May 18, 2008
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School Phobia
Rebecca Maykish is 17 years old and she has a school phobia.
A school Board in Palmerton has “authorized payments of more than $45,000 to help make up for school days missed. She is given the money because of the American with Disabilities Act.
Her mother “spent $3,892 on at-home instruction, and hundreds more
on educational software. She spent $2,100 for Rebecca to take classes
at the Barbizon modeling academy, and nearly $6,000 to attend summer
camp in Ferndale, N.Y., and go on field trips to Toronto and New York.
The fund also covered $54 for subscriptions to Seventeen, Teen Vogue
and Teen People magazines, according to documents provided by Maykish
and the school district.”Her mother said, “expenses for modeling school and summer camp were justified because the
education fund was also intended to boost Rebecca’s self-esteem and
help her interact with kids her age.”Here is the link: Link
Do you think tax dollars should go to assist people who have school phobia?
Comments (170)
wow i would know like two dozen kids with school phobia then haha…
nah. she’s taking advantage of the american government.
haha no. i have anxiety disorder, and i’d like to switch schools. but making them take pity on me? no thanks. i’m not about to use tax payers money.
Not really
No. Unless they will accomodate my WORK phobia….then I say Yes. Ha…as a teacher, I sometimes had “school phobia” myself.
I wish I would have had school phobia. I just hated going to classes.
I had school phobia most of the time I was going to school. I think someone owes me some backdated funds.
In other words, piffle.
School phobia huh? Well who am I to judge her. I have my own share of phobias–claustrophobia at the top of the list..
and well morbid fear of Ghosts Images, Images of Battered women, ghost stories, rejection, and failure.
But as to the question, should the government be required to fund this, well, one of the earlier comments kinda stuck to me–If they would fund this, then fund my fear of elevators closing at work.
With a long line of Supreme Court cases supporting both the fundamental right to education and the ADA — absolutely yes I do. From a legal standpoint anyway. People who really don’t like it should write their senators, not complain on Xanga.
i dont think i know enough about the girl or what school phobia does to her to make such a judgment- but at face value it seems pretty questionable
hell no. She needs to cry me a river and get over it. or be a bum instead.
Look, I thin paying for the educational expenses and the at-home instruction stuff is relevant because it directly involves her education. HOWEVER, I don’t agree with the modeling stuff and all of that. That wasn’t necessary, if she needs help with self-esteem and wants to cost covered, her mother should have gotten her a psychologist or someone like that, and that would been much more relevant to cover.
I am going to say no, now I have read the link.
no way!
me too, phil.
somehow numbers that i see on how much it costs to educate one student in public school seem high, but i’m sure it’s taking things into account that i hadn’t considered.
Absolutely! Especially if you’re sending her to modeling school to train for an industry that lets women compete with each other and are judged by their looks. That’s a great start for a teenage girl with low self esteem.
I don’t think so.
I can understand the tuition refund, but not the modeling school and the summer camp. Those options are not allowed to regular public school students and shouldn’t be paid for by the government. As someone who chose to do distance learning from home for high school, my tuition wasn’t paid for by the government, and neither were the costs of my national kayak/canoeing trips, my voice & piano lessons, and the competitions I entered. My parents and I willingly paid for those on our own and I know we would have even if we were offered money. Its not fair to schools that don’t have enough funding as is to not get that money.
The article says “But her writing skills are weak and she can only do basic multiplication and division on downloaded worksheets” and she’s 17! If tax dollars are going to someone who has school phobia they better be learning. and not wasting the district’s money on magazine subscriptions, modeling school, and summer camp.
i’d rather the money go to therapy/treatment.
Not really. Either her parents take care of it or she should have to go to school. I had “school phobia” but I still had to go. We shouldn’t have to pay because someone thinks their kid is better off at home.
Wow, that really angers me.
Talk about a waste of OUR tax money. This is so sickening.
