Mt. Pleasant Classical Academy

To date DS#1 has applied to nine colleges, been accepted at five and the remaining four should notify him in January to March time frame. One engineering school accepted him into their honor’s program and offered a nice scholarship — enough to cover a little more than 1/3 of each year’s bill. A university offered him their scholar’s scholarship which is a bit more than the other scholarship and it would cover about half of each year’s bill. We’ve been excited and elated to see the acceptance notices come in and to open the envelope and find a scholarship offer in there too. Last night DH and I were chuckling over the notices and offers. We have a lot to be happy about.

Twelve years ago this very week the public school was trying to convince us that our DS would never ever read and we should just accept that fact. They tried quite hard to convince us that there was nothing we could do to change the situation or remediate his severe reading disability. No, it wasn’t easy and it did take a lot of work and research but I still shudder to think where he would be if I had not done what I did. Sure, the critics can spout that he might have been fine if I had not intervened but you know what? That was a chance I was not willing to take! If I had to do it all over again I would still make the same choices I made for DS#1 his kindergarten year.

DH started to chuckle as we reminisced about IEP meetings and the crazy things the school’s experts said to us. “What is it?” I asked.

“Well, then you said you wanted to homeschool our boys and though I didn’t say it at the time my thought was—oh no, she’s gone crazy! How on earth is she going to stand to be with them all day. How are they ever going to get into college without a high school diploma? And now look at DS#1! Colleges are offering him (academic) scholarships and he’s been accepted to XYZ Engineering school which is not an easy school to get into either.” We continued to chat about this for the next hour, our pre-homeschooling thoughts and concerns, laughing at how naïve he was to be concerned about a homeschooler getting into college. We’re both glad we homeschooled the boys and I’ve enjoyed the journey.

All these years I thought DH’s major concern when I wanted to homeschool was whether our boys would be socialized but it was really the concern that without an official diploma, issued by an official education entity our boys would not get into college. Would you be surprised to learn that this concern still exists today in the homeschool community? It does.

Recently I was chatting with a friend in Pennsylvania who is moving to another state where homeschooling is ‘GASP!’ not regulated. She is placing her kids into the public school so they will have an official high school diploma, issued by an official educational entity. Honestly, I think it is a shame. It is not a matter of trusting herself to educate her kids but the belief that she cannot issue an official diploma that will be acceptable to colleges. She isn’t alone either. Again and again I hear from my fellow homeschoolers in the rather unregulated state of Delaware who believe that they must have an official diploma, issued by some official educational school entity. It is the reason they give. They want someone else to confirm that the kids have done enough to earn that credit in math or science or history, to assemble the high school transcript and, most importantly, to place the school’s official seal of approval on the transcript. Baloney.

Honey, the transcript is easy to assemble. An official raised seal can be purchased through many office supply stores or online, and you know the kids have done the work since you are the one telling the satellite school what the kids have done. Yes, the transcript was easy to put together this fall. The course description document, while quite time consuming, was actually really fun for me to assemble. It was like putting together a verbal scrapbook of all DS has worked through these past four years. Who better to put together the Guidance Counselor letter than the person who was with the student day-in-and-day-out these past 17 years? Finally the college’s also want a school profile and again, who better to describe what our school requires and how it operates then us? Obviously the package was positively received to date by five school’s. DS wll have a diploma, issued by us and it will be official.

In the near future I’ll share how I assembled our transcript, our course description document, our counselor letter and our homeschool profile.

DH said the other night that his first concern when I said I wanted to homeschool the boys was — how the heck would they ever get into college without a high school diploma. LOL!

It’s been a month since DS 1 crashed into the concrete doorway while at speed skating practice. It has not been an easy 4 weeks. Actually it was far harder than I imagined it would be.

One week post accident DS was still experiencing excruciating pain in his right calf. He described it as the terminator squeezing his muscle when he stood up. Concerned the Dr had me bring DS in for an exam. He underwent an ultrasound of his leg, MRI and an interior pressure test of his calf muscle. (That’s where the stick a huge needle into the calf muscle and measure the pressure) Finally they ruled out a blood clot and concluded that DS’ calf muscle had undergone a very traumatic injury and it should feel better in a few days. It took another 10 days before DS said the pain was gone—for the most part.

