The Republican Thread

[RockRaines]

I know someone who is able to hold a full-time job because he was educated through high school. He will never live on his own, but he is a nice guy and not ostracized in public when attending weddings, family parties, etc.

 

I also have a friend who teaches high school special ed. Treating them as human beings deserving of education the same as everyone else makes a huge difference.

Lucky him, because here in illinois after a special needs person turns 18 they are essentially cut off from any government help. Its tragic. I volunteer for an organization that helps these kids socially and economically and it has been called a saving grace for their kids by every parent who has participated.

[Balta1701]

I know someone who is able to hold a full-time job because he was educated through high school. He will never live on his own, but he is a nice guy and not ostracized in public when attending weddings, family parties, etc.

 

I also have a friend who teaches high school special ed. Treating them as human beings deserving of education the same as everyone else makes a huge difference.

That's a real good point...what happens to the special needs person who doesn't receive the attention that he or she needs while in school? Isn't the answer to that question too often going to be some combination of being on the streets/being in trouble with the law or winding up in some sort of institution?

 

Both of those would put substantial costs on other parts of society. Even if you try to turn your back to avoid spending anything extra on them, you still have the problem of dealing with them in terms of law enforcement, which isn't cheap.

[Soxbadger]

I know someone who is able to hold a full-time job because he was educated through high school. He will never live on his own, but he is a nice guy and not ostracized in public when attending weddings, family parties, etc.

 

I also have a friend who teaches high school special ed. Treating them as human beings deserving of education the same as everyone else makes a huge difference.

 

Right, there are different levels. Some have slight disabilities, some will never work a single day. Its sad, no one denies that, but this isnt one size fits all is the point.

 

Who said they arent deserving of education the same as everyone else?

 

Everyone else is put in a class with 1 teacher for 20 other kids. Everyone else gets in trouble if they attack a teacher, if they bite them, if they kick them (ask your friend, it happens at a shocking rate.)

 

There just is a difference between treating them like everyone else and treating them "special", which is conveniently the name of the program.

[Soxbadger]

Lucky him, because here in illinois after a special needs person turns 18 they are essentially cut off from any government help. Its tragic. I volunteer for an organization that helps these kids socially and economically and it has been called a saving grace for their kids by every parent who has participated.

 

Are they getting Supplemental Security Income from the federal govt?

 

[RockRaines]

Are they getting Supplemental Security Income from the federal govt?

They dont qualify for that since they arent aged and disabled, they are kids.

[Soxbadger]

Okay I thought you were saying when they turn 18 they werent eligible for anything. Im pretty sure they are eligible as kids as well (I dont deal with that so not 100%), but it would depend on how much they make.

 

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html

 

Just looked it up, that does appear to be the rule.

 

(edit)

 

And Im making no commentary on whether or not this money is enough to survive. That is an entirely different subject. Im for social benefits, so Id be fine with them being given more money to live (different than paying money for school, at least in my opinion).

Edited August 30, 2012 by Soxbadger

[RockRaines]

Okay I thought you were saying when they turn 18 they werent eligible for anything. Im pretty sure they are eligible as kids as well (I dont deal with that so not 100%), but it would depend on how much they make.

 

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html

 

Just looked it up, that does appear to be the rule.

 

(edit)

 

And Im making no commentary on whether or not this money is enough to survive. That is an entirely different subject. Im for social benefits, so Id be fine with them being given more money to live (different than paying money for school, at least in my opinion).

Under 18 or over 65 is the general rule. Which of course, they dont qualify for, just like in illinois where they get cut off.

 

It's the main reason my friend started this charity years ago because his brother was special needs and was basically being thrown to the wolves after he graduated High School. I have had parents come up to me and say they dreaded HS graduation more than when they were shipped off to war.

Edited August 30, 2012 by RockRaines

[Steve9347]

And in that 75% of the year they're working way more than 8 hours a day. 10 or 12 hours a day usually, if they coach or run a club its even longer. Any good teacher is spending a decent amount of time during the summer preparing for the next year anyway. If you pay them more and make it harder to get a teaching degree you're going to eliminate anyone who games the system.

 

Your statement is the real common misconception

OMG 10 hour days noooooooo.

 

Give me a break. My entire family is teachers, and I see how much they "work" over summers, and how much they b**** if they put in an extra few hours of prep.