If your kid is afraid of school, teach them at home. No one else gets money for that, and neither should you!!!
no..
hell then i have school phobia
No way. That’s ridiculous.
no… don’t all kids have school phobia?
school phobia? are you serious? That’s about the biggest pile of lies I have heard in quite a while. Unless the mere mention of “school” or the sight of a school sends chills up her spine at the very least, then I don’t think she really qualifies for being “disabled”. She shouldn’t get the money and overall, tax dollars should not be spent on people who have “school phobia”.
how pathetic. get over it. by her mother supporting her bull-shit school phoobia, she will be forever screwed. then she’ll have work phobia. and then the government will pay her for missing work.
@o_Dirty_Blonde_o - I was going to comment, but this one pretty much summed up all I would have said.
thats fucking bullshit. shes bullshitting.
@pseudoecho - i agree. if she isn’t treated, but weaved through the system and all the while keeps her phobia and isn’t able to interact with others, how is she going to make it through life once the government stops giving her money? the modeling stuff is BS, in my opinion. the girl needs a therapist.
I don’t know. I used to roll my eyes at Depression until I experienced so who am I to judge?
The modeling crap, though? And that much money?? It’s all a bit extensive. I think the bare minimum should be paid ONLY. (IF that.)
Give that girl a nice hot cup of “Shut the fuck up.”
Because I don’t think there’s such thing as schoolphobia.
No, that’s stupid. They need to get psychological help (like anyone
else with a phobia that is keeping them form normal activities, etc.)
and work their way through it. And, not to be mean, but modeling
school???? First off, how hard could that be when it comes to
schooling? I could understand if you had phobia’s of being in large
crowds or having all eyes on you, but yea…silly. Secondly…maybe the
angle’s bad, but I don’t think she could go very far in the modeling
industry…sorry, but I feel our money’s being wasted.
@xxmusicxxfreak - Exactly. Ridiculous.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….oh, and HA!
I think they call school-phobia this: being a teenager. If she can go to Barbizon, she can go to algebra class!
That’s… interesting. I’ve never heard of that before. How does one differentiate between the usual “I hate school” and this particular “I have a phobia of school”? Shouldn’t she be getting therapy or counselling of some kind?
And regardless, the magazine subscriptions are too much.
No the money needs to go towards treatment if anything at all. And modeling school isn’t the best place for women with low self esteem.
Another reason why government education is a joke.
How do people get away with this? Maybe I should develop a sudden case of work phobia…..
Hell no!
What the fuck?! Modeling Academy?
I pay tuition, and work my ass off and get a shitload of money taken out because of taxes. (Mass, so taxes are ridiculous). I actually go to school because I’m not “disabled”, to get a good paying job, but I have to have money taken out because this bitch wants to be a model? Self esteem, my ass. Obviously she’s got her heart set on modeling with the academy and magazines. She gets everything for free, because she can’t go to school? That’s bullshit.
All kids have “school phobia”. No one wants to go, except the awesome geeks, such as I, but you have to. Unless you physically or mentally can’t handle it, then it’s acceptable. She can manage going to summer camps and classes at the modeling academy, but she can’t possibly handle school? I’m so sick and tired of lazy people ripping us working people off.
She’s not even good or interesting looking enough to be a model, so she needs to stop wasting our money.
Plus, I think I have tax phobia. So, sorry someone else will have to pay them for me.
What cheap scum her and her mother are. No one has pride anymore in making it for themselves. Assholes.
Bit of a rant, whoops.
@Color_me_Karma - ”Secondly…maybe the
angle’s bad, but I don’t think she could go very far in the modeling industry…sorry, but I feel our money’s being wasted.”
Hahaha, that’s what I said.
In this case, i think so. good for her Mom for knowing how to work the system…to her daughter’s advantage.
This is one of those ‘good things’ in life…sure beats hearing about the corner store jackings, rapes, and murders.
So what is she’s gettin teen magazine, or what ‘illness’ she has…this goes to show that the system DOES work…sometimes, and when there is a ‘team’ workin it.
