"As your attorney, I advise you to take a hit out of the little brown bottle....

[MMM98]

As a Contracting Officer for the Federal government I can assure you Uncle Sam hates litigation.  IRS says you owe money any you disagree, look at the fine print towards the end of the letter, it has your appeal rights in tax court.  Do it.  Sent absolutely everything certified mail, return recipient requested.  Don't worry you won't actually GO to tax court Uncle Sam will send a nice reasonable settlement letter, answering your concerns. You can take that or push on with tax court

The same concept holds true if you hold a federal contract and have a dispute.  Always, always litigate.

[onlykelsey]

As a Contracting Officer for the Federal government I can assure you Uncle Sam hates litigation.  IRS says you owe money any you disagree, look at the fine print towards the end of the letter, it has your appeal rights in tax court.  Do it.  Sent absolutely everything certified mail, return recipient requested.  Don't worry you won't actually GO to tax court Uncle Sam will send a nice reasonable settlement letter, answering your concerns. You can take that or push on with tax court

The same concept holds true if you hold a federal contract and have a dispute.  Always, always litigate.

Fascinating, really?  I'm an attorney (in private practice), and I give everyone the OPPOSITE advice.  Litigation is pretty much never worth it.  Of course I don't deal with federal agencies.

An addendum to my advice from when I worked for a plaintiff civil rights' firm: if you think you might want to make an employment discrimination claim, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING, and start now.  Then, do NOT miss the federal 180 day timeline to preserve your case.

[robartsd]

Fascinating, really?  I'm an attorney (in private practice), and I give everyone the OPPOSITE advice.  Litigation is pretty much never worth it.  Of course I don't deal with federal agencies.

I don't think Toymiester actually thinks going to court is usually worth it. I think he's pointing out that starting the process of going to court is what you need to get enough negotiating power to be taken seriously; before that, I imagine most disputes just get the bureaucratic run around treatment - not even being looked at by anyone with authority to do something about the case.

[sol]

Fascinating, really?  I'm an attorney (in private practice), and I give everyone the OPPOSITE advice.  Litigation is pretty much never worth it. 

I think it's the exact same advice.  Litigation is never worth it, for anyone.  If you push the government (or anyone else) toward litigation, they are likely to balk and offer you a settlement instead, because they know litigation is never worth it.

[Squirrel away]

Vitamin D and calcium, if you're deficient or borderline, will help migraines. Stop all aspartame intake for two weeks, this is linked to recurring headaches. Additional benefit of stopping hunger pangs between meals.

I will have to look into that as it didn't occur to me. Thank you.:)

[boy_bye]

Squirrel away, I get what my doc thinks are headache-less migraines (I get neck pain, face pain, visual aura, and vertigo) and I have been supplementing with magnesium and it seems to help -- I haven't gotten any in the 6 weeks or so that I've been taking it. Try magnesium glycinate, it's a little gentler on the gut.

[MMM98]

Fascinating, really?  I'm an attorney (in private practice), and I give everyone the OPPOSITE advice.  Litigation is pretty much never worth it.  Of course I don't deal with federal agencies.

I don't think Toymiester actually thinks going to court is usually worth it. I think he's pointing out that starting the process of going to court is what you need to get enough negotiating power to be taken seriously; before that, I imagine most disputes just get the bureaucratic run around treatment - not even being looked at by anyone with authority to do something about the case.

Yes this is exactly what I am saying. 

[Bracken_Joy]

Squirrel away, I get what my doc thinks are headache-less migraines (I get neck pain, face pain, visual aura, and vertigo) and I have been supplementing with magnesium and it seems to help -- I haven't gotten any in the 6 weeks or so that I've been taking it. Try magnesium glycinate, it's a little gentler on the gut.

Epsom salt soaks are an easy option as well- pharmacy grade are checked for contamination, if you do a soak it's transdermal so absorption is mediated so it's virtually impossible to get "too much".

