Texas school attendance policy and cruise dates

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't know about it being less segmented because it still is. You have to show up at a certain time and you need to have your work done by a certain time.

Yeah and showing up late is usually frowned upon. Sometimes your professor should they choose to could prohibit you from entering if you were late.

One of the HS in our district had block scheduling which is more like college. I really wished that my DD had that experience because it would have prepared her more for the rigors of college. In any case, I'm sure your son will do fine. My comment wasn't about academics, it was about the size of the school and how kids can often get lost at bigger schools.

It's changed a tiny bit since I was in the school but when I was there my high school had block scheduling--loved it. And we had a similar thing in middle school too.

In high school our block scheduling was 4 classes a day and study hall was built in to specific days. So MWF would be blocks ABCD and TuTh would be blocks WXYZ and then the next week MWF would be blocks WXYZ and TuTh would be blocks ABCD and so on and so on.

My husband's high school did block scheduling except for Friday which was back to normal scheduling. I preferred the way my school did it TBH though.

I found block scheduling helped to get used to longer classes and how college normally does does their scheduling of classes (some classes that I took though were shorter 5 day a week classes though just the majority weren't).

Size of school can def. make a difference. My alma mater hovers around 26,000-29,000 students per year. Lower level classes it's not uncommon to have 1,000 people in the lecture hall.

I can't say that college is more flexible. It depends on the program one is in, the college you go to, the professor you get, etc. My experience was the University was less willing to deal with excuses, etc. Basically you owned up to XYZ. Sure sometimes your professor would work with you and they certaintly wanted you to come to them should you need help but they also had rules. For instance it wasn't uncommon for me to have classes where the grade was solely based on X number of tests. There were a few where there might be 5 tests given and only 4 would count but if you missed a test whelp you just used up that throw away one. I had food poisoning where I ended up in the hospital and consequently missed a test. I'd like to think that in high school I could certaintly work with my teacher on making up the test or work. But in college in that class (as well as other classes where the grade was based on X number of tests) no excuse would allow me to make up the test.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Parents are the educators so they give the grades. SAT scores are important. Most university's have special admissions for homeschooled kids. Even Ivy League schools are accepting homeschoolers. Home school groups have fought hard for this and the kids are proving to be successful.
I talked to one mom at the Beach club a few years ago. Her daughter got a full scholarship to ASU based on SATs and the grades her mom gave here.
Homeschooled kids adapt to college pretty easily. College is more flexible, less time in class, more independent study. More like what their used to. I believe it's harder for them to adjust to a normal 8 to 3 regimated routine. I know it would be for him.
He would need to wait until he's a junior. 18 months. He pretty restless and bored. We're getting him into golf. He's not athletic. His swing is right up there with Charles Barkley. In AZ golf is what kids do.

I just would not worry. We've had homeschool kids mainstream into my child's public high school and perform very well. We went to a Duke Tip ceremony last year and most of the top scoring kids were homeschoolers. If you go the community college route, your child will probably find it incredibly easy. Community college classes are generally taught at the high school level. That's why so many high schools are encouraging dual enrollment classes. Kids and young adults usually adapt far easier than their parents do!! There are a lot of haters on this thread!

 

[Summer2018]

I went to a high school with block scheduling -- assuming it's the same as you mean (we alternated days so we'd have four periods one day, the other four periods the next -- 1.5 hr classes instead of 45 minutes). I think it does help for getting you used to the idea of longer classes, as college courses tend to meet for an hour or more. And I agree about college still being relatively scheduled and classroom-heavy; a bunch of factors came together badly for me once and there was one semester where every Tuesday and Thursday I'd go to class for a couple hours in the morning, break for lunch, and then have an 8-hour long string of classes that went into the evening. Then, if he wants to go to grad school...grad school was very hard for me because the standard was for each class to meet for three solid hours. Even as someone who grew up in public school and was accustomed to following someone else's schedule for classes, it was hard to stay focused for that long each and every time.

Edited to add: I think another benefit of adapting to an 8-to-3 schedule sooner rather than later is building up a tolerance for getting through a normal work day as an adult.

I soooo agree with you. When I was in grad school, I was a parent, and a teacher. Just being a teacher is exhausting...I now doze off on the couch after a draining school day around 7:30 pm. Just being a parent can take a lot out of a person as well, not to mention being someone's wife. That time I spent in grad school was so hard. I tried attending my alma mater which was a 30 minute commute one way after a long day. I transferred to the more expensive private university which was much closer to home. Even so, classes were from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Monday-Thursday. Trying to juggle everything was tough, but the toughest part was staying awake, engaged, and involved in a 3 hour graduate level college class four days a week for two years including summers. That kind of grueling schedule is best done young and single. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way for me. In the end, it was all worth it.