Good for THEM i say!
People need to get over themselves. Afraid of heights? I can understand that. Afraid of school? Well, unless some bully is beating you up every day and stealing your lunch money, go to school. And even then, that’s a fear of the bully, not school. What the fuck is this about? Her mother should get a job, enroll her daughter in cyber school and pay for it herself, damnit.
wows, no ways. not all of it, not so much anyways.
there’s no way there’s such a thing as “school” phobia.
maybe it’s a fear of teaching? oh wait, she is still getting taught.
big buildings? oh wait, she visited toronto and new york city
big groups? oh wait, she attended a summer camp.
she appears to only be fearful of the idea of school, not the characteristics of school.
since when is a phobia a disability? and since when does anyone think it’s okay that everyone else’s hard earned money has to pay for things like magazine subscriptions? some kids that go to public school can’t even afford magazines!
Go to school pussy.
I have work phobia. Throw some tax dollars my way!
Wow all that funding going for ONE child that is a little extreme. Why could they not put her into a specail needs type class where she worked at her own pace and did not have to interact with anyone. She could even arrive later then other kids and leave early at least she would be in school! I suspect this route also would be cheaper on the district. No they should not allow this for one student..
Also if she can attend modeling school then regular school should be cake walk!!! I can’t believe they paid for the magazines OR modeling school…
Definitely no.
I wonder, how do you get diagnosed with school phobia?
Before reading the article, I thought “Yeah, give her the money. She’ll use it to get some kind of education around her anxiety.”
Then I read the article, and that’s just horrible. Modeling classes and camp, paid for by the government? Come on. Send her to one of those nice self esteem classes they hold, like a support group. Get her a basic skills GED tutor, and then she’s done.
Now, the government is at fault for giving her such wide discretion for the money they agreed to fund her with. So, they’re stuck there, like legally and stuff. Then, the girl and her mother do need to pay their fines so…
I don’t think tax dollars should go to 90% of the things it goes to, this included. The government (i.e. all taxpayers) didn’t even pay for any school until about a century and a half ago.
As I skim through the above comments the the first words of the preamble of the Constitution are ringing through my head. “We the people.” Is our country becoming communist or what?
Furthermore, I homeschool and we might pay a few hundred dollars a year for 3 of us to homeschool. It’s completely outrageous for the government to throw so many thousands of dollars to this girl.
No. Plain and simple.
um…I don’t know if I should post this here, but I hadn’t posted the link to my campaing blog entry, so here it is. Vote for me!
I don’t think so…
voting for Miracles33. she would make an amazing xangan idol =D
No!!!!
Bloody rediculous.
No. What the hell
i can understand the phobia as a real problem (i’m saying that because the people commenting don’t seem to get that) and i can see tax dollars going towards her education, but not for the frivolous things like modeling & magazines. that’s just stupid.
No. No one who homeschools gets that kind of money. If they did it would definitely put the public school system out of business
Talk about bad parenting! The mother should have taught the girl to face her school fear. By caving in to the girl’s demands by having her homeschooled, her anxiety is even worse now. And what mother would use $$$ to spend on teen magazines? Those magazines in no way help self-esteem. They’re filled with pictures of thin models, and a “way” that you should specifically look to fit in. How is that good for people with low selfesteem? This girl can’t even do simple math and can’t write! What has she been doing with her time? This is completely messed up!
Dude. Vogue and Seventeen? Modeling school and summer camp?
No wonder she has a school phobia. She’s got plenty more problems than just a phobia…
Stupid. Taking advantage of the American people and the government.
Wtf. No.
@glittermetal - So you’re saying that, because no one else has. No one else has said that, because it’s “school phobia”. It’s completely illogical, and that’s why no one is sympathizing with this girl. And if you read the full article, she hasn’t learned anything and her mother isn’t even homeschooling her. That’s not a phobia, that’s a my-child-doesnt-want-to-so-I-wont-make-her. Lazy parenting and lazy child. Apples and trees and whatnot.