[StrangeSox]

My parents' friends delayed HS graduation as long as possible for that reason.

[StrangeSox]

OMG 10 hour days noooooooo.

 

Give me a break. My entire family is teachers, and I see how much they "work" over summers, and how much they b**** if they put in an extra few hours of prep.

 

My wife busts her ass during the year because that's just in her nature, but other teachers and their whining typically piss her off.

[Soxbadger]

Under 18 or over 65 is the general rule. Which of course, they dont qualify for, just like in illinois where they get cut off.

 

It's the main reason my friend started this charity years ago because his brother was special needs and was basically being thrown to the wolves after he graduated High School. I have had parents come up to me and say they dreaded HS graduation more than when they were shipped off to war.

 

The main reason under 18 doesnt qualify is they take the families income into account. That being said there is a tremendous economic burden on families of special need children. I am not suggesting that the govt should help them, I am more suggesting that the current set up may not be beneficial for anyone.

 

There really is no good answer besides for giving them more money to survive. I guess that is where my problem is, I have no issue giving them money to survive, I just think its somewhat wasteful to spend so much money pretending that isnt what is going to happen.

[Steve9347]

My wife busts her ass during the year because that's just in her nature, but other teachers and their whining typically piss her off.

I like your wife already.

[RockRaines]

The main reason under 18 doesnt qualify is they take the families income into account. That being said there is a tremendous economic burden on families of special need children. I am not suggesting that the govt should help them, I am more suggesting that the current set up may not be beneficial for anyone.

 

There really is no good answer besides for giving them more money to survive. I guess that is where my problem is, I have no issue giving them money to survive, I just think its somewhat wasteful to spend so much money pretending that isnt what is going to happen.

You read it wrong, they dont qualify when they are over 18 or sometimes the hard cutoff is as late as 22 depending on their disability. As soon as they graduate from high school they are completely cut off. Illinois is also one of the few states that cuts them off as well. Its a terrible burden on the families and a source of ridiculous financial and emotional hardship.

 

Heres a link to the organization that is near and dear to my heart.

 

http://www.opportunityknocksnow.org/index.php

Edited August 30, 2012 by RockRaines

[StrangeSox]

I like your wife already.

She does, however, endlessly rub her time off in my face

[Soxbadger]

You read it wrong, they dont qualify when they are over 18 or sometimes the hard cutoff is as late as 22 depending on their disability. As soon as they graduate from high school they are completely cut off. Illinois is also one of the few states that cuts them off as well. Its a terrible burden on the families and a source of ridiculous financial and emotional hardship.

 

Heres a link to the organization that is near and dear to my heart.

 

http://www.opportunityknocksnow.org/index.php

 

Rock,

 

That is just not right.

 

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html#a0=0

 

SSI makes monthly payments to people with low income and limited resources who are 65 or older, or blind or disabled. Your child younger than age 18 can qualify if he or she meets Social Security’s definition of disability for children, and if his or her income and resources fall within the eligibility limits. The amount of the SSI payment is different from one state to another because some states add to the SSI payment. Your local Social Security office can tell you more about your state’s total SSI payment.

 

http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm

 

http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?...p;contentID=240

 

The Disability Criteria for Children's SSI

 

Financially needy children under age 18 who have serious medical conditions may be eligible for Children’s SSI. A child is disabled for SSI if the child is not working and earning more than the SGA level and has a medical condition or combination of conditions that cause "marked and severe functional limitations." Medical evidence documenting the child’s medical condition is essential.

 

The only reason Im putting all this information in is because the hope would be that you could help people get these benefits, because they are potentially available.

 

And thanks for the link, Ill pass the word around to people.

[Steve9347]

She does, however, endlessly rub her time off in my face

That's when you knock her up and the time off becomes "raise my child" time.

[RockRaines]

Rock,

 

That is just not right.

 

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html#a0=0

 

 

 

http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm

 

http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?...p;contentID=240

 

 

 

The only reason Im putting all this information in is because the hope would be that you could help people get these benefits, because they are potentially available.

 

And thanks for the link, Ill pass the word around to people.

You still posted it saying younger than 18. Trust me as soon as these kids graduate from HS or hit 18-22 they are off any benefits entirely. They are basically left out to dry. I've seen families petition pretty much everyone available to no avail.