 

[robinb]

Yeah and showing up late is usually frowned upon. Sometimes your professor should they choose to could prohibit you from entering if you were late.

It's changed a tiny bit since I was in the school but when I was there my high school had block scheduling--loved it. And we had a similar thing in middle school too.

In high school our block scheduling was 4 classes a day and study hall was built in to specific days. So MWF would be blocks ABCD and TuTh would be blocks WXYZ and then the next week MWF would be blocks WXYZ and TuTh would be blocks ABCD and so on and so on.

My husband's high school did block scheduling except for Friday which was back to normal scheduling. I preferred the way my school did it TBH though.

I found block scheduling helped to get used to longer classes and how college normally does does their scheduling of classes (some classes that I took though were shorter 5 day a week classes though just the majority weren't).

Size of school can def. make a difference. My alma mater hovers around 26,000-29,000 students per year. Lower level classes it's not uncommon to have 1,000 people in the lecture hall.

I can't say that college is more flexible. It depends on the program one is in, the college you go to, the professor you get, etc. My experience was the University was less willing to deal with excuses, etc. Basically you owned up to XYZ. Sure sometimes your professor would work with you and they certaintly wanted you to come to them should you need help but they also had rules. For instance it wasn't uncommon for me to have classes where the grade was solely based on X number of tests. There were a few where there might be 5 tests given and only 4 would count but if you missed a test whelp you just used up that throw away one. I had food poisoning where I ended up in the hospital and consequently missed a test. I'd like to think that in high school I could certaintly work with my teacher on making up the test or work. But in college in that class (as well as other classes where the grade was based on X number of tests) no excuse would allow me to make up the test.

My DD is going to my alma mater and the total enrolment is 43,000. She wanted that and she's found ways to fit in and make friends. Sadly, the days of homework boosting her grade a long gone. The good news is that it doesn't count against kids who never do it either! My friend's DD is looking at colleges with only 3,000 - 10,000 students. You could fit all the students enrolled in all the colleges she applied to into the UW and there would still be room for more! What works for one kids won't work for another.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My DD is going to my alma mater and the total enrolment is 43,000. She wanted that and she's found ways to fit in and make friends. Sadly, the days of homework boosting her grade a long gone. The good news is that it doesn't count against kids who never do it either! My friend's DD is looking at colleges with only 3,000 - 10,000 students. You could fit all the students enrolled in all the colleges she applied to into the UW and there would still be room for more! What works for one kids won't work for another.

Now that's a lot of students lol.

 

[robinb]

I just would not worry. We've had homeschool kids mainstream into my child's public high school and perform very well. We went to a Duke Tip ceremony last year and most of the top scoring kids were homeschoolers. If you go the community college route, your child will probably find it incredibly easy. Community college classes are generally taught at the high school level. That's why so many high schools are encouraging dual enrollment classes. Kids and young adults usually adapt far easier than their parents do!! There are a lot of haters on this thread!

It depends on the community college. It's true that some are essentially 13th grade. Others are not. My DD's university partners with a local community college and has a program that guarantees that students can transfer from the CC to the UW so the curriculum for those classes that transfer is the same.

 

[YawningDodo]

I soooo agree with you. When I was in grad school, I was a parent, and a teacher. Just being a teacher is exhausting...I now doze off on the couch after a draining school day around 7:30 pm. Just being a parent can take a lot out of a person as well, not to mention being someone's wife. That time I spent in grad school was so hard. I tried attending my alma mater which was a 30 minute commute one way after a long day. I transferred to the more expensive private university which was much closer to home. Even so, classes were from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Monday-Thursday. Trying to juggle everything was tough, but the toughest part was staying awake, engaged, and involved in a 3 hour graduate level college class four days a week for two years including summers. That kind of grueling schedule is best done young and single. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way for me. In the end, it was all worth it.

Good lord, I can't even imagine. I was very very fortunate in being able to be a full time student with no dependents, so in some senses I had the definitive "unstructured" student experience. Even so...I'm glad I did it because of where it got me in life, but if I had it to do over again I don't know if I'd be able to bring myself to commit. It was probably the worst two years of my life.

It depends on the community college. It's true that some are essentially 13th grade. Others are not. My DD's university partners with a local community college and has a program that guarantees that students can transfer from the CC to the UW so the curriculum for those classes that transfer is the same.