Ten days post accident DS finally took his first shower. DH installed a grab bar in our shower, purchased a new shower head so DS could take it and point the water where ever he wanted, and a shower seat. He actually wanted to take a shower earlier however DH would not let him until the shower was safe for him. He’s back to taking a daily shower.

DS is in three online classes and the teachers were all very understanding. Still, in all I think DS lost two weeks of school—instead of having weekends free he has spent them catching up on school work. Some where in the last four weeks eight college applications have gone out the door too. I am so thankful that DS wrote his College Application Essay this past summer when he had time and little else on his plate. I’m thankful that DS and I had visited all the colleges he was interested in visiting last spring or early fall so that we weren’t also trying to fit this in these past four weeks.

I also learned that some people are incredible inconsiderate and uncaring. People, it takes very little to pick up the phone and call an injured kid and it sure would have been nice for his spirits. Through adversity you do find out who your friends really are. Thank goodness for DS’ new friends in his AP Econ class who chatted with him online often. Sending a card is a super way to lift a person’s spirit and the three cards he received were quite appreciated.

To the outside world DS has shown a positive face through all this. However, last week he asked me if I thought he would ever walk normal again. Of course I do but for a 17yo who has never been injured and who can cruise the net and read about his injury, the outlook is there on the pages in front of him. DS began PT this past Friday and came home with a few exercises to work on. His progress between Friday and Monday impressed his therapist and helped lift DS spirits a bit too. We return to the Dr in two weeks and will find out what the next step is on DS road to recovery.

Yep, have an accident and Find out who your friends are

They say a good cry is good for the soul. I hope so.

On Sunday at speed skating practice DS took a fall —– going around the corner he went flying into the exit-entrance area on the side. His leg, 2 – 3″ below the knee cap collided with the vertical edge of the concrete half-wall. It was bad.

I drove him slowly to the ER, just a few minutes down the road. On a scale of 1 to 10 for pain it was a 10 and during the next several hours in the ER DS had waves of pain that were at a 10.

Four hours later the ER said he had a fracture of his tibia plate or he broke off the top plate of his tibial. Not a good thing at all.

Monday
Kept getting answering machines from 8 to 9 this morning but finally was able to make an appt to get DS into the Ortho at 10:15. It was 9:20 and the hospital is typically a 45 – 55 min drive.

And they wanted me to stop at the hospital he had the x-rays done at to pick up copies.

One phone to a nice supervisor and she said she would get them ready—in about an hour.

NO!! I need them for an appt in 45 min, over at Children’s. She said she would see what she could do but couldn’t promise them for me.

STRESS. I drove north, stopped in the hospital to find their parking lot packed. Finally found a spot and left DS in the car, half-a-sleep.

The DVD was ready for me. Ahhh, one thing has worked out.

I drive north. Amazing the traffic is not bad but still, it is 95 and not a fun road to drive on any time of the day.

We arrive at the hospital at 10:25—how did I make it there so quickly! We use their free valet parking service. I ask the attendant for a wheel chair which he gets and I thank him profusely.

It is 10:30 and we are 15 minutes late. Being late stresses me but we walk in and arrive at the Ortho station. We take seats….

DS, concerned with wasting valuable study time, gives me nasty looks since I did not think to bring his Physics books. I will excuse him this time but normally would not let him get away with such nastiness.

We wait, listen to kids scream and finally get in to see the Dr. He is quite interested in hearing HOW DS broke the top plateau of the tibia. DS goes through the story again and I cringed, thinking of times I had impacted my knee, the pain it caused and realizing too that I never impacted my knee with such force as what he went through.

We are told DS needs an MRI and are told we must call to schedule it.

I go to one of their courtesy phones—-provide all the important information so the woman can pull up his form. How many times have I repeated our names, address, phone numbers,….. this is getting old but I smile through it as I hear her say:

MRI’s are done M – F, 6 to 9pm.

