I have no idea what it means to "skim through messages" while someone is asleep. And what if there’s something you don't agree with? Are you supposed to react instantly? That’s how they'll know you actually read it. If you don't respond, then reading things in secret is completely pointless.
We used to keep journals, and they could have been sitting right there on the kitchen table, and our parents—or even our siblings—wouldn't have touched them or read a single word. That was the most important part. We only shared the things that actually mattered.
Checking someone's phone should only be permitted if it belongs to the person doing the checking. Even when the police show up to search an apartment, they are required to have witnesses present.
I am convinced that environmental factors play a massive role in this discrepancy. Upon further reflection, back in my elementary and high school days, the vast majority of my peers lacked even basic conversational or expressive reading skills; there were rarely more than five of us who actually stood out from the crowd.
And don't even get me started on how few students actually bothered to read the required literature in high school or the assigned texts in college.
It honestly feels like they’re just dragging a child to a speech therapist now solely to justify delaying school enrollment. What on earth have they been waiting for? If there were red flags, that kid should have been in therapy a year or two ago.
The whole point of this forum is to share diverse perspectives. I highly doubt anyone is making definitive decisions based solely on whether Jacob Lopez2 or someone else claims a delay isn't necessary.
You have to look at the full picture instead of blindly trusting some specialist who barely spends five minutes looking at a child. They aren't nearly as infallible as they think they are. In my opinion, the most weight should be given to the preschool staff, as they actually observe these children over a significant period of time.
rowdypanther12 said:mine is probably a bit too big to handle all those things you mentioned are just for fun. It's recreation. It’s something you do on top of your actual training, not instead of
Well, if it works, then fine. I honestly got the impression they don't bother with recreation at all.
rowdypanther12 said:I don't know, she hangs out with her friends just like anyone else. They have sleepovers, walk around the neighborhood, and just act like totally normal kids. Luckily, she's still too young for bars, clubs, or concerts, so she doesn't realize what she's missing out on. Aside from training, which is happening at the absolute worst time for her physical development, I guess I'll have to come up with a plan—she’s already bugging me to take her to the gym with me.
Do kids today just not jump rope or play tag anymore? It is a genuine tragedy, because it seems like training sessions are the only way they ever get any movement in their lives.
They should be hiking, walking along the riverwalk, playing basketball or volleyball, riding bikes, skating, hitting the pool, or playing frisbee, badminton, and ping pong...
It’s entirely possible that certain schools are making things unnecessarily difficult. My kid's teacher actually prefers it if everyone opting out of religious studies doesn't show up until the third period; otherwise, she's forced to be on campus earlier than scheduled. If those kids arrive early, they just end up loitering outside while she has to go out and fetch them.
Well, it’s about time they implemented block scheduling at the beginning or end of the day—until now, everyone insisted it was impossible to arrange it that way. It's finally some good news. If my kid isn't heading straight to childcare, I guess he'll just be hanging out at home.
With my son, he has his first and second periods scheduled one day, so he won't even show up to school until third period. He's in third grade and walks there alone, but if he couldn't, he'd be at school starting at 8:00 AM with his teacher, and I'm certain he wouldn't just be sitting around; they'd actually be getting work done.
Nancy Kelly31 said:It truly warms my heart to see that there are still people out there who understand that sheer intelligence isn't everything; one must also nurture a student's growth in other vital areas... specifically within their social, artistic, and spiritual development... It simply isn't all about intellectual capacity. It really isn't. And for those children growing up in households that might not have the means to enroll them in elite music academies, competitive sports leagues, or even local youth community programs—school still serves as the fundamental bedrock for everything. A little bit of everything. Both in terms of character building and academic instruction. Thank God for that.
Exactly. God made it possible for us. We owe Him thanks.
Michelle Nelson4 said:Did any of you actually sit down and read through it? I haven't even glanced at the whole thing, and honestly, my daughter hasn't either—well, except for when she was curious about what some random greeting acronym meant, and we barely managed to decode 😂 As for the rest, I know it’s just a mountain of nonsense that clashes with everything I believe in and how we live our lives. So, why bother wasting precious time or energy overthinking what they think? A colleague of mine actually came to me all worked up over this absolute garbage (she ended up venting her frustrations by writing out the kid's homework in the process), while I just find myself thinking how lucky I am that I don't have to deal with that bag of stupidity myself. There are already plenty of headaches in this country that affect me directly, so there's no need to load up on extra stress over things that don't concern me one bit...
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't losing my mind here. I didn't spend the whole time reading—just the first few pages. That’s exactly the kind of argument I throw back at anyone trying to convince me that this stuff is harmless or that you can't walk away with some dangerous ideas.
They really messed up with the remote learning setup by making every single lesson, assignment, and homework task fully accessible via Microsoft Teams. Once I caught a glimpse of how they actually handle religion class and the curriculum they’re pushing, I became 10,000 times more certain that my child won't be listening to a word of it.
I’ve tried to push some things aside, but one of the most egregious examples is this: telling kids to pray to God before bed just so they might get better grades tomorrow.
So, I want to hear from you people who actually support religious education—tell me, what exactly is "good" about this, and what are we supposedly teaching these children? Is praying for high marks really enough? And what happens if God doesn't answer the prayer? Does that mean the kids were being naughty or just didn't pray hard enough?