Yeah, definitely check into transfer-ready programs if your kid is interested in community college. I took one or two CC courses in high school that would have transferred if I'd gone to one particular university, but because I ended up going to another they didn't count. It's hard, because I think it's hard for a kid to be certain of where they want to go to college early enough to do that kind of planning...but it's worth at least trying.

 

[cruiser21]

I just would not worry. We've had homeschool kids mainstream into my child's public high school and perform very well. We went to a Duke Tip ceremony last year and most of the top scoring kids were homeschoolers. If you go the community college route, your child will probably find it incredibly easy. Community college classes are generally taught at the high school level. That's why so many high schools are encouraging dual enrollment classes. Kids and young adults usually adapt far easier than their parents do!! There are a lot of haters on this thread!

I started at community college and found it incredibly easy. Overall college was easier then high school. I found it easier to learn when I was interested in the subject. It's amazing what kids will take an interest in and teach themselves. This internet is a wonderful tool if used appropriately. It's just so hard to control what they are looking at.
I don't know if it haters as much as people just misinterpret your post and instead of asking you to clarify or explain they go on the attack. I'm guilty of it myself. It happens on all threads.
Sometimes I think I could post the sky is blue. Somebody would tell me I'm wrong it's not blue it's gray sometimes. LOL.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I started at community college and found it incredibly easy. Overall college was easier then high school. I found it easier to learn when I was interested in the subject. It's amazing what kids will take an interest in and teach themselves. This internet is a wonderful tool if used appropriately. It's just so hard to control what they are looking at.
I don't know if it haters as much as people just misinterpret your post and instead of asking you to clarify or explain they go on the attack. I'm guilty of it myself. It happens on all threads.
Sometimes I think I could post the sky is blue. Somebody would tell me I'm wrong it's not blue it's gray sometimes. LOL.

In this case I think you are being generous. But that's a good way to be. There are definitely some haters on this thread!

 

[cruiser21]

In this case I think you are being generous. But that's a good way to be. There are definitely some haters on this thread!

I'm trying to be nice. It doesn't really matter I'm comfortable with the choices I've made. My kids have gotten to see the world and I think that's invaluable. They've seen different cultures, different religions, communism, socialism, capitalism....they can form their own opinions about the world...It's nice to be book smart and get good grades, but in my opinion it's better to be educated. The key is figuring out how to do both. Others disagree, but to each their own. We all roll the dice and do the best we can when it comes to parenting. I was the perfect parent until I had kids.

 

[robinb]

In this case I think you are being generous. But that's a good way to be. There are definitely some haters on this thread!

Frankly, I think your repeated insistence that there are ‘haters’ on the thread is not the nicest thing to say.

 

[YawningDodo]

Frankly, I think your repeated insistence that there are ‘haters’ on the thread is not the nicest thing to say.

Seriously. I don't get what it's meant to accomplish other than stirring the same arguments back up again.

 

[cyclenut]

To give an example -- I work in a museum. I've got a master's degree, I've worked there for four and a half years, and I'm the head of a (very) small sub-department. Pretty far cry from part-time retail, yeah? I get a whopping ten days of vacation annually, and it was a big deal for me when I was upgraded from five days of vacation a year or two ago.

I know it's a little off topic, but it is not unusual for people to get no more than 2 weeks of vacation. I think that's why so many value the little vacation time they receive. I love that you are doing this type of work. It's a very important part of our society. Thank you.

We are in Louisiana and any vacation taken during school days is considered unexcused....no matter what. We do NOT take our kids of school, because ultimately they pay the price for missing class time. To me it is not worth it. We go on vacation at other times of the year, we just save a little more if it is a busy time. I have read on these boards where people consider WDW an "educational" vacation. Sorry, I do not agree with that one. Walking through World Showcase while eating a Mickey Bar is not educational in my book. Yes, I know some will disagree, and that's ok.

This really is the core of the argument. The decision should be based on what is best for the kids in that particular situation. The reality is that every situation is different. Some kids will do much better than others with that "break" and some school situations are more flexible than others. That said, I also agree that while a vacation *can* be educational, it is a different type of educational experience. Kids should have both what they get in traditional school and what they get from visiting other places. I think saying that vacations are educational is more of a justification for the decision than a reason to make the decision (to pull a kid from school.)

If WDW is not educational then why are so many schools taking field trips to Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Why do schools take any field trips at all if learning can only be done in the classroom.