Me—We need to schedule this MRI so do you have an appointment for this evening?

She—-You want one for tonight? in a tone I remember my one sibling using when my request was considered outrageous.

Me—Yes, I need to schedule an MRI, expected date 10/26

She– The order doesn’t expire until 12/26. What’s the rush? said in a very nasty, sharp voice.

Me—This CHILD, has a fracture of the tibia, and the Dr wants to know whether surgery is needed or if a cast is sufficient.

She—“Well, then the DR should have written STAT on the order.” .In a nasty tone that I could ever imagine!

Me—-quiet with stun, thinking about running into the Ortho area and grabbing the Dr to rewrite the order. I was not going to leave without an MRI scheduled for today or tomorrow.

She—-suddenly in a very nice tone “OK, I’ll contact your insurance and see if I can get their authorization for this to happen today.”.

hmm, wonder who walked into the room that she so suddenly changed her tune.

MRI happened immediately!

One Knee brace is placed on by nice man Steve.

One PT session completed for learning to use crutches with nice PT woman.

Appointment with the Dr scheduled for Wednesday morning to discuss the MRI results.

We stopped by the cafeteria for a quick bite. Neither of us had eaten since last evening.

And we were finally out of there after 6 hours.

I have cried off and on today.

DS let his pain meds wear off tonight and he’s hurting now. He took one about 30 minutes ago, finally, second one today. He’s afraid of them, doesn’t like the way they make him feel.

He recently realized that he is going to be laid up for 2 months ….. so sad looking…….. my heart breaks for him, tears coming…….

DS just went through the best case / worst case scenarios —- realizing that there is a possibility that he may never have a great leg he can trust and that his life could be different and less active then it is today. A fear sets in on his face…. he is scared.

Dang, he is so analytical.

I was expecting this conversation, just not this soon.

update: torn cartilage and tibia plateau fracture confirmed. 4 to 6 months of inactivity time, that means NO weight bearing on the leg during that time, to give both time to heal—if it heals. If it doesn’t mend itself then we will cross that bridge. How does a very active young man deal with inactivity for that long? On top of that he has read the following too:

” A fracture onto or around a joint surface is at high risk of developing arthritis due to the injury. And even if everything heals great there is still a risk of developing arthritis due to injury to the cartilage cells.”

I dislike being behind slow cars on the freeway. You know the ones that travel at the speed limit or slightly below the limit. In my little state it seems folks drive at least 10 or 20 mph above the speed limit so when I drive 5 or 7 mph over the speed limit I still get passed like I’m standing still.

After today I will no longer get upset or angry when the driver in front of me is going slow. No. Today I was that slow car.

And yesterday I was that slow car.

So now when I drive down the road and the car in front of me waits and waits at the green light, I will not beep. The driver just might be a new driver, trying to figure out whether it is ok to go. I know, my son was just like that a few months ago and I refuse to be like the beeping drivers that showed no patience as they sat behind us.

And when I drive down the road and the car in front of me is going slow I will wonder whether it is a new driver—just like my son—-or whether a passenger might have just broken their leg and every little road bump is sending them into excruciating pain—-just like it did to my oldest son today and yesterday.

I will be more understanding and patient. We really don’t know what issue the other driver is dealing with.

First college acceptance letter arrived in the mail today!!!

DS exclaimed, “So, I can get into college.”

Why is everyone so glum?

Dictionary.net defines PREPARATION as:

1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign. [1913 Webster]

And that is just what my oldest has been doing for the past 5 months. No, actually he has been preparing for this day for the past many years. Today, this morning, he is taking the SAT.

It isn’t the first time he has sat for it. No, the first time was back in 7th grade—his scores would have been very welcomed by more than 3/4  of the the high school seniors who took the test that time. He did a bit better the following year as an 8th grader. When he took the test last March he did not prepare specifically for the test. He had a very full plate last March, preparing for Science Olympiad and four AP courses and 3 other intense classes including Calculus. No, he didn’t prepare for the test using SAT Prep books.

