[Rhodes22-list] Some Public School Programs Work Pretty Well
Roger Pihlaja
cen09402 at centurytel.net
Sat Oct 9 01:07:26 EDT 2004
Todd,
I have a very dear friend, Mike Coley, from my days at Michigan Tech
University. We were the best man at each other's weddings. Poor Mike's
father can only be charitibly be described as "mean spirited". The guy
would wait until Friday evening of the weekend before final exam week to
call Mike & tell him that he'd decided to not fund the next quarter. Just
when Mike needed to have a clear head & focus on cramming for his finals,
his father had to pull something like that on him. I've split many a pizza
& downed many a pitcher of beer with Mike trying to get him settled back
down after numerous incidents like that. Sometimes, Mike's father would
follow thru & Mike would have to quit school & get a job for a while. It
took him about 6 years to earn his degree in electrical engineering & he had
10's of thousands of dollars of student loan debt. I always thought the
uncertainty of Mike's situation and seemingly random, cruel manner in which
his father treated him were tremendously unfair. Your father sounds at
least as bad. Tell me, do you ever communicate with him these days?
Deb & I had much better relationships with our parents. Somehow, both of
our parents managed to put us thru college without taking out college loans.
Not having that debt, made starting out MUCH easier. When our boys were
quite young, we set up a trust fund to pay for their college & contributed
about $5600 per year to it until Daniel was 18. Deb & I didn't want the
boys to have to start out their adult lives saddled with huge college loan
debt. Of course, when we set up their trust fund, we never expected me to
lose my job just as Daniel was graduating from high school either! If we
hadn't had their trust fund already funded, we'd have been in deep do do,
especially when I decided to back to school to earn my BSME degree at the
same time.
I need to tell you a story about Daniel:
When I took Daniel up to NMU in the end of August, 2004 (No car remember?),
we arrived at the Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity house late Friday afternoon of
the weekend
before the fall semester started. The place was a zoo with everyone moving
in. Up to this point, I'd only been on the
1st floor of the fraternity house. That day, I found out one of the things
joining a fraternity involves is a seemingly endless project to fix up &
maintain this old turn-of-the-century Victorian house. Daniel's room at the
fraternity house was supposed to be furnished. Supposedly, the only
furniture he needed to bring were a desk, desk lamp, and chair. He already
had a couch from his dorm room, stored in the basement of the fraternity
house. Plus, Daniel had a small refrigerator, a microwave, his stereo, & a
TV packed into the minivan. Anyway, it turned out that the fraternity had
been doing some work on the house over the summer & Daniel's room had been
the "dumping ground". It was crammed chock full of furniture, tools,
building materials, nails, drywall screws, & there was about 1/2" of drywall
dust coating everything. So, after driving 6 hours to get to Marquette, MI,
we spent the next 3 hours moving furniture & cleaning his room enough to be
somewhat livable. Once all the furniture in the room was claimed, it turned
out the only furniture left in Daniel's room was a chest of drawers.
Besides that, once we got the debris cleaned out, the walls & ceiling in
Daniel's room were at least 4 different colors & full of holes! But, we
moved his stuff in anyway. By then, I was exhausted. We went & got supper
down by the waterfront & watched the sun go down over Lake Superior. Over
supper, I made the observation that the NMU dorm rooms were furnished &
ready to live in for about the same money we were paying for the broken down
room they've given you. Daniel didn't say much & just looked resigned to
his fate. I slept on his couch that night & Daniel slept on the floor. On
Saturday morning, before Daniel was awake, I called his mother. I knew Deb
would go ballistic at the thought of her baby spending an entire acedemic
year virtually without furniture. I told her I thought we might be able to
furnish the room fairly inexpensively & this furniture would help Daniel get
started in his 1st apartment after graduation. Deb readily agreed to this
plan. So, Daniel & I made the rounds of the thrift shops, Salvation Army, &
Goodwill Store that Saturday. We were able to get some pretty reasonable
stuff that won't fall apart for less than $100. Deb & I don't plan to take
the $100 out of Daniel's hide. The look on his face as we were cleaning
that room & later at dinner convinced me the lesson had already been
learned.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V DYnamic Equilibrium
----- Original Message -----
From: "Todd Tavares" <sprocket80 at mail.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 8:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Some Public School Programs Work Pretty Well
>
> Roger,
>
> I wish I had such a plan to use when I got out of high school.