No. I don’t think it’s fair for the city to pay because she has school phobia. I know lots of kids who are home schooled, and the parents pay for it themselves.
Is it ok if I vote here for the Xanga Idol 2 contest? Please vote for fullmetalbunny. She’s awesome and makes me laugh.
Wow. This is absurd. No way, Jose.
feel free to put me through to the next round of xanganidol
I can appreciate a legit IEP. I can appreciate the school allotting funds to a student for educational needs. But seriously, this is ridiculous. The school officials put themselves in this situation by not putting specific stipulations on how the money could be spent. The district is at fault for their laziness, too– someone probably just wanted this mother out of their hair.
It’s a really unfortunate situation because that girl isn’t going to be able to pass the tests required to earn a high school degree or equivalent. Her mother’s poor judgment and parenting since day one has created this monster, because if this girl is too anxious to go to her local public school, then a boarding school, camp, and modeling school would have created equal or greater anxiety. Things just aren’t adding up. This kid needs some anti-anxiety meds and heavy therapy. Not Seventeen.
I have a work phobia, how much to you reckon I could get for that?
Heh, quickly scrolling through the comments I say someone mention this and I have to agree.
Why is she taking modeling lessons if she has a school phobia? It says so she can “interact with kids her own age.” That is what school is for.
No way is this justified. If a child has a “school phobia” (don’t think that’s a real phobia BTW), then homeschool them.
When all other more important things like infrastructure and community centers and the like are finished, then we can dedicate our hard earned money on aiding a single person instead of the greater good.
What a load of crap — let me guess, next she’s going to develop a phobia of going to work so the ADA will pay her $45,000 a year to stay at home for the rest of her life too??? Fraud, waste, and abuse…especially considering the number of people who home school their kids everyday and don’t see a dime.
wow!
Whoa..people with the fake condition of ‘school phobia’ get $$ not to go to school?
uhh…
yea…
I have school phobia. Where’s my money.
So, model school is okay, but regular school gives her the shivers?
Plenty of people homeschool and don’t get reimbursed for it, for whatever reasons.
Suck it up. Either go to school or don’t, but don’t expect me to pay for it.
Well gee, I think I’m going to claim I have work phobia and my kids have daycare phobia, and then maybe the government will pay for me to be a stay-at-home-mom instead of me doing it for free.
School phobia? hmm…that money could be spent on sooo much other things. I don’t see how those magazines would help with her self-esteem or education? Modeling school? I don’t know..I don’t see how the mother could justify any of these. I can understand taking home a tutor and some sort of psychological treatment plan for her phobia, but I don’t get the stuff she’s spending money on. Treat the phobia? I’m sure it isn’t easy, but all this money is going to waste.
I vote http://xanga.com/mama_jess
……and myself? ^.^
i dont see how teen and vogue magazine helps with school phobia. They are inanimate objects – people plastered on lifeless paper.
do any sufferers of any phobias get tax funding to help them? i can’t think of any but then again, i’ve never really looked into the matter…
****the following thought not related to phobia issues***
i do think parents should be able to elect where their tax funds for education go for their children. if parents are going to home school then why should they have to pay taxes to the city or county or state for public education which their children are not receiving? and the same goes for parents with children in private schools- their tax dollars should be put to work for their children not for some random public school. public schools are failing, why should parents be forced to pay into a failing system if they are not going to use that system? the answer is: they shouldn’t.
So who mails the check if you’re just afraid of Life?
Vote mama_jess XangaIdol and all this will get straightened out right.
Nope.
@RaVnR - ”People who really don’t like it should write their senators, not complain on Xanga.”
There’s something wonderful called the freedom of speech. We’re entitled to whine even if the whinning leads to no real-world change.
Only if it is really diagnosed by a doctor or psychiatrist, but then it should only be for home-schooling – not magazine subscriptions or modeling school. Although, around here we have free online homeschooling, so that isn’t even an issues.
