Bubble Girl?

A student of mine the other day told me an almost incredible story.

But really, in this current *reign of inanity*, I guess it's really all too CREDIBLE.

She said there was a classmate of hers at the local high school who is, "allergic to deodorant and body spray."

And that the school tried to ban THE STUDENT BODY (no pun intended) from wearing deodorant and broad-repellents like Axe Body Spray.

Of course they couldn't do that...

So they put the girl in her own room - a *bubble* if you will.

And they bought a robot for her.

Yeah, a robot. She controls it remotely from her *bubble* and directs it into classrooms where she observes teachers via webcams on the effin' robot!

How much does this ridiculousness cost????!!!!

Although by itself it's probably a drop in the bucket given that my school district - or, the one I get assessed for - spends $27,000 PER PUPIL....PER YEAR now.

Omnipotent, Again!

It took over two weeks....but I've finally had all my *powers* restored.

The electric had been out essentially for the last 15 days due to the *storm of the century*.

Either due to that or to a gigantic union scam that has all the utility wires running through heavily treed BACKYARDS. (Union workers from all across the country are making double pay here....for 4 WEEKS.)

The pic above was just a pitching wedge from my house and the main culprit for the lost power....for the first week or so anyway.

You can't see it too clearly, but there are actually two trees that fell across the street - snapping the wires and poles.

Whatever. It went by fast. It wasn't that bad. But I may have been THE ONLY PERSON on Long Island (or NJ) who wasn't whining like a spoiled b*tch these past couple of weeks.

I got a ton of exercise in. I cleaned out my cupboards of canned goods that threatened to sit there for decades a la my/your parents!

Basically no one can amuse themselves today without a color TV or a color iPad.

I actually sort of enjoyed it all.

There are a few pics from my town - here.

And I wrote a bit about the experience on HomeschoolDad.com.

It truly has been a very educational time....about what is truly needed in the course of a day, etc.

Robbing The Robbers!

So what's the difference between them stealing from you and vice versa?

Oh, yeah, they have the Big Government thugs on their side!

A plumber just left my house. He changed the *insides* of two toilets.

Guess how much?

With tax, $283.51.

And he wouldn't leave the house until I paid him, either. No more *billing* because people have been stiffing THEM, back.

I don't blame them even though the premium in my price no doubt is subsidizing those debtors.

$135 an hour for labor? That seems high to me - extraordinarily high actually.

And I love how they mark-up the *parts* which they certainly get for 50% of retail prices...

Hitler - Smiling At His Modern-Day American Counterparts

Story:

State lawmakers in Albany voted this week to make kindergarten mandatory for all 5-year-olds in New York City, lowering the required age for schooling by one year.


Proponents of the measure, which awaits the governor's approval, praised the move as a triumph for thousands of 5-year-olds who are from poor and minority families or have disabilities. Many of these children, they say, are often turned away each year by school officials on grounds of a lack of space and the lack of any requirement that they attend school.


"I think it is a real gain," Norm Fruchter, the senior policy analyst at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, a nonprofit educational research and policy group, said of the vote. "There is a ton of research about what early-childhood programs do for children, and I think there is a whole bunch of parents of children who, for a variety of reasons, don't register them when they should and then they lose out for a whole year."


Mr. Fruchter said children who miss kindergarten may never recover.


"You're entering behind a lot of the kids in terms of your skills and overall development," he said. "And it is particularly with things like familiarity with the alphabet and with letters and numbers and school routines."


In her State of the City address in February, the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, trumpeted the idea of lowering the compulsory age of schooling to 5, from 6, as one of her prime educational initiatives.


If this becomes law, Ms. Quinn said, "the system could turn no child away."


"It stops the abuse of cherry-picking some 5-year-olds over other 5-year-olds," she said.


Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg backs the proposal. In a memo in support, his administration said that ensuring kindergarten for all 5-year-olds would "result in more students getting a strong start in their education."


There are 78,600 students enrolled in kindergarten in the city, a number that has steadily increased in recent years. But Ms. Quinn said that nearly 3,000 children enter first grade each year without having first gone to kindergarten, a figure her office said was based on an analysis of the city's Department of Education enrollment data for recent years.


The Democrat-led State Assembly passed the measure on June 4, and the Republican-led State Senate followed with a 59-to-1 vote on Thursday.


The bill now goes to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. He has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to sign or veto the bill before it automatically becomes law.

All that *reasoning* is complete bull$hit. The fact is....it's the young children who spend too much time AMONG OTHER CHILDREN in schools and in daycare are the ones who MAY NEVER RECOVER.

Why did the average 6 year old in 1950 have a 4,000 word vocabulary and yet today's average 6 year old only has a 1,000 word one???

Note how the reasoning is drenched in sympathy for the *poor*, i.e. class warfare. And note how even Republicans voted for this expansion of government.

Pre-school will be mandatory next. And the school year would be longer already if these government clowns weren't so fiscally irresponsible and beholden to the demands of lazy, unionized teachers.

"Give me the youth, and Germany will rule the World" - Adolf Hitler

As Big As A Pachyderm...