> My older brother got a full boat scholarship to the University of
> Maryland for Civil Engineering (he never completed his
> degree). My parents paid for my sister to attend nursing school in
> Baltimore. Both would come home on the weekends and drop their
> laundry off on Mom while they went out and partied with their friends.
>
> I graduated in the June of 1980.....right in the middle of the Iran
> Hostage Crisis and the re-start of the Selective Service registration
> for a possible draft. Having not working hard enough during my senior
> year of high school, a scholarship was not in my future. My father
> was drafted in WWII and being his favorite son :-) he did not me to be
> drafted should we go to war in Iran. I decided to got to a trade
> school in Tulsa, Oklahoma to learn aircraft mechanics. Pops promised
> to pay my tuition and buy me a used car. Rent and food was my
> problem.
>
> We loaded my dad's old Chevy van with my few possesions and headed
> to Oklahoma. The transmission in the van started to slip as we pulled
> into town.(an omen of things to come, but I failed to see the signs)
> Well, I registered for classes and found a roommate. The only thing
> left was to find a used car dealer..so we headed out. Imagine my
> surprise when we pulled up in front of the departures terminal at
> Tulsa International Airport. He jumped out and his parting remark
> before disappearing into the crowd was "Get the transmission fixed and
> you got yourself a nice van!" (omen #2).
>
> I found a part time evening job and was settling in to my new life
> away at school. About four months later, I got a notice to see the man
> in the finance office. He informed me that my tuition was already two
> months behind. I assured him that it had to be a mistake because my
> dad was paying the tuition. He handed me the telephone and I called
> my father long distance, at work, in D.C., and the conversation went
> just like this:
>
> "Hey Dad, I am sitting here in the finance office at school and the
> man here says that my tuition is two months behind!?"
>
> Dad: "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to call you...(awkward
> silence).... You're on your own now kid...Sink or Swim!" CLICK
>
>
> Todd
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Roger Pihlaja"
> Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 07:25:47 -0400
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Some Public School Programs Work Pretty
> Well
> > Todd,
> >
> > Deb & I also had a "pay for performance" bonus for grades with
> Daniel &
> > Gary. Same pay scale too: $5.00 per A, $4.50 per A-, $3.50 per B+,
> $3.00
> > per B, $2.50 per B-. For all A's, the bonus was dinner with the
> family at
> > the restaurant of their choice, or the cash equivalent. (The cash
> equivalent
> > of their dinner, not 4 fancy dinners! - about $25 at the time)
> Daniel flip
> > flopped both ways between dinner & the money depending upon his
> finances at
> > the time. Gary has, so far, always chosen the restaurant. At the
> > restaurant, we've always had a celebratory toast for the honor roll
> student.
> >
> > With Daniel in college, we have a different system. We have a
> contract. In
> > this contract, Deb & I agreed to pay for tuition, books & supplies,
> fees,
> > room & board, clothing, travel expenses to and from home, provide a
> car, pay
> > the insurance and maintenance costs on that car, and a weekly
> allowance
> > (currently $30/week) in order to allow Daniel to attend any public
> college
> > in Michigan enrolled in any degree program he chooses. Daniel choose
> > Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, MI in their Graphic
> > Arts/Electronic Imaging program. In return, Daniel agreed to:
> >
> > 1. You must carry a sufficient class load each semester to keep you
> on track
> > to graduate in 4 years.
> > If you fall behind in your degree schedule by failing or dropping
> > classes or not taking enough
> > classes; then, you must attend summer school at your own expense
> until
> > you ar e caught up.
> >
> > 2. If you receive a grade in any of your classes that is not
> sufficient to
> > permit you to apply it towards
> > your degree; then, you must pay the tuition and fees for that class.
> > Plus, see item #1 regarding
> > the consequences of retaking that class.
> >
> > 3. The expectation is that your cumulative GPA will be => 3.0. If
> your GPA
> > falls below 3.0, we have a
> > formula that calculates the proportion of tuition and fees you will
> owe
> > for the semester that your
> > academic performance was below standard. Basically, at a GPA < 2.0,
> you
> > will be paying 100%.
> > Plus, see item #1.
