l

A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's

It was a huge risk getting my son admitted to this HS program for really
bright kids who had no patience for the clerical bs at school.

Cause its definitely a SINK or SWIM situation.

And, no way could we have recovered easily from a SINK.

The reports are streaming in.

He SWAM like a Bruce Jenner!

sesgardner

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

Congratulations!

Sara

canetoad57

Please tell me more about a HS with less clerical BS - what is this program and
WHERE?

Yours truly,

Eager Teacher

l

Las Vegas

I don't know how many posters on AST are aware of it since many AST posters
seem to hail from well to do areas where I was raised, so I know education
is highly valued, but I am confronted with a different reality, one in
which the generation in school right now has been dubbed the "Lost
Generation" because it is the first generation in many generations which is
opting to forego formal education.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,,1091430,00.html

Las Vegas or Clark County Nevada has the highest HS drop out rate anywhere
in the western world so I was confronted with the high possibility my Honors
track son would do what so many of his peers are doing upon matriculating
into HS where the big talk is the big $$$ can be made as valets or joining
the culinary union at the casinos.

The educators of Vegas have no expectations of students of Las Vegas,
either.

When the Superintendent of Schools was asked about Vegas HS dropout rate he
asserted the childen of Vegas are the children of the most neurologicallly
damaged local population found anywhere, and are too neurologically damaged
to excel in school.

Oddly, one of vegas students isn't considered such as that was the same
year they took my son off a 504 accommodation plan cause he hadn't
manifested tics in two years and was considered no longer in need of any
accommodation.

Apparently, in a population where atypical neurology is what is
neurotypical the bell curve of neurotypical vs. neuroatypical places my son
in the neurotypical class of vegas.

So...I was expected to stand idly by and helplessly watch the cultural
melieu combined with my son's need owing to some ADD go unaccommodated
after he demonstrated he could NOT keep up with the clerical BS in the
honors course, and watch my son go from a motivated top honors tract
student to a discouraged HS drop out.

So I perseverated about this "atrocity" everywhere I went...heard nothing
about this program while he was in 9th cause it is for 10th graders and up.

Finally, I was perseveratin about the situation I was confronting at a
social gathering and someone told me about a HS program they thought was a
best kept secret in vegas...attached to the County Adult Education and
Community College.

HS Students have to be accepted by taking a placement test where they
demonstrate a clear ability to study and master subjects with minimal
instruction and clerical BS .... and if deemed able they only have to meet
with an instructor once a week, plan the following weeks course work, and
be able demonstrate mastery of the subject work on weekly testing which is
ALL they are graded upon...academic mastery.

If they are unwilling to do the work, fail to self-discpline, pace
themselves, and manage their workload, assume full responsibility....even
one week, they are out.

Sink or swim.

It's not Homeschooling...either.

(at 16 the rebellious toward a parent might get in the way.)

he can get HS credit and college credit for any community college courses
he takes, too.

Signed up for one in January, besides current load.

He is happier, much, much happier.

The HS's in vegas are closed campuses of thousands and thousands and are
very oppressive enviroments. Reform school-like owing to concerns about
weapons, drugs, etc.

He is a very good and highly responsible young man so this is good, with
the best part being he is back to being a motivated student and has ceased
all his BIG talk about his taking the HS equivalency exam...as he had been
telling me he was going to do upon his 17th birthday since he entered HS and
heard that's what "everyone" is doing---Mom.

jodi

I work in this type of school at our local college. Even with the
liberal guidelines, there is a very high drop out rate. You have to
be the right kind of student (and learner) for it to work. The
"can't miss your weekly check-in" rule is a no bender. You miss it,
you're out. Therefore.... we also have a program where the student
must attend our school 20 hours/week. They can pick the time and we
are open 8am-8pm. They log in/out on a computer so the time is
tracked. They can get one-on-one tutoring, attend classes or work on
their own at their own pace.

I would guess that these schools are in most cities. They are a great
alternative and are built for success, BUT you must follow the rules
and alot of kids have problems with that. We also have adult students
so it is a mixed enviroment.

