Sings, Of Mice and Men, A Farewell to Arms, and even child-friendly books from authors like Judy Blume and Shel Silverstein are some of the most frequently banned books today.

Is this really protecting our children, or is it neglecting them, by denying them the education these books can provide?

My son will be 9 on March 1, my daughter will be 8 on March 7. Some health problems have put us behind on both planning and finances. We usually try to have a big party for each of them, but it's not going to be possible this year. We're trying to decide if we should have 2 smaller parties (family and a few friends at home), or just merge them this year with one big party. Opinions?

My nephew has recently started crawling and my SIL was asking about baby-proofing. I told her that we hadn't done anything outside of outlet covers and put chemicals in high places with our youngest 2, her friends informed her that this was neglectful. I'm just curious as to what everyone thinks. Did you baby-proof? Why do you think it's good/bad/unnecessary?

My thought was I'd rather my kids just learn not to bother things/do things that were harmful, as they visited child free homes that weren't baby-proofed.

What are your thoughts?

Baby-proofing IMO includes outlets, breakables, chemicals, toilets, sinks, doorways, cabinets, etc.

If you could shield your child from one thing, and they would NEVER have to encounter it, what would it be?

With parents running out buy the latest books, gimmicks and gadgets? Do babies really need to read, talk, and have warm behinds? Opinions?

Should take cupcakes or candy to her Valentines Day party at school?

My daughter told me yesterday that she and her "boyfriend" had a "date" planned for Valentines Day morning. The planning, of course, has been left up to me. Any ideas? Something adult friendly, since both his mom and I will be there.

I was discussing the show with some friends and mentioned that I thought the parents were wrong, I was surprised that they all thought it was a great idea. Just wondering what others think. Is it exploitation, or am I just out of the loop?

For those that haven't seen the previews, it's a game show where kids (6-12) considered geniuses compete to win money for their parents.

Is it biological, emotional, etc? Could anything ever make you feel like less of a woman (man)?

What do you hope your children will take into consideration as far as defining themselves women and men?