Just be sure to check a purity review site, like lab door. Particularly for the oral supplements. Magnesium supplements are often contaminated with arsenic, because of the production methods. I recently found out the type I had been taking (Natural Calm) tested pretty high for arsenic in an independent review =(

[Squirrel away]

Thanks ms madge and Bracken_Joy. I am taking a magnesium and calcium supplement as I read that could help, but I will check if it is magnesium glycinate. I'm trying epsom salts in the bath too, I've just run out actually so I will order some more.

[MMMaybe]

You can buy a magnesium spray for the skin. Its a good way to take it. I've bought it on iHerb.

[Spork]

Vitamin D and calcium, if you're deficient or borderline, will help migraines. Stop all aspartame intake for two weeks, this is linked to recurring headaches. Additional benefit of stopping hunger pangs between meals.

I will have to look into that as it didn't occur to me. Thank you.:)

Aspartame is a real trigger for me.  Mine seem to be tied to seasonal changes as well.  So I can go months and aspartame won't trigger.  I hit about April/May using aspartame and BOOM.  I haven't had a real one in almost 10 years now.  I occasionally get the visual aura, but nothing that makes me curl up in a dark room.

[naners]

(3) According the the World Health Organization, anxiety affects something like 25% of workers worldwide (not sure how many REs).  The choice of treatment for anxiety has been undergoing change. Old-school types are still using benzodiazepines like alprazolam, lorazepam, clonazepam and diazepam. (You can bring your anxiety from doctor to doctor and eventually one will offer you lots and lots of these pills.) BUT - benzodiazepines are not so great.  In addition to shutting down anxiety, they shut down lots of other parts of your brain.  In fact they work on GABA, a diffusely spread neurotransmitter whose primary role everywhere in the cortex is to turn stuff off.  Benzodiazepines are a dimmer switch for your brain.  When you dim your brain, you lose the ability to learn, to grow and to move past the anxiety.  People on benzodiazepines are more likely to have motor vehicle accidents and old people on these drugs fall over and get hurt 3-4x more often then old people not on these drugs. So what is the alternative? I would suggest you invest in some solutions by doing about 6 - 10 weekly sessions of manualized cognitive behavioral therapy. If you can't find that or you really want to take a pill, try an anxiolytic antidepressant like Prozac, Zoloft or Effexor. Leave the benzodiazepines out of your medicine cabinet. 

I was prescribed benzodiazepines a few times and I believe they caused me to have migraines. I'm wondering if taking them was related to my having vertigo too. I went to my doctor and to the hospital and they weren't particularly helpful. They checked my hearing and said it was perfect and gave me some exercises to do for the vertigo, but I'm still getting migraines.

Does anybody on here have any remedies for migraines? Earlier this month I worked out how many painkillers I have been taking and it was ridiculous so I wanted to find another solution.

What has worked for me so far is making sure I eat regularly even if I have nausea when I feel a migraine coming on. I also have had some success with putting an ice cube or ice cream in my mouth and touching it to the roof of my mouth, it sounds weird, but it seems to work.

Any other tips?

I have pretty good luck with prescription triptans (Imitrex etc). They are not painkillers so not addictive. But you need to take them at the first hint of a migraine or aura if you get one. That and 4 ibuprofen will let me dodge the serious misery (forget about working though). There are lots of different triptans so you can try different ones (see a neurologist and ask for samples).  If you're a lady and get them around your period try changing your birth control (non hormonal to hormonal or vice versa). Don't take any opioids (codeine etc) regularly, that will give you rebound headaches.

[MoneyCat]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

[MrsPete]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Yes, one of the primary purposes of standardized tests is to test your child's teacher.  The state is trying to tie kids' performance to teacher pay, an idea that's never going to work.  Regardless, I don't see kids feeling stressed about tests; quite the opposite, in fact.  I teach kids with medium and low academic levels, and the vast majority of them are less than concerned about their grades. 

As for exempting, maybe this works in elementary school, but in high school the standardized tests are the kids' final exams.  No exam, no passing the class.  You could argue that's an indirect method of "college placement". 

[GuitarStv]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Opting out of the standardized testing doesn't mean that your child is going to get taught a different day plan than the rest of the class.  Either you have a good teacher or not.

[MoneyCat]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Opting out of the standardized testing doesn't mean that your child is going to get taught a different day plan than the rest of the class.  Either you have a good teacher or not.