From halftime of last week's New England Patriot drubbing of the Jets:

But sans the *thick skin*!!!

(Fan yelled, "Rex, Belichick is better than you...)

A Tax Increase AND School Cuts!

There's a nauseating letter to the Editor in my town's rag.

It defends/commends a $2 million hike in the local school budget (Yeah, in this economy!) as a *job well done* by the school district.

Why? Because:

The Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance (CACF) supports the adopted Manhasset School District Budget of $85,592,098 for the year 2011-2012. The budget represents an increase of $2,079,421 (or 2.49 percent) over the prior year. The largest factors in the increased expenses is a $1,340,620 increase in mandated pension contributions to the New York State Retirement System and a $940,530 increase in healthcare contributions, which by themselves would have increased the year-over-year budget by $2,281,150. The net impact of all other budget line-items was a reduction of $201,729.


The reduction in expenses exclusive of the retirement and healthcare expenses was made possible by the elimination of the Assistant to the Superintendent position and nearly 12 full-time equivalent positions. These steps were made while retaining all core academic, co-curricular and athletic programs with a limited impact on some elective programs at the secondary school.


The adopted budget increase in expenses is expected to be paid for primarily by a $2,065,151 (or 2.79 percent) increase in the property tax levy.

Did you catch that?

They conveniently blame *state pension and healthcare mandates* and further down in the article *cuts in State aid*.

Meanwhile they cut 12 teachers/staff members AND raised taxes!

Now this letter is written by some *citizens* group. Are they independent? Or merely cronies and flacks? You tell me:

The CACF, which is comprised of residents of Manhasset selected by the board of education, is responsible for advising the board on financial matters, specifically on the annual school budget. As in previous years, we note with appreciation the transparency of the budget process, the wealth of financial information made available by the administration and the administration’s responsiveness to CACF inquiries.

The entire letter is pure propagandistic sleight-of-hand.

It cherrypicks all sorts of statistics, focusing on relative tax rates, marginal increases, and spending compared to other towns - many of which receive a whole lot more *State aid* because they are more in need politically connected to Albany.

Whatever.

Here's the bottomline - the Town of Manhasset will spend $26,130 PER PUPIL next year!

I had to laugh at some guy in Ohio, a disgruntled government school teacher, who complained to me last weekend that his district spent *five or six grand per kid*. (Actually it's probably more like 7 or 8 grand.)

So by me keeping my two kids out of government school I save the town an astounding 52k annually, sort of.

And what do they get for all that money?

Well on some stupid standardized tests they show *high averages* - BUT that's because they are NO bottom-dragging urban MINORITIES in town, much like the mediocre yet self-congratulatory government school district of Hingham, Massachusetts - near where I just moved from.

But both of these towns SUCK at educating their best students - at least in terms of test scores and competitions.

How in the world could I possibly send my two precocious children to this school system?

Recall we're a math family here. In fact my 6.51 year old son just completed his study of algebra and is presently beginning calculus and intermediate (HS-level) geometry!

How do the best math students in town here do?

Yeah, how about an embarrassing *17th in the county*. IN THE COUNTY!

Heck my freakin' math team won the ultra-competitive NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP and my son is 7-8 years ahead of where I was already. It'd be nothing short of child abuse for my current wife and I to enroll our kids in the local system.

You know what? No one cares about this either. The rich old bastards just continue to pay their escalating property taxes. They don't want to consider the fact that perhaps the schools stink because their kids *graduated* from them. And they probably don't want to make waves politically in town either - lest anyone think ill of them, call them stingy, etc.

And the young people in town fall for the scare-tactics every time - they swallow whole the myths that money has anything to do with education, and that teacher cuts (in pay and hiring) will do irreparable harm to their precious(?) children, and they couldn't be more unreceptive to even the mere suggestion that the institutions charged with raising their kids aren't doing a good job.

See also:

Hingham School District - A Legend In It's Own Town

And be sure to read the post I wrote on Manhasset schools some two years ago - before I ever thought about moving here:

Manhasset, NY - Bloated, Underperforming Schools

The comments on that one are hilarious!

Starbury - The Sequel

While it was a good trade the Knickerbockers made and their fans have justified optimism...

I can't help but see the Carmelo Anthony era being a total replay of the Stephon Marbury one.

Favorite son from the Boroughs, cocky, lazy, and fundamentally unsound, comes home with a big contract and bigger expectations....only to crash and burn.

Mark my words!

See also:

A Little B-Ball

Another Dissembling Retiree

Cold, Bitter, And Mysteriously Unsatisfied!

You know, last week was pretty warm here in New York - 50 on Thurday and 60 on Friday.

Although the week before (my first week back from snowbirding in southern FL) there was a day where the high was like only 20 degrees or something.

Big deal - I put a jacket on, turned the heat up a little, and just handled it like a grown-up. That cold day wasn't so bad at all.

But when I was in Florida last month, despite my best efforts, I couldn't tune out all the *winter whining* din from up north. It was flat-out insufferable, the whining that is.

All y'all NEasterners have to man-up (and cuddle-up?) already!

77 Degrees In Orlando Today

Leaving the Northeast for Naples, Florida this month has turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made - sort of.

