tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post2835772824806945185..comments2023-12-29T05:24:43.830-06:00Comments on Kay Brooks: Hardaway puntsKay Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073075957511329333noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-31499150261172527232008-02-29T07:25:00.000-06:002008-02-29T07:25:00.000-06:00Tom,Rep. Brown was talking about public school stu...Tom,<BR/><BR/>Rep. Brown was talking about public school students that are being shuffled out the door with "a slip of paper" instead of a diploma - not about private or homeschool students. <BR/><BR/>That's what made it all the more bizarre and off-topic.Eric Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474521455238285586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-36950279235005492432008-02-29T04:55:00.000-06:002008-02-29T04:55:00.000-06:00I agree with M Swanson's comment on needing to rai...I agree with M Swanson's comment on needing to raise the bar on the ACT for the Hope Scholarship. As a mother of a high school senior (private school) who did make it in to UT-K (only 25% of applicants do) I am amazed that a 19 on the ACT qualifies students for the Hope scholarship. I do not believe it gets them into any Tennessee state college/university. I imagine a 19 on the ACT gets students into two year colleges? Does anyone know?<BR/><BR/>Sadly, if the minimum ACT score were raised to even 20 or higher, the only high schools with an average ACT score high enough to hurdle are Hume Fogg and MLK (avg ACT is 26 +). Hillsboro and NSA squeak into the list with an average ACT of 20.5 and 20 respectively. If you have not seen the data on the state of MNPS schools from the Chamber Report Card, I encourage you to check it out -- while some improvement has been made, the data continues to tell a very sad tale --<BR/><BR/>http://www.nashvillechamber.com/education/0607reportcard.pdfdin819gohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05148195871366562486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-46872326752509584122008-02-28T22:12:00.000-06:002008-02-28T22:12:00.000-06:00Homeschoolers registered with the LEA do not get d...Homeschoolers registered with the LEA do not get diplomas---despite any TCAP or Gateway exams they may have taken.<BR/><BR/>Homeschoolers registered with a church-related school are awarded diplomas from those schools and their requirements vary. For the most part they require the student follow a college path and get the credits required for entrance to a Tennessee state college. <BR/><BR/>There is no law that prohibits homeschoolers from participating in public school extra-curricular activities. <A HREF="http://TnHomeEd.com/49-6-3050.html" REL="nofollow">Homeschool Code TCA 49-6-3050(a)(1)</A> "In the case of special needs courses, such as laboratory sciences, vocational education, special education, etc., premises approved by the local superintendent of education may be used. Public school facilities may be used by home school participants with the approval of the local superintendent, but this permissive authority shall not be construed to confer any right upon such participants to use public school facilities. If approved, such use shall be in accordance with rules established by the local board of education."<BR/><BR/>It's not terribly unusual for smaller elementary schools to allow homeschoolers in. The biggest hurdle has been the TSSAA. Their protectionist attitude, and that of some professional educators, unfortunately, seeps over onto all activities. "You've opted out of OUR system so you can't have any of it." Never mind these parents pay taxes and may live in a small community where there are NO reasonable options.Kay Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06073075957511329333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-51216252100249563052008-02-28T22:02:00.000-06:002008-02-28T22:02:00.000-06:00Brown went on and on and on about that "we" give a...<I>Brown went on and on and on about that "we" give a slip of paper to instead of a diploma.</I><BR/><BR/>If it's not too involved, could someone explain what this means? Or, let me ask: I've always wondered about diplomas and homeschooling. Are they given or is the goal an equivalency exam?<BR/><BR/>On homeschoolers and extra-curriculars, there might actually be benefit to public school students if more of this is allowed. While MNPS has many thriving sports teams, some ECs, like chess and debate, could really use more involved students to make the programs more competetive. As a teacher who has sponsored both, I'd like to see more involvement and a raising of the bar.Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04087082956705159705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-66670063714069271072008-02-28T14:56:00.000-06:002008-02-28T14:56:00.000-06:00Good report Kay. I am mystified why the Tim Tebow...Good report Kay. I am mystified why the Tim Tebow law doesn't get more support. It doesn't look like it is going anywhere in either chamber. I appreciate that many homeschoolers don't want to get involved with public school extra-curriculars but many do want that option. For the life of me I can't see any reason, aside from ideology, for not pushing this through.Martin Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663915954952535611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-58542355574570162912008-02-28T13:33:00.000-06:002008-02-28T13:33:00.000-06:00Homeschooled students are held to a higher ACT sco...Homeschooled students are held to a higher ACT score (23 vs 19) for the HOPE scholarships. If we a going to equalize, then raise the public school ACT cutoff score to 23! And public school children have a second chance using GPA. I can't believe HOPE is the issue.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps Hardaway's unspoken sense of injustice is that many impoverished Memphis students do not have the same family support structure and stimulating home environment of most homeschooled students. <BR/><BR/>I'd like to see the (unrealistic) proposal made that all public school children be educated until they meet a certain cutoff on the ACT. I think that cutoff would be so low that any homeschool family would accept it.diogenes99https://www.blogger.com/profile/14872849504726973064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-21517408207981739612008-02-28T10:52:00.000-06:002008-02-28T10:52:00.000-06:00I'm glad you got to watch, Eric. Your comment abou...I'm glad you got to watch, Eric. Your comment about 'stealing' scholarships makes sense. And from the beginning Memphis has been frustrated by the fact that many of their students weren't likely to qualify for them.<BR/><BR/>You're right, :-), it may be Hardaway's first rodeo...but it's not ours.Kay Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06073075957511329333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7186797.post-56386041070358929702008-02-28T10:45:00.000-06:002008-02-28T10:45:00.000-06:00I watched the video stream. It sounded to me as if...I watched the video stream. It sounded to me as if Hardaway and Brown thought some public school students were being denied a shot at college because not all students were required to pass the Gateway exams - i.e., the non-public students were "stealing" lottery scholarships even though they may obtain them via standardized, equal playing field, ACT scores. If the state didn't make the Gateways part of their NCLB measuring stick, then the private and home school students wouldn't be specifically exempted from them since they are used to obtain federal tax funds. <BR/><BR/>Bottom line, none of this has any effect on those public school students Brown went on and on and on about that "we" give a slip of paper to instead of a diploma. She nor Hardaway ever got around to explaining how making non-public students take a gateway test (that has a 45% passing score) would improve anything for those public school students. For Hardaway to claim empathy with the private or homeschoolers because of his charter school ties is comical. Only one of these groups doesn't receive thousands of public tax dollars.<BR/><BR/>This ain't our first rodeo.<BR/><BR/>NEXTEric Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474521455238285586noreply@blogger.com