Absolutely not!!! I know tons of kids who were taken out of school b/c they had school phobia due to bullying and anxiety. They are homeschooled now and doing great and later got over their phobias through activities, etc. NO WAY would they expect their homeschooling costs,etc. be covered by tax payers. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder if the government would use tax dollars to pay for my tax-paying phobia?
Fear is an emotion. It can not kill you by itself….
Butch up and go to school…. why on earth would you fear being smart?
This is whats wrong here in the USA………that little brat needs to be kicked in the ass along with her mother…….this is why we are so screwed up…those that really need help and assistance cant get it while people like her get it handed to them……wait….I feel I can no longer work and pay taxes….I am calling my congressman and get free $$$$……..
I’d have to say this is a huge load of bullcrap. There are TONS of kids who hate going to school. I hated it, have an anxiety disorder and extreme O.C.D but I had to suck it up and go.
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$54 for magazines? Probably not. If she has a computer, she could go online and look at them instead.
No, it should go to therapy. Don’t indulge something that has such a huge negative impact on her life. Help her adapt to it and get over it. Christ.
nope. Home school the kid. She can handle summer camp but not school? Total bull. Put that parent in jail.
And I had extreme anxiety through most of my school years. It didn’t kill me. In fact, it made me agressively look for a better high school option. I found it, and I did very, very well.
I should have come up with this one. She def should have gotten therapy majora instead of catering to it.
I am in the running for Xangan Idol 2. Check out my bloggies. (There’s even one with breast-slang. ) It would make me sooooo happy [=
what the heck
no way what a waste of money
school phobia?? she should just might as well be home schooled.
what Abigailgator said.
That’s ridiculous.
She’s using our money to accommodate her selfish needs.
ROFLOL. You are kidding??? Let’s all get a phobia!!! Oh…this is more fun than real laughing. I am beyond being shocked at what happens in the courts these days.
I see a lot of potential for abuse. And how could you prove such a thing? Give her some xanax and send her on her way. Many homeschoolers I know have school phobia too, but they don’t call it a disability.
@pocoemme - ”School phobia” is not illogical, and if you read my comment then you would know that I wasn’t exactly sympathizing with her. I said that, as someone who personally suffers with social phobia, school was a real problem, and that people shouldn’t totally disregard it as a real problem. However since I did infact read the article I know where you’re coming from as well.
I also can’t say, as you have, that it is simply a matter of her not wanting to go since I don’t know her personally.
using tax money to pay for MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION??? that is out of line.
damn, I wish I’d thought of that one!
I fear that the question of how genuine she is, is of lesser significance… it’s the precedent she is setting that worries me. What kind of message does this send out to kiddies? Claim a phobia and never have to set foot in school again? Whatever happened to taking the bull by it’s horns and facing up to your fears? There are plenty of methods for people to do just that, aversion therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy..
She does not look like model material,Counseling would have been a better reality.
I think that at one point in a kids life everyone gets “school phobia” .. I know I sure did, I hated school and used to make myself so sick because I didn’t want to go. I still went but I ended up wagging. I’m 20 now and I regret not going and having the chance to graduate with my fellow students, now I have to get money for a course that will give me my year 12 certificate.
I don’t think she deserves it. There could be so many other things that we could do with that tax money.
No! If a child is having a hard time in school, or say, does really have a “school phobia”, then the parents should just homeschool their kid and leave the taxpayers out of it. It’s that simple.
@glittermetal - Yeah sure, but clearly the girl is mentally stable enough to go to modeling classes, she should be mentally stable enough to go to school. And I know you acknowledged “school phobia” as a problem, but because she is okay enough to go to modeling classes she should be okay enough to go to real classes. And if she just doesn’t feel like going to school then her parents should pay for homeschooling themselves instead of relying on the government (or everyone in America that pays taxes). Even if it was covered, homeschooling is not thousands of dollars.