By January 20th, Boston had already suffered 40 inches of snow. THEN they got hit with subzero temperatures AND 3(?) more additional storms in the past 10 days - the latest was a brutal coat of ice. There's been so much white stuff falling that I couldn't even keep track. And why would I - snow up north is nothing but a meaningless *abstraction*, sort of like *Egypt*. I say, "WHO CARES?"

Two years ago, the first January I went to Naples, the snow was also pretty bad. I recall going home and one *mom* I knew in Hingham, MA just about broke into tears telling me how rough it was for her, stuck in the house with 3 children. Well, by all accounts this winter has been a whole lot worse.

In a sense, snowbirding this past month was like selling all your investments and watching the stock market crash soon thereafter!

Marginalizing Kelly "Bull" Book

On Saturday morning we bought this ride:

...for 15k.

It has just under 16,000 miles on it and is somewhat pimped up: black, with a sun-roof, and tinted windows!

Some Moron kid paid $28,000 for it 3+ years ago. He told me he used his bar mitzvah money to demonstrate new-car, drive-off-the-lot, instant depreciation. Whatever, he was 19, going off to college,....and incorrigibly short.

And that same day we also, finally unloaded our clunker:

...but for only $1,900.

Let me tell y'all, it was a real struggle to sell this one.

Originally, being a '97 Suburban with 155k miles on it, I thought it was worth only $900. Heck when my MIL gave it to us 4.5 years ago, with 100k miles, the book value was only $6,000. My wife and I have recently been more concerned about the gas in the 43 gallon tank and the GPS being stolen than we were about the car!

But I punched up the Suburban a couple months ago on Kelly Blue Book and was shocked to discover the private party value around $4,000.

Great! Even if I sell it for 3k I figured I'll be way ahead psychologically anyway.

But alas, Kelly Blue Book is out of its tree if they think my POS worth 4k.

We didn't get a lick of interest in it until I dropped the price to $2,000. One guy came Saturday afternoon, a car vulture type, and bid me $1,500. He was sharp, noticing every little detail - good and bad.

I was itching to give it to him but my wife insisted on $1,650. I nearly cried when the guy *walked away* over $150. I went inside and sort of cussed out my first wife who relented and told me I could call the guy back and hit his $1,500 bid. I mean with our new car already in hand, we now have six cars piled into our driveway; buying interest in our Suburban was almost nil; and gas is tipping $3.30 a gallon around here at the moment. Do any of y'all want an old clunker that only gets 12 mpg???

For 20 minutes I tried calling the vulture back - except his *pre-paid* cheap-a$$ phone wasn't connecting us as he started his 1 hour trek back to the middle of Long Island.

Anyways, one other guy came by about an hour later, our only other lead at the time, and mercifully relieved us of this albatross for $1,900.

My wife went to the DMV today to register our new car.

She had to pay $1,293 in sales tax (8.625%)....and another couple hundred to register it - $1,500 total.

What a total freakin' jam job!

Do you *new car people* pay these rump-ripping transactional costs all the time?

This $15,000 on the Volvo is the most I've ever spent on anything that wasn't a *derivative*. I think my wife's engagement ring only cost 11k (Blue Nile, round, 1.6 carats).

Fire Island - Good Ratios and Mucho Dinero

Guess what....I think that is actually IT - the entire school district!

Well, not exactly.

Some guy today, an independent educator, told me he periodically teaches classes out there on that sandbar where Barney Frank hangs out.

He said that in grades K through 2nd....there were only about 6 kids, TOTAL.

As an expensive NY beach town/destination, Fire Island certainly has a nice property tax base.

Except no one lives there year-round (outside of some Coast Guard families).

Therefore the district spends something insane, like $50,000 per pupil annually!

I assume there's some (state?) ridiculous law that requires this town to have a fully-equipped school system - replete with special ed, handicap ramps, a nurse, a librarian, administrators, etc.

Homeschool Paperwork - More Problems Bubbling?

To homeschool in the state of New York a parent must:

File a 2-sentence letter of intent by July 1st

File an IHIP - Individualized Home Instruction Plan - by August 15th

File quarterly progress reports and an annual report by year-end

Recall I've already had a good deal of *friction* with the local school district over the letter of intent and the content of my IHIP. See - An Educrat's Intro To Homeschooling.

The *special ed* woman assigned to deal with me is 100% irretrievably stupid. I brought her to tears about two months ago by communicating her incompetence to the Board of Ed and her superintendent.

I figured she'd be so shell-shocked from that episode that she'd be petrified to hassle me, ever again.

I even thought hard about leveraging my strong hand and pushing the envelope a little by submitting a bare-bones, detail-light quarterly report. Check out what Angela from CitySchooling submits:

SCHOOL YEAR 2009-2010
QUARTERLY REPORT #2


HOMESCHOOLING STUDENT: ____________________
STUDENT I.D. # : (optional)
GRADE LEVEL: 3
THIS QUARTER COVERS: 11/16/09 to 1/30/10
DATE SUBMITTED: January 30, 2010



_______ is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter.

We have had instruction in all the following areas, as per Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education and ________’s Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP): Reading, Writing, Spelling, Language Arts, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Geography, Science, Health, Physical Education, Music, and Visual Arts.

