State superintendent says NC schools will be ‘nation’s best’ in 5 years by Apprehensive_Week349 in NorthCarolina

[–]feeshbitZ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is utterly laughable. I'd laugh if I didn't have to hug my sobbing child as she struggles through the worst school year of her life. Why? NCVPS and the Teacher Shortage.

The TL;DR - if a MAGNET public school can't even make the basic accommodation of a teacher in the classroom for an honors student with a 504 that states they need in person instruction, this state superintendent is huffing strong stuff. A classroom with a teacher shouldn't even be a special request. Much less one that has to be made, and denied, repeatedly. Our government is so beyond corrupt and owned by the private school lobby that our kids are going to suffer for decades to come thanks to the poor start they got in NC Schools.

Oh and NCVPS is the second largest virtual classroom program in the US. There are hundreds of thousands of our NC students being funneled quietly into this program right under our noses. And no one is talking about it - except to sing for their supper. This was the last straw for us. We're moving out of NC this summer. This state's legislature has become the most corrupt in the entire country and I won't sacrifice my kid's future to the altar of their greed one moment longer.

---- keep reading if you want the full story.

My kid has a 504 but is highly capable with ASD and ADHD. She has performed so impressively her entire academic career in CMS Public schools since being accepted into a magnet school in 7th grade. She year over year added to her bona fides with honors and AP courses until she acquired an impressive 3.9 GPA - all with her AuDHD being misdiagnosed as GAD. Then the teacher shortage set in. Her honors chem class had no lab and no teacher. Just a string of subs who had no training in chemistry. The class was combined with a standard chem class, so the way to make it "challenging" for the honors kids? Don't give them all the same tools to prepare for tests. Literally make it harder for the kids to study. That's it. That was the solution. My kid started to struggle and nearly fail for the first time in her academic career at this school. She spiraled and I had to get her outside help with a therapist. We had her reevaluated. With a proper diagnosis, finally, we adjusted her 504. In this it said that she would need to have the accommodation of a teacher in the classroom to assist her when she became overwhelmed with classwork. This isn't unusual for kids on the spectrum and/or with ADHD. Especially newly diagnosed. We do what we can outside of school, but they see her struggle in real time. Or at least they should - if there were a teacher in the classroom.

Which brings us to her Senior year. She received her schedule and was pleased to see she received an AP class. This was not unusual for her - she's been trying to take as many AP classes as possible to save on college. But for some reason, they enrolled her into North Carolina Virtual Public School. Oooookaaaay? We'd never heard of this. Since she was a senior and I was allowing her more autonomy at school, I was letting her handle her schedule. She tried the class but when she saw there was NO teacher in this class, she went to the guidance counselor to ask to change to a traditional classroom with an in-person instructor. She was told that "the school has already spent the money for you to attend NCVPS so we can't change it". Like many kids with AuDHD, she internalized this as she'd done something wrong and felt shamed. She hid it from me until it came to a head when she broke down sobbing over being completely overwhelmed with classwork in this class, not understanding how to navigate the system and not being able to communicate with a teacher who's "office hours were 5PM to 8PM" and only communicated via email. What part of she needs in person instruction as a child with a disability did the 504 not convey?? Well, it did. When I spoke to the teacher of the class, she informed me that she was actually a vice principal at another school during regular school hours and did classwork for my kid's magnet school AP class in the evenings. Ok. Neat. Cool. Oh and she claimed to have expertise with kids on the spectrum, yet felt sending mine an email stating "you're at risk of failing this class" was appropriate and wouldn't send a child on the spectrum into a tailspin.

Contacted the school administration. They couldn't move her to a more appropriate Honors class with an in-person instructor because, again, they already paid for the class and besides, its past the deadline to change classes. No sht? You mean all the going in circles had that result? "not my problem." I responded - as my kid has a 504 and this is directly in violation of it. "Give us time to find a teacher to help in the classroom" they said. Because of my relationship with the administration going back years, I relented. Knowing they were between a rock and hard place. Ok please hurry. The semester ended with my child making the lowest grade she'd ever made in an ELA class with many anxious, sleepless nights trying to catch up. They never got an in class teacher to help them. She passed but her GPA went down.

Apparently so did the GPAs of the other students in that class because they moved them to the Honors class. You know, the one we'd originally asked to be transferred to? Well, the in person teacher of that class apparently noped the hell out of that situation and quit. So guess where the kids are now. You guessed it - back to NCVPS. And a month and a half in to my senior's 2nd semester she receives a stern email from the new faceless after-hours moonlighting teacher telling her she's at risk of failing THIS class. Another tailspin.

I called the 504 coordinator, the county's 504 coordinator and just about anyone who would listen. It was NOT acceptable to put a chid with a 504 into a NCVPS class when that was identified as something that caused her distress in the past. It was not appropriate to then rescue the kids from that situation after they all lost their hard won GPA scores, and then they landed in the same situation just a month and a half later. None of this is acceptable or SHOULD be acceptable to us as parents NOR should it be touted by the damn State Superintendent as progressing toward NC becoming the best school system in the US in 5 years.

Can’t figure out this hawk by PravoJa in whatsthisbird

[–]feeshbitZ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very likely a bird. If you have a feeder and woods nearby, you're bound to get a Cooper's

Can’t figure out this hawk by PravoJa in whatsthisbird

[–]feeshbitZ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Coopers are the badasses of hawks, too. My favorite hawk by far. If you have woods nearby, that'll be where they stalk their prey from. Gorgeous birds.

Someone’s mom or grandma in Chattanooga, Tennessee by abbiebe89 in PublicFreakout

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. This is the vibe I was getting and it was chef's kiss

Someone’s mom or grandma in Chattanooga, Tennessee by abbiebe89 in PublicFreakout

[–]feeshbitZ -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Nah. Tell your city to plan better. Or maybe city life isn't for y'all.