The entire system is stupid because we don't rate dentists based on how many cavities their patients get. Meanwhile, your children will suffer for something that doesn't really concern them. The argument could be made that forcing your child to take the standardized tests is a form of child abuse.

[forummm]

The argument could be made that forcing your child to take the standardized tests is a form of child abuse.

Not convincingly. I think that teaching to a test is probably not the best way to educate a kid. But it's very far from abuse.

[Squirrel away]

Great info and input about migraines, thanks all. I really want to find a solution for this.:)

[Digital Dogma]

Vitamin D and calcium, if you're deficient or borderline, will help migraines. Stop all aspartame intake for two weeks, this is linked to recurring headaches. Additional benefit of stopping hunger pangs between meals.

I will have to look into that as it didn't occur to me. Thank you.:)

Aspartame is a real trigger for me.  Mine seem to be tied to seasonal changes as well.  So I can go months and aspartame won't trigger.  I hit about April/May using aspartame and BOOM.  I haven't had a real one in almost 10 years now.  I occasionally get the visual aura, but nothing that makes me curl up in a dark room.

Interesting, do you also take allergy medication?

[Spork]

Vitamin D and calcium, if you're deficient or borderline, will help migraines. Stop all aspartame intake for two weeks, this is linked to recurring headaches. Additional benefit of stopping hunger pangs between meals.

I will have to look into that as it didn't occur to me. Thank you.:)

Aspartame is a real trigger for me.  Mine seem to be tied to seasonal changes as well.  So I can go months and aspartame won't trigger.  I hit about April/May using aspartame and BOOM.  I haven't had a real one in almost 10 years now.  I occasionally get the visual aura, but nothing that makes me curl up in a dark room.

Interesting, do you also take allergy medication?

I took bi-weekly shots as a child (and I'm not convinced they helped).  I had a history of childhood asthma/allergies I mostly outgrew.  I still have pretty significant grass/pollen allergies and do take OTC allergy meds during spring/fall.  I would say it's mostly just annoying, though I had what I'll call "mild anaphylaxis" a week ago.  (I say mild... my throat partially closed, but not enough to stop breathing.  My eyes swelled up pretty substantially -- both the conjunctiva and the sclera were remarkably swollen).  But this was a first for me.

[TVRodriguez]

. . . .

I'm still getting migraines.

Does anybody on here have any remedies for migraines?

. . . .

I used to take a baby aspirin daily.  It kept my migraines away for years. 

Now I get botox 2-4 times annually - forehead and back-of-neck muscles.  It has cut down significantly on the migraines.  I can even drink red wine again.  And eat chocolate.

[boarder42]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Opting out of the standardized testing doesn't mean that your child is going to get taught a different day plan than the rest of the class.  Either you have a good teacher or not.

also most tests you take to get into college are as you said standardized tests.  which means opting your child out at a younger age makes them less prepared for a standardized test - such as the ACT or SAT.  furthermore if they pursued a career with more standardized tests they even have less practice.  as an engineer I had to take the FE and the PE to become licensed.  all those standardized tests do prepare you to learn how to take standardized tests.

[mm1970]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

For my kid and school this is bad advice.  We have enough of a problem with white flight here. If all the English Origin bright kids stop taking tests, it will get even worse.

The only reason we've retained the % that we have is the parents who bother to look at the test scores that are broken down by demographic.

[mancityfan]

Teacher:

Be active in your kids school. Your kids notice. Volunteer, be on the PTA. Show up for conferences even if you have a great kid with great grades. I see this correlation between successful kids and parents being active in the school all the time.

Vote for candidates for your Board of Ed that put students, parents and teachers first. These  are the most important stakeholders and should be shaping education. Sadly politicians - and then follow the money - run education. Do what you can to stop it. At the very least, vote for those aforementioned.

[CheapskateWife]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

For my kid and school this is bad advice.  We have enough of a problem with white flight here. If all the English Origin bright kids stop taking tests, it will get even worse.

The only reason we've retained the % that we have is the parents who bother to look at the test scores that are broken down by demographic.