Jodi

randall bart

'Twas Tue, 16 Dec 2003 06:45:16 GMT when all alt.support.tourette stood in
awe as "L" <L@nospam.com> uttered:

Well I hope that isn't bad. The odds are that Bruce is an okay swimmer,
but for all I know he's afraid of water.

--
RB |\ © Randall Bart
aa |/ admin@RandallBart.spam.com Barticus@att.spam.net
nr |\ Please reply without spam I LOVE YOU 1-917-715-0831
dt ||\ They're Murdering Terri Schiavo http://www.terrisfight.org
a |/ Multiple sclerosis: http://www.cbc.ca/webone/alison/
l |\ DOT-HS-808-065 The Church Of The Unauthorized Truth:
l |/ MS^7=6/28/107 http://yg.cotut.com mailto:s@cotut.com

l

Oh, well.

Hopefully, you know who I meant.

I am drained tonite, so will look it up in morning.

l

This program fit the bill.

I know it isn't true in every case, but in my son case ...his never ever
having gotten into any trouble HS makes him eligible to return to his HS if
he were to fail. I can live with that because my son's birthdate is one
has historically made him the youngest boy in his class.

The BIG benefit I see is that no matter what happens he will have had a
taste of freedom.

Everything abot HS curricula and program is OPPRESSIVE.

Every three weeks, my son was being given a computerized tabulation for
each of his classes of his weighted grade....based upon 30-60 listed items
he had been graded on the previous 3 weeks or 15 days of class.

That's 2 to 4 grades per class per day.

Which aggregately is 14 to 28 tasks per day he was being graded on, up to
400 tasks in 3 weeks.

that is OPPRESSIVE, and just plain CRAZY.

The HS campuses are closed...replete with police and canine units...and the
police are armed.

That is oppressive.

The schools are overcrowded with thousands and thousands of students...and
the peer pressure is incredibly high.

That is oppressive.

The apathy and failure and dropout rate is high as is the number of
"stoners"

that is depressing.

How would an average student maintain motivation to go to college if the
oppressive and depressive atmosphere of HS is all they know....

If college is 4 more years of OPPRESSION and depression...I can see the
students would decide NO THANKS.

it would have killed me if my son made a decision to forego college based
upon his oppressive HS exereience.

Especially, since the decision seems to include ideations of going to work
for the casino's straight out of HS, when working for the casino's carries
with it it's own brand of oppression.

Too young to lock oneselves into such an OPPRESSIVE life.

Randall's commentary on oppression in HS was so on the mark.

this program affords a young man a taste of freedom.

I didn't want my son closing off possibilities in life....at such a young
age.

I want him to do what makes him happy, but I want him to decide what will
make him happy based upon affirming experiences ----not decisions being
molded by negative--oppressive--depressing environment of today's city HS's.

LASTLY, since my son's TS has gone into partial remission, so he rarely
tics, I am afraid to play the "heavy", which was my alternative....lest
such triggers another bout of really bad ticcing to return.

jodi

If this is something your son wants to do, then he should do well,
especially since going back to hs is his other option.

Jodi

lady brett

Yes, that may be the initial motivation to do well.

Before I found out about this program he was after me to homeschool him.

I have done that during the long recoveries following each of his hip and
leg surgeries.

(and in the direct aftermath of a traumatic incident with a school admin
when he was in 6th grade.)

After the first couple of weeks, he didn't like that as much as he thought
he would.

After two months he was champing at the bit to return to school.

Too much input/feedback from one person can be oppressive too...and being
mom, nurse and teacher all in one was too much input from one person.

So I wasn't going to take him out and homeschool him if he was going to get
sick of me, again--- and want to go back to school with a marred HS record.

He was elated when I told him about this program.

the alternative being his return to HS makes him motivated to succeed
initially....its been a few months now. .

But, hopefully, his having a taste of freedome of quasi adult learning
atmosphere...might elicit a return of his pre-HS motivation, academically.

A taste I wanted him to experience before his 17th birthday, when he could
choose to take that HS equivalency exam...whether I liked it or not.