Leonard Said:

What would be the best way to pose this to my parents?

We Answered:

Show them this post. You have made a pretty good argument for yourself here. You sound like you have it all together....you should be very proud of your accomplishments.

Ryan Said:

Turkish for infants....what can I use?

We Answered:

http://www.trt.net.tr/Canli/canli.aspx?k… she can watch online
my brother learned writing&reading at the age of 5 from a program of this channel (trt1)

lynn, i dont agree with you. i i was bilingual at family too, and learned english at school. i mixed some words until i was 10-11 yo, but that didnt create a huge problem for me afterwards. learning an extra language doesnt make the kid experience a cultural shock i guess. if that was true, my second language would create a huge shock too. now i almost forgot the second language but i can learn it anytime much easier than a starter adult.

Colleen Said:

Why don't we focus on improving public schools rather than talk about private/charter schooling?

We Answered:

Well there are your reasons above.
Look at the opinions of these "citizens"...

How can these people suggest we keep "throwing money" at our schools - when the median salary for a high school teacher is under 35k annual .... We can't afford to provide books for every student, and perhaps they don't know realize how the real world works - but it takes money to move any initiatives. "Let's try something different" - okay let's do that, but whatever it is, it costs money. That's reality for you - gee how inconvenient.

Obama has made 3 dramatic comments all of which I see some value in.
Pre-K classes, longer school years, and more Pell grants for college.

In the meantime though - you can be a positive educational influence on your brother.

Cassandra Said:

Homework in preschool?

We Answered:

There are 2 ways you can go about this....

1- Let all the parents know that there are homework sheets available for anyone who wants them. Put them in a special spot in your classroom and make it the parent's responsibility to take the sheets if they want them. Also let them know it is not mandatory and they are not to be returned. It is for their use only and how they administer it at home is up to them.

2- Inform the parents that it isn't your philosophy to give out homework to such young children but that they can certainly suppliment themselves by purchasing something from the local teacher store or from searching the internet. You could even give them the names of workbooks, authors, websites, etc.

Either way it puts the ball in their court and makes them responsible for the extra work, not you.

Also, what is your school's philosophy on this? If they are against it you could also cite that as to why you don't give out homework.

Clara Said:

Should I ditch school?

We Answered:

well, u sound smart, so why dont u start at the top of ur list and get it done, i mean why not be tired one day insead of losing out on a day of school, study for the tests first though, and then explain to ur teachers the situation and they will be ok with it, as it is the start of hte school year and it isnt ur fault.

EDIT:
what did u end up doing?

Beth Said:

Can I start a petition to fire a teacher at my school? More details inside..?

We Answered:

If your relationship with your parents is a good one, then before you do a petition, I'd actually have you speak to your parents. Tell them the situation, and ask them to speak to your principal.

Often, adults have more power in situations like this then kids do.

And it may well be that the principal can not fire her, because of union rules. He may be disciplining her according to those rules. You don't know the situation there, and he likely won't, and can't, tell you or your parents. But at least they can register their displeasure, and he will hear them. And that is of value.

A petition will do nothing in this situation except antagonize the people involved. But personal complaints to the principal? Those might work.

Joann Said:

Activities to engage little monsters: how can I replace my word searches?

We Answered:

Do your word searches have a theme? (colors, days of the week, months of the year, animals, nouns, verbs, etc.) As they find each word, have them print the words in a notebook and make a vocabulary list. Then you could define each word and write it in a short sentence. Then for fluency you could have them repeat the word after you several times. Then you could have them repeat the sentence after you.

I'm sure there's websites where you can make your own word searches and choose your own words. I'll look around and let you know if I can find one.

http://www.superwordsearchmaker.com/?gcl…