Heard an interesting discussion regarding this idea on the radio...the idea that when school test scores are poor, it affects the entire local economy.  Noone wants to live in a low performing school district, so housing prices fall, businesses are no longer attracted to the area etc.  It was a really interesting way of looking at how the parents of smart kids opting out of the tests really does negatively impact the entire community.

And the best thing a parent can do is to not make a big deal about the tests, and if the scores are low in a certain area, quietly work on a remedial action plan with the teacher.  Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 
 

[forummm]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

[GuitarStv]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

3) Assume that children's performance has more to do with the teacher than the environment and living situation at home.

[boarder42]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

[asiljoy]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

that and you have to take into account the relative wealth of the neighborhood. A 1% levy on a 400,000 median property is going to produce a whole lot more for the school than a 1% levy against a 100,000 median property value.

[MandyM]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

that and you have to take into account the relative wealth of the neighborhood. A 1% levy on a 400,000 median property is going to produce a whole lot more for the school than a 1% levy against a 100,000 median property value.

I'm pretty sure forummm understands the why/how of wealthy neighborhood = good school. He's saying its a dumb system.

[boarder42]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

that and you have to take into account the relative wealth of the neighborhood. A 1% levy on a 400,000 median property is going to produce a whole lot more for the school than a 1% levy against a 100,000 median property value.

I'm pretty sure forummm understands the why/how of wealthy neighborhood = good school. He's saying its a dumb system.

so then what would be your solution to the system.  equivalent schools everywhere - where we socialize and the wealthier neighborhoods support all others.  or more federal taxes so the fed funds all schools equally?  i'm pretty sure people would stop voting to increase their property taxes if this were the case.  and you would have to leavy a higher federal tax to then support all schools and treat them equally.  not really for federalizing a school system. 

and all of this still bypasses the fact that the parents need to play a role in their childs education as well.

[forummm]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

that and you have to take into account the relative wealth of the neighborhood. A 1% levy on a 400,000 median property is going to produce a whole lot more for the school than a 1% levy against a 100,000 median property value.

I'm pretty sure forummm understands the why/how of wealthy neighborhood = good school. He's saying its a dumb system.

so then what would be your solution to the system.  equivalent schools everywhere - where we socialize and the wealthier neighborhoods support all others.  or more federal taxes so the fed funds all schools equally?  i'm pretty sure people would stop voting to increase their property taxes if this were the case.  and you would have to leavy a higher federal tax to then support all schools and treat them equally.  not really for federalizing a school system. 

and all of this still bypasses the fact that the parents need to play a role in their childs education as well.

There's no simple answer. And a number of ways you could have a different system. You are right that parents are an important part of the equation. But schools could also help educate parents about that role and provide support to families to encourage a healthy home life where that is lacking. Children are our future and it's probably much less expensive to spend a bit more money to increase their likelihood of having a healthy and successful life (and paying higher taxes due to higher wages) than to pay for things down the road when people who weren't given a chance are unable to succeed (courts, prisons, low/no taxes due to lower/no incomes, welfare, etc). It's not the child's fault that they were born into an environment with parents (or maybe without parents) who don't know how to be a good parent and provide a good environment for the child's development. It's also not the child's fault that their parents may not make a lot of money to live in a good district. Every child should have a great local school that they go to, spending their day with educators who care about them and will work to equip them with the skills they need to succeed.

If that requires closing failing schools (and not just moving the same, bad personnel to another building), then so be it. If that requires federalizing standards or redirecting tax revenues to ensure that great teachers are available in every school, then so be it. It's a really hard question in part because it's really hard to evaluate en masse which teachers are great and which need to go.

[mm1970]

Maybe the low performing student doesn't need to see that he/she is 5th percentile. 

Don't worry. They won't be able to read the report card.


But seriously, your point about the parents with more resources (and usually therefore better performing kids) avoiding districts with poor achievements is a big problem. It's stupid that we 1) allow any schools to be bad schools, and 2) have the geographic location of their housing determine whether the kid gets a good school or not.

one of the reasons geographic location determines better schools (at least in my area) is the property taxes people approved to have levied against them to live in these better school districts.