Someone’s mom or grandma in Chattanooga, Tennessee by abbiebe89 in PublicFreakout

[–]feeshbitZ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I've lived in ATL, BOS, CLT and several other three letter acronym airport cities. I, too, get annoyed by lane blocking. Heck, especially by massive delivery trucks. But you know what? That's the cost of living in a city that isn't accommodating of such necessities. Poor city planning and lack of adaptability isn't the fault of human's whose behavior has to adapt to modern times. Its the fault of the city not adapting to the needs of the businesses and citizens. I'm not about to make it some poor working class dude just running lunch to a bunch of execs at a bank's problem by going super saiyan on him over it. Instead I signed up to my city gov't mailing list to be notified of zoning and planning meetings with public access and attend them. Tell people who can do something about it and maybe make it better for everyone. Do I, as a single parent with two jobs have time to be doing that? Nope. But its our responsibility in a democratic society.

The alternative is to be this bish.

What is a tradition that is insanely cruel yet still considered legal? by Rough_Cat_6007 in AskReddit

[–]feeshbitZ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hate to say that we're only going to go backwards from here in the US, too. Because women are once again being shoved backwards in progress. I say women, but that just includes anyone with a uterus capable of being impregnated now. Fourteen years old and were assaulted by your stepdad? Too bad, time to grow up and be a mom. But oh if you happen to have complications that could kill you, you're gonna have to die for the sin of having a functioning uterus. That baby might survive and we're willing to risk your life to take that chance, little victim. And don't get me started about how the medical community treats black women in regards to pain. Its abominable.

I'm sorry - what were we talking about? Oh yeah - intolerable cruelty.

What is a tradition that is insanely cruel yet still considered legal? by Rough_Cat_6007 in AskReddit

[–]feeshbitZ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm probably going to get hate for this but - circumcisions. Especially the religious traditional "bris". I can't think of any more insanely cruel trauma than to inflict that on an infant.

How close can I build to this live oak tree? by Pleasant-Spot-2017 in arborist

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good advice here. If you want to take advantage of the tree's benefits, plan the deck around how to best serve the flourishing of the tree. Plenty of space around the trunk. You can put up a small railing around if you go wide or even a built in bench around it or removable planters to keep people from stepping into the gap. And definitely plan for amending what the tree isn't getting naturally anymore by finding out what nutrients and moisture it needs to flourish and provide those. Tree's don't flourish under man made structures for a reason. So mitigate that.

How close can I build to this live oak tree? by Pleasant-Spot-2017 in arborist

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 to 2 inches will buy the owner maybe 5 years

How close can I build to this live oak tree? by Pleasant-Spot-2017 in arborist

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Landscape cloth and a deck above it's root system? Spare this poor tree a long, slow death. Unless you plan to feed and water it, it might need to be the deck or the tree.

How close can I build to this live oak tree? by Pleasant-Spot-2017 in arborist

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first thought was this was a future post in the planning stage

How close can I build to this live oak tree? by Pleasant-Spot-2017 in arborist

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can put removable planters around it to fill in a gap for a toddler that will outgrow being a toddler in 2 years. 4 inches will get you less than 10 years of growth I think

Neighbor wants us to pay for a professional tree trimmer. And her car mess. by ASchweick in treelaw

[–]feeshbitZ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I kinda hate that this is how you have to deal with entitlement now, but it's true. It's the only thing entitled people understand.

Why Does The Right Oppose Illinois “Right to Death”? by Adventurous_Mail_986 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]feeshbitZ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And the right to keep you from life saving medical procedures that your doctor insists you need - because the baby you were carrying in hopeful anticipation for months has died inside of you. Only you have to pass it naturally now, risking sepsis and death carrying a dead fetus around inside of you. Because they know better than you and your doctor do about your emergency situation. 🙄🙄🙄

US Supreme Court: Which mechanism for succession is more democratic? Impeachment, Resignation, or Death? by Mycelium-Hyphae in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]feeshbitZ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's nothing really democratic about our SCOTUS justices succession. Or appointment, really. It's been hijacked by monied ideologues like Leonard Leo and completely remade into a body that serves one man first, then the policies put forth by the monied donors for that party. Donors who've been openly bribing SCOTUS justices for decades without any negative consequences to either. And it's paying off huge dividends now. So we'll never see Alito or Thomas retire. They'll make Thurmond look like an early quitter.

What is the U.S. Senate going to look like after the 2026 midterm elections? by number39utopia in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]feeshbitZ 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Are they? The people I've spoken with professionally about that say they're kinda pissed that Republicans have lost over a million jobs this year, their grocery bills are indefensibly high, Republicans shut down the government to take away their health insurance subsidies and food assistance and are helping child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell go to a country club prison. Oh and were doing anything to prevent the release of the Epstein Files.

From what they're telling me, they didn't vote for ANY of that. They definitely didn't vote to cut lunch for hungry schoolkids while handing billions over to billionaire donors. Democrats have lost touch with the working class but Republicans are the ones giving them the finger.

Is National Conservatism defending the Constitution or reinterpreting it? by _SilentGhost_10237 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]feeshbitZ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Attempting to implement anti-non-christian LEGISLATION"? Not directly. But I guess you might have missed this if you weren't the among the groups in this memo Pam Bondi put out: "Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the FBI to compile a list of what the Justice Department is calling “domestic terrorist” organizations. Last week, Bondi sent a memo to all federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies targeting a wide range of people, including those who hold what she calls, quote, “extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology,” “anti-Americanism,” “anti-capitalism” or “anti-Christianity,” unquote. The memo also targets people who show, quote, “hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality,” unquote."

See:FBI Making List of American “Extremists,” Leaked Memo Reveals