We have covered at least 80% of the planned material for this quarter.

________ had no absences from instruction this quarter, and has exceeded the required hours of instruction (225).



_______________________________
Parent’s Signature

Short and sweet, eh?!

Well, I did in fact use that template, but then I wimped out...I added a list of completed workbooks, a list of educational field trips, a list of books that my son has recently read, AND the 4th grade curriculum outline from Time4Learning.

It took me all of 20 minutes and I figured that by being somewhat thorough and going beyond my legal obligations that I would be rationally saving myself time, energy, and hassle in the process. (Plus it might be a good idea to keep a full record of my son's work anyway.)

However...

After emailing my quarterly report in, this Moronic bureaucrat responded back saying that she would need a signed hard copy!

So of course I asked other homeschoolers if they had used email and took another close look at the law. No where does it say I have to send a signed copy of my quarterly. All it states is that I must *furnish* the report to them. And others have told me they have strict email-only filing relationships with their government school districts.

I haven't responded yet and I'm not sure that I even will. As far as I'm concerned, I've submitted it and she's acknowledged receipt.

Even though it would take 10 seconds to print the thing out and put it in the mail I'm compelled to flout this woman's extra-legal demands, yet again.

Two of the things I hate most on this Gaia-forsaken planet are mail and stupidity.

Occasionally I might give one of them a pass, but never the *combo*!

Libertarians Should Resonate

It's amazing, but NO ONE in New York cares that a librarian gets compensated like a Knick point guard:

Warren Redlich of Libertarian Party said the head of the New York Library makes $689,000 a year. "Now I know it’s a big library, but that’s a little much," he said. "There are 110,000 bureaucrats in New York State who make over $100,000 a year. We can save nearly $3 billion if we cap bureaucrat pay at $100,000 a year and cap pensions at $75,000," Redlich added.

Alas, Mr. Redlich, whom I voted for, only garnered about 46,000 votes in his bid to become governor.

Libertarians are still waiting for their messiah. Ron Paul is okay, but at his age, certainly not the one.

But check out this guy - Andre Marrou. If only we could go back in time, and pull him forward to the present!

As impressive as he is, I had never even heard of him before tonight. Videos and web info on him are almost nonexistent.

That clip I just played....had only 400 hits! And look how bare his Wikipedia link is!

Not A Spoof!

This guy just ran for governor in the state of New York, seriously.

Marginalizing Giddy Republicans

Boy are the so-called Republicans and self-styled conservatives all geeked up for next week, eh?

I've never seen my MIL (or Matt Drudge) so damn giddy.

But I say big deal - very little is going to meaningfully change come January even if Congress flips the other way.

The operating deficit was an ineffable $1.3 trillion over the past 12 months!

And the Republican's ambitious plan:

U.S. House Republicans plan to try to slash $100 billion from the federal budget as early as January...

Yeah, that'll help! Shaving less than 10% of the annual DEFICIT will really go a long way to curing what ails this nation; it'll go a real long way to slowing down the printing press supporting our warped economy.

Look, I've said it more than a few times on this blog.

The Democrats shanked their drive into the woods and the Republicans, playing match play instead of against *par*, decided to tee off with a 7-iron. They're just hoping their triple-bogey is one better than the Democrats sure snowman (quadruple bogey).

Of course Republicans don't actually stand for anything. They are merely a well-oiled alternative. Our binary political choice amounts to opting for their sins of *omission* versus their opponent's sins of *commission*.

Not to mention....this economy is about to head off a cliff! So who really wants to take the wheel? I most certainly wouldn't if I were a slightly farsighted slimy politician.

My giddy 76.78 year old MIL is planning on going to a bar on Tuesday night to watch the election returns with the 20 total(!) members of the Nassau County Republican Club.

I told her that in the most unlikely chance that Barney Frank actually loses, if that happens I'd join her little celebration.

But that's about the only thing about the election that'd be worth of giddyness.

Bethpage Black

After four months here now in New York, today I finally played my first round of golf.

At 12:24pm, I teed off with a sort of new friend and two of his buddies.

Let me just say right off that this is the BEST course I've ever played in the 22 years since I started hacking the ball around.

We played the back tees - 7,000 yards - but it plays LONGER than that with all the elevation changes. For example, on the 16th hole I hit a damn good tee shot into some wind but also down a huge hill. Yet I still had 240 yards to the pin!

Aggravating the length and difficulty of the course is the fact that there are no carts. And not at all interested in spending $75 on a caddie I had to lug my own clubs. As a compromise, our foursome hired a mostly useless forecaddie for $80 split evenly. I won't do that again.

Make no mistake, this is a real workout. On the 15th hole my legs started cramping. While it was somewhat warm, despite drinking a lot of fluids no one in the foursome needed a pee break all day on account of what had to be dehydration. (Though one guy defecated before we teed off...)