Eh, not in my district.  We have 13 schools in our district.  The spending per student is identical at each of the schools (and is, in fact, 1/3 of the spending in the next district over, where Oprah owns an estate).  But I digress.

Anyway, the 13 schools have a "great schools" rating (based on test scores) from anywhere from a 2 to a 9.  Hey, that's changed.  Used to be from 1 to 10.  Hm.
9,9,8,6,5,4,4,3,3,3,3,2 (one charter school is not listed)

My home school is the "2".
We transferred into the "5".
The top school is a "9", and is literally 0.5 miles from the school that we are in, and 1/4 mile from one of the "3" schools. 

Property taxes are pretty much high all around, and spending is per student.

The difference?  The "9" school (in the middle):
- has fewer apartment dwellers and slightly more ocean view homes.  Thus, the parents donate money to the PTO.  As in, they raised $120,000 in the first month of the year.  Probably over $300k for the year.
- has the GATE magnet program, so smarter and wealthier kids come from all over.

The "2" school and "3" schools simply take a greater percentage of students from the downtown area.  And our home school?  It would be identical, demographically, to the school that we transferred into, were it not for white flight.  (i.e., home schools is 98% Latino/ poor/ English learner.  School we attend is 75%).

[ender]

and all of this still bypasses the fact that the parents need to play a role in their childs education as well.

I would be really curious to see the breakdown of how involved parents are in the lives of their kids, based on the quartile of "school quality."

[AlwaysLearningToSave]

. . .

I really like Workflowy for task and project management. I use it as a pretty basic to-do list but it's pretty powerful if you want to get fancier. I also like I Done This for tracking what I actually got done each day (some to-do items might take a few days to complete, so marking items complete on the to-do list doesn't necessarily capture what I do all day.)

In terms of focus, I tend to jump around too so minimizing interruptions is key. One of the best things I ever did was to turn off all the email notifications on my desktop and push email on my phone. I originally did it to keep embarrassing email headers (thanks,  Little Bro!) from popping up when I was presenting to my colleagues, and to keep my battery usage down on my phone, but it really helps me focus. I have gradually trained most of my colleagues to email first and set a time if we need to talk by phone, and that if the office door is closed someone had better be dead if you interrupt me, but otherwise visitors are fine.

To resurrect some foam from earlier in this thread...

Thanks for the suggestions, Noodle.  I've been using Workflowy for a week and a half or so and it is awesome!  It is by far the most intuitive tool I have found to use as a project management tool and to-do list that I have used.  I love how it is free-form enough that you can create your own system, simple enough that it is easy to learn and create your system, but powerful enough to be a place where I can truly catch everything and put my entire personal and professional brain on paper.  The fee for the pro version is totally worth it in my book.

Turning off email notifications was helpful as well. 

[shanghaiMMM]

and all of this still bypasses the fact that the parents need to play a role in their childs education as well.

I would be really curious to see the breakdown of how involved parents are in the lives of their kids, based on the quartile of "school quality."

Not exactly answering your question but I was reading a research paper about this (I'm a teacher) and it found that having parents who are actively involved in their child's school life and did simple things like read with them at home can give your child a larger boost than transferring them to a higher level school.

Not a surprise that parent involvement helps but interesting to note it can help more than a better quality school can.

(Sorry, didn't cite the paper, I could dig it out I suppose if anyone wanted)

[SamFinn]

As a government worker: Don't lie to us. We will eventually find out, not always right away, but when we do you can have charges laid and will most definately be repaying any monies. We will garnish any and all income you have coming in until that amount is repaid. Its much easier and less costly to just to tell the truth upfront

[JCfire]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Opting out of the standardized testing doesn't mean that your child is going to get taught a different day plan than the rest of the class.  Either you have a good teacher or not.

The entire system is stupid because we don't rate dentists based on how many cavities their patients get. Meanwhile, your children will suffer for something that doesn't really concern them. The argument could be made that forcing your child to take the standardized tests is a form of child abuse.

I think you trivialize the issue of child abuse by invoking it so casually and for so little reason.