Bradley Adams34 said:I honestly don't care if people find out I was the one who called the cops, but what you just said—it’s useless. Sure, it might solve things for one night, but come tomorrow, we're right back where we started. I have zero issues calling them every single night if I know I'm in the right. They aren't supposed to have that special permit to operate past midnight, but frankly, I have no clue where to find the actual documentation on that.
Besides, I don't see the point in reporting them to the inspectors for blatant violations of the rules. The owners are elderly lawyers, and from what I can tell, they seem pretty tight with the folks over at City Hall.
Starting today, and for at least the next ten days, all bars and restaurants are prohibited from staying open past midnight, so start making those calls at 12:10 AM. At least then you'll get some peace for the rest of the night. 🙂
Go ahead and call the cops if you want. You can stay anonymous, but while they might show up and calm things down in the moment, the whole cycle just repeats itself anyway. My family used to call them constantly back in the day because our neighbors didn't work in the hospitality industry and were always up at the crack of dawn, yet the restaurant is tucked right into a residential neighborhood where tourists descend upon us every summer and make things chaotic.
There hasn't been any late-night partying this year, but we had a cleaning lady showing up at 6:00 AM regularly dragging chairs around, which was incredibly disruptive. We finally went over to have a word with her about how that wakes up everyone and everything in the vicinity, and since then, things have finally quieted down.
I honestly didn't bother asking how many kids actually opt out of religion classes before enrolling my child in school. If they were the only one, it would have been much better for them; even back in preschool, they showed they won't just follow the crowd just to fit in. They actually prefer being the last one left in after-school care, for instance. There's no reason to feel isolated or pitied just because they choose a different path.
Turns out, about 40% of the students don't attend.
Robert Rodriguez9 said:I’m not sure on this one, but if they had a choice, they might pick computer science or maybe a language that aligns better with religious studies. Then again, religious education holds a different status than your typical elective since it isn't slotted into the standard schedule alongside the core subjects (thanks to that specific federal agreement).
That’s true, but if students have the option to simply opt out, then those attending religious classes aren't being disadvantaged—especially since they can attend services at any local church for free. That’s my point.
Robert Rodriguez9 said:Then why are kids in religious education being left out?
Shortchanged? Give me a break. Students make their own choices regarding electives, just like any other overlapping course offerings in the public school system. The only ones getting screwed over here are the religion teachers struggling with their scheduling blocks. Kids can always head to a church on their own time if they want to learn about faith.
rowdypanther12 said:If he were my kid, I wouldn't let him sit through religious studies. Sure, you might find a single student in a class occasionally, but I doubt that happens very often in larger American school districts.
Exactly! If they aren't attending religious ed, it's precisely because they refuse to listen to it. In my kid's class, about seven out of seventeen students skip it entirely. They’re either tucked away in a different classroom, hiding out in the library, or hanging in after-school care if it's the last period. Plus, since they have first period every other week, they just show up to school later anyway.
feralmoose32 said:So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it! It’s all just a blur right now...
Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.
So, yeah... 😬
Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.
I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.
Fran, they probably cover the reading material, but within the classroom setting. That's how it works at my kid's school. Either they read together and then the teacher asks questions—either orally or in writing—or they listen to an audiobook. They actually put in the work.
Peter Harris80 said:My ex insists that this particular school requires signatures from both parents for elective subjects. I have no idea where he's getting that from. It would be pointless to poll the parents at preschool, especially since everyone there is married and likely wouldn't have this issue anyway.
They say all classes are handled by one teacher, except for the first period, which is when the main teacher is free to skip. Apparently, for first graders, they don't schedule religion or foreign language during the first hour so everyone starts the day with the primary teacher. I don't know if that's a standing school rule or just a yearly thing. If it is a rule, we won't have a scheduling conflict in first grade, but we definitely will in the later years. Kids can't perform in shows without consent, and I have zero interest in having my child sidelined from the group. I can't wrap my head around the idea of a kid sitting alone in the library while the rest of the class is performing. I don't see how anyone finds that acceptable.
We are discussing the possibilities, but we can't reach an agreement.
Does the school lack after-school care? If they have it, children are looked after starting at 7:00 AM (at least in our local elementary school), and when religion is scheduled during the first period, most kids just head to the second-grade classrooms or the library. Honestly, mine doesn't attend religion class and there hasn't been any issue whatsoever—not with other kids, and certainly not with the school's organization. I never bothered looking into how many kids opt out of religion before, and frankly, I believe this shouldn't depend on anyone's personal decision. That definitely should not be one of the deciding factors for whether or not a child attends religion class.
And if you aren't certain, then the decision should simply be: don't attend religion class.
urbantinker8 said:I mean, people always laugh when I mention that we sometimes don't even have chalk, or that the erasers are older than I am, and having a decent whiteboard feels like some distant, unreachable dream (and don't even get me started on those fancy interactive smartboards; that's definitely not happening 🤣). As for the actual teaching tech, I probably shouldn't even go there.🤦
I honestly don't get this. It is blatantly obvious that this comes down to whoever is running the school rather than any national policy, considering my first grader's classroom already has both a whiteboard and a smartboard. It is truly pathetic that equipment quality depends on the individual commitment of certain teachers or principals instead of there being uniform standards for all public schools across the country. Absolutely disgraceful.