It wasn’t a personal attack against you, it was against the fraud.
But I still don’t think “school phobia” is legit. Like the article said, it could stem from different disorders. Maybe social anxiety or separation anxiety.
“They usually fund tutoring, according to Charles Pugh, an attorney with Education Law Advocates in West Chester, Chester County. The funds can also be used to help students with emotional or behavioral development, providing such things as psychological care or speech therapy. Or for equipment purchases that help a child with a physical disability.”
I can see taxes paying for that.
“Rebecca would cry, shake, and throw up in the mornings.”
I can see that she had a problem.
But why doesn’t her mother homeschool her? Why isn’t she seeing a therapist? Why isn’t she in a program to help her cope with this?
Her mother is unemployed but…that’s not my problem. Why should my tax dollars go toward magazines and modeling school? Why should my tax dollars fund her dogs being in the kennel?
Ridiculous.
I don’t find the modeling school and camp expenses to be “justified” expenditures. That really should be the responsibility of the family.
“A study in the US by Burke et al showed that 1.3% of teenagers aged 14-16 years and between 4.1 and 4.7% of children aged 7-11 years suffer from school phobia and that 5% of school-aged children are identified as ‘school refusers.’ A later study showed that Internationally there is a 2.4% overall prevalence rate.”
Imagine if all those teenagers and kids took advantage of their “disabilities” and each of them “justified” 45k expenses. The school board would be broke.
That’s stupid. The government should be spending their money on things that’s the government’s business, not private life. They need to stop sticking their noses where they don’t belong. They sure aren’t helping out people I know who have worse disorders who are trying really hard to make it through.
And we homeschool–do we get refunds because our tax dollars are going to the public schools where we have chosen not to attend? Heck no!
The government is screwed up.
No, most definitely not. This is retarded.
NO. that’s a waste of spending.
After modeling school she packs those jeans rather.well. 17 years old is over consent, and some of that 46k should go to me so I can personally tutor this poor child.
No that bitch should get off her ass and go to school, everyone hates somthing about school. Tax dollers should not go to shit like this!!!!
That’s a lot of money for one person who could probably use some serious therapy instead of magazine subscriptions and modeling school.
It’s things like this that make me think the world won’t last much longer.
i don’t think tax dollars should be paying for it. Lots of people wake up and dread going to school, but you know what? they suck it up and go. I say if she wants to stay home then it’s homeschooling and the parents should pay for it.
no, i don’t think so. it’s your choice to be homeschool your child, so you should pay for it.
ug! this is ridiculous, my cousin supposedly has the same thing but its mostly an act. kids need to go to school, if she has a phobia in school, shes going to have a phobia at most jobs and she is not going to learn the necessary social skills of interaction. and im sorry if she has a school phobia she would not be able to handle going to a summer camp or a modeling academy either! modeling academy! thats worse than regular school! you are going there to be judged!
Not that far!
I missed school days due to my depression and anxiety. Shouldn’t I get money for those days missed too? Totally unjustifiable. Just home school the damn girl.
No. I think she’s fine to some extent. If she can go to summer camp and modeling school, she sure can go to school.
nope
No, they are just taking advantage of our tax money! Greedy people.
that’s terrible. they should pay for it themselves, or have a very small limit.
“Do you think tax dollars should go to assist people who have school phobia?”
no?
No. I can kind of understand paying for the stuff directly related to her education, but not the modeling and other stuff. Besides, if she can leave the house to go to modeling school and camp, I don’t buy the school phobia. The mother needs to get over it and use her own money to spoil her child.
“At the beginning of most school years, Rebecca has tried to attend
school but the longest she has made it was to Thanksgiving in fourth
grade. She began this year as a junior at Palmerton High School but
stopped going after the third week of September.”
This sounds more like the kid has figured out how to manipulate the Mom into not making her go to school, and is beginning to learn from her Mom how to live off the government.
