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Educashun
By georgeha (Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:32:48 PM EST) demented mother in laws, 40 rod lightning (all tags)
I don't want to hear it.

Plus, back to the grind, sacrificing my retirement, burning dinos for the inlaws, I don't want a Ural and less.

Poll: Grade you changed[s] school[s]/districts?


It's back to the old comfortable get up at 5:45, make coffee, shower, get the family up, welcome Porsche-kids, pack lunches, off to work, come home, cooking and washing and bed at 11:15 grind, and it's okay with me, I need some time to unwind from the holidays and catch up on my Tolkien (I'm right before Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas meet the Riders of Rohan). This may be the last year for that grind.

The kids' charter school only goes to sixth grade, which leaves us wondering what to do for seventh, as ten year old is in fifth. Moving to the suburbs is out without a massive windfall, so we're stuck with various city schools or Mrs. Ha getting a good job and working to pay tuition at a private school. There is one that seems to be a good fit, School of the Arts, we shall have to see how easy it is to get in there. From what we've heard, our school has a good reputation. Regardless, she'll be splitting off from some good friends, specifically newspaper-girl and Porsche-girl.

I think I'm going to stop my 401k contributions for a while. It sucks, but my corp only matches half my contribution, and things are a bit too tight for my liking. There's no sense in retiring with a big 401k if my cc debt is bigger. Mrs. Ha is starting to look for things outside the phlebotomy world, so this may change.

It doesn't help that we've been going to Buffalo 1-2 times a week for a few months (on average), which costs us about $20 each time in gas. Mrs. Ha is going there again today to pick up her mom, we're really hoping to get someone else to drive her back Sunday. When she has to go and get her, and then we bring her back it really adds up.

The latest Cycle World has a nice review of the Ural sidecar combo. I hear the two wheel model has excellent traction, and if you're planning on riding in icy/snowy conditions, a hack makes a lot of sense. At one point I wanted one so I could keep riding through the winter, but the review says they really don't like going over 55, and I tend to do 60-65 on my commute.

OTOH, with there being little snow this winter, I could have been riding most days, if I had more lights on my bike and my oil leak was fixed. Maybe I'll work on that this weekend, get away from all the estrogen in the house.

I really only had to change school districts once growing up, we moved from a little hamlet south of Buffalo to a suburb of Rochester the summer after 7th grade. It was a bit hard, it took a year or two to find my niche of role playing geek friends (one of whom's band just made the cover of the local alternative mag). What grades did you change?

< Swing low, sweet Chariot, Bob's a gonna carry you home | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

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Grade you changed[s] school[s]/districts?
- Never, I was born here, schooled here and plan to die here 7%
- pre-K 10%
- Kindergarten 17%
- 1st 42%
- 2nd 28%
- 3rd 25%
- 4rth 25%
- 5th 17%
- 6th 21%
- 7th 25%
- 8th 21%
- 9th 14%
- 10th 28%
- 11th 10%
- 12th 10%
- 13th 7%
- freshman at college 53%
- sophomore at college 17%
- junior at college 3%
- senior at college 3%
- post grad for masters 10%
- post grad for PHD 7%
- wipo 0%

Votes: 28
Results | Other Polls
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- School of the Arts
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- georgeha's Diary
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There's a new kid in school | 36 comments (36 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
Same school system through high school by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #1 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:40:44 PM EST
Fairfax County Public. In fact, same elementary school district/zone/whatever they call it.

College was also in Fairfax (GMU) until I got expelled. So I could claim 14 years there. Still live in Fairfax.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)


I'm sorry by sasquatchan (2.00 / 0) #4 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:58:03 PM EST
left that county 14 years ago, no looking back.

GMU was still a uVA satellite when you were there, sounds like.. It was the commuter school one step above NoVA CC when I graduated HS.

[ Parent ]

I'm glad you made the poll multiselect. by toxicfur (2.00 / 0) #2 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:41:54 PM EST
I changed schools a lot when I was a kid (though we changed houses even more). My schooling was as follows:

K - Private school where my grandmother taught.
1st - Public school in $town1 (maternal grandparents' town)
2nd/3rd - Public school in $town2 (paternal grandparents' town)
4th/5th - Public school in $town1
6th-10th - Private school (same as K)
11th/12th - Public high school in $town1 (same district as elementary school there)

Then college at one school, master's at another, and PhD (for a year) at another. My post-school adult years haven't been much different, until now. It feels very strange to know that I'm going to live in this house and work at one job for potentially many years.
-----
inspiritation: the effect of irritating someone so much it inspires them to do something about it. --BuggEye


I met some army brats in college by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #20 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 02:25:15 PM EST
who moved every few years.


[ Parent ]

Several changes by spacejack (2.00 / 0) #3 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:54:56 PM EST
  1. Kindergarten, downtown east end
  2. Grades 1-4 in Scarborough
  3. 5-6 in North York
  4. 7-9 junior high in Willowdale (North York)
  5. 10-13 high school in North York
No private schools... in Canada, only snobby rich people do that.



