It's the Cell Phone's Fault!! - Page 2

glatt · 03-29-2005, 10:25 AM

There's a county-wide special magnet elementary school a block from my house. Busses will pick up kids from around the county and drop them off at this school, but a lot of parents choose to drive their kids there instead. Our own neighborhood elementary school is actually farther away, and our daughter has to take a bus to get there. Parents with kids going to the special magnet school have been known to zip through our neighborhood, blow past the stopped school bus our daughter is boarding while its lights are flashing, and then zip to the special magnet school so they can drop their own kids off.

These parents, I'm sure, think that they are responsible adults who care about the safety of children in general. The lesson here is that most people, when they get behind the wheel of a car, change. You probably change too, although you won't admit it because you don't realize it.

lookout123 · 03-29-2005, 10:27 AM

what is a "special magnet" school? in the military i was called a "stupid maggot". that kind of sounds the same, are they synonyms?

BigV · 03-29-2005, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

--snip--
Everyone go get yerself a DUI, toute suite.

Congratulations on the elevated self awareness. I'll, uh, pass on the DUI, thanks just the same.

Undertoad · 03-29-2005, 10:46 AM

Naw l123, it's a special magnet school, where they learn about electromagnetic fields and converting electrical force to mechanical force and stuff.

BigV · 03-29-2005, 10:51 AM

/cocks ear/
/sound of l123's chain bein yanked/

Hey, a special magnet school is a school that draws its population for a given program from the whole district, rather than the local neighborhood. This is so that there can be a critical mass of students to have a successful program. An example in our area is one high school in all of Seattle has a deaf students program. So, regardless where you live in the city, the school district offers the special services only at that one (of about 8) high school.

There are plusses and minuses of course, long travel versus other students with similar needs/backgrounds. Worth it in my opinion.

/hey, that sound stopped.../

glatt · 03-29-2005, 10:55 AM

This particular magnet school is a public school that sells itself as being different than the other regular schools. They call themselves "traditional" and make the kids follow a strict dress code. That's about the only difference. In theory, anyone in the county can go their instead of just going to thier neighborhood elementary school, but so many parents want their kids to go there that they hold a lottery. It's very exclusive.

Plus, they play with magnets in science.

OnyxCougar · 03-29-2005, 10:55 AM

One of my ex's went to a Magnet school in Vegas, which specialized in computers and IT. Basically, you applied to the program as an 8th grader, and if you were one of the 250 selectees, you were bussed to the school.

Any intramural sports were done at the "home school", which is the crappy school you would have gone to had you not been fortunate or smart enough to get into Magnet.

Magnet schools are better funded (many times with lots of private donations from parents) and provide above average education in the city they are in. In lots of cases, it's like a whole school of nothing but GATE kids.

LabRat · 03-29-2005, 11:39 AM

GATE, Gifted And Talented Education?
I was an ELPer in school, Expanded Learning Program. Apparently, I was 'gifted' when I was a kid. *snort* Don't know if there are any magnet schools around here, I'll have to look into it.

wolf · 03-29-2005, 01:27 PM

I was in one of the pilot gifted programs in the country ...

Just in case we were getting a little too big in the ego over this, we were frequently reminded that we were considered "exceptional" students. But so were the retards. And the money came from the same funding stream ...

russotto · 03-29-2005, 01:33 PM

We didn't have a G&T program at my high school, so I DID get myself classified with the retards. (Actually sort-of true; it stopped one particular piss-ass from deducting points due to my bad handwriting)

Now I blow through school zones at 85mph. Kills 'em quick, and a quick death is probably better than a few more years in school anyway.

lookout123 · 03-29-2005, 01:36 PM

that is exactly how it was in my program wolf. i'll let the reader decide which category of "exceptional" they placed me in. i took that program from the 5th grade all the way through HS graduation. it was awesome. by my senior year i only had to show up 2/3 times a week for 3 or 4 hours at a time for seminars and discussion groups. all the rest of the work was done according to my desires as long as i maintained satisfactory standards.

lookout123 · 03-29-2005, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Now I blow through school zones at 85mph. Kills 'em quick, and a quick death is probably better than a few more years in school anyway.

Dammit Russotto! you owe me a new flat screen monitor, i don't know if i can get the pop out of all the little speaker holes!

Clodfobble · 03-29-2005, 07:14 PM

Magnet schools are nothing but a dirty trick in my local school district. Every few years, they take the worst schools and declare them to have "magnet" programs. All the smart kids who don't know any better transfer to ghettoville, and all of a sudden the school's average test scores are up.

LCanal · 03-29-2005, 08:14 PM

I am saddened by the boys death and am also inflammed by people in cars using cell phones.

However i wish to point out that part of the blame rests on the system. In North America children are sheltered from the real world and one example is the "school bus".

I gew up in the UK (flaming allowed) and on our plain jane random coloured bus where possible each small child was given an older, 8-10 year-old, to look after him or her at the bus stop. If he or she was the only one alighting at that spot mum/mom was usually waiting on the other side.