While I think someone else answered this, I thought it was important to point out that it is all about the approach and purpose of the trip. An educational field trip typically has to fit within the overall lesson plan and educational objectives. The material presented during such trips is typically reviewed and approved in advance. It's a "behind the scenes" type of experience with specific educational objectives in mind. It's unlikely that a family visiting would ever receive the same educational experience, unless they specifically contacted Disney and requested it. Even then, it would be different than what they provide to school classrooms.

As someone who went on an educational guided tour of SeaWorld when I was in high school as part of an educational summer seminar, it's probably related to the way that school trips and educational tours are designed to include a lot of demonstrations, mini-lectures, and teaching moments. They let us loose for maybe an hour to ride rides; the rest of the visit was very strictly structured and included talks by veterinarians, etc. and visits to backstage areas with explanations of how it all worked and how it related to caring for the animals, types of animals in their care, etc., etc.

I guess if you're going to spend your entire family vacation in Epcot and Animal Kingdom, and you plan to stop every twenty feet to deliver a lecture to your child that you've researched in depth and rehearsed ahead of time, and you plan to spend a maximum of one hour per day actually going on rides...then yeah, it could have the same educational value.

Agreed.
Will add that when we homeschooled in SoCal for a few years, my wife would contact Guest Services in Disneyland about a project and then go visit. One was about transportation and comparing/contrasting the different costs of different types of transportation. They contacted guest services and received a ton of information about fuel types and fuel consumption as well as other information for the Monorail, Disneyland Railroad, Parking Lot trams, etc. Kids were able to experience each type of transportation, research the pros and cons and then write about it. Definitely not a typical Disneyland experience. Could be done on a vacation, but I doubt most vacation families would go to that kind of trouble.

People pay thousands of dollars to cruise on Disney. I'm going to assume that people that cruise on Dcl have reached a level of success and know what it takes to be successful. I'm also going to assume the posters on this board want their child to be successful and know whats best for their child and their family. Everyday I'm impressed with the people I post with on this board.

OK ... WOW. I know you backtracked some from this comment later in the thread, but I just could not let this one go. That's a LOT of assumptions there. You do realize that success is measured in many different ways and being successful does not equal good parenting or understanding what's best for a child. I realize you didn't necessarily mean money, but it was certianily implied. I've seen similar comments from others too, so you are not alone. I'm sure you understand that child neglect and abuse knows no socioeconomic boundaries and therefore why this comment is wholly inappropriate.

As a homeschooler you look at everthing as educational or as a opportunity to educate. It's kind of the mindset you have to have. When people say traveling isn't educational I have trouble wrapping my brain around that line of thinking. I would be "that parent" telling the school I was pulling them out for a British Isles cruise and that it's educational. I woulnd't be trying to spin it because I truly believe a week on a European cruise is more educational then sitting in a classroom studying for standarized testing. I think many teachers would agree. Most kids don't have the opportunity to travel outside of the US. They only get to read about it in History or Geography book. If traveling to Europe or Asia in the shoulder season is the only way we can afford it my priority would be take the trip.

My kids can do in a few hours what it takes kids all day to do in school. The concept of not being able to catch up is hard for me to grasp too. I've heard it from numerous posters on here so I'll assume it to be true.

I think my kids would benefit from the social part of high school. Although a lot of my friends kids haven't turned out so well. I'm not sure I can retrain my brain to think like a lot of you think when it comes to school. It's all food for thought. I have to August to decide...so I have a little time.

I completely understand and agree that when homeschooling, you get a whole different perspective on what it takes to give your child the education they need. Ordinary life situations can be used as an educational setting. We chose to return our kids to public school in 7th grade. We felt that the group projects, science labs, extracurricular activities and overall social interaction added to the educational experience more than we could provide at home. Having done the homeschool program for a few years, we also were able to add that experience to our vacation experiences, further enhancing what they learned in school rather than replacing it. Our kids are older now and I'm a grandfather. One received a PhD, one has a Bachelors, one will be graduating in May with a double major and the last will be graduating next May. We place a high value on education and our kids did too. It's great to seem my oldest with our grandkid and how learning is approached in their home. With two parents holding degrees, this kid is learning every single day and hasn't even started school yet.

Make not mistake though. I do not feel the the educational experience of a vacation is greater than what they would learn staying in class. They are complimentary but different. My personal preference (not to be assumed that everyone should follow my preference) is to not remove my kids from class for a vacation.