“Barbara Maykish has opted not to homeschool her, saying she worried
that she would not be able to help Rebecca with her math and writing
problems.”
Because that’s all her Mom is teaching her, is to mooch. That money should be spent on psychiatric treatment for both of them.
i don’t know about the modeling school and the magazines…depends on what’s in her IEP and whether or not the specialist had recommended it.
as for that, if you guys don’t already know, school districts already pay millions of dollars for people with special needs to go to private schools, to go to institutions, speech therapy, psychologists, etc. This is why schools need more money. We’re paying so much to pay for other people’s education outside the public sector because we keep getting sued up the butt because of improperly trained teachers. We need more money.
Educational material? Fine. Psychological counseling for her phobia? Fine.
Using tax dollars for a modeling class for her low self esteem????? Not okay.
btw, all the people who said no,
what if it was a disability other than school phobia? Schools are also required to pay for students if they need a specially certified aide (for students with health impairments) whether the family can afford it or not. These students need an I.V., or shots throughout the day and the schools are required to pay for someone to provide this assistance. If it’s a legitimate disability, then the law is required to provide to the fullest need.
I think the tax dollars would be better spent sending her to a psychologists and making her go to school. Cry in the bathroom between classes like normal people who hate school or find some way to act out. No one likes school.
Oh my! I don’t really understand what the money is for. Why does the school board give them money if they homeschool. I guess b/c it’s considered a disability (yeah, I just answered my own question)?. . .all very hard for me to swallow. I’ve never spent more than $200 on cirriculum for TWO kids. . .for the whole year. Sometimes I’ve borrowed books or bought some things at used book sales, but WOW is that how much money is being spent per child on public education? I can’t think about this anymore, or my brain might explode.
And just FYI for readers who are horrified that I spent that little on schooling: My guys are excelling in public school this year. Apparently, they’ve been very well educated all these years, without spending a ton of money. Yay, library cards!
If the money was being spent on something that was actually teaching her then I’d say okay. But if she isn’t even close to where she should be academically and isn’t being homeschooled then no, I don’t think she should be getting money.
You know, to model you should be relatively confident and good looking, which she is neither.
Oh Rebecca…fail.
That’s ridiculous. Can I get the government to pay for other types of pain killers for me so I don’t have to deal with Novacain shots?
I can understand anxiety of going to school and possibly the district paying for her education (but then the district should pay for EVERY homeschooler) but, like others have said, if she can go to summer camp and modeling school then I’m pretty sure she can go to regular school. It’s possible this might have started from a “school phobia” (not gonna say whether it’s a phobia or not, people think it’s perfectly illogical of me to have a panic attack when I get a shot) but I doubt that it’s that anymore since she can obviously go to those kinds of structured programs.
Also, if she’s seventeen and can only do basic multiplication and division… she’s not going to be able to get her diploma by 21. It’s just not going to happen, unless she buckles down and does some intense schooling. And is just naturally smart.
And by no means should magazines be counted as educational, those things are anything but and definitely not a good thing for someone with low-self esteem. Albeit, Seventeen does do a lot about body image, the school shouldn’t have to pay for it. They didn’t pay for my five years of subscribing to it.
It appears to me that she just doesn’t care…
eta: my brother has moderate-severe autism and we can’t even get this kind of funding for him. I applaud the Mom for her perseverance but it could be used for something else… say, getting a job.
the mother is beyond stupid, not to mention selfish. why should any district be forced to spend thousands of tax dollars on one student (magazine subscriptions? very funny) when there are hundreds others who are working hard in classrooms, using old textbooks or dilapidated lab equipment.
i had to get dragged to school in kindergarten also. i cried every single day because i wanted to go home. i’m sure many other kids did the same. they weren’t diagnosed with school phobia, they were told to shut up, deal with it, and go to school. we all turned out okay.
I think some of the money should, if this is REALLY a disorder, but there should be some guideline on programmes that the money can be used for. Maybe they government should come up with a