> >
> > 4. The cost of room & board is based upon the current cost of living
> on
> > campus in the dormitory and
> > eating in the NMU cafeterias. If you wish to live off campus; then,
> you
> > will pay any increased cost
> > of living.
> >
> > 5. For each academic school year, we will settle up accounts at the
> end of
> > summer. If you cannot pay
> > your share based upon the above criteria; then, you will have to
> > interrupt your college and get a job
> > to pay off your debt.
> >
> > 6. Changing your major is highly discouraged. However, if you must
> change
> > your major; then, talk to
> > us regarding the situation sooner rather than later. We will
> > renegotiate your contract.
> >
> > 7. The only excuse for not performing against the above criteria is
> serious
> > illness or injury. In this case,
> > we will renegotiate your contract based upon the specific
> circumstances.
> >
> > So far, a few of the clauses in this contract have been invoked.
> Daniel
> > doofed the winter semester of his freshman year with a GPA of 2.4.
> He owed
> > us about $600. Although Daniel worked a part-time job, by the end of
> > summer, 2002, he had not paid off the debt. So, Daniel stayed home
> in the
> > fall semester, 2003, attended Delta College from home, and worked
> part time.
> > Daniel took general education classes at Delta College which would
> transfer
> > up to NMU in order to keep him on degree schedule track. By the end
> of the
> > fall semester, 2003; Daniel had paid off his debt, gotten his GPA
> back up, &
> > attended the winter semester, 2004 at NMU. During this semester, he
> dropped
> > a class just before the close of the drop period, thus invoking
> clause #1.
> > Daniel took another class at Delta College in the summer of 2004 and
> worked
> > to pay off his debt. Also in August, 2003, Daniel wrecked his car.
> > Fortunately, no was hurt; but, Daniel's Subaru Legacy AWD sedan was
> totaled.
> > The accident was 100% Daniel's fault. Deb & I only agreed to provide
> one
> > car & Daniel has been without a car since then. Daniel & I commuted
> to
> > college together a lot in the fall semester, 2003 and last summer.
> Delta
> > College is about 5 miles from Saginaw Valley State University
> (SVSU). I
> > would drop Daniel off at Delta College on my way to school & Daniel
> was
> > either stuck there until I came back to get him based upon my class
> schedule
> > or had to find his own way home. Note that both college campuses are
> about
> > 35 miles away from our home. This year, Daniel is living off campus
> for the
> > 1st time. He's living in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house with
> an
> > on-campus cafeteria meal pass. The difference in the cost of living
> is
> > theoretically only about $1.50 per month. But, we'll reexamine this
> expense
> > with real data after each semester. It's been a little messy; but,
> so far
> > the plan is working. Hopefully, Daniel won't mess up any more
> classes
> > because were running out of subjects he could take locally that wo
> uld
> > relevant towards his degree.
> >
> > Gary is watching all these developments with great interest because
> he knows
> > he's next in line!
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Todd Tavares"
> > To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
> > Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 10:44 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Some Public School Programs Work Pretty
> Well
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Brad,
> > >
> > > My wife and I have always firmly encouraged our boys to do their
> > > very best without pushing too hard. We didn't want to force them,
> and
> > > have always made school/homework fun and rewarding I took quite a
> > > bit of grief from friends because I give my sons money for grades,
> > > with a very special bonus for straight A's. I defend my actions
> > > because this mirrors the corporate world.....pay for top
> performance.
> > > A's are $5, B's are $3, but a big ticket item for straight A's. I
> > > didn't know mountain bikes cost so dang much!! lol
> > >
> > > Luckily, these days doing good in school is cool!! The smartest
> > > kids are the most popular. The teen years have arrived though and
> > > only time will tell. But soon it will be four-wheelers and cars
> > > instead of mountain bikes.
> > >
> > > Todd
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: brad haslett
> > > Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 10:02:18 -0700 (PDT)
> > > To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> > > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Some Public School Programs Work
> Pretty
> > > Well
> > > > Todd,
> > > >
> > > > You may recall a controversial book that was published
> > > > in 1994 titled "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class
> > > > Stucture in American Life" by Herrnstein and Murray.
> > > > Herrnstein had the good sense to die before
> > > > publication which left Charles Murray alone to defend
> > > > chapter 13. His studies showed that Asian-Americans
> > > > tested slightly higher in IQ than other groups but
> > > > this alone wouldn't account for their superior
> > > > academic performance. He was crucified by the PC
> > > > police.
