My son is going to Washington DC!!

My son just called me from school and he won the state history day competition, so now he gets to go to DC for the national competition. He is so very excited, and I am a very proud Mom right now. I just had to tell somebody. I am a little scared about sending my 13 year old son off to the big city without me though.

Thanks for listening. I'm off to do a happy dance now.

CONGRATULATIONS NEIGHBOR,WAAAHOO''''WONDERFUL,SOOO PROUD YOU ARE TOO''' Our kids traveled air at that age and much younger Joan,just write a "notarized letter"and have a copy also for yourself' Then have him carry it and tell him ONLY to stay with the Stewardess',nobody else' When he deplanes at DC,the person who will be caring for him will have "TO SHOW THEIR ID" before the Stewardess releases him' Also put it on his ticket''' HTH,Sis(doin' the HAPPY DANCE TOO,LOL)

Joan, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
When is he going? My son is going with his school march 31 thru april 6th, he too is 13. My son however, did not win the state history competition, this is just a field trip.

Thank you so much for sharing my excitement. I am so proud of him. His presentation is about computers and how they have evolved over the years. Starting with the abacus all the way to the high tech machines we now have. He also talks about how computers have changed society and how we would not have many of the medical techniques and equipment that are used today without the use of computers. He put his entire presentation on Powerpoint and has it timed right down to the second.

The national competition is sometime in June. I'm going to do a little checking and see if they are looking for chaparones to go along and help the kids. I might volunteer if they help pay for the tickets. Once there, they all stay in a dorm, so there's no motel expense. I'm going to check into this tomorrow. I wanna go too! Who's going to practice with him, make sure his tie is straight, calm down his jitters and take pictures if I don't go? LOL! Plus, he's going to be packing thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment with him, and the laptop we are using is rented and the projector belongs to the school. I know I'm just dreaming here, because I'm sure the chaparones will be teachers, but I'll never know unless I ask.

Great Joan. You ask all the questions you want so you will feel comfortable about the trip. Hope your son has a great time.

Congratulations.

Great for him and you. I know you are proud.

JoanJ...give your son my congratualtions...and to you and DH...for raising such a young man that smart!! Must be in the Genes!! Jo

Joan
You must be very proud. Pass my congrats on to him.
This brings back memories when my son won some competions and how proud I was of him.
Tell him to have a great time.

Paul

JoanJ, congrats to your son! How exciting for him!

Joan, you never know, they might need chaperones....I know I'm going to have a hard time letting my son go, I'll worry the entire time he is gone.

Again Joan, congratulations on such an honor.

Joan, that is so awesome. Be sure to send a camera with him. You'll want pictures. :)

Joan, it often happens that chaperones are very much needed, so offer immediately, and stay on a list of alternates in case someone has to cancel at the last minute. If money is a problem, ask your families, church, clubs, whatever, because a dollar donation times 50 people can offset a big chunk. My neighbor, back in the days when bands had to pay their own way, put up a jar in the drugstore and one at the bowling alley, and raised over $1500 in a couple of months. Put it right beside the place where people buy beer and lottery tickets. Call it a Share in a Future America Fund. Put a picture of him and his presentation. Whatever you have to do, I hope you go. Congratulations to both of you!

First off congrats to your son Joan!!!!!!!!
Second, Aimee's suggestion is a great one if you have to raise money for the two of you to go.
Third, who's going to be there to calm your jitters?......Can I go?...........LOL

I'm proud for both of you! Not to worry mommy, he will be very well taken care of. He will have so many memories to share and treasure. Job Well Done!!!!

"eyes"

Congrats! Tell him the DG folk are proud of him!

Congratulations!!! This is wonderful!!! Thank you for letting us share the joy of your son's achievements!!! Of course I'm sure his mom was a great help in getting him there :-)

Wow Joan thats great. Tell him I am so proud of him. Give yourself a pat on the back too!

You guys are so wonderful. Thank you so much. Jaden is so proud and happy. He's read all of your comments and beamed through them all. He said to tell you all thank you so much and to please keep thinking of him. He's telling everyone he see's, even if he doesn't know them. LOL! Tomorrow I'm hoping to find out more information on this. I like the idea of trying to get the community to help support one of their youngsters too. The problem is, we live in a rural community with very few people. We are going to try though. Every dollar they throw into the bucket will help lots. That was a great suggestion. The church may also help him out a little. Since he's now going through confirmation, he has been doing readings and ushering at church and he has captured the hearts of many with his smile and charm. He greets everyone with a smile, and a handshake for the men and a hug for the ladies. Last night after Lenten services, one older lady couldn't quit telling me what a fine young man he is.

Okay, now I'm bragging. Sorry about that. I am one really proud Mommy right about now.

Thank you all for sharing in our joy and happiness.

Joan and Jaden

Joan Honey...you ain't bragging...you just telling it like it is!!! Jo

That's a wonderful achievement Joan!! Some clever child you have there!!!! Congratulations Jaden and good luck!!! You've made your mum a very happy and proud parent!!!

I will kick off a DG fund for the trip, Joan, because I think he and you deserve it. My corner of a ticket will be in the mail before you get up to protest. Have a great trip.

Oh, Joan, that is great news. What a great experience for him. How proud you should be to have such an outstanding young man for a son.