No Catholic schools? by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #8 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:18:54 PM EST
They're common down here, Mrs. Ha and my dad both went to Catholic schools. The tuition isn't bad compared to real private schools.


[ Parent ]

oh yeah by spacejack (2.00 / 0) #10 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:22:50 PM EST
Catholic schools are much more common. I think they are partially publicly funded though.

[ Parent ]

many by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #5 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 12:58:05 PM EST
We moved before Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd. (One because of a divorce.) Then before 5thm before 7th and then in the middle of 7th. The last was the worst and I basically shut down in terms of making friends for a bit.
----
ウセーバラケダ


thank goodness for the internet by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #22 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:00:05 PM EST
we don't have to make friends in rl anymore.


[ Parent ]

Sooooo.. by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #6 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:08:02 PM EST
make coffee, shower, get the family up, welcome Porsche-kids, pack lunches, off to work, come home, cooking and washing

What exactly is the lovely Mrs. Ha doing while you're taking care of all this? Cause every once in a while I think I'd like to get married so I never have to do any housework anymore, but from what you're saying here, well, I'm confused.

I changed schools in the 2nd grade and 10th grade and found it quite traumatic both times.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob


I do get up before her by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #7 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:14:52 PM EST
but she's doing five year old's hair and reminding the kids to brush teeth and such. Dinner chores usually get split up, and she does about 90
% of the laundry load.


[ Parent ]

The Harsh Reality by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #25 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:05:52 PM EST
Here's how relationships effect chores:

Moving in together -> chores = 0.6 chores
Buying a house -> chores = 2 chores
Having kids -> chores = 5 chores
----
ウセーバラケダ
[ Parent ]

On the positive side, there's the hot monkey sex by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #27 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:14:42 PM EST
we married folk get 5 times a week.


[ Parent ]

Yeah! by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #34 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 04:54:26 PM EST
And sometimes one of those involves two people!
----
ウセーバラケダ
[ Parent ]

So if I read you correctly by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #29 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:24:18 PM EST
I'm better off just letting her move in with me and forgetting about the home-buying baby-making stuff?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
[ Parent ]

never changed schools by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #9 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:20:09 PM EST
and so many of my friends went to the same college I went to, it wasn't all that big of a deal.

I was one of the few to not move back to Dallas.



I looked forward to going to an out of state colle by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #12 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:39:18 PM EST
ge, so I could reinvent myself as a party animal geek, instead of a RPG geek.


[ Parent ]

my parents by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #13 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:42:35 PM EST
would pay for an in-state school, but nothing else.  i took the lazy (for me) way out.

[ Parent ]

I played upon their alma mater nostalgia by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #16 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:44:48 PM EST
and it was neat to  go to the school where they got married and had me.

I tried to get a free ride, but with my eyesight, I would have needed to be captain of the football team and valedictorian to be accepted at the AF academy.


[ Parent ]

Your parents paid for your school? by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #18 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:54:24 PM EST
Wow, I would have gone to class in an ugly dress every day if someone had paid my way.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
[ Parent ]

yeah, but you already wear the ugly dress by sasquatchan (2.00 / 0) #19 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 02:22:16 PM EST
so why buy the milk when you can get it for free?

[ Parent ]

yes, they did by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #21 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 02:48:06 PM EST
my father had to work his way through school and decided any child of his shouldn't have to do the same.

I am eternally grateful for that.

[ Parent ]

my parents have had a hard time by LilFlightTest (2.00 / 0) #36 Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 11:56:56 AM EST
first off, we never had much money, so starting an investment account at birth for me was totally out. then they tried to figure out how they'd do the college thing, because my siblings and i are so spread out, age-wise, that inflation and whatever would make spending a set amount nearly impossible, not to mention trying to factor in what school each child chose...paying the whole thing might end in disputes over who got more, etc, especially if one decided not to even go to college, or chose one so close to home they got free rent and food, so in the end, they decided to just not pay for anything except food (because they'd feed us if we lived at home) and have a system of "interest free loan" which i'm still trying to pay them back. i think it worked out fairly well.
---------
Dance On, Gir!
[ Parent ]

Damn straight. by miker2 (2.00 / 0) #28 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:20:07 PM EST
$250/month isn't a whole lot, but it could be $250/month that could be going to buying a house instead of paying off student loans.
Ah, sociopathy. How warm, how comforting, thy sweet embrace. - MNS
[ Parent ]

Better yet by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #30 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:27:01 PM EST
If I had taken all the money I spent on the Uni for 4 years (actually 5.5 years - I screwed off a bit too much) and instead bought Microsoft stock with it, well, I'd be laying about on some beach in the south of France right now.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
[ Parent ]

i always looked forward to changing schools by alprazolam (2.00 / 0) #11 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:37:37 PM EST
as I was never particularly popular.

