--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGS00000Date: 12/20/96 From: DONNA RANSDELL Time: 07:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 2 times) Subj: software suggestion If any of you are looking for good educational software, you might try your local KMart's computer software bargain table. I was over at KMart today, finishing up some shopping for the girls. I wandered into the computer section, and was looking at the bargain table. I managed to find a "Classic Edition" of MECC's "The Oregon Trail" on CD ROM for DOS (*not* Windows) for $12.99. Also saw a typing tutor, MECC's Number Munchers and Word Munchers on the same rack. I also saw some foreign language software, "Math for Middle Schoolers", "Fractions", on the same CD ROM rack. Most of these were for DOS or Windows 3.1, but a few said "Windows 95" too. My husband loves a program called Crossworld - I picked him up a new version that runs with Windows, same price as The Oregon Trail. Over on the regular table, btw, was a new version of "The Oregon Trail", CD-ROM for Windows - price tag, $39.99. Ouch. I think my kids will like the "Classic edition" just as well! -donna --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Education Station, Poway, CA - Mail Only (1:202/211) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGT00000Date: 12/23/96 From: M A CONSTANTINEAU Time: 12:36pm \/To: ALL PARENTS (Read 2 times) Subj: Unbelievable stuff Hello, I am going to share a story with you. I am sorry if it is off topic in anyway. It is unbelievable to me. I found out December 20 and it is still very hard for me to believe. I need to state now that this applies for Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I do not know if the laws are the same in your city, but you may want to look into them if this is possibly a decision you need to make in the future. Or perhaps we can all join together to change it. Any person either involved with or being disabled will be shocked at this. The government who made this law is inhumane. Please bare with me while I set up the facts. I really want to be contacted if you have anything to share on this topic. Through here or preferably through netmail 1:163/436 or e-mail marieanne@synapse.net. I plan on changing this and don't even know where to start. I am hoping for people to help me. I have an 11 year old son. He is 75 pounds and over 4 1/2 feet tall. He has Cerebral Palsy. He is wheelchair bound and needs help with practically all aspects of daily routine. I started looking into placing him into a group home. He is becoming very heavy and lifting him is a safety concern. I would never want to hurt my child. He extends himself often and falling or dropping him is a concern in my mind. I approached my social worker at the Treatment Center where he receives regular monitoring. Through her I learned that Children's Aid handles all the Special Needs placement cases. I met with the Children's Aid worker three times over a two month period. We discussed future goals and what I hoped to achieve with *my* child. Unfortunately a very personal issue rose it's ugly head and my son was bumped up the list. On the 13th of December my social worker and the children's aid worker came to my house to discuss what should happen. It was decided that a meeting would be set up with the Placement Committee as soon as possible. At that meeting she said "court ordered". Red flags started popping up in my mind. I asked her what she meant by "court ordered" since I assumed it was an agreement. I was very upset and did not absorb her response. That day was my daughter's birthday so I let it go. I did not wish to become more upset or upset her. I made a mental note to find out at the start of the next week exactly what that meant. The 16th my social worker was off so on the 17th I contacted her. I asked her what that meant. I out and out asked if parental rights were an issue. She said she did not believe so but would contact the children's aid worker to put my mind at rest. Right now I would like to say that I in no way blame my social worker for anything. She has been great in my life for the past nine years. I am simply mentioning all of this to show that there is a lack of communication on all levels. On the 20th she got back to me telling me that children's aid hadn't called back. Coincidentally children's aid called while I was on the phone with her, I told her to call back in an hour. Over to the children's aid worker I went. I out and out asked if my parental rights were an issue. Yes was the answer. I asked the following question to make sure it was straight in my mind. In the future when my son fills out a SIN application who would he be listed as my mother. "Me or Children's Aid" was the response. A child can be placed on a "trial" bases for three months. The rights are not lost during that time. After three months the general procedure is to sign off the child to Children's Aid. There are "rare cases" where it could be