Texsox

here is one I am thinking of. Dad is nowhere to be found, he's been missing for several years now and presumed to be in Mexico. The student I have is the youngest of five. Three of the other four dropped out as soon as they turned 16, the fourth is still in school, but in and out of the alternative school and expected to drop out at 16 as well. When mom gets arrested, which is a fairly regular occurrence, they go to live with their tia who occasionally will get them to school. The older ones, before dropping out, were regularly busted with drugs. This girl is below grade level for every statistical yardstick we have. Could a foster situation be worse? Sure. Is this girl going to graduate high school in the present situation? No way. Will she wind up in and out of jail like the rest of the family, I'd say yes. Toss out all the stats you like, but in this case, I'd go with my judgement and take a chance on new surroundings.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 05:42 PM) And on average...removing a young child from the parent(s) is an emotional trauma that does long term damage, at least equal to the psychological damage of a broken home. Maybe this would be different if we had a stronger foster care system or more interest in adoption, but we don't. Everyone will make exceptions...particularly if the child's life is in danger...but aside from that level...well, there you go. I guess it is how you want to define their life is in danger.

You gotta raise money to win and Perry jumped out to a nice lead http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/p...-third-quarter/ Nifty little graphic to see where it is from.

Sorry, they were bought by a larger firm ten years ago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 05:35 PM) Again...the plural of anecdote is not data. The best data out there is quite conclusive, and it says that kids in a broken home are much better than in foster care in the long term, by a lot. Balta when the dad is in prison and mom is working for the Zetas, the stats go out the window. Remember my population and situation. I'm looking at the exceptions.

QPS, one of the companies on my resume.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 05:30 PM) I've been saying for a while now, to the disagreement of almost everyone here, that the general election boils down to this... the GOP doesn't need to worry about their base, because their base is far more focused on getting Obama out, than on who they vote in. All they have to focus on in the general is getting some support among swing/moderate voters. Obama's camp, on the other hand, while also needing to get this middle of the road voters, has a second and larger problem - the base is unhappy and may not show up. You want proof? CNN's latest poll has the proof right there. Consider these numbers... Only 30% of GOP respondents have settled on a candidate. But 65% of them are very enthusiastic about supporting their candidate. What does that tell you? Furthermore, only about 35% of Dem voters are energized for the upcoming election. Everyone likes to talk about the GOP base coming out. To me, that is a complete non-issue for this cycle. The keys are two: moderate voters (which way they go), and the Dem base. That is the election right there. I agree. I frankly don't see how Obama gets reelected.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 03:52 PM) ...But taking them away from those parents can still make things worse. I use to believe that, and I still believe that is true for 98+% of them. But after being a little more involved and hearing some stories, the list of kids whose lives could be improved by being away from their parents grows. In many cases just being left to raise themselves would be an improvement. But I am not making excuses for them. There are plenty of great kids who overcome their environment and thrive. They may not go to college and work professional jobs, but they graduate, work hard, and raise a family.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) Living and working in a school system with 70% poverty rates, I don't care what the stats say. There are kids who don't have a chance, and it is because of their idiotic parents. When you really want to talk poverty, I'll share some stats from my students. And many of these kids only have *a* chance, but it is very thin and perhaps they have it despite their parents.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 08:42 AM) On thi day in 1777, a British army surrendered near Saratoga, New York. On this day in 1781, a British army surrendered on the Yorktown Peninsula, Virginia. Pretty much a bad day to be English . . . But most in England were happy to have the war end. They were unhappy with the cost both in lives lost and cost in money.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 07:47 AM) I would contend that having a basic knowledge of finance is more important than, say, many of the science courses. In fact I'd say it is more important to having a successful life than nearly anything in high school other than English and HS-level math. We could also add parenting classes, career planning, and a few more. I agree on the value but can a required for graduation high school course be taught both at a level every HS student will understand *and* fully prepare the person to make financial decisions on a home mortage eight or ten years down the road? We keep adding to the schools things that should be considered knowledge that parents should cover in raising their kids. I know they can't so we have schools teaching the kids everything from sex to finances to driving. Why not just have schools adopt the kids and eliminate the parents? And if you say look at the news, the parents don't know this stuff, I will agree. But it just seems like piling how to survive in life to the schools may be too much.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 09:58 AM) That's just how bad he's been.

Damn, my #2 and #3 teams are playing.

hey look over here! I wonder what we are doing over there ------------------------------------------------>

If you are going to require a HS course in balancing a checkbook and basic consumer law, what course will you be removing? We have required courses our way to almost zero electives. At least in Texas, you *are* required to complete a college loan education program on-line. It very clearly explains the repayment process and how not having a job etc, will not cause you to not have to pay. It is so clear and simple even someone with a PhD* can understand it. *I kid because I care™

www.qotd.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood

"Xerxes has taken the bait."

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Oct 16, 2011 -> 03:31 PM) The media is trying like hell to nominate someone they feel is a lesser threat to Obama. Romney is that candidate. He's a pus.....hover. And Tex, the major problem with Perry is his arrogance. He thought he could walk right in and win this thing. He sticks out his chest and screams "TEXAS!!!!!!!" and thinks everyone should vote for him. Guess what? No one gives a s*** about what he can do for Texas, they care about what he can do for our country. Maybe when he gets a little more humility (never) he would have a chance. I would hope that every candidate thinks that or else they are wasting tens of millions of dollars.

No Card starting pitcher has recorded an out in the 6th

A Cards - Ranger series means a team I like will win the WS. It also means I can't pick between the two.

We're a few more months than that away from Super Tuesday. He'll get it together.

Solutions for a small planet

Quality is job #1

"One dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty below zero."

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Oct 14, 2011 -> 03:23 PM) There is no reason in this society to have a concealed weapon Reason #1 You have to be able to get your gun from point a to point b and wearing your gun outside your clothes for all the honest world to see(1) just ain't a good idea JMHO (1) Thanks to Townes Van Zandt