I'm really pumping the ball off the tee, except my short game is a mess. I 3-putted four times and only got up and down, maybe, twice all day. I shot a 90 - the same score as a guy in the group, a member at two private clubs, who asserts that he's a 2 or 3 handicap. Like I said, it's not an easy track - even though I'd describe it as fairly *open*.

The highlight of my round was a 254 yard 5-wood I plopped on the par 5 7th green. Not only was I shocked at how far it went, but so was the group ahead still putting on the green. Oh, yeah, I 3-putted that one for par...

You know I played Torrey Pines in San Diego and thought it stunk. Nor was I impressed with Kapalua in Hawaii or a handful of other *highly ranked* courses that I've been fortunate enough to play. I went into Bethpage today excited to play but also presuming to be similarly underwhelmed.

But it was truly terrific. I'd highly recommend the experience to anyone who can drive there.

As a state resident I paid $70 to play today. I believe non-residents pay nearly double - $130 during the week, and $150 on the weekend.

See also - Loading Up On Inflation-Protected, Hard Assets.

Re-Energized!

Recall a mini-tornado just swept through our area, knocking down tons of trees.

That's one from my backyard (pictured above) that snapped off and took out some power lines.

It was interesting, and totally practical, what they ended up doing.

The *tree-cutting* crew had bigger issues to deal with all over Queens and Nassau County.

So instead some equipment-less guys came, scaled up the poles and trees, and dislodged what they could.

THEN they simply threw a whole new wire across the top of the mess. I guess the tree-cutters will come later on.

They *re-energized* the neighborhood early Friday night - so our blackout wasn't that bad at all.

(Like a complete Moron, I ran out to buy $7.50 of ice to put in my otherwise nearly-empty fridge/freezer. I was worried about the $12 worth of Breyer's Ice Cream I just loaded up on! Hey, it was reduced from the normal $6.49 per half-gallon 1.75 quarts to $2.99...)

An Educrat's Intro to Homeschooling

So here's precisely what happened in the course of filing *homeschooling paperwork* for my son.

On August 12th, I submitted my Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) which I ripped substantially and directly from Angela of CitySchooling:

INDIVIDUAL HOME INSTRUCTION PLAN


NAME OF CHILD: ________________________
NYC Student ID: (optional)
ADDRESS: ________________________
DOB: _____________
GRADE LEVEL: 4
TODAY'S DATE:_______________
SCHOOL YEAR: 2009-2010

DATES FOR SUBMITTAL OF QUARTERLY REPORTS:
11/15/09, 1/30/10, 4/15/10, 6/30/10

_______will be using various methods/tools for 4th-grade instruction in all the subjects specified in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. The corresponding subtopics may include and are not limited to:

Arithmetic
Reading and writing numbers, Roman numerals to C, Prime numbers less than 100, Prime factoring, Numeration systems, Subsets, Decimal and fraction equivalents, Addition and subtraction, Facts to 7 places, Multiplication and division facts to 144, 1-, 2-, and 3-digit multiplication problems, 2- and 3-digit dividend, 1-digit divisor problems, Meaning of mixed numbers, Finding simple averages, Geometric concepts, Customary and metric measurement, Time to the second, Problem-solving methods, Charts and graphs

The English Language
(Reading, Writing, Spelling) Silent and oral reading, Choral reading, Listening skills, Telephone skills, Making and accepting simple social introductions, Summarizing simple information, Listening to literature, Critical reading, Short stories, chapter books, poetry, plays, Spelling, Increasing dictionary skills, Cursive handwriting, Simple outlining, Writing letters and informal notes, Written and oral book reports, Creative writing, Developing skills in locating information, Increasing indexing skills, Developing encyclopedia skills, Utilizing parts of a newspaper

Social Studies
(U.S. History, Geography) Types of community life, History and development of the local state, Relation of the state to its region, nation, and the world, World cultures, Reasons for our laws, Regions of the world, Continents, Time zones, Earth's resources, Climatic regions of the world, Map skills: longitude, latitude, scale, Using a globe

Science
Environment of the local region, Biological organization, Classification systems, The insect world, The reptilian world, Plants and animals of the past, Structure of plants, Seeds, Ecosystems, Balance of nature, Human body, Weather's influences, Weather instruments, Climate, Cause of seasons, Earth and its history, Oceans and the hydrosphere, Air and water pollution, Magnets and electricity, Light and color, Solar system and the universe, Living in space, Scientific method and scientific inquiry

Health/Safety
Personal and mental hygiene, Dental health, The body and its functions, Skeletal and muscular systems, Care and proper use of the body, Principles of digestion, Basic food groups, Good nutrition habits, Diseases, Safety, Substance abuse

Music/Visual Arts/Phys. Ed.
Wide exposure to all forms of music, Piano keyboard, Arts and crafts, Structured group dance lessons (tap, jazz, lyrical) 3+ hrs. per week, Free play indoors and outdoors


Instruction methods/tools may include and shall not be limited to: reference materials (atlas, dictionaries, globe, maps, encyclopedias, non-fiction books, videos, the internet), workbooks, worksheets, hands-on activities, experiments, projects, newspapers, magazines, frequent field trips, group activities, classic/contemporary literature, research, journal/narrative/essay/poetry writing, games, creative thinking, predicting/forecasting, gathering facts, written peer correspondence (pen pals), music CDs, CD ROMs, piano keyboard, abundant art supplies (clay, paint, crayons, pencils, sketchpads, felt, chalk, etc.), structured group dance classes and competitions, free play, conversations, and real life.

