[speaker001:] [Tone] Well, we've talked a little bit about the Plano school system. Um, I, I really have been pleased with Plano. I have a child who, uh, my son is learning disabled,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, uh, I thank God every day that I have the resources that we have tapped into.
[speaker002:] Now, is he the elementary school?
[speaker001:] He's in elementary school.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And he's not severely learning disabled.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I mean, you know, he just,
[speaker002:] But he is being helped.
[speaker001:] He's being helped. He, he was in resource from second grade till fourth grade in math,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and they recently released him from,
[speaker002:] Oh, great.
[speaker001:] resource, which I'm, I was thrilled, I really was. I, I just thought that was so neat, that they got him over that hump. And, um, he's in the Herman Method of Reading. I don't know if you're,
[speaker002:] No, that's something new to me. I'm,
[speaker001:] familiar with that. It is something new, and basically what they do is they start right from the beginning relearning the sounds of letters.
[speaker002:] [Faint] Oh.
[speaker001:] Um,
[speaker002:] I think I read about that in the paper.
[speaker001:] It's wonderful.
[speaker002:] Doctor Haggard is, is heading that up.
[speaker001:] Yes, and it's wonderful. He didn't have a problem with reading. As a matter of fact, he's reading on level. The problem was his spelling. And,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know, in, in watching the way he has struggled, it's interesting, because I'm convinced I have the same learning disability, or had,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] that was ignored. And,
[speaker002:] Right, so you worked, you learned how to solve your problems on your own.
[speaker001:] That's right. And, and so it's, you know, it's not an intelligence problem. It's just a problem with learning.
[speaker002:] Has, has he had this since kindergarten, or is this something that maybe learning phonetics, and then he just didn't learn the right way?
[speaker001:] Well, you know, it's funny. When, um, when he was in first grade, he had trouble with, with spelling,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I would say to the teacher, [lipsmack] you know, it's amazing. He will be able to, you'll say to him, spell cat, and, you know, he'll say C A T, and then he would go to write it, and he would write C O T.
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] And I kept saying to the teacher, something is wrong here. Something is wrong here.
[speaker002:] You're right, right.
[speaker001:] And the teacher kept saying, oh, he has a May birthday. He's just immature.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] [Breathing] Well, second grade it was, I will, these teachers as far as I'm concerned are absolute saints, because in second grade, it was about the second week of school, I went up there, and I, I requested a conference and,
[speaker002:] Good, good,
[speaker001:] because all year long they kept telling me I was crazy.
[speaker002:] that's great for parents to be involved.
[speaker001:] Well, I was, and I, and I went up there the second week of school and I said, you know, something is wrong, and thank God the li-, the head teacher, the team leader, was a special education major.
[speaker002:] Oh, how great.
[speaker001:] It was, it was and,
[speaker002:] So she, she was able to zero in.
[speaker001:] She had picked it up, yep,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] she had already picked it up. And she said, you know, we, we were going to call you if you hadn't called us. We think there's a learning disability and we think he needs to be tested immediately, because, you know, once the first report card comes in, they,
[speaker002:] Huh.
[speaker001:] have all these people being tested, and she said, I think we can get him real fast.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, [faint] uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And sure enough, they tested him and, you know, he qualified for, for the help, and it's been great, and I, and I thank God I'm here, because I, I know I have a sister who has the other extreme. She has a, a child in Connecticut who is extremely gifted, and because of the cutbacks in the economy
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] they have nothing for her.
[speaker002:] Oh, no.
[speaker001:] And, and to me that's the same thing. It's, it's like having a child who has a learning disability that's being ignored,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] this poor gifted child is being ignored.
[speaker002:] Right, but that's something that parents, I think, are able to help the gifted child in the home more than they could help the learning disabled child.
[speaker001:] That's true.
[speaker002:] So, because,
[speaker001:] That's true.