extended to two years. But the nitty gritty is a child can not be in the system more than two years without parental rights being dissolved. Well I was in shock. I cried most of the afternoon. After a while I started getting mad. How dare they. 11 1/2 years I've been his mom. I would lose the legal right simply because he is becoming too heavy for me. I go and ask for help and the consequence is I have to sign away my son. That's is SO wrong. I really need to hear from families in the Ottawa area that already have a child in a group home. I need to know if they have received a letter stating they either have to come get their child or sign away their rights. I am going to change this. I am hoping for your support. Even if you are not in the area. Encouragement, letter writing anything you feel can help. It's a lousy time to work on this. With Christmas and all. However, I know other families are coming up to the meeting without any knowledge of this. Please remember, no one told me this I had to out and out ask the questions to hear the responses. I am making a petition as such. If you would like to join my petition please send a letter. You do not need to be in Ontario or Canada for this. Please include at least the following line in your letter. Giving up parental rights should not be an issue. It is wrong. Address the letter to: Marie Anne Box 442 Winchester, ON K0C 2K0 Canada If you have a scanner you can file attach it through e-mail. As of right now I do not have fax facilities. This is wrong. Let's once and for all wake up the government to the fact that disabled folks simply have special needs but still deserve to be treated as humans. For the record, I understand why the laws state that this is how it should be. There are two reasons. First any and all money that my son has coming to him through pensions, child tax etc they would want. Secondly, they don't want me calling up and saying something like "I told you not to give his carrots and you did. I want him in a different group home NOW". They are protecting themselves. Other forms can be signed to cover these issues. Giving up parental rights should not be included in that. Let's change this inhumane laws. Marie Anne 1:163/436 marieanne@synapse.net --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: . Help me change the laws! (1:163/436) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGT00001Date: 12/22/96 From: DARYL STOUT Time: 1:59:am \/To: GLEN TODD (Read 2 times) Subj: Seed Message GT>Welcome back. Aren't upgrades fun?{g} GT> Ves thu heil, GT> Glen Todd -- Moderator HOMESCHL GT> Sysop 1:128/203 No kidding...it's a "home school" in itself. Although, I'm glad I finally got into FIDO (1:3821/33)...can get a bunch of info that I couldn't before...especially upgrades on shareware doors that I registered whose authors are also Sysops...saves from having to get a manual account on their system...just crashmail them. :) --- * OLX 1.53 * Be naughty--save Santa the trip! * PDQWK 2.5 #5 --- * Origin: NetComm BBS 303-730-7045 (1:104/603.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGW00000Date: 12/25/96 From: KEVIN FREER Time: 09:33am \/To: DONNA RANSDELL (Read 2 times) Subj: software suggestion Hi Donna, -> wandered into the computer section, and was looking at the bargain ta -> managed to find a "Classic Edition" of MECC's "The Oregon Trail" on C -> DOS (*not* Windows) for $12.99. Was wondering what the Classic Dos Edition looks like if you bought it. I already have the Windows version and the screens are typically well detailed. I was just wondering how Dos handles them? kevin --- ViaMAIL!/WC4 v1.11 * Origin: Home School BBS (407)328-4294 (1:363/326) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGW00001Date: 12/25/96 From: KEVIN FREER Time: 09:55am \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Seasons Greetings! Hi All, Just wanted to leave a message to All those supporting this conference. It's been an interesting year here in Home School BBS land. May you and your family have much success in the future. Kevin Home School BBS Orlando, Fl --- ViaMAIL!/WC4 v1.11 * Origin: Home School BBS (407)328-4294 (1:363/326) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGW00002Date: 12/24/96 From: RON STONE Time: 08:07am \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: homeschool I don't know that I'll be in this echo much but I have long been a fan of home schooling. I believe it brings greater learning and retention results than public school. I've heard it said now and then that public school is important so that kids learn to socialize. Here, in Dallas, there was a drive-by shooting at Sunset High School that put six kids in the hospital. I don't think kids need that much social activity. One person in this echo mentioned that she heard her kids using language and improper attitudes towards certain subjects and she decided they could do better at home. I agree, though, for different reasons. It seems, in this day, we worry much about