[Paul der Krake]

If you have children in public school, opt them out of all standardized tests that are not college placement tests. The standardized tests are intended to test your children's teachers and not your children. The results of the tests are not used to determine your child's strengths and weaknesses to inform instruction. They are a waste of time for your child and do nothing for them but needlessly increase their anxiety and waste many, many hours that could have been used for learning.

Opting out of the standardized testing doesn't mean that your child is going to get taught a different day plan than the rest of the class.  Either you have a good teacher or not.

The entire system is stupid because we don't rate dentists based on how many cavities their patients get. Meanwhile, your children will suffer for something that doesn't really concern them. The argument could be made that forcing your child to take the standardized tests is a form of child abuse.

I think you trivialize the issue of child abuse by invoking it so casually and for so little reason.

Conflating taking tests to child abuse is about as convincing as the argument that taxation is theft. Yeah right.

[dadu007]

Pro tip: Wear. Hearing. Protection.

Start with foam earplugs. The higher the NRR (Noise Reduction Rating), the better. Shoot for those with a rating of 30. Pinch and roll them into the thinnest tube you can and STUFF those suckers as far as you can down your ear canals.
Foam earplugs with supra-aural headphones (earmuffs) are even better. I'm talking  to you Mr. JackHammer Guy.
Wear them while:
- using any power tools or loud manual tools (e.g. sledge hammer on steel spikes)
- while shooting guns. Any guns, macho man. Soldiers on duty are an exception, of course. Most vets have at least some hearing loss. I know, I've worked at a VA hearing clinic.
- Mowing the lawn with an electric or power mower
- Attending loud music concerts. Invest in musician earplugs if you're a musician; they cut down the dB level evenly across the frequency spectrum. Pricey but worth it if you value hearing your grandchildren. Even classical musicians are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
- Attending auto races.
- too many other occasions to list. Use common sense.

Oh yeah, turn down your damn portable music player. If I can hear the music emanating from your earbuds, it's too loud!

Got tinnitus already (ringing or buzzing in the ears)? You likely already have a hearing loss. Aspirin, caffeine, and alcohol make tinnitus worse, btw.  If you have ringing or buzzing after attending any public entertainment event, you have at least a "temporary threshold shift". Your hearing has sustained at least some damage; it may be minute, but those shifts ratchet down continually after each event. Eventually it will be measurable.

I could go on.  I'll leave you with this: If you've been to a certified licensed audiologist who says you should be wearing hearing aids, buy some hearing aids.  Your spouse and kids are not just "mumbling". You have a hearing loss for God's sake, which is a FAMILY problem. Do something about it. You have no idea how much stress hearing loss causes (gradually) over time!

[Spork]

Pro tip: Wear. Hearing. Protection.

+1.
I was a dumbass as a kid (loud stereos, cars, airplanes, guns, tools, rock concerts, etc).  I am very strict about wearing protection now.  But I'll never get back what I've lost.  My dad DIDN'T do all those things and was pretty deaf by the time he died.  I can't imagine that genetics and teenage stupidity are going to mix well for me.

[GuitarStv]

Pro tip: Wear. Hearing. Protection.

+1.
I was a dumbass as a kid (loud stereos, cars, airplanes, guns, tools, rock concerts, etc).  I am very strict about wearing protection now.  But I'll never get back what I've lost.  My dad DIDN'T do all those things and was pretty deaf by the time he died.  I can't imagine that genetics and teenage stupidity are going to mix well for me.

This goes double for music.  Concerts, jam sessions, drum practice.  There are a lot of people I know who have reduced high end in their hearing because they didn't like to pop in earplugs.

[PawPrint53]

I take several classes at the local YMCA and notice the music is always turned up pretty loud. If I wear any kind of hearing protection, then I can't hear the instructors even though they use microphone thingies. Sometimes I feel like I may be getting in great shape, but losing my hearing. :-(

[J Boogie]

Hearing protection is an easy choice for me.  I find loud noises very unpleasant, so anytime I use a tool with more power than a cordless drill I'll be using my 3M worktunes (I'll throw some batteries in there and start jamming one of these days).

