My wife points out that her brother started drinking while at school and experimenting with some drugs which led indirectly to a brain injury that has been a tremendous burden on him and the family. She also likes to point out stories in the news about bad things that happen in schools.

I know that many home-schooled kids have done really well, but I think she really needs more experience dealing with other people.

Also, staying at home? Not that safe.

Staying at home may be more dangerous than you think, according to a recent survey. Over 2.8 million people attended accident and emergency departments last year [1998] as a result of accidents in the home.

The survey by the Department of Trade and Industry showed that falls, slips, and trips were the most common cause of household injuries. However, a surprisingly large number of accidents happened while people were involved in no particular activity at all.

Eating and drinking claimed 42 000 casualties. Seemingly innocent household items also resulted in trips to hospital. Slippers accounted for over 37 000 injuries, flower pots for 3500, and tissue paper injured over 1500 people.

That's freaky, Jessica. What little I remember of the DARE thing was in elementary and was tshirts and um...that's all really. They certainly didn't teach us jack about what drugs looked like or really any specifics. The electrical safety guy from the power company was much cooler. He put a hotdog inside a damaged insulated glove and fried that sucker with a giant blue arc froma transformer(or something) !

I should also say, I don't think the fact that DARE sucks is a reason not to send kids to public school.

Or is DARE primarily used for kids who are already at a higher risk of drug use?

Nope. [ETA: Used in 80% of the school districts in the United States, in 54 other countries around the world, and is taught to 36,000,000 students each year] It's just a really ineffective, non-scientific program. And disturbingly cult-like its ownself.

Agreed that this is far from a reason to fear the public schools. But it might be a place where you can give Mrs. Gud some validation and have E exempted (assuming DARE is the program they use at your local schools).

Happy Birthday Leif!

one thing that is making you happy today

It's Friday.
I have my big ipod with me today, so I have lots of music to drown people out with.

blargh. I came home sick with uglybad headache thing. Do not want.

ION, the hub was homeschooled through 9th grade, and is seriously agin it for all the socializing reasons mentioned, as well as the fact that it really wasn't a very good education once he got beyond the early-years skills stuff -- not that his mother didn't try hard to teach him, and she covered all the stuff recommended by the curriculum they were following, but with none of the expertise or resources or learning-from-peers that goes on even in okay schools... why punish a kid just for the sake of your own sense that he's a special unique snowflake who can't possibly be served by the same schools as everyone else, you know?

We had a chapter on drugs in my high school health class. Some stuff we learned really stuck with me. Stuff I remember:

• Don't ever ever ever use PCP.
• Combining drugs can "multiply" their effects instead of just "adding" the effects.
• Stimulants just take energy you would have had in the future and give it to you right now. So in the future you won't have that energy. So it's a zero-sum game. (Actually, worse than zero-sum.)

Um, that's about all I remember. Maybe that class showed me the distinction between uppers and downers too....

DARE story:
Once when my parents were out of town, I took my brother to my boyfriend's raging party (I was 18, he was 11) The party was outside, he was inside with Nintendo. The cops came and busted the party and I was outside of the house while my then BF and brother were inside the house. I had to go to a payphone to call and make sure bro was in house - bad big sister, very bad. The cops left and I returned to house to find scared little bro who for once in his life was overjoyed to see me. Then he said, "My DARE teacher came to the door!!" DOH! My mom only heard this story about 5 years ago.

I don't know if the local schools do DARE. If the feds won't fund it because of ineffectiveness, then that's a pretty big red flag. I don't recall seeing a DARE police car at the police station here. I've seen one at another metro city, an 80s-era Firebird.

In other Things I'll Be Missing Because I'll Be In Labor And/Or Have A Newborn news

But that starts just tomorrow! You could probably go! Walking is good for you! Unless I missed something. Did I miss something? I skimmed.