> > > >
> > > > Students attempt to meet the standards that are set
> > > > for them at home. If those standards or even a
> > > > fu nctioning home is missing, performance will suffer.
> > > > It is beyond the function of the education system to
> > > > fix those problems.
> > > >
> > > > Some public schools work because the communit ies where
> > > > they are located work. Merging functioning schools
> > > > with non-functioning ones generally drag both down.
> > > > This is not a racist view, this is what we used to
> > > > call common sense before the cottage industry of
> > > > political correctness was developed.
> > > >
> > > > Brad Haslett
> > > > "CoraShen"
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- Todd Tavares wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Roger,
> > > > >
> > > > > We HAD something like that here in Maryland,
> > > > > called the MSPAP. I
> > > > > was initally to used to gage how well the schools
> > > > > were teaching the
> > > > > pupils. The schools had to pass and each year
> > > > > show an improvement or
> > > > > face ta ke-ove r by the state BOE.
> > > > >
> > > > > We unfortunately did not reap such positive
> > > > > results. Instead, the
> > > > > results were twisted and used by a certain
> > > > > racially based "lobbyist"
> > > > > group (no names here), to show that minority
> > > > > children did universally
> > > > > worse than their white counterparts. The test
> > > > > was supposed to be
> > > > > blind and the children's sex, ethnic and economic
> > > > > information was
> > > > > never to be recorded...but it was.
> > > > >
> > > > > A committee was formed by the state Board of
> > > > > Ed to find out why
> > > > > the minority children....all except a group named
> > > > > the "Asian/Pacific
> > > > > Islander Group"...were scoring po orly. The
> > > > > committee spent two years
> > > > > and generated a 208 page report. I studied the
> > > > > report in painstaking
> > > > > detail. The c onclusion was 11 reasons grouped
> > > > > into three main root
> > > > > causes. Poverty, Lack of parental involvement,
> > > > > and low self esteem.
> > > > > When explaining why the Asian/Pacific Islander
> > > > > Group children (approx
> > > > > 2%) scored consistently highest in all grades and
> > > > > genders, the
> > > > > committee came up with a statement..to
> > > > > paraphrase it...It is widely
> > > > > known that Asian students are generally the
> > > > > smarter.
> > > > >
> > > > > Poverty meant that the children were under
> > > > > nourished, could no t
> > > > > buy paper and pencils, etc. Lack of parental
> > > > > involvement is
> > > > > self-explanatory. Low self esteem was sort of a
> > > > > catch-all for every
> > > > > other excuse. Low self esteem came from low self
> > > > > worth in males
> > > > > because of the absence of a male role model in
> > > > > th e home setting;
> > > > > and the instructional material did not reflect
> > > > > enough people of color
> > > > > or their heritage. That is about the only point
> > > > > I could have agreed
> > > > > with. etc, etc, etc.
> > > > >
> > > > > The state budgeted monies and came up with
> > > > > very loose guidelines
> > > > > for the counties to follow as far as what types
> > > > > of programs and
> > > > > activities to provide to the minoritiy students.
> > > > > This money was to
> > > > > specifically help only minority students who were
> > > > > scoring poorly. The
> > > > > counties in turn passed the money out to the
> > > > > schools and left it up to
> > > > > individual principals to decide how to use it.
> > > > > (within the vague
> > > > > guidelines mandated by the state BOE) There was
> > > > > no accountability at
> > > > > all. At my sons' elementary school there was
> > > > > free breakfast and
> > > > > lunch for minority children, free before and
> > > > > after daycare for
> > > > > minority children, they had the "BBC'......the
> > > > > black boys club which
> > > > > held field trips, pizza parties and more
> > &g t; > > exclusively for "african
> > > > > american" students. Hispanic, Asian and all other
> > > > > minority students
> > > > > were excluded....community mentoring and big
> > > > > brother programs, etc.
> > > > > The principal was African American, and she too k
> > > > > all of the money
> > > > > given out by the state, all money budgeted for
> > > > > the gifted and talented
> > > > > program, and even bullied the PTA into opening
> > > > > their accounts to her
> > > > > for the stealing.
