Author: Selena
Has it been a long time since I wrote in this blog? I suposse it has since the blog seems longer and more drawn out than I remember it. Are you getting tired of us yet? I think I might be getting tired of myself. However, that's not the point I was trying to talk about was it. The title after all starts with "Overachievers" so, I'll get back to that...
At Anoka-Ramsey Community College there is a girl who is in my Reading class, is also PSEO, and if you were viewing her from the angle of academic would be labled "Overachiever". She fascinates me, and you will wonder why. She's obviously very intelligent, makes wonderful connections to the books that we're reading (Jack and Rochelle by Jack and Rochelle Sutin, Edited by Lawrence Sutin), she's outspoken and loud, and knows how to manage time.
In this class sometimes the teacher leads us to a computer center and sets us on a little diversion called "Ultimate Speed Reader" I love this teacher but do not care for this odd program which makes no sense to me (why would I want to read at 750 words a minute like I'm trying to give myself an adreniline rush when reading a book when I could pace through it and enjoy it?) The thing is, you get extra credit for doing these labs and giving yourself adreniline rushes. The girl I have told you about wants to know (quite adamently) how many points she gets for doing the labs. Even the teacher seemed puzzled as to why someone would want to do fill out all these labs and why someone would want to know precisely how many points you get for all of it.
When we did a presentation on the book Jack and Rochelle she wanted to know how many points you got if you volunteered to go on the first day (which I did do but merely for the porpose that I was ready and didn't want to terrify myself by thinking about it for two more days).
When we went into a "smart" room to do our presentations she said that she had a three hour English class on Wednesdays in the same room because that's the only time she could fit it in (three hours? Is is she sucididal?).
Now here's my point, the letter of her grade seems very important. Maybe two years ago this may have made sense to me but now? How can your intelligence which is so wide and vast be determined by one measly letter or number or a few short words the professor writes on your essay? Did Jack or Rochelle get a letter grade for surviving the Nazis and fighting as partisans or living like animals in a Polish forest?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Selena is accepted at Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC)
Last week we were elated to receive an acceptance letter from ARCC for Selena to attend in the fall as a Post Secondary Education student. The Post Secondary Education Option (PSEO) is a Minnesota program for High School students to take college courses while they are still in High School. The meaty side of this option is that the state pays for all of the classes and books for a maximum of 2 years.
In order to gain acceptance to ARCC for the program as a homeschooler she had to score higher than 68th percentile on a standardized test, such as the CAT. Last year, as an 8th grader, she scored a 63. Also, in order to get into the program THIS YEAR she would have to jump a grade (to 10th grade). The program only involves students in 10th-12th grades. Also, she had to take a placement test for any core courses that she takes at ARCC.
It was late February when Selena decided that she wanted to try some college classes. We took a month to prepare for the placement tests. She had excellent scores for the verbal and reading sections. We were not surprised either that she did not do so well in Math. So, she would be able to take Freshman English but would have to improve in Math in order to take college classes.
The next step was to prepare for the 10th grade CAT (California Achievement Test) that she would take in mid-May. She worked hard during these months studying in all areas for the test. We listened to many podcasts from various Universities. Our favorites were the history and geography courses. Also, she worked incredibly hard on math. I ordered math lessons on DVD from Netflix.com and she continued working in her Saxon Math books.
Finally, she and Xavier took the CAT in May and we received her score a couple weeks later, just in time to send in her application to ARCC. Her score was 87 percentile. She improved 15 percentile points in Math since last year. We were SO happy, we were jumping up and down in the kitchen!
For 2 and a half years Selena has not been in school, she hasn't followed a curriculum nor studied any Math or grammar or anything else. Everything that she has learned she has done on her own and by following her own interests.
It's AWESOME!
In order to gain acceptance to ARCC for the program as a homeschooler she had to score higher than 68th percentile on a standardized test, such as the CAT. Last year, as an 8th grader, she scored a 63. Also, in order to get into the program THIS YEAR she would have to jump a grade (to 10th grade). The program only involves students in 10th-12th grades. Also, she had to take a placement test for any core courses that she takes at ARCC.
It was late February when Selena decided that she wanted to try some college classes. We took a month to prepare for the placement tests. She had excellent scores for the verbal and reading sections. We were not surprised either that she did not do so well in Math. So, she would be able to take Freshman English but would have to improve in Math in order to take college classes.
The next step was to prepare for the 10th grade CAT (California Achievement Test) that she would take in mid-May. She worked hard during these months studying in all areas for the test. We listened to many podcasts from various Universities. Our favorites were the history and geography courses. Also, she worked incredibly hard on math. I ordered math lessons on DVD from Netflix.com and she continued working in her Saxon Math books.
Finally, she and Xavier took the CAT in May and we received her score a couple weeks later, just in time to send in her application to ARCC. Her score was 87 percentile. She improved 15 percentile points in Math since last year. We were SO happy, we were jumping up and down in the kitchen!
For 2 and a half years Selena has not been in school, she hasn't followed a curriculum nor studied any Math or grammar or anything else. Everything that she has learned she has done on her own and by following her own interests.
It's AWESOME!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Tina, the lovely foster dog
Three weeks ago we brought home our newest of many foster dogs. Her name is Tina (Louise) and she is now about 7 months old. Fortunately, she joined our established dog pack without any problems, in fact the pack was very excited to have a new playmate. Whereas Skippy Lou, our pointer mix, "skips" along as she runs, we have noticed that Tina "hops" or "bounces" rather than "runs".
For the first few days that Tina was with us we sadly noted that she didn't play or show any curiosity about her new home. She seemed to be only interested in her food and in staying close to a human being. She was also really restless, in a constant state of agitation. To our delight, with in about 4 days she started to show the signs of being a real dog!! Tina finally discovered that she knew how to play and have fun with the other dogs. She also seemed to realized that she could go around the house, sniff and smell everything, and when she returned to the kitchen the food would still be there for her to eat. Also, it didn't take long for us to see an improved physical recooperation. After many long monthes of eating low grade food at the dog pound she adjusted quickly to eating quality raw food. We noticed that soon her ribs disappeared and muscles began to deveop in their place. She weighed 31.5 pounds when she came here, now she is 37 pounds! We're going to have to watch her weight from now on, she is looking very healthy and stocky as she should look!
I'll try to post some more on Tina in the near future. However, if you are interested in adopting her, please send an email to our rescue group at RPAW on the website: www.rpaw.org or call the phone number that is listed on their site. Also, she will be at the Pet Adoption Day this coming Saturday if you would like to meet her. She is trully a wonderful dog.
sincerely, Ahna, Selena and Xavier
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