His scores were again better than his 8th grade scores and many would probably say that they were ‘good enough’ to get him into Rose Hulman or WPI or RIT or PSU or many, many other fine engineering schools. But my oldest knew he could do better with just a little preparation. He’s never been one to be satisfied with ‘good enough.’

He knew he was too slow in the math section and ran out of time before he finished the section. He thought that with practice he could learn to work quicker and be able to finish each section. His reading score was near perfect. His writing score had room for improvement but goodness, he hadn’t bothered to read the writing grading rubric ahead of time. His writing score reflected how he wrote but after reading the rubric he knows how to improve it.

After his AP tests were completed in May, immediately after his four AP tests were completed in May, he started in on SAT math prep. One hour at most a day, and about four days a week he spent doing math problems from SAT Math prep books.  We used SAT Math prep books from Barron, Princeton, Kaplan, and “REAL SAT” type tests for our math problems.

His math skills are excellent but he was slow.  He needed speed work not concept skill work. We sat together working problems, a side-by-side race. I always won and then I tried to show him my short-cuts. He was using the same short-cuts but taking too long. He also did not like the race. Actually, that’s an understatement.

We turned to a timer instead. He determined that he had to complete each problem in 90 seconds. I sat with the timer, said go, and if he was still working on t he problem at 90 seconds then we discussed a shorter way to do the problem.

He learned how long  90 seconds is. When he finished a problem quickly I could tell him how long it took. He learned what quick is.

All through the summer, 3 or 4 or 5 times a week DS did math problems. Always for an hour, problem after problem after problem. Alwys with me timing problem after problem.  His speed increased and he was soon finding that he was spending at most 45 sec on a problem however many he was completing in under 10 seconds. Whipping right through them!

About 3 weeks ago we changed things around. We turned to the Official SAT Study Guide for our math problems and DS began taking the timed math tests doing one or two math tests each and every day. I stepped back and gave him  25 minutes to complete the test. Some days he would add in a reading test or a writing test too. Just one or two sections so that he was only spending one hour on SAT test prep.

Preparation. It was paying off!

He found that he was finishing the tests! And then he found he was finishing the tests with 6 or 8 minutes to spare! And he was getting at most one wrong per an entire math test—3 sections.

Then on Thursday he took another math test, 2 sections, and he got 6 wrong. It was not what he needed 2 days before his test.  Or was it?  He looked over what he did wrong—and said, “dumb, dumb mistakes. I can’t do that on Saturday. I’ve got to go back and check my work.”

I know it was part of the preparation. I hope it was beneficial. I know he has prepared as well as he could have prepared for today’s test. What is, is.  I need to leave to go pick him up from the high school 35 minutes away.

He prepared as well as he could.  For his sake, so he is rewarded with the score he has prepared for, please, no dumb mistakes. He prepared himself.

Want a smarter kid? Use words instead. What a novel idea.

 

Spanking can get kids to behave in a hurry, but new research suggests it can do more harm than good to their noggins. The study, involving hundreds of U.S. children, showed the more a child was spanked the lower his or her IQ compared with others.

………….

“Contrary to what everyone believes, being hit by parents is a traumatic experience,” Straus said. “We know from lots of research that traumatic stresses affect the brain adversely.” Also, the trauma could cause kids to have more stressful responses in difficult situations, and so may not perform as well cognitively.

 By using hitting rather than words or other means of discipline, parents could be depriving kids of learning opportunities. “With spanking, a parent is delivering a punishment to get the child’s attention and to get them to behave in a certain way,” said Elizabeth Gershoff who studies childhood development at the University of Texas, Austin. “It’s not fostering children’s independent thinking.”

So when a child gets in a bind, he or she might do the right thing to keep from a spanking rather than figuring out the best decision independently, added Gershoff, who was not involved in Straus’s current study.

And then there are genes, as some kids are just born smarter than others.

Even though spanking has been shown to cause negative consequences, Gershoff said many parents still fall back on the behavior-shaping tool. As for why, she says it’s a quick fix, though its seeming success is short-lived and the negative consequences often outweigh the positives. Parents also might have been spanked themselves and so continue the tradition.

If you haven’t broken that tradition, it is time to BREAK that tradition!