Moved during first grade I believe, from Michigan to Georgia. I remember not liking the new place so much but apparently I did well there. The next year they changed my district and it was a different school. One less dark and...dreary seeming, according to vague memories. Stayed there through 5th and went to the middle school there until most of the way through 7th grade. I remember being extremely glad to move that time. Went to school in Kentucky through 9th grade, then moved to Arkansas over the summer. 10th grade at Jonesboro which was hell and then finished up at the nerd school in Hot Springs. Not one of the moves was "traumatic" or even negative for me as far as I can remember...tell your daughter to try making a lot of enemies, maybe it'll make switching schools seem better. Does she have any input into the process? I remember being fairly concerned with my education as far back as elementary school.

Are the public schools there really that bad?



Unless you live in a rich county by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #14 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:42:43 PM EST
the public schools throughout USia are pretty bad.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)
[ Parent ]

I can't agree with that by alprazolam (2.00 / 0) #33 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 04:27:57 PM EST
I grew up in the south and went to public schools my whole life. I wouldn't call them bad. Wouldn't call them all good either, although a couple of them were.

[ Parent ]

The public schools have poor dark skinned by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #15 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:43:22 PM EST
minorities, they have to be bad!

I'm not sure how bad they are, really, I'm sure even the biggest ones have some students who are there to learn and such. We'll find our more next week.


[ Parent ]

Not back in Reagan's America <NT> by wumpus (2.00 / 0) #35 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 06:06:07 PM EST
You also left out the Yellow Peril (immigrants' kids, not the 3rd+ generation USized bunch) who threaten to actually do some studying, leaving God fearing American kids busy praying to Jesus for test answers.

Wumpus

[ Parent ]

That sucks by theboz (2.00 / 0) #17 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 01:48:51 PM EST
I voted for five, although I think I went to three different schools in the third grade, so your poll doesn't reflect the total moves.
- - - - -
That's what I always say about you, boz, you have a good memory for random facts about pussy. -- joh3n


three in a year? by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #24 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:02:10 PM EST
that would suck.


[ Parent ]

It did by theboz (2.00 / 0) #26 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:14:36 PM EST
However, I would not be the person I am today if I didn't move around so much.
- - - - -
That's what I always say about you, boz, you have a good memory for random facts about pussy. -- joh3n
[ Parent ]

moving right along by aphrael (2.00 / 0) #23 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:01:59 PM EST
Some stories of political corruption make my head spin.

Take, for example, this gem of a story:


Jason Holly, 36, and Jessica Sundell, 23, were among 12 people arrested last fall and charged with signing up voters during a registration drive that resulted in dozens of Democrats fraudulently being signed up as Republicans.

I don't get it. What could possibly be the motivation for such an act? It's not as though there's any advantage to getting people who want to register in the opposing party to instead register in yours --- I suppose, possibly, that supporters of a liberal Republican might want to falsely register Democrats as Republicans in the hopes that they will vote for the liberal Republican in the primary, but that seems to be a stretch.

But wait:


he scandal, which surfaced nearly a year ago, embarrassed the county's Republican Party and underscored problems that can arise with signature-gathering and voter registration campaigns in which the workers are paid by the signature.

Aha! So the Republican party was paying these collectors to register Republicans, and they responded by changing the party affiliation of those who registered in some other party. That's a great example of perverse incentives in action.

Certainly the signature collectors ought to be prosecuted; but perhaps -- just perhaps -- we ought to ban the practice of paying people to register in a particular party. That would remove the incentive to do what these defendants did; and it might encourage neutrality among people trying to register voters --- something which seems somehow more respectful of the right of voters to affiliate with whichever party they choose.

If television is a babysitter, the internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.


Well, I have time (it's Fri.), so here goes . . . by slozo (2.00 / 0) #31 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 03:46:30 PM EST
. .. .1.(pre?)kindergarten - west-end Toronto
  1. Grade 1-2 - Ajax
  2. Grade 3, half of grade 4 - Marmora (butt-fuck nowhere, man . . .)
  3. Rest of Grade 4 - North Bay
  4. Grade 5 - a banner year, 3 different schools in North York, Toronto
  5. Grade 6 - Arts school in Toronto
  6. Grade 9 - high school in same area
  7. Grade 10 - Kitchener, Ont.
  8. Grade 13 (OAC) - back in North York, Toronto
  9. Uni - 1 1/2 years downtown Toronto, before leaving school forever!
So, including the extra two schools in grade 5, that makes . . . 12 schools in total. I tell ya, my coping skills are razor sharp!

No, I was not an army brat . . . we just moved a lot, and other stuff happened . . .



I moved too many times to count. by muchagecko (2.00 / 0) #32 Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 04:16:42 PM EST
I was not a military brat. My mother just liked moving every six months or so.

The only people to get even with are those that have helped you.


There's a new kid in school | 36 comments (36 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

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