2012-02-11T14:10:24Z http://uncoolmom.com/comments/atom.aspx Quick Blogcast tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-08:15882445 Uncool Mom 2012-02-08T05:31:35Z 2012-02-08T05:31:35Z <span>Thanks for writing and thanks for the insights-- I was hoping someone from the secondary education world would chime in!</span> tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-08:15882384 Uncool Mom 2012-02-08T05:25:28Z 2012-02-08T05:25:28Z <span>Yeah, just when we think we know everything and can stay one step ahead...it's more like one step behind!</span> tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-07:15877002 Catherine 2012-02-07T14:54:00Z 2012-02-07T14:54:00Z Well said. It's not even about really enjoying some of the activities kids get into nowadays; it's about having enough "stuff" to put on your college résumé. I taught at a highly competitive private college prep high school in the Metroplex for 6 years. One year they had to have 2 valedictorians because the difference in their GPAs was .0001 ! The second place student probably got a 99 on a quiz one day when she was sleep-deprived. <br /><br />Regarding your suggestion that teachers move the testing and project dates around to accommodate this: pretty much impossible, since, for the same reasons that kids can't make it all happen, in spite of marvelous organization, teacher's can't produce the ideal syllabus, which requires constant on-going evaluation, that would accommodate the needs of every athletic event, play rehearsal schedule, projects due in other classes with other teachers, and a long list of etceteras without stepping on somebody's toes. Somebody has to stop the roller coaster and say that enough is enough, and tell kids it's OK if they are only in one or two things, and learn to pick their 2 favorites. Or something similar. And for the record, I can't tell you how many hundreds of hours I spent after school administering make-ups for quizzes and tests because I did actually try to accommodate students with their extra-curricular activities. There has to be a better way. tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-07:15872709 Holly http://Www.5things.us 2012-02-07T05:53:07Z 2012-02-07T05:53:07Z <span> </span>Ha! I wish I'd seen this a year ago BEFORE the same experience with my oldest at prom. I'm a good mom and thought to ask all the reasonable questions ahead of time about the party bus...who would be there, alcohol wouldn't be, etc etc. Who knew that I needed to ask would there be stripper poles involved??!!?! Sheer craziness! Good grief. tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-01:15745382 Uncool Mom 2012-02-01T17:08:48Z 2012-02-01T17:08:48Z <span>Great idea!!!!<br /> </span> tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-01:15743272 Carla 2012-02-01T16:00:24Z 2012-02-01T16:00:24Z Bravo! Your blog should be required reading for every high and middle school student and their parents. Only one suggestion--on that panel of students sharing how they "do it all" require that their parents also participate in the discussion so you can get the real story. tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-02-01:15740275 Shelley 2012-02-01T14:09:25Z 2012-02-01T14:09:25Z LOVED THIS ARTICLE! Very well written Patty. You should mail a copy of this to the schools in your area. Let your voice be heard!!!! :) tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-01-26:15617647 dave wu http://www.moviesville.com 2012-01-26T06:01:44Z 2012-01-26T06:01:44Z I have not found a good solution to lock a TV down with a passcode. Early V-chip TVs have something close, but not perfect: you need to manually enter a passcode every time you finish watching TV so next time if the kids try to turn it on, it won't turn on unless a passcode is entered. <br /><br />The cable companies will allow you to lock down all programs with ratings G and up, that's true.... but that means you have to enter a passcode every time you change channel, unless you remove the block first..... So, no perfect lock-down solution for now unless some TV manufacturer comes up with a good solution. I have seen something attached to power cords with time-management functions, but it's cumbersome. tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-01-25:15616952 Uncool Mom 2012-01-26T04:37:01Z 2012-01-26T04:37:01Z <span>Yes, our last two cable companies had the ratings lock...but they also have an "all lock" feature that saves time and just locks everything out-- does yours not have that?&nbsp; I think an old TV of ours&nbsp;has a&nbsp;"ratings only" feature but I think if we set it to lock out Rated G and above, that pretty much locks out everything..except maybe news channels, and I figured if they can only watch those (which I doubt they would) it would probably be good for them!&nbsp; On another TV, my husband has&nbsp;hidden the "connecting" piece that goes between the cable coming out of the wall and the TV's cable cord.&nbsp; That worked for awhile-- then the other day we discovered our oldest had taped the two cords together and made it work! Another&nbsp;roadblock to this whole "locking out" quest is Tivo-- once we got that, any pre-recorded shows aren't affected by&nbsp;the usual&nbsp;TV locks...and our kids pre-record a lot of stuff...<br /> Please let me know if you find a product that works! I need to update my post, as well as&nbsp;implement a better solution for my family.&nbsp; It's so great when the TV lock-out works well.&nbsp; At least the new Windows has helped us&nbsp;when we need to lock out or put time&nbsp;limits on our computer.&nbsp; Thanks for writing!</span> tag:www.uncoolmom.com,2012-01-25:15613696 dave wu 2012-01-26T00:33:38Z 2012-01-26T00:33:38Z I have been looking for a product to completely lock out the TV so the kids won't have access or means to turn it on.... so far have not found any... The cable companies only allow you to lock the TV channels by ratings...