how the child feels and popular publically approved thought is the children shouldn't suffer any duress. We seem to forget that it's okay for the parent to know more than the child. If I had children, I would teach them at home. Inevitably, they would want to try public school. "No," I would say. "Why?" they would say. "It may hard for you to understand, right now. Daddy does know better. This is better for you." Being a parent is not easy and it sometimes requires making decisions that aren't popular. My father taught me to read. My step-grandfather taught me the short route through differential calculus. Since I was ten, he had given me books on electronics. Now that I'm going to school to get a better job, I had a 98+ average in my active devices class (diodes, transistors, amplifiers, electronic switches.) On tests, I had four 100's and a 97. I didn't have to take the final. I went through public school. I spent high school in what had been the best district in Texas (Richardson I.S.D.) I had some good teachers. I happened to meet my senior english teacher about about seven years ago at a restaraunt. It had been nine, almost ten years since I had seen him. He had recently resigned his position because of pressure to pass a failing student in his class so that she could go with the rest of the pep squad on an extended school outing. My favorite author was Robert A. Heinlein. His grandfather went to a one room school. In the eighth grade, his grandfather had to leave school and take care of the farm, due to a death in the family. When he left school, he could do calculus, including the native tongue of english, he could read and write german, latin, read hebrew and greek, read some Shakespeare, do most any math in his head, and knew the science of the day. He certainly knew enough chemistry to run a farm. All this from an 8th grade "drop-out" in nineteenth-century Butler, Missouri. In 1980, University of Southern California admitted only the top 8% of students in the state. 50% of incoming freshmen had to take remedial english. Standards have dropped since then, or the school would have gone out of business. Public schooling is failing to do even what it was originally designed to do and is now subjecting our children to dangers and crap that they could do without. I say, more power to home schooling. Whatever your reasoning, you'll find your children learn much more. Later, Ron. * SLMR 2.1a * "Extra pickles. A warrior's condiment!" --Worf --- Maximus/2 3.00 * Origin: Palindrome WriterNet [Fiction&Non] (1:124/8107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DGX00000Date: 12/27/96 From: MARK SALUD Time: 02:29pm \/To: DONNA RANSDELL (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: holiday music idea Amazing. I created Christmas music with my computer. Anyway, thanks for sharing that. --- CNet/3 * Origin: Tierra-Miga A3000-040T 619.292.0754 V.FC (1:202/1630) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: E1200000Date: 12/28/96 From: DONNA RANSDELL Time: 03:09pm \/To: KEVIN FREER (Read 1 times) Subj: software suggestion > Was wondering what the Classic Dos Edition looks like > if you bought it. > I already have the Windows version and the screens are > typically well detailed. I was just wondering how Dos handles them? I personally think it's an older version placed on CD and sold without printed manuals. The graphics are similar to the original program, so that's why I suspect this. I don't remember the exact original program, so the graphics could be exactly the same. The MECC name is on the label, as well as "Soft Key". -donna --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: The Education Station, Poway, CA - Mail Only (1:202/1411) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: E1200001Date: 12/28/96 From: MANFRED EHRLICH Time: 02:48pm \/To: JAMES NIMMO (Read 1 times) Subj: Bbs -> -=> Quoting Dale Hill to Janice Allison <=- -> -> DH> Yes anyone can log on, you should check your local area for a BBS -> DH> carries K12Net--there isn't any membership fee required. The K12 -> DH> message echos can provide a new and different resource for -> students -> DH> who are home schooling, giving them a way to interact with stud -> DH> around the world. -> Just wondering, how large is K12Net? -> -> -> --- FMailX 1.22 -> * Origin: Dream Land BBS (901)743-8588 (1:123/128) On the Internet side, its approx. 35 conferences. Should be about the same on the FIDO side. Fred --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: The Tecnician's Corner BBS (1:343/326.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: E1200002Date: 12/26/96 From: TRACI SIGRIST Time: 12:00pm \/To: DONNA (Read 1 times) Subj: homeschooling I have some friends that are homeschooled and they said its pretty good! :) MY mom said she might start homeschooling me but probaly not for a couple of years! :) -Traci Sigrist It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one. --- Silverado Online Registrations * Origin: (1:3805/3)