 

And I personally dont think its the federal govnt that needs to help, I actually put more onus on the state level IMO. Either way its been mine and several others missions around chicago to contribute however we can to these families and especially the kids. Personally I think some of the benefits that others get from the gov are way less necessary.

Edited August 30, 2012 by RockRaines

[kev211]

OMG 10 hour days noooooooo.

 

Give me a break. My entire family is teachers, and I see how much they "work" over summers, and how much they b**** if they put in an extra few hours of prep.

I'm just saying I put 10-12 hours a day in during the 9 months I work. Instead of the 8 hours most people who get paid roughly the same as teachers do. I get my summers off, but in the end we work the same amount so the "they only work 75% of the year" argument is invalid.

 

Also your family might consist of these bad teachers who are taking advantage of tenure. Sorry to say it but that's generally what I've found of teachers who b**** about putting in extra work.

[kev211]

OMG 10 hour days noooooooo.

 

Give me a break. My entire family is teachers, and I see how much they "work" over summers, and how much they b**** if they put in an extra few hours of prep.

Also I can't slack during the entire school day. I can't just go read soxtalk whenever I feel like it because I've got 25 students in my room who need to learn.

 

Not complaining. I'm just saying sure I get june-mid august off but in the end I'm working just as hard as anyone else in any other profession.

[kev211]

I'm going to say it again. In order to fix the quality of teachers in schools the answer is not eliminating tenure, unions, etc.

 

The answer is that it needs to be harder to become one. Require a master's degree to even get your teaching certificate. Require more years of college. By raising college expectations your going to eliminate anyone who just falls into teaching because they can't decide what to do with their life (this describes a ton of teachers and they're always the bad ones because they have no passion for the job).

 

Then pay them more so more intelligent people with skills see money in teaching and instead of using their skills to become doctors or lawyers or other high paying professions they use it to become teachers. If you make it a lot harder to become a teacher and than pay them for doing it the quality of teachers is going to skyrocket. You've fixed one issue with education the quality of teachers and can than focus on the parents even though there's nothing you can really do about it.

 

 

Edit: After attending ISU the biggest teaching school in the state and near the top in the country I've seen far too many people just barely get by in the program(it scares me these people will be teaching children in the future). You raise expectations and make it harder to get certified you eliminate these people.

 

Edited August 31, 2012 by kev211

[Soxbadger]

You still posted it saying younger than 18. Trust me as soon as these kids graduate from HS or hit 18-22 they are off any benefits entirely. They are basically left out to dry. I've seen families petition pretty much everyone available to no avail.

 

And I personally dont think its the federal govnt that needs to help, I actually put more onus on the state level IMO. Either way its been mine and several others missions around chicago to contribute however we can to these families and especially the kids. Personally I think some of the benefits that others get from the gov are way less necessary.

 

Rock,

 

I do disabled guardianships. Every guardianship I have opened was at minimum getting SSI or SSD.

 

the reason I posted it saying under 18 is because I thought you already knew they absolutely get benefits over 18.

 

This is from the Illinois Guidebook I linked:

 

SSI:

 

SSI: U.S. citizens and certain legal immigrants who are financially needy and who are at least 65 years old, blind or disabled.

 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Financial Aid Program

 

You can receive SSI benefits even if you have never worked and regardless of your age when you became disabled. SSI is a financial assistance program for needy persons. For an individual, the maximum SSI benefit level is $698 per month as of January 2012, and $1048 for a couple if both spouses are eligible for SSI.

 

Now there is a chance that these people have assets in the name of the kid, and they arent putting them in a special needs trust, which is some how depriving them of their benefit.

 

Honestly, if you have a specific situation feel free to pm and I will figure it out.

[Marty34]

Also I can't slack during the entire school day. I can't just go read soxtalk whenever I feel like it because I've got 25 students in my room who need to learn.

 

Not complaining. I'm just saying sure I get june-mid august off but in the end I'm working just as hard as anyone else in any other profession.

 

How many holidays, non-summer vacation days do you get?

 

You may not be able to slack during the day, but how much daily pressure is a teacher under? You're not going to be held accountable by your bosses if a student fails a test.

[mr_genius]

a lot of immigrant pandering this convention.

[mr_genius]

this Romney speech is very boring

[G&T]

this Romney speech is very boring

 

Well that Clint Eastwood mess wasn't a great lead in either.