[speaker002:] that's something you can do by just enrichment types of things in the home
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but learning disability, unless you are schooled in the types of things and ways to help a child like that, then it makes it real difficult
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and this is, this to me is the benefit I see in public schools
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] is that, that, uh, you do have government money to fund,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] the kinds of programs
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] that these students need, and I'm not sure that the private schools or parochial schools address that problem,
[speaker001:] [Breathing].
[speaker002:] they test kids before they take them,
[speaker001:] Exactly, and,
[speaker002:] and if they're a behavior problem, they're out.
[speaker001:] They don't take them, that's right.
[speaker002:] That, and, and,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] uh, this is kind of a rejection type of thing,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, and we get it even at our level in, in, I work a nine ten school, and we get students that come in that have been kicked out of the, uh, parochial and pub-, and, uh, private schools
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, uh, they come in and their attitude is, "I'm a bad boy," and proceed to [LAUGHTER] prove it.
[speaker001:] Really, really.
[speaker002:] So I, I really hate that for them. I, I,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] would rather they not have that attitude, but [breathing] that's,
[speaker001:] Well, when comparing test scores, I know recently I was in a discussion and they were comparing test scores between private schools and public schools,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] and that was one of the points that I made, is that you're not comparing apples to apples.
[speaker002:] That's right.
[speaker001:] You know, you can't say, um, you know, I know Steven probably would not be accepted because he has a learning disability and,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] into a private school. And, um, which is, which is too bad. But on the other hand, I, I can't necessarily blame them,
[speaker002:] No.
[speaker001:] you know, they, they are a private school and they,
[speaker002:] That's right,
[speaker001:] can do whatever they want.
[speaker002:] they can be selective, right.
[speaker001:] And they ca-, they, that's right, they have the ability to be selective. But you can't say then, well, public schools are, are not as good.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] Perhaps they are, because they're, they're,
[speaker002:] If you choose the select top group out of the public schools and tested them, and then compared them to the pri-, to the private school group, then I think you would have a more equitable
[speaker001:] You're right.
[speaker002:] way. And I have a problem when they compare the kids in Japan or Germany to the kids here. In, in, in, uh, ho-, honesty, the kids in Japan are, they have to try out to even get into, to which kindergarten they're going to get into,
[speaker001:] Oh, really?
[speaker002:] and then after, uh, and if, if you only, the, in fact, they've had cases in the past where parents have committed suicide because their child has not gotten into the top kindergarten, which means they probably won't get into the top elementary and, and high school,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and if they don't, then af-, when they reach a certain age, they just, that's the end of their schooling.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, and, uh, they don't ever really go on. It's only their top ones that go on, like ours do.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, and, uh, so that, that creates a problem. And,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and you can't compare, because they go so many more hours. The other thing is that the priority in the family is that child's education,
[speaker001:] Right,
[speaker002:] and is that child.
[speaker001:] well, you see that with the foreigners that come here.
[speaker002:] That's right.
[speaker001:] Um, I, I was talking to somebody recently or read somewhere where they, where they said that, you know, these children, they, they had to be the best, and they put off all social life, all everything,
[speaker002:] That's right, that's right.
[speaker001:] you know. Well, is that good? Yes, the child is very bright, but on the other hand, I feel like my children, who are kind of middle of the road, have,
[speaker002:] Better coping skills.
[speaker001:] are more rounded, you know.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Sure, sure, I think it's real important to have friends. I think it's real important to play sports. I think it's real important to be part of a team.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] And so that's why I said, their childhood is extremely different from mine. We didn't do all that
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] you know. [LAUGHTER] We certainly didn't carpool and run the way I do. Um,
[speaker002:] Well, and you don't, you don't see the parents, uh, encouraging those students to get on athletic teams or,
[speaker001:] No.
[speaker002:] drill teams or band,
[speaker001:] Right, right.
[speaker002:] it's strictly stick to the educational, and it's interesting to see them as they get older, uh, then that is the type of adult they are.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Um.