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A
Different Path
Homeschooling, while still rare, is growing in popularity. What do the
kids miss and gain?
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Ruth Olson
Newsweek
May 20, 2007 - For many, high school is the heart of teenage social life
as well as academics, with boyfriends and girlfriends, jocks, drama queens
and nerds. But bullying, drug abuse and incidents like Columbine remind
us there’s a darker side to the high-school scene. Now, for better
or for worse, many teens are choosing to skip the traditional high-school
experience for something completely different—high school at home.
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that in 2003, some
1,096,000 students (including K-12) in the United States were being homeschooled,
an increase of about 29 percent since 1999.
Teens
& Technology is it KPC?
(translation: Teens & Technology is it Keeping Parents Clueless?)
by Amy Cortez, Editor The Eclectic Telegraph
Now
that summer is here, many schooled kids are hanging out getting to do
what homeschooled teens get to do every day - experience life. Teens these
days are far more hi-tech than our generation ever was, heck we only had
3 channels on television and transistor radios were about as close to
an iPod as we got. We did our best to explore the world in our teen years,
enough to scare the heck out of our parents, but today, technology can
bring new wonders, but also new dangers and places where kids can get
into really different kinds of situations than we did. Often teens are
spending their time more in the digital world than in the real world and
that sometimes makes me wonder just what "socialization" has
become.
I
am always amazed at the maturity I see in the homeschooled teens we encounter
in our travels. Many of the schooled teens we encounter don't want to
be around adults - especially parents - though I have seen exceptions
with parents who treat their teens respectfully and as young adults. I
am gathering that the more you get to know your teen, what they are in
to, what they like, dislike, what makes them happy and especially what
embarrasses them, and most importantly why for
all these ideas, you get the privilege of spending more quality time with
them. In my opinion, it would be a shame to not get to know what kind
of person your child became as a teen and these days that really does
take some homework on your part.
Do
you know what a social networking website is? How about text messaging?
Why are our teens so hooked on these technologies? They speak a different
language these days, some we understand, some we ought to understand,
some we'll never understand.
The
NetLingo Top 20 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Needs to Know:
1. POS - Parent Over Shoulder
2. PIR - Parent In Room
3. P911 - Parent Alert
4. PAW - Parents Are Watching
5. PAL - Parents Are Listening
6. ASL - Age/Sex/Location
7. MorF - Male or Female
8. SorG - Straight or Gay
9. LMIRL - Let's Meet In Real Life
10. KPC - Keeping Parents Clueless
11. TDTM - Talk Dirty To Me
12. IWSN - I Want Sex Now
13. NIFOC - Nude In Front Of Computer
14. GYPO - Get Your Pants Off
15. ADR - Address
16. WYCM - Will You Call Me?
17. KFY - Kiss For You
18. MOOS - Member(s) Of the Opposite Sex
19. MOSS or MOTSS - Member(s)
Of The Same Sex
20. NALOPKT - Not A Lot Of People Know That
(From NetLingo.com) |
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WEST
INDIES ISLAND SPEAK
(from Windjammer - just for fun!)
Dat - that
Ting - thing
Vex - upset
Tief - to steal
Wuk up - to dance to calypso or soca music
Dealin - refers to a couple that are not yet officially
dating.
Deh Togeda - literally "they're together",
used when a couple is officially dating
Chek you latah - see you later
Seerias! - serious, used when one is not joking
Foh true? - you serious?
You sick de man? - Are you crazy? |
Generation
M: Teens and Technology
Digital Technoogy 101 for Parents
Digital Technology 101 offers guidance and advice on how to monitor
some of the most popular communication tools used by teens today.
You may have heard about them on television news or relented to
your teen’s wishes to buy the latest and greatest gadgets.
But have you had an opportunity to learn exactly what your teen
already knows about digital technologies? [read
on] |
LOL!
POS. Sup? :*(
What do all these abbreviations mean?
People who live in the world of Instant Messaging and text messaging,
namely teens, have created a whole new Internet language, or net lingo.
If you have the need or occasion to check your teen’s IM account
or cell phone text messages, it’s important that you’re
savvy about the shortened language they use, and can understand its
meaning. You’ll be able to tell if they are hiding something
or exchanging inappropriate information.
Not sure if you want to be that nosy?
Remember, you are the parent and your teen needs you to be an active
part of his/her life. While computers and technology offer wonderful
ways to stay connected, they can also create a dangerous playground,
complete with people who do not have the best intentions. Act as if
the computer is your home phone line. [read
on] |
It's
important to remember that even though you want to be your teen's best
friend, the better choice is to be an informed parent that can help your
teen make physically and psychologically healthy decisions. If your teen
recognizes that you are willing to make yourself the bad guy in tough
decisions he has to make [my mom will bite my head off if I do that],
he will see you as his friend. You'll have plenty of time to be a best
friend when they are in their 20's!