Primary instruction to ________ will be provided by _____________ and _______________, her parents. Supplemental instruction will be provided by others, as necessary.


____________________________
Parent’s Signature

I had come across it a while back while googling but it had slipped my mind. I asked a local homeschooler what she did for her *1st grader*'s initial IHIP and was re-directed there. I figured "Why not?" - if this one has passed muster...

So I used that template almost exactly - except I added geometry, algebra, and maybe guitar and piano.

1.5 weeks later I receive this notice from the educrat ("Director of Special Education"!) I was told to send my paperwork to.

Mr. and Mrs. CaptiousNut...

After reviewing the IHIP you submitted....more detailed information regarding the syllabi, scope, and sequence or table of contents from a textbook is needed.

Please submit additional information to my office as soon as possible.

I am available to answer your questions regarding this information and guiding you through the process of completing the necessary forms to home instruct Prince.

Now I was miffed. That fellow homeschooler who had advised me to use this template said she copied it word-for-word and got back a reply only four days later, "Approved. Thank you. Have a great summer!"

I emailed Angela asking if she could give me a list of school districts that she knew had approved that particular IHIP. She replied, "Hundreds of parents all over New York State have used that same exact outline and have had no problem - from Albany to Montauk. I have never heard it not be accepted in the 5 years since I put it together."

Reading that, I became even more irate at this *Director of Special Education*.

However, another homeschooler, one who's actually in my district, looked over my IHIP and said that it might not be legally sufficient; she said I just provided a generic list of topics. Obviously, as a legal matter only the letter of the law matters. I had looked over the law once or twice but really hadn't done my homework thoroughly. This woman advised me that just because some districts aren't strict in enforcing the law....it doesn't mean that my district was out of bounds in requesting more information. Of course she was 100% correct on that last, technical point.

So back to reading the law I went....and a loophole did I find!

Attention: Educrat,

Please have your attorneys look over my IHIP as I believe it is legally compliant.

What I submitted can be construed as either a *sylllabi* or a *plan of instruction*.

If you re-read the law, it's "a list of the syllabi, curriculum materials, textbooks, or plan of instruction to be used...."

A plan of instruction need not list textbooks - that is implicit in the term "OR".

There is nothing in the statute that mentions tables of contents, scope, or sequence - your critiques in the letter you sent me. Those words are only found in a NYSed.gov Q&A in reference to people who simply list textbooks for their IHIP:

Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP)

'Are parents required to submit more than a list of textbooks in the IHIP to comply with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 100.10?

The IHIP must include for each of the required courses either a list of syllabi, curriculum materials and textbooks to be used or a plan of instruction to be followed. A different alternative may be used for different subjects. While a list of textbooks may be submitted, it is reasonable for the district to require more than the name, publisher, copyright date and author's name if the district is not familiar with the textbook's content. If the district requests additional information beyond the list of textbooks, the parents may, at their option, submit either a written scope and sequence describing the text or a copy of the text for the district's review (which copy shall be promptly returned to the parents). The purpose of such review is not to compare the text with those employed by the district, but rather: 1) to insure that the parent is providing the mandated subjects for the grade level in question, and 2) to provide the district with more complete information to assist its review of quarterly reports and annual assessments.'

Again, since I opted to not do a list of textbooks, the above doesn't legally apply to me.

And, getting back to the earlier question, a syllabi need only be an *outline*:

syl·la·bus   [sil-uh-buhs] Show IPA
–noun, plural -bus·es, -bi  [-bahy] Show IPA.

1. an outline or other brief statement of the main points of a discourse, the subjects of a course of lectures, the contents of a curriculum, etc.

Also, note that you and (the Superintendent)'s role is NOT to accept or reject my IHIP. Legally you are only obligated to check it for compliance:

'When the IHIP is submitted by the parents, does the school district have the responsibility to make a subjective judgment of the substantial equivalency of the home instruction program?

No. The purpose of these regulations is to provide a basis for objective determinations of substantial equivalence. IHIP submissions are to be evaluated to determine compliance with subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 100.10. Quarterly reports are to be evaluated to determine compliance with subdivision (g). Annual assessments must comply with the requirements of subdivision (h). A home instruction program that adheres to the standards of the regulations at each stage of the process should be deemed to be substantially equivalent.'

'Can a district require parents to provide more information on the IHIP than the Regulations of the Commissioner require?

No. A district may require only that information set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner.'

Please realize that i did not *make this IHIP up*. Its core was ripped from World Book Encyclopedia and listed as a 4th grade level - except for a couple of things like the 7th (algebra) and 10th grade math (geometry) that my 5-year old son is doing.

This very same IHIP has been approved hundreds of times for homeschoolers in towns from Montauk to Albany. So you don't have anything to worry about in terms of making sure you do your job properly. In fact, the woman who first wrote the model told me today that she has never heard of it being rejected even once in the 5 years since she made it available.