 

[YawningDodo]

I know it's a little off topic, but it is not unusual for people to get no more than 2 weeks of vacation. I think that's why so many value the little vacation time they receive. I love that you are doing this type of work. It's a very important part of our society. Thank you.

For sure! My annual leave is totally normal for a full-time American worker. I know some of the higher-ups where I work get more, but they're...well, higher-up. They've been working there longer, have more responsibilities, all of that. I'd made the comment because another poster had been under the impression that only very low-wage, low-skill jobs get less than three or four weeks a year and wanted to illustrate that even specialized workers are more likely to have the usual two weeks.

And yay! In some ways working at a museum is like any other job, and in some ways it's entirely its own thing. I do think it's important to have those kinds of institutions available to the public...but I'm obviously a little biased.

 

[cruiser21]

I know it's a little off topic, but it is not unusual for people to get no more than 2 weeks of vacation. I think that's why so many value the little vacation time they receive. I love that you are doing this type of work. It's a very important part of our society. Thank you.



This really is the core of the argument. The decision should be based on what is best for the kids in that particular situation. The reality is that every situation is different. Some kids will do much better than others with that "break" and some school situations are more flexible than others. That said, I also agree that while a vacation *can* be educational, it is a different type of educational experience. Kids should have both what they get in traditional school and what they get from visiting other places. I think saying that vacations are educational is more of a justification for the decision than a reason to make the decision (to pull a kid from school.)


While I think someone else answered this, I thought it was important to point out that it is all about the approach and purpose of the trip. An educational field trip typically has to fit within the overall lesson plan and educational objectives. The material presented during such trips is typically reviewed and approved in advance. It's a "behind the scenes" type of experience with specific educational objectives in mind. It's unlikely that a family visiting would ever receive the same educational experience, unless they specifically contacted Disney and requested it. Even then, it would be different than what they provide to school classrooms.


Agreed.
Will add that when we homeschooled in SoCal for a few years, my wife would contact Guest Services in Disneyland about a project and then go visit. One was about transportation and comparing/contrasting the different costs of different types of transportation. They contacted guest services and received a ton of information about fuel types and fuel consumption as well as other information for the Monorail, Disneyland Railroad, Parking Lot trams, etc. Kids were able to experience each type of transportation, research the pros and cons and then write about it. Definitely not a typical Disneyland experience. Could be done on a vacation, but I doubt most vacation families would go to that kind of trouble.


OK ... WOW. I know you backtracked some from this comment later in the thread, but I just could not let this one go. That's a LOT of assumptions there. You do realize that success is measured in many different ways and being successful does not equal good parenting or understanding what's best for a child. I realize you didn't necessarily mean money, but it was certianily implied. I've seen similar comments from others too, so you are not alone. I'm sure you understand that child neglect and abuse knows no socioeconomic boundaries and therefore why this comment is wholly inappropriate.



I completely understand and agree that when homeschooling, you get a whole different perspective on what it takes to give your child the education they need. Ordinary life situations can be used as an educational setting. We chose to return our kids to public school in 7th grade. We felt that the group projects, science labs, extracurricular activities and overall social interaction added to the educational experience more than we could provide at home. Having done the homeschool program for a few years, we also were able to add that experience to our vacation experiences, further enhancing what they learned in school rather than replacing it. Our kids are older now and I'm a grandfather. One received a PhD, one has a Bachelors, one will be graduating in May with a double major and the last will be graduating next May. We place a high value on education and our kids did too. It's great to seem my oldest with our grandkid and how learning is approached in their home. With two parents holding degrees, this kid is learning every single day and hasn't even started school yet.

Make not mistake though. I do not feel the the educational experience of a vacation is greater than what they would learn staying in class. They are complimentary but different. My personal preference (not to be assumed that everyone should follow my preference) is to not remove my kids from class for a vacation.

Really success is not measured by money. Gee I'm so glad you explained that too me. Very enlightening. I don't mean to be sarcastic, but really? Is there child abusers on this board,...maybe I don't know. You could be a child abuser for all I know. I prefer to assume the people that post on this board are capable and successful parents. I don't think I would want to post on here if I thought otherwise.
One thing I do know is that I don't know what's best for someone else's child, and I'm not about to pretend that I do.

 

[YawningDodo]

Really success is not measured by money. Gee I'm so glad you explained that too me. Very enlightening. I don't mean to be sarcastic, but really? Is there child abusers on this board,...maybe I don't know. You could be a child abuser for all I know. I prefer to assume the people that post on this board are capable and successful parents. I don't think I would want to post on here if I thought otherwise.
One thing I do know is that I don't know what's best for someone else's child, and I'm not about to pretend that I do.

