Furlough Days

[Rob Tucker]

regarding the topic du jour....

I think that a basic problem faced by education and our society in general is that we Americans have mastered the art & science of waste and abundance. Over spending and under producing have become the norm and it is not sustainable. No other society I can think of can or does afford the inefficiencies we quietly tolerate and tacitly accept.

Perhaps education is the place to start. Maybe we need a new slogan, a new philosophy and a new flag to fly that people can rally around.

On another blog someone asked for a new word that could replace Sustainable. I suggested Survival. Our future is in our own hands. If any of you are waiting for someone else to do something then you are missing the whole point.

[JWFITZ]

I agree 100 percent.

None of this is an ideological issue any more, it's a practical one.

http://sensiblesimplicity.lefora.com/

[missydog1]

I am sorry to have sidetracked the issue toward special needs kids, as I get the feeling no one else here is concerned about their special situation. Until the universe brought this child into my life, I was not too aware of what's involved for them either. I do want to reply to Dick Wilson though:
Where is the unfair treatment of special needs students. All students are being deprived of a major portion of the education week. Adding the furlough days to the end of the school year makes to much sense for Lingle and her band of idiots. But all students are being treated the same, or are we saying that special needs students are a little more equal than others? " shades of animal farm there."

First, they are not more equal, but they need more service to participate in any kind of activity or program. The extra is to try to put them on more of a level playing field. In truth, they never get to a level field, but they get an education, if they can get past the mean remarks, and the bullies, the taunting, mocking, and all that good stuff.

Those mandating the furlough are softening the idea be putting furlough relief programs into place, which non special needs kids may participate in. But the special ed kids aren't included like they are in regular school. For some time, the programs for special ed have been integrated into the school system and not spread out into the community; therefore when the school systems cuts its hours severely, these kids have no alternatives. They cannot even stay with a regular child care provider, some of them. There are many kinds of disabilities, but all the kids require more one on one. Some need help being fed, being moved around, being helped with toilet function, or being brought into the group dynamic. They can't get sent to the park and all have a wonderful game of soccer or go on a group hike or any of these fun activities. Please do not worry about them being better off than the other kids. That is not going to happen, Dick. Obviously this is an emotional topic for me, so I will stop participating. I mean it literally puts tears in my eyes that people don't understand about these kids.

I am blessed to have one of the sweetest kids I've ever met in my family, with an amazing sense of humor and noticeable musical talent. He extends his heart to anyone he meets. But because he has a twisted foot and cannot bear weight on his legs, he can't walk, and because of CP he can't use his right arm enough to use a motorized wheel chair. At home he races around the house scootching on his but using one arm, but he can't do that in a group of kids who are running around. He is small and would get injured. (He is 5 1/2 but still wears 24 month size bottoms.) In his life he has had at least seven major surgeries by the time he was three, and he has a shunt, so that will continue.

Please don't worry that his life is better than healthy regularly developed kids due to all the special services. I am sure he would be willing to trade.

ETA that one reason this is hard on him is he loves people. He loves to converse and interact with groups. He gets bored out of his skull being home with one person.

Second, as part of school, he gets physical therapy that is relaxing his clenched arm and helping him learn to walk, that he cannot get at home, and if it's not done regularly then he doesn't progress, so he is losing a lot more than a day.

[malolo]

Kathy? You're obviously quite passionate about the subject. Perhaps you have friends who'd be willing to add their energies and/or voices to the rally over on Oahu on on October 23rd?

Or perhaps you'd like to join them from afar, right here on the Big Island.

http://www.hawaiieducationmatters.org/

[mdd7000]

Any bets on how much the drug usage and teen pregnancy rates will go up as a result of so many additional days of students not in school?
It is bad enough that the school days are so short already - don't even get me started about "Wacky Wednesdays" (1pm for the elementary) These students must have the shortest amount of hours to attend school in the nation! Of course the state has such terrible test scores.
The teachers have no right to complain about lower pay than mainland teachers, since they spend fewer hours teaching. My kids last mainland school had hours of 8:00am to 3:15pm five days per week. Guess what? They are top students in their classes here. The younger one is on track to skip a grade here. Just waiting for the paperwork to get done.

[Chuysmom]

...and when the stats on drugs, violence and teen pregnancy go wayyyy up...there will be less Child Welfare personnel to help them. The Department of Human Services has more cuts than the rest of the State. Go figure.



Carrie Rojo

http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it." Galadriel - LOTR

[punafish]

KathyH: I'd like to chat sometime. The forum mail doesn't work. My email: sullyconsulting(at)hotmail.com

Rob, put this on your list of possible slogans:

"What Can I do to Help our Kids?"

http://japaninsight.wordpress.com/2009/1...aiis-kids/

[mdd7000]

quote:

---

Originally posted by punafish

... The forum mail doesn't work.

---

It kinda does. When you get the bounced message back, read it as it contains the original intended email address. Simply resend to the email address it lists. []

[Bullwinkle]

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/2009101...works.html

first lawsuit ... They must have been reading the forum

[DickWilson]

I see someone is going to sue over the adverse impact the furlough days will have on special needs students. This is a good thing, my question, however is why is the lawsuit only appropriate for special needs students. Is this stupid idea of Lingles only affecting special needs students and not the thousands of other students? The thing that gets under my skin about all of this, is that a lawsuit is only filed for a special class of students and not all the students. We are becoming a nation where if you are not part of a special class, you have no rights. Before 40 people jump on me, I'm not questioning the rights of special needs students to get an equal education and access to the "benefits" of a public education, I'm only questioning the fact that a lawsuit was not filed on behalf of All the students affected.
And as far as not being able to put the furlough days at the end of the year because of a requirement to work so many days a month, that is an administrative function and could be addressed if Lingle and the Union could work together on it. Fat chance of that!!

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"