Homeschooling laws are easy on the parents and easy on school administrators. It makes no sense at all to complicate the process.

Again, please have your lawyers look this and my IHIP over, if necessary, and reconsider my IHIP.

Okay, that's as *nice* of an email as I could produce. I kept it dispassionate and focused almost entirely on the law. Remember this before any of y'all call me a bad word later on.

Eight days later, despite frequent *I'm available to answer questions* and *I look forward to working with you* pledges....I hadn't received an answer AT ALL.

What was I to think here? What would you think?

I got the stark impression that this was spiteful silence. After all, who am I to question the Director of Special Education and the Superintendent - whose combined salaries are $410,000!!! (260k + 150k)

I've met enough earthlings over the years to learn that....well, only a scant few are biologically capable of admitting they are wrong!

So yesterday, first thing in the morning, I sent yet another email:

Hi educrat,

I wanted to make sure you received my email last week. Can you confirm if you did so? Thanks.

Guess what....she ignored that as well! Would it have killed her to say, "Yeah, I got it....but haven't had time to deal with it?", "Yeah, I got it....the lawyers are looking it over.", or even lie, "No, I didn't get it."???

But again, she was completely silent.

Now I'm really steaming. Here's why:

I believe that if I don't have an approved IHIP by September 15th (next Wednesday), I am legally obligated to send my son to the government school while that gets ironed out. AND, if I don't send him, they can call CPS (Child Protective Services) on me.

Could this actually happen?

Who knows? I have no idea whether or not I've run into one of these school districts that *hates* homeschoolers - one that was being deliberately obtuse or one that's just acting obtuse by its nature.

A couple people (including one other homeschooler in my district) told me to just accede to whatever BS they are requesting as that would require less energy than fighting them. And in the short run that would be true.

But a bully is a bully. Never give them your milk money without a fight or...

If were to concede this point, one in which I was convinced I was in the right, I would surely be hassled illegally down the road for something else. And with another child to file paperwork for next year, I'm not at all eager to agree to years of detailed reporting when I don't have to.

This woman had arrogated herself above the law in the past. I heard from the other homeschoolers in town that last year she tried to demand two *tests* - one at the beginning of the school year and another at the end - ostensibly to assess progress. Except that homeschoolers, early on anyway, ARE NOT legally required to submit to ANY *testing* AT ALL!

See what I mean about these bureaucratic bullies?

Here's the crux again - I submitted a vague plan/syllabus/outline which is all I'm required by law to submit....but that's apparently not acceptable.

Last night I looked into HSLDA - a homeschool legal defense organization. For a $115 annual retainer, they promise to cover all your lawyering. THAT sounds like a good deal to me. And my wife, having seen me seethe for the past couple weeks, was all but ordering me to pay-up and disengage myself entirely from the process.

But what fun would that be?

This morning, I angrily grabbed the phone and called Mrs. Special Ed.

I could only get through to her secretary which, given my elevated blood pressure, was probably for the best. I communicated my position clearly to the secretary, a nice woman who totally got it. And I used the magic word *lawyer*. She took down my number, apologized for her *extremely busy* boss, and said she would definitely get my message across. Good.

Then here's how the educrat responded later this morning:

CaptiousNut,

I called to speak with you this morning and left a detailed voice message. We are not rejecting the IHIP plan you submitted. We are requesting additional information. Attached for your review are two samples of IHIP plans that have been submitted and accepted by the school district. I hope you find this additional information helpful.

In other words, she didn't READ, COMPREHEND, or FORWARD my email to her attorneys last week. In other words, she didn't get my clear-as-day message that I was not going to submit anything else.

So what exactly is the point of continuing a dialogue with a Moron, a woman looking more fit to be IN Special Ed. than in running it.

Here was my response which I tactically CC'ed to the Superintendent, and the entire Board of Education:

Educrat,

There are no missed calls or voicemails on my phone (917 xxx - xxxx) but that is fine as I'd rather all of our communication in writing.

Realize that the fact that another homeschooler indulged in extralegal requests from you for more detailed information has nothing at all to do with what I am legally required to submit.

The law states that I need to supply a syllabus ('outline') or a plan and I provided one - one that has been accepted hundreds of times, statewide and is legally compliant with Reg 100.10. In fact a friend of mine in Huntington sent the exact same one this year for her 1st Grader....only 4 days later the district responded, "Approved. Thank you. Have a great summer!"

The law states that you cannot pass subjective judgment on the substantive quality of my IHIP.

The law states that you cannot ask for more than what's set forth in Reg 100.10

Also NY law also clearly states that you cannot force me to register my child with the district - WHICH YOU DID, against my protests, and has been documented.

See the Q&A here for all those regulations:

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/nonpub/homeinstruction/homeschoolingqanda.html

Look, this is not the way I wanted to start off here in town. I've already wasted a ton of time/energy/money with your *requests* - as you have as well.

How would you feel if some government authority tried to force you to do something you weren't legally obligated to do? I doubt you'd be too happy about it. Realize that's precisely what is going on here.