You say that you don't mean to be sarcastic, but this reply reads as very sarcastic. Unless you genuinely are glad? Genuinely find it enlightening? Genuinely believe that cyclenut may be a child abuser? Similarly, you say that you wouldn't pretend you know what's best for someone's child, and yet your earlier comments about being "shocked" that parents rely on the public school system stand.

I don't believe anyone was suggesting that the people commenting in this thread are child abusers. Stating that child abuse is a real thing that happens (and that it's a real thing that happens at all socioeconomic levels) and accusing one's conversational partners of child abuse are two vastly different things.

This comment is a prime example of the aggressive (sometimes passive-aggressive) commentary that has characterized your participation in this conversation. I seriously suggest that if you think that you haven't contributed to the negative atmosphere here, you should give your own comments a careful read-through and think about how they would come off to someone who doesn't share your viewpoint. It's perfectly possible to share one's opinions and disagree with others without employing sarcasm or making judgmental comments about others' life choices, but you have repeatedly chosen not to do so.

 

[cyclenut]

Really success is not measured by money. Gee I'm so glad you explained that too me. Very enlightening. I don't mean to be sarcastic, but really? Is there child abusers on this board,...maybe I don't know. You could be a child abuser for all I know. I prefer to assume the people that post on this board are capable and successful parents. I don't think I would want to post on here if I thought otherwise.
One thing I do know is that I don't know what's best for someone else's child, and I'm not about to pretend that I do.

That's way out of line. I expected much better from you. Perhaps you should read my post more carefully before responding next time.
What I was trying to point out is that your original assumptions that I was commenting on were wholly inappropriate. Rather than acknowledge the possible shortcomings, you resort to thinly veiled personal attacks and double down on your assumptions.
I get it. I called out your assumptions as hurtful and incorrect and that doesn't feel good. Maybe admitting you made an error in judgement is just too high of a bar, but I did expect better from you having read your postings on other threads.

Look, it's not personal either, but that swipe at me that I may be a child abuser is way out of line.

 

[cruiser21]

That's way out of line. I expected much better from you. Perhaps you should read my post more carefully before responding next time.
What I was trying to point out is that your original assumptions that I was commenting on were wholly inappropriate. Rather than acknowledge the possible shortcomings, you resort to thinly veiled personal attacks and double down on your assumptions.
I get it. I called out your assumptions as hurtful and incorrect and that doesn't feel good. Maybe admitting you made an error in judgement is just too high of a bar, but I did expect better from you having read your postings on other threads.

Look, it's not personal either, but that swipe at me that I may be a child abuser is way out of line.

I wasn't calling you a child abuser. I could be a child abuser for all you know. My point was I we don't really know the people we post with on this board. I prefer to assume the people on these boards are good parents. I've been on 19 DCL cruise and I've never seen otherwise. Sorry you again missed the point.
I didn't find your post hurtful at all actually. I just think you were kind of pointing out the obvious. That was reason for the sarcasm. I'm not sure what my error in judgement was, but if I made one I apologize.

 

[CamColt]

This thread has certainly run it's course and is no longer relevant to the topic at hand of DCL. I will lock it now.

If you would like to continue having a general conversation, not about DCL, you can do that on the Community Board, but remember everyone must play nice. Thanks!

 

[cruiser21]

You say that you don't mean to be sarcastic, but this reply reads as very sarcastic. Unless you genuinely are glad? Genuinely find it enlightening? Genuinely believe that cyclenut may be a child abuser? Similarly, you say that you wouldn't pretend you know what's best for someone's child, and yet your earlier comments about being "shocked" that parents rely on the public school system stand.

I don't believe anyone was suggesting that the people commenting in this thread are child abusers. Stating that child abuse is a real thing that happens (and that it's a real thing that happens at all socioeconomic levels) and accusing one's conversational partners of child abuse are two vastly different things.

This comment is a prime example of the aggressive (sometimes passive-aggressive) commentary that has characterized your participation in this conversation. I seriously suggest that if you think that you haven't contributed to the negative atmosphere here, you should give your own comments a careful read-through and think about how they would come off to someone who doesn't share your viewpoint. It's perfectly possible to share one's opinions and disagree with others without employing sarcasm or making judgmental comments about others' life choices, but you have repeatedly chosen not to do so.

Wow that was rather insulting. I'm judgmental, passive aggressive and sarcastic all wrapped up into one.