Well, Julia did much better (at least I think she did) during the second part of her speech evaluation. I think it worked well to go back the very next day, making the school and the actual evaluator familiar to her. Her PT evaluation was the next day after that so this too went extremely well. Well, at least in the sense that she participated and tried her best at every task presented to her. While I don't have the official word yet, the PT evaluator said that she was going to recommend her for PT through the public school system, but that academically she was fine so it would be outside of a classroom setting. I don't have any word yet, official or otherwise, regarding the speech, but her team meeting is scheduled on June 5th so I will get the lowdown on everything then.
I am happy to have at least the evaluation over and done with and am anxiously looking forward to the results!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Julia's Speech And Language Evaluation: Take 1
Today was, what is turning out to be part 1 of 2, Julia's speech evaluation to see if she is eligible to attend the public preschool in the fall.
I went in there thinking that the speech and language pathologist was going to tell me to get the heck out of there, that she was fine, and why was I worried anyway? When she told me instead that not only did she have concerns about her comprehension, but that she wanted her to have her hearing tested at 3 years and that we should come back tomorrow to continue the evaluation, well I was a little shocked. Maybe shocked isn't the word...surprised? The thing is while I thought there were still some concerns, I never in a million years thought that there could potentially be enough of a concern for her actually to be eligible...at least not in the area of speech. Julia was not exactly on her game either. For some reason, she was yawning a lot and seemed unable to focus her attention for too long. What I am saying as I can see why the evaluator may have been concerned today. We go back tomorrow at 8:45 to finish up, and back again on Thursday for her PT evaluation.
I went in there thinking that the speech and language pathologist was going to tell me to get the heck out of there, that she was fine, and why was I worried anyway? When she told me instead that not only did she have concerns about her comprehension, but that she wanted her to have her hearing tested at 3 years and that we should come back tomorrow to continue the evaluation, well I was a little shocked. Maybe shocked isn't the word...surprised? The thing is while I thought there were still some concerns, I never in a million years thought that there could potentially be enough of a concern for her actually to be eligible...at least not in the area of speech. Julia was not exactly on her game either. For some reason, she was yawning a lot and seemed unable to focus her attention for too long. What I am saying as I can see why the evaluator may have been concerned today. We go back tomorrow at 8:45 to finish up, and back again on Thursday for her PT evaluation.
Monday, May 14, 2007
I figured I should point out...
...that money is not the only thing needed for our kids to get a proper education. You also need good teachers, good administrators, involved parents, and the right resources.
Certainly, the argument can be made that to get any of the above, you need money, but, even with money, the above mentioned things are hard to come by. I don't deny that.
Also, for the record, I too believe that if the state and federal governments are going to make the rules, they should foot the bill. They aren't though, so someone needs to step up to the plate. You would think that the next people in line to step up would be the concerned parents of the school system and the town as a whole.
Do I feel bad that the seniors and those who already have a tough time paying the bills would have to pay? Yes, I do. I am human, and a quite compassionate one at that. I just don't see any other way of making this work and I don't see the non-override budget as an option.
Certainly, the argument can be made that to get any of the above, you need money, but, even with money, the above mentioned things are hard to come by. I don't deny that.
Also, for the record, I too believe that if the state and federal governments are going to make the rules, they should foot the bill. They aren't though, so someone needs to step up to the plate. You would think that the next people in line to step up would be the concerned parents of the school system and the town as a whole.
Do I feel bad that the seniors and those who already have a tough time paying the bills would have to pay? Yes, I do. I am human, and a quite compassionate one at that. I just don't see any other way of making this work and I don't see the non-override budget as an option.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
So Tell Me How You Really Feel, Sharon
Let me say point blank before I go forth with this post: In my personal opinion, cuts to educational funding should be considered a criminal act. No, I am not kidding, and yes, I feel that strongly about it.
The children of today are the future leaders of tomorrow. To be perfectly honest, even with adequate funding and available resources, there are still academic concerns surrounding such things as AYP and The No Child Left Behind Act. Cutting funds is certainly not the answer to this, or any other existing problems. How can a teacher be held responsible for a child's progress when they aren't provided with the tools to do so? I don't pretend to know the answer when it comes to resolving these and other concerns. What I do know is that if there is any hope of this ever being resolved, the money needs to be there. The feds have one heck of a nerve, if you ask me requiring such things anyway, unless they are willing to back it up with some cold, hard cash.