I am pleading with you to re-read my email from last week and reconsider approval for my IHIP's compliance with Reg 100.10.

Without satisfaction in the matter very shortly, you are not only forcing me to engage lawyers - one to deal with the IHIP and another to sue the district for an emerging pattern of clear legal harassment....but you are also forcing me to publicize this injustice.

Okay. So I used the lawyer bluff...

Hopefully they won't realize that I am too cheap, and too much of a DIY'er to hire one of those leeches!

But my email *up the chain* must have done the trick.

About an hour later I received a phone call from Mrs. Special Ed - the same woman who had completely ignored two emails for the past 9 days.

Now I don't know this woman's natural tone, but I swear she was trembling throughout the phone call. Clearly, given the alacrity of the response and the fear in her voice, clearly some higher-up whom I CC'ed on the email, ordered her to back off. It was my turn to keep mum - I let her squirm without saying a single word in response for quite some time.

She tried to make it like this was a sincere phone call about my IHIP, and asked some weak questions about what my son was studying. Questions which, again, I am under no obligation to answer.

Educrat - You're new in the district so I don't know anything about what level your son is at. For example, I have no idea what your son is doing in math.

I broke my silence.

CaptiousNut - Did you even read my IHIP?

Educrat - Of course.

CaptiousNut - Do you have it in front of you?

Educrat - Yes.

CaptiousNut - Please read what it says under math.

Educrat - Arithmetic, Money, Time, Graphing, Using a calculator, Word Problems, Algebra, Geometry,...

CaptiousNut - Okay. Roughly, what grade levels do you think 'algebra' and 'geometry' are at?

Educrat - Well....

CaptiousNut - Because they were, at least, 7th and 10th grade when I was in school.

Educrat - I don't know....geometry could just mean 'shapes'...

CaptiousNut - What about 'algebra' could that just mean learning the letter 'X'?

Alright, I didn't actually say that last line, but I should have!

But this was was turning into a real beatdown. She was flailing now after that math lesson and meekly accused me of being *condescending*.

Well, I had to condescend in order to communicate on her level!

And at that inverted accusation I blew up about her forcing me to register after I had repeatedly pointed out that I wasn't legally required to do so. Her Moronic response, "Well that's how we do things in this district." "So you get to supersede the laws of the State of New York", I fired back. It was like talking to a wall!

Then I threw a couple more illegal and unprofessional things she did in her face and the phone call mercifully ended - with her stating that a letter of IHIP approval would be forthcoming.

She was definitely extremely upset. She probably had been yelled at first by a superior for potentially bringing a lawsuit on the district, and then by me right afterwards.

I have the capacity to feel a little bad about this....but I'm smothering it for the time being because she's started dishing out the harassment first. I can be either the easiest person on Earth to get along with, or, the most difficult - whatever the market demands.

I plan on sending her a conciliatory message, but not for a month or so. Let it burn in that I am not one to butt heads with.

Now, if I was truly as depraved as some of my critics believe I am....I could go really *detail-light* on my first quarterly report. I would, essentially, be daring this shell-shocked woman to come at me again.

Mum Is The Word

After thoughtfully responding to the Homeschool Nazis who rejected the paperwork I submitted for my son...

I'm yet to hear back from them, now four full days later.

While my wife tells me not to worry about it, in my mind this is NOT GOOD, I don't think. I could be up against some real stubborn-@ss bureaucrats - ones drunk on their own sense of power.

And just today I heard a real horror story of a Long Island homeschooler whose town decided to give her bloody hell - calling Child Protective Services, Truant Officers, and forcing the poor parent into court. (Note - I don't at all know the full story.)

I do like a little friction, but that is hardly my ideal end-game.

Whenever (if) they respond I'll post it along with what I sent them earlier this week. My email was in some respects a little funny - replete with a citation from dictionary.com and a line clarifying the meaning of the word "OR".

The Pink (?) Returns!

If you haven't already, read my hilarious, surreal prior post - Great Neck's Pink Pants!

So who's the new pink-o-phile?

Well, I espied Sven in downtown Southampton, NY this weekend.

The freakin' guy had (to go with his vertebrae-displacing side-part) the words "Hello Kitty" painted on the pink bike!

And don't think for a second he just borrowed his sister's bike to ride into town to grab a mineral water or a vegan smoothie.

NO. He was with one of his buddies - a guy who also was riding a very similar *pretty* bike. By that and the manner of their sidewalk flouncing, it was clear that these HJs were riding their very own, beautified vehicles!

So the guy(?) goes past me for the first time and right past my wife up the street. Mrs. C-Nut comes running back, "Did you see that @sshole?...Get your camera out!"

If you recall from that prior post, she wasn't exactly on my side when I was snapping pics of that deranged goofball wearing pink pants.

You see, when she's sober, it's clear how RIGHT I am!

The camera was already out...

And, as I photo stalked him up the sidewalk, we both enjoyed a big deja vu laugh.

My bad, I really should have *engaged* the dude. I'm actually a very good on-the-spot interviewer.  It's just that, I guess, I was still shell-shocked from that cop harassing me last time.