When
my son was just a second grader and still in the private school system
I participated in bringing an informational program to the parents association
of this school. It was a great program, secular then and from what I can
tell of their website, it still is today. It included some very graphic
stuff, but it made me aware of some of the stuff to be aware of, that
was very, very different from what I remember dealing with as a teen.
The one thing I remembered hearing over and over in the program, and it
is in their
podcast video clip "to tolerate a behavior, is to condone that
behavior". The other idea that they made clear was that it was the
behavior, not the person, that needed to be changed. Both ideas I have
carried forward in my parenting. Anyway, it might be a resource you can
use:
The
Toxic Culture
"It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child.
That may or may not be true. However, today's village has a sewer
running through it, and many of our children are playing in it."
- Bill Oliver
This toxic stream carries a culture of death where sex is sport,
drugs and drunkenness are rites of teen passage, and violence and
death are entertainment. It really doesn't matter where you live,
the toxic culture streams into your child's mind through friends,
movies, music, television and videogames-not to mention the most
aggressive new marketing arm of the toxic culture, the Internet.
Your child is just 3 clicks away from child predators, pedophiles,
pornography, the formula for meth, and the mechanics of bomb-making
without ever leaving the house.
So today's parent is faced with an important question: How do I
raise a healthy child...a safe child. in a toxic culture? To find
the answer, don't look any further than yourself. You are your child's
best hope. Research and common sense agree: An involved, loving,
informed parent is the most effective "prevention program"
ever developed. Parent-To-Parent's
practical approach will show you how to make your stand. [read
on] |
America's
Top 50 Jobs
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
Though we'd all like to be earning a hefty paycheck, the reality is we're
not all investment bankers, Oscar-worthy actors or CEOs. The truth is,
we're all just regular people trying to make a living at the highest salary
our skills, training and interests will allow.
We looked at high-wage, high-growth occupations as reported by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics' 2006-2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Here are the top 50 jobs that are both growing faster than the average
for total employment (13.0 percent) and have annual earnings above median
of $28,770.[read
on]
New From The Washington Post:
Admissions 101 from Jay Matthews
You'll have to become a registereed visitor, but there are some good discussions
going on regarding the college admission process:
Who
Needs the SAT?
Tales From the New 'Admissions 101' Discussion Group
By Jay Mathews, Washington Post Staff Writer, June
5, 2007
Several of our reporters have started such groups in their specialties.
My group, "Admissions 101," explores the college admissions
process.
It launched last week with this question: "Who Needs the SAT?"
The answers from readers were so smart, and so useful in the debate
over our nation's most feared test, I want to discuss some of them
here.
The system works like this: About three times a week I introduce a
hot topic among people struggling with the college admission system,
then stand back and let users tell me what is really going on, throwing
in a comment or two when necessary. |
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 Denison
University
100 West Loop
Granville, Ohio 43023
1-800-DENISON
www.denison.edu
Welcome to the home pages of Denison University, an independent
residential liberal arts college of some 2,000 students, 164 faculty
members and nearly 23,000 alumni. Denison was founded in 1831
and is located in Granville, OH, a small community in central
Ohio, about 30 miles east of Columbus, OH.
At
a Glance:
Campus size: 1000
acres with a 350-acre Biological Reserve
Academic year: Semester system
Courses of study: 43
Summer Scholar Program: 120 students
Optional Denison Internship Program: Internships and travel seminars
Degrees offered: B.A., B.S., B.F.A.
Phi Beta Kappa chapter: Established 1910
Average class size: 20; Student/teacher ratio: 11:1
Total full-time equivalent faculty: 192
Total undergraduates: Approximately 2,100
Total alumni: 30,590 |
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Oberlin
College
173 W. Lorain Street
Oberlin, OH 44074
www.oberlin.edu
Oberlin College uniquely
combines both a leading College of Arts and Sciences and a world-renowned
Conservatory of Music.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers a four-year undergraduate
program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The Conservatory
of Music offers four-year undergraduate programs of professional
and academic studies leading to the Bachelor of Music degree.
In addition, Oberlin offers a distinctive, five-year double-degree
program leading to both baccalaureate degrees.
* Student Population:
2,800
* Gender: 55% female / 45% male
* Origin: 9% in-state / 85% out-of-state / 6% from abroad
* Diversity: 19% people of color
* Average class size: 18.3
* Student to Faculty ratio: 10:1
* Location: Oberlin, Ohio (population 8,600), located 35 miles
SW of Cleveland |
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