> > > > >
> > > > > One of the county Board of Ed members is a
> > > > > friend of ours. When she
> > > > > spoke out against the testing and kept her
> > > > > children home during that
> > > > > week, she was publicly censured by the Board,
> > > > > received a gag order
> > > > > and was threatened with legal action for not
> > > > > having her children at
> > > > > in school.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thankfully so much negative publicity was
> > > > > generated that the state
> > > > > stopped this particular test. Now we have "No
> > > > > Child Left Behind" and
> > > > > no funding.
> > > > >
> > > > > My brother and sister-in-law have their
> > > > > daughter in a Catholic
> > > > > school. There are less programs and resources
> > > > > available than in public
> > > > > schools. They face a different set of problems
> > > > > though. My niece did
> > > > > not do very well last year, but she was advanced
> > > > > anyway. When I was
> > > > > discussing this with my brother-in-law, he
> > > > > reasoned that she must have > > done enough or she would not
> have
> > > been advanced
> > > > > to the next grade. I
> > > > > could not contain my laughter. I looked him in
> > > > > the eye and asked, "Do
> > > > > you think they would admit that they dropped the
> > > > > ball on educating
> > > > > your daughter and then look you in the eye and
> > > > > ask for another $6000
> > > > > to repeat the sixth grade? Come on!!"
> > > > >
> > > > > Schooling is like anything else. You only get
> > > > > out what you put
> > > > > in. We stay very involved with our kids
> > > > > schooling. -proactive and
> > > > > not reactiveand so far it has paid-off.
> > > > >
> > > > > Todd
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Roger Pihlaja"
> > > > > Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:22:27 -0400
> > > > > To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
> > > > > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Some Public School
> > > > > Progra ms Work Pretty Well
> > > > > > Here in Michigan, we have a test called the
> > > > > Michigan Education
> > > > > Assessment Program (MEAP). It tests skills in
> > > > > math, science, reading,
> > > > > writing, and critical thinking. Students that
> > > > > score highly in the 9th,
> > > > > 10th, 11th, & 12th grades on all sections of the
> > > > > MEAP test can earn up
> > > > > to $3000 towards attending a Michigan college.
> > > > > Our older son, Daniel,
> > > > > max ed out on the MEAP award money & it helped
> > > > > tremendously in paying
> > > > > for his college at Northern Michigan University
> > > > > (NMU). So far, our
> > > > > younger son, Gary, is on track to max out as
> > > > > well. I've seen the MEAP
> > > > > test & it seems like a pretty reasonable tool to
> > > > > access a student's
> > > > > level of development. But, the MEAP test has been
> > > > > con troversial here
> > > > > in Michig an as well. Lots of educators don't
> > > > > like it for all the
> > > > > reasons cited in the earlier posts on this
> > > > > subject.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Schools of choice also seems to work pretty
> > > > > well here in Michigan.
> > > > > Again, both of our sons have benefite d. We live
> > > > > in the Meridian School
> > > > > District, a rural area that is not very wealthy.
> > > > > Meridian High School
> > > > > does not have a very good vocational education
> > > > > program. However, they
> > > > > supplement their program by participating in a
> > > > > magnet school program
> > > > > with the Bay-Arenac Skill Center, located in Bay
> > > > > City, MI. Note that
> > > > > the Bay-Arenac Skill Center is located in another
> > > > > county, about 30
> > > > > miles away. The Meridian School District pays
> > > > > tuition and provides b us
> > > > > transportation for our students to & from the
> > > > > Bay-Arenac Skill Center.
> > > > > The program is a half day, 5 days/week. Meridian
> > > > > High S chool students
> > > > > either take their morning or afternoon classes at
> > > > > Meridian and then
> > > > > the other half of the school day at the
> > > > > Bay-Arenac Skill Center.
> > > > > Daniel took 2 years of Computer Aided Design
> > > > > classes at the Bay-Arenac
> > > > > Skill Center, which has been very helpful in his
> > > > > Graphic
> > > > > Arts/Electronic Imaging major up at NMU. Gary has
> > > > > benefited from this
> > > > > program even more than Daniel. Last year, Gary
> > > > > took his first year of
> > > > >
> > > > === message truncated ===
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________
> > > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > > Express yourself with Y! Messenger! Free. Download now. < BR>>
> > > http://messenger.yahoo.com
> > > > __________________________________________________
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