Homeschool World Forum

I like the way my Calc III professor set things up. There was mounds of homework, but she would pick 5 questions at random for each homework assignment and grade just those. Your grade for that assignment reflected how well you did on the 5 questions. This forced you to do all the homework, but left her with little enough to grade so it wasn't her entire life. Your grades on homework also counted towards how much credit you got for fixing mistakes on your tests (see below).

Section summaries had to be written up before each class and submitted at the start, thus ensuring that you'd read the material. Whether or not you did these adequately counted towards how much credit you got for fixing mistakes on your tests (see below).

If someone couldn't solve a problem on their homework, they could write the number up on the chalkboard. Any student could then solve the problem on the chalkboard before class for a bonus point. Maximum of one bonus point per person per day. This promoted class participation.

Tests were graded on an absolute basis - no grade curve. Grades ranged from 0% to 100%. You could, however, fix your mistakes after each test, for up to 50% of your lost score - assuming you did 100% on all homework and section summaries. If you only scored 80% on those, you could only get 40% back, and so on.

A fiendishly clever way of getting people to study properly, imho - probably the best grading system I've seen so far.

Recess Takes a Time Out
The school day is just so jam-packed that they can't fit in 20 minutes of recess. I guess that last tiny bit of socialization wasn't really necessary after all, and let's just ignore the effects of depression.

Another good ideal turned into something stupid by bureaucrats.

This is just sad. Look at the picture of the poor kid in the article.

Principal under fire after 'spleen boy' remark
A Staten Island middle school principal is being blasted as "insensitive" after reportedly forgetting the name of an eighth-grader at her school who was severely injured in a textbook-tossing incident, then referring to the teen as "spleen boy."

Carvalho's spleen burst after his classmates pelted him with flying hardcover textbooks on Oct. 3 during a bizarre variation of the "Quiet Game." Doctors removed his spleen two days later, and used 29 surgical staples to re-seal the incision in his stomach.

The school have rediculous supply lists here too. Extremely spefic-down to the brand and color of the folders the kids have to bring in. The numbers are inflated because the schools know that most of the parents are not going to send all that crap, so they suck as much as they can out of the parents who will buy the stuff.

What really upsets me about it is that we as homeschoolers don't use any of that stuff. Between the supply lists and the uniforms, PSers spend enough for us to buy curriculum and materials for 3 years! And they are geting a "free" education?

One of the elementary schools my kids attended just banned candy, even from lunch boxes because some morons are putting crystal meth in it. Pop rocks and red suckers are among the nortorious. I'm not sure if they found anything in that particular school or maybe in the older grades and just banned candy across the board. But still...wow.

I did hear that some candy company (I forget which one) was making candy that looks almost exactly like drugs. Given that fact, I can see why they might want to ban it. Also, obesity is a major problem in schools, candy should be banned just for health reasons.

I personally agree with the school system on this one. Sorry

My three children are still in PS just until the end of this school year. I think the amount of homework that is given is ridiculous. My husband was a public high school english teacher & didn't give homework which was rare for a teacher to do. Those poor kids well most of them had jobs that they went to right after school. Probably without eating a good dinner....working until at least 9 or so. Then they have to go home & do homework!! If every subject teacher would give it they would have to spend anywhere from 1-2 hours each evening.

Our children are elementary age. School starts at 8:30 until 3:15. They come home tired....they get to play a little bit then dinner, homework, bath & before you know it its bedtime! When is family time? They have spent all day at ps so why should they have to come home & do homework? Kindergarten doesn't get much as we are normally done in about 20 minutes. My first & third grader get a lot. They have to read 15 minutes each night. Do a math homelink. Make a word sheet. Tic Tac Toe assignment. The boys take about 45 minutes each to complete.

Just this past week my daughter in Kindergarten had a note come home saying they were running low on baby wipes & quart size ziplock bags & everyone needed to send both items in...so I did of course.

We pay $100 a month for her to go to full day Kindergarten. I wanted to do a half day but her teacher said the first week of school that she was having difficulties recognizing some of her ABC's (ITS KINDERGARTEN TEACH) & recommended I keep her full day as to not make her behind next year in 1st grade. That $100 is a discount since my husband works in that same county. The other parents have to pay almost $300 a month! YIKES!

I could keep going but I'll just mention one more thing for now! I get so many papers home in a weeks time out of the 3 backpacks it is just ridiculous! Market Day, Book Fair, Fundraiser this Fundraiser that....They say if your child sells this much they will get this! The this is normally JUNK! They pump all the kids up talking about this stuff they could win so that when the parents tell them no they don't understand & briefly disappointed! My husband & I tell them the truth & once we talk it out they do understand but it just erks me.

Oh goodness I just thought of something else! My kids tell me all the time that they watched this movie or that movie. How many movies can they show? My third grader tells me all the time that is teacher is on her cellphone a lot.

So we can't wait to pull them out of ps for so many reasons! My husband may get called on it at work next year since he is a ps teacher himself. I'm sure they will wonder why in the world!!