It was drummed into us both as youngsters and as "guardians" to wait until the bus has gone before attempting to cross as a stopped bus does not allow a clear view of the traffic and that drivers could not see us if we were hidden behind a vehicle.

LCanal

OnyxCougar · 04-03-2005, 12:53 PM

I don't think crossing in front of or behind the bus can be considered "sheltered from the real world".

03-29-2005, 10:27 AM	#17
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	what is a "special magnet" school? in the military i was called a "stupid maggot". that kind of sounds the same, are they synonyms? __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

03-29-2005, 10:51 AM	#20
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	/cocks ear/ /sound of l123's chain bein yanked/ Hey, a special magnet school is a school that draws its population for a given program from the whole district, rather than the local neighborhood. This is so that there can be a critical mass of students to have a successful program. An example in our area is one high school in all of Seattle has a deaf students program. So, regardless where you live in the city, the school district offers the special services only at that one (of about 8) high school. There are plusses and minuses of course, long travel versus other students with similar needs/backgrounds. Worth it in my opinion. /hey, that sound stopped.../ __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

03-29-2005, 10:55 AM	#22
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	One of my ex's went to a Magnet school in Vegas, which specialized in computers and IT. Basically, you applied to the program as an 8th grader, and if you were one of the 250 selectees, you were bussed to the school. Any intramural sports were done at the "home school", which is the crappy school you would have gone to had you not been fortunate or smart enough to get into Magnet. Magnet schools are better funded (many times with lots of private donations from parents) and provide above average education in the city they are in. In lots of cases, it's like a whole school of nothing but GATE kids. __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

03-29-2005, 11:39 AM	#23
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	GATE, Gifted And Talented Education? I was an ELPer in school, Expanded Learning Program. Apparently, I was 'gifted' when I was a kid. snort Don't know if there are any magnet schools around here, I'll have to look into it. __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

03-29-2005, 01:27 PM	#24
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I was in one of the pilot gifted programs in the country ... Just in case we were getting a little too big in the ego over this, we were frequently reminded that we were considered "exceptional" students. But so were the retards. And the money came from the same funding stream ... __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-29-2005, 10:25 AM	#16
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	There's a county-wide special magnet elementary school a block from my house. Busses will pick up kids from around the county and drop them off at this school, but a lot of parents choose to drive their kids there instead. Our own neighborhood elementary school is actually farther away, and our daughter has to take a bus to get there. Parents with kids going to the special magnet school have been known to zip through our neighborhood, blow past the stopped school bus our daughter is boarding while its lights are flashing, and then zip to the special magnet school so they can drop their own kids off. These parents, I'm sure, think that they are responsible adults who care about the safety of children in general. The lesson here is that most people, when they get behind the wheel of a car, change. You probably change too, although you won't admit it because you don't realize it.

03-29-2005, 10:46 AM	#19
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Naw l123, it's a special magnet school, where they learn about electromagnetic fields and converting electrical force to mechanical force and stuff.

03-29-2005, 01:33 PM	#25
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	We didn't have a G&T program at my high school, so I DID get myself classified with the retards. (Actually sort-of true; it stopped one particular piss-ass from deducting points due to my bad handwriting) Now I blow through school zones at 85mph. Kills 'em quick, and a quick death is probably better than a few more years in school anyway.

03-29-2005, 01:36 PM	#26
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	that is exactly how it was in my program wolf. i'll let the reader decide which category of "exceptional" they placed me in. i took that program from the 5th grade all the way through HS graduation. it was awesome. by my senior year i only had to show up 2/3 times a week for 3 or 4 hours at a time for seminars and discussion groups. all the rest of the work was done according to my desires as long as i maintained satisfactory standards. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

03-29-2005, 07:14 PM	#28
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Magnet schools are nothing but a dirty trick in my local school district. Every few years, they take the worst schools and declare them to have "magnet" programs. All the smart kids who don't know any better transfer to ghettoville, and all of a sudden the school's average test scores are up.

03-29-2005, 08:14 PM	#29
LCanal I hope to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sumatra Posts: 257	Streetwise I am saddened by the boys death and am also inflammed by people in cars using cell phones. However i wish to point out that part of the blame rests on the system. In North America children are sheltered from the real world and one example is the "school bus". I gew up in the UK (flaming allowed) and on our plain jane random coloured bus where possible each small child was given an older, 8-10 year-old, to look after him or her at the bus stop. If he or she was the only one alighting at that spot mum/mom was usually waiting on the other side. It was drummed into us both as youngsters and as "guardians" to wait until the bus has gone before attempting to cross as a stopped bus does not allow a clear view of the traffic and that drivers could not see us if we were hidden behind a vehicle. LCanal __________________ "Happiness is like sex. In order to get any good out of it, you have to give it to someone else."

04-03-2005, 12:53 PM	#30
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I don't think crossing in front of or behind the bus can be considered "sheltered from the real world". __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

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