permafrost Loc: Minnesota

I have read that the Alaskan pipe line is the safest ever built..

Only about a half dozen minor spills the its life span.. All contained in recovery pits, so no meaningful damage at all..

The problem, or one of many is that no other pipeline will be built that safely..

to expensive, the companies are not willing to pay that much..

son of witless

The fact is oil has to be transported. Pipelines are safer than the alternatives. Case closed.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

No, the debate will go on and on...



But,,, my new cat and her old home....

son of witless

What do you feed her, Republicans ?

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

LOL,,,,, darn, why did I not think of that line....

Heck of a nice cat... wish she do roam around this neck of the woods..

eagleye13 Loc: Fl

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pjs7uoOkag

JoyV

Can you give examples of stacking in public schools. If public schools are doing so in Minnesota, I suggest you take action. This is not legal. It is legal for private schools to pick and choose who can attend. But not public schools. Are these the same schools which are charging tuition?

I have looked up info on Minnesota schools and came across school fees. Is that what you meant by tuition? I'm including a link to the Fee Law but here are a couple of pertinent quotes from the law.
"School districts may not suspend or
exclude students or withhold students’ grades or diplomas for failing to pay school fees. School
districts may accept voluntary contributions and may charge fees for extracurricular and
noncurricular activities, or activities that supplement a class or educational program." "Because the state makes a free public school education available to all eligible students,8
school
boards are prohibited from charging fees for necessary goods and services.9
Such necessary
goods and services include instructional materials and supplies, required library books, required
school activities, graduation caps and gowns, lockers, and student transportation to and from
school"
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/feelaw.pdf

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Yes, they could have been some sort of fee.... But what kind,or what for I do not know..

That was the reason for the satire of "tuition"....


the charter school operation is more involved than I thought..

while this little article sort of supports my comment about stacking, which may not be the best term for me to have used. I was talking about charter schools can by managing the entry tests etc, make the student body
more of one type than any other if they wish..

A lot of the articles had a differing POV.. and many were much more detailed than this one..

The only consistent point was that charter schools could shape the student body as they wished, if they wished.

But many stated they do not in fact do so..

https://hechingerreport.org/as-charter-schools-come-of-age-measuring-their-success-is-tricky/


n keeping with national demographic shifts, the Twin City suburbs have been growing more diverse in recent years, with an increasing African-American and Hispanic population. But that diversity is not always reflected in the area schools.

At Seven Hills Classical Academy, a charter school in Bloomington, Minn., for instance, 80 percent of the student body is white, compared to 57 percent in the Bloomington Public School District. Indeed, the number of predominantly white charters in the Twin Cities metro area has risen from 11 in 2000 to 37 in 2010.




Charter schools and their proponents argue that charters must take any student who wants to attend– and randomly select students through a lottery if too many apply – and, as such, can’t control who enrolls. Yet some experts are concerned that this trend is an example of the next phase of white flight, following a long history of white families seeking out homogeneous neighborhoods and schools.

JoyV

"I was talking about charter schools can by managing the entry tests etc, make the student body
more of one type than any other if they wish.. "

What entry tests? There are no entry tests to enroll in public school. We are referring to K - 12. Not college. So if a school has more students wanting to enroll than there is room for, is there a fairer way to choose which will get in than by lottery? Are these fears that charter schools are becoming "white" backed up by any evidence? These fear tactics are an effective way to keep the poor and minorities dependent by invoking racism. School choice, which might give their kids a better education; is labeled racist by those who don't want minorities or the poor competing on an equal footing. Instead, school choice it is a way for the poor and minorities to get a more equal education. Schools which only enroll students in their districts vary between poor and well to do districts. In which district do you suppose the students get a better education. A parent being able to choose what school to send their child to is one way to break out of the cycle of poverty and discrimination.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

It seems the term "entry tests" is one more that I should have qualified.. did not think that it use would cause any problem in understanding... sorry about my repeated lack of attention..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/16/how-charter-schools-choose-desirable-students/?utm_term=.04efd135cf85

A new story about charter schools admissions by Stephanie Simon at Reuters details how the reality of admissions at many charter schools is far different from the above rhetoric. She writes:

Students may be asked to submit a 15-page typed research paper, an original short story, or a handwritten essay on the historical figure they would most like to meet. There are interviews. Exams. And pages of questions for parents to answer, including: How do you intend to help this school if we admit your son or daughter?

These aren’t college applications. They’re applications for seats at charter schools.

These are some of the barriers to charter school admissions that Simon writes about in her story:

* Applications that are made available just a few hours a year.

* Lengthy application forms, often printed only in English, that require student and parent essays, report cards, test scores, disciplinary records, teacher recommendations and medical records.

* Demands that students present Social Security cards and birth certificates for their applications to be considered, even though such documents cannot be required under federal law.

* Mandatory family interviews.

* Assessment exams.

* Academic prerequisites.

* Requirements that applicants document any disabilities or special needs. The U.S. Department of Education considers this practice illegal on the college level but has not addressed the issue for K-12 schools.

Selective admissions in charters — which aren’t supposed to have them — is one big part of a growing narrative about public schools that critics say show that they act more like private schools, albeit with public dollars.

JoyV

I note no details are given of where these practices have occurred. Just the vague terms like, "some Charter schools". These are rumors or rumors of rumors unless you have info on what schools are involved. If you accept that this story is true, how bout finding some example of it. I have read various stories of Charter schools unlawful practices in the past and either I can find no school at the bottom, or it turns out to be private schools. The essays mentioned sound like something that might be required at a public school to ensure their students fit some specific criteria, even if only one of meeting a high academic standard. This is not acceptable in public schools. I would like to know which public schools (if any) are practicing such selective weeding so I can write letters of condemnation.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

If you follow the link, may have information on that..

In Minnesota this is at least being discussed.. Not sure if anything is being done yet..

Other then that, I do not know much except what I have attempted to post so far..

son of witless

I don't know if I would want her in my neck of the woods. I mean I like the idea that cougars exist in North America, but do I want them eating the few white tail deer I still get to hunt ? Besides I have read of them eating people. I am not always armed when I scout in the woods. I have scared Black Bear away with a yell. I doubt that would work with Ms. Kitty.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

true, I have read about attacks by cougars..

Someone of note got jumped while riding a bike out by LA.. but can not recall the name..

Glad about black bear, we have a bunch this year.. 5 showed up on a trail cam up in the woods. been in our neighbors garden, our bird feeders. (nothing new about that)

Even ambling up our road in day time..

son of witless

Black bear can generally be scared off with a yell. I told the story of surprising one on a path in the woods last June. I was so concerned with picking ticks off of me that I wasn't aware of much else. I came around a corner and I surprised a pretty big one. I was unarmed, so I yelled and fortunately he ran off. His speed was amazing. You will not out run them . I only know of one case in my area where a Black Bear was aggressive toward a person. A young guy I know was followed and alternately chased a mile or so a few years back. The bear itself did not get him, but he ended up with a pretty bad leg injury from a fall that occurred during the incident.

" been in our neighbors garden, our bird feeders. " People have shown me their mangled steel bird feeders. They will also drink grease from gas grill waste containers. With them it is all about consuming calories.