No, No, No, please don't do that! And I'll explain why. This has been the most heartbreaking day Jaden has had in a long while. Today we found out that there was a *mistake*, and the goofy teacher should never have told him he had won and was going to DC, before it was all finalized. So, he isn't going after all. I haven't been on here all day, as I've been trying to sooth him all day. It's been a nightmare, and I still need to have some words with the teacher, but not until I calm down some. I don't know who's fault it is that this happened, but I'm not a happy camper. Yesterday we were all on top of the world and today someone pulled the rug out from underneath us.

Aimee, we appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness more than you will ever know, but if you haven't already mailed it, please don't. If you have, I'll mail it back to you when we receive it.

I've gotta get off here for awhile and go spend some more time with Jaden. I feel so bad for him and I'm hoping this doesn't have any negative affects on his will to try things like this again. It's just a bad deal all around.

Thanks so much for sharing in our happiness while it lasted.

Joan

Joan I'm so sorry...I had posted a happy post then came to add a thought I had and then saw your recent post minutes earlier.
I'm just as sorry as I can be...what a stupid move on the teachers part..telling him this news, then going back on it.
Joan, it's just heartbreaking to see your children hurting I know...I am praying you find the words you need to comfort Jaden. I hope we here are able to be some comfort to you as well.
I'm so sad this happened!
(hugs to Joan and Jaden)
I hope you keep us posted and I do hope you let that teacher know just what grief was has caused.
a sad mummy
:(



This message was edited Friday, Mar 1st 10:52 PM

Joan, as we discussed in the chat on Flowox's Porch tonight...I'm sending an "Attaboy" card to Jaden, and if any others wish to do the same...it may make him feel better. (email Joan for address if you need to) Jo

very good road runner
this just is such a sad thing for jaden!
and for joan too.

Temporary substitute, attaboy card for ticket corner

Joan Print this forum out and mail it to the teacher and let her (him) know how stupid mistakes can hurt people. We all hurt with you and Jaden. Try to let it be something that he can build on and not a stumbling block. I know your disappointment and hurt also as a parent. When they hurt we hurt.

Good idea Jim, I think I'll do that. Thanks

That is a BRIILLIANT IDEA!
Let her know how many people feel about her actions!
Smart GeorgiaRedClay!!!

Print the other thread of messages to you and Jaden too...just so that teacher knows some people understand the impact of her error.

Dear Joan...my heart breaks for your son and for you as well. What kind of an idiot teacher would tell a child something like that and change their mind. I hope the teachers supervisor gives her/him a reprimand and I hope that includes a public apology to your son. God Bless you both...

oh no that is a horrible thing to do to that boy! Id be on fire talking to the administration! Im so sorry for your little guy! =[
*maybe the teacher should pay for his trip!!!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Joan I am so sorry and give your son a big hug for me. Let us know what that teacher has to say.

Joanm how devastating for your son. What a terrible mistake on the teacher's part - shame on her for not thinking it thru and realizing the consequenses.
It is just awful, just awful.
I am so sorry that your son has to go thru this!

Update!

I posted this in the other thread "Caring thoughts for Joan and Jaden", so please forgive me if you read this twice. Everyone has been so helpful and caring, that I want everyone to know the current status.

I talked to the teacher today, and he has the same questions and concerns that I do. He said he's not even sure that he will have his students participate in this in future years, as this whole mess has disillusioned him so much.

He said that when he inquired about why they only awarded first place in this division, when they awarded first, second and third in other divisions, he was given some song and dance about the judges can choose to do whatever they want to.

He also said that when he inquired about Jaden's presentation, he was told that it didn't meet the judges standards. He asked what those standards are, and was told it was up to the individual judges. Hmm... You mean there's not a set of standards agreed upon between the judges beforehand so they are all judged by the same standards?

He gave me the phone number of the state coordinator, and I called her. She told me to write down all my questions and concerns and email them to her, and have the teacher do the same. She would take them to the state board and also send them on to the national board. She assured me that she would get some answers for us.

Thanks so much for being there for us through this. We are going to find out what actually took place. We realize it's too late for Jaden, but maybe we can keep this organization from doing this to another child in the future.

What a great Mom you are for making such an effort to get to the bottom of this. As you know many parents are too busy with their own lives to get involved when their children are being given an education. This is so sad for both of you, but I hope it will be a valuable learning experience for your son. Adversity builds character, and while we do not welcome it we can all make the best of it when it comes our way. Let us know how it all turns out, we are your family.

Mercy. Just found this thread. What a terrible thing. I hate to hear tho that "We realize it's too late for Jaden" part...maybe it isn't too late. Did the judges change their mind? Or re-judge for some reason? I'd like to see what happens with this issue.

The reason that I think it's too late for Jaden, is I really doubt the judges will decide to face up to what they did. However, in future competitions, I'm hoping they will be more careful and have their standards written out so that some other child doesn't have to go through this.

What they did was send out their paperwork ahead of time saying that the top 2 would go to nationals. Since only 2 made it to state, the teacher figured that both would go. At the state competition, they arbitrarily decided to only send one. However, their paperwork says 2 in each category will go. What I'm fighting is their changing their minds midstream. If both were good enough to make it to state, then both should go. All other categories had many more contestants, so that shows me that this category was the most difficult, therefore the least chosen. If only two made it to state, then they were obviously the best two presented in regionals, districts and state. Why should one stop there?

I also want to know what the standards were for judging and whether these standards were universal among all the judges. Was everyone judged by the same standards?

Oh, it's a mess. Our goal right now is to prevent this from happening to another child. Jaden has learned a lot from this and we will continue on with this.