However, on a number of occasions I've suffered the consequences of leaving them on when I no longer need them.  I become far less aware of my surroundings when I'm wearing ear protection.  I'll bump into things that my hearing would have subtly alerted me to.

I'm good with eye protection too, and what I really need to get better about is lung protection.  Masks are unpleasant to wear and the good ones don't lend themselves to "breaks" very easily, so it becomes way too easy to say "oh it's just a few rips of plywood, no need to put it on" or "its just some light sanding".

Lung protection is one of the big reasons I've been buying more festool these days.  That and their tools are kickass and super addictive.

[lemanfan]

I take several classes at the local YMCA and notice the music is always turned up pretty loud. If I wear any kind of hearing protection, then I can't hear the instructors even though they use microphone thingies. Sometimes I feel like I may be getting in great shape, but losing my hearing. :-(

Go get your hearing and ears checked. Sometimes hearing problems comes from illness or conditions that are not related to noise and that is easily fixed by medical procedures.

And like dadu007 said, wear protection.  The ones made for musicians that was mentioned actutally often makes it easier to hear voices on loud environments.  The generic ones for $10 to $30 in your nearest music stor (Guitar Center et al) are good, and the custom made ones (etymotic.com and similar) are even better when in a noisy envirment like a bar or some gym classes etc.

You cannot replace your ears.  Hearing loss makes you kind of isolated.  And if you get tinnitus, there's a new level of problems even when you're alone.

[shelivesthedream]

Pro tip: Wear. Hearing. Protection.

...

I could go on.  I'll leave you with this: If you've been to a certified licensed audiologist who says you should be wearing hearing aids, buy some hearing aids.  Your spouse and kids are not just "mumbling". You have a hearing loss for God's sake, which is a FAMILY problem. Do something about it. You have no idea how much stress hearing loss causes (gradually) over time!

Ugh, yes. This is my mother, refusing to wear hearing aids because she's "not old" and they "won't help" and then yelling at everyone like it's their fault for "not speaking up" because she can't hear them at normal conversational volume. It's such a PITA. Hearing aids are not perfect but these days they can be pretty amazing and almost invisible.

[Campanula]

I take several classes at the local YMCA and notice the music is always turned up pretty loud. If I wear any kind of hearing protection, then I can't hear the instructors even though they use microphone thingies. Sometimes I feel like I may be getting in great shape, but losing my hearing. :-(

I agree that you should get yourself checked out, but maybe also tak to the YMCA? They should be aware of safe and comfortable limits for noise.

You cannot replace your ears.  Hearing loss makes you kind of isolated.

+1 to this. I've been hard of hearing all my life and it still causes isolation and social discomfort. Look after your hearing!

[notquitefrugal]

My experiences with insurance companies have always been pleasant when they owe me less than I have paid them.  In the few cases when they have owed tens of thousands of dollars, they have tried every dirty trick in the book to screw me. 

My experience has generally been good with homeowners claims. For some reason, it seems like carriers treat auto insurance as a profit center and try to lowball claims, collude with "preferred" (read: substandard) repair shops, underpay liability claims, fail to supervise staff, etc. Frequently, the dollar amounts at stake are too small to be worth litigating, thus, they get away with it more often than not.

[notquitefrugal]

Pro tip: Wear. Hearing. Protection.

Start with foam earplugs. The higher the NRR (Noise Reduction Rating), the better. Shoot for those with a rating of 30. Pinch and roll them into the thinnest tube you can and STUFF those suckers as far as you can down your ear canals.

I have those, 3M brand (I think) disposable ones. They don't fit well or attenuate noise that well, no matter how much I roll them down and stuff them in my ears. I had some 3M rubber earplugs (didn't have to awkwardly roll the foam down) with a plastic string that connected the two sides, but seem to have lost them. Those fit better and did a better job of attenuating noise.

Also, I didn't know electric mowers were noisy? I have a gas push mower that is annoyingly loud (thus, I wear the earplugs when using it), but my electric weed whacker, blower, and hedge clippers are very quiet by comparison.

[Squirrel away]

Update - no more migraines! Thanks so much for all your advice!:) Amazing.