For anyone to even accuse the higher-ups at a school of being wasteful is not only ignorant, it's plain and simple not true. I not only have students in the school system, but am an active volunteer who actually sees, with my own two eyes how resourceful and creative school administrators and teachers can be, and in some cases have to be, in order to provide an appropriate education with the materials they have. Honestly? People who make accusations like that need only to go to the schools and see how wrong they are.
Yes, an override is needed. I think that the cutting of 36 positions, resulting in large class sizes and limited supplies more than justifies it. Does anyone really think the superintendent is making this up? If the override doesn't pass, you go to the schools next year and see for yourself. Maybe it is a form of theft, but, it's a legal one and I don't see anyone coming up with any better ideas. I'm sorry, but I think it is pathetically sad that someone wouldn't be willing to spend an extra $260 a year to support the future of the world. Further, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with if someone, somewhere didn't screw up to begin with. I seriously doubt jeopardizing the education of the children will prevent this from happening again. No, I am not pointing fingers. Mistakes though, were undoubtedly made and even if those who made them are long gone, the children of today shouldn't suffer the consequences. It's just wrong.
If my landlord decided to raise the rent to cover the cost of the tax increase, I would gladly pay it. There is nothing more important than educating the children of today to provide for a better tomorrow. Nothing.
On a related note, it pisses me off to no end that people can make all kinds of judgements and accusations without having actually stepped foot in the school building to see what really goes on, not just what they think goes on. I assure you, what they think and what really is are two totally different things.
By the way, I too have serious doubts that the override will pass. So why bother, you might say? Well, because some one has to show the kids that can have a voice too, even if it is through their parents for now.
The children of today are the future leaders of tomorrow. To be perfectly honest, even with adequate funding and available resources, there are still academic concerns surrounding such things as AYP and The No Child Left Behind Act. Cutting funds is certainly not the answer to this, or any other existing problems. How can a teacher be held responsible for a child's progress when they aren't provided with the tools to do so? I don't pretend to know the answer when it comes to resolving these and other concerns. What I do know is that if there is any hope of this ever being resolved, the money needs to be there. The feds have one heck of a nerve, if you ask me requiring such things anyway, unless they are willing to back it up with some cold, hard cash.
For anyone to even accuse the higher-ups at a school of being wasteful is not only ignorant, it's plain and simple not true. I not only have students in the school system, but am an active volunteer who actually sees, with my own two eyes how resourceful and creative school administrators and teachers can be, and in some cases have to be, in order to provide an appropriate education with the materials they have. Honestly? People who make accusations like that need only to go to the schools and see how wrong they are.
Yes, an override is needed. I think that the cutting of 36 positions, resulting in large class sizes and limited supplies more than justifies it. Does anyone really think the superintendent is making this up? If the override doesn't pass, you go to the schools next year and see for yourself. Maybe it is a form of theft, but, it's a legal one and I don't see anyone coming up with any better ideas. I'm sorry, but I think it is pathetically sad that someone wouldn't be willing to spend an extra $260 a year to support the future of the world. Further, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with if someone, somewhere didn't screw up to begin with. I seriously doubt jeopardizing the education of the children will prevent this from happening again. No, I am not pointing fingers. Mistakes though, were undoubtedly made and even if those who made them are long gone, the children of today shouldn't suffer the consequences. It's just wrong.
If my landlord decided to raise the rent to cover the cost of the tax increase, I would gladly pay it. There is nothing more important than educating the children of today to provide for a better tomorrow. Nothing.
On a related note, it pisses me off to no end that people can make all kinds of judgements and accusations without having actually stepped foot in the school building to see what really goes on, not just what they think goes on. I assure you, what they think and what really is are two totally different things.
By the way, I too have serious doubts that the override will pass. So why bother, you might say? Well, because some one has to show the kids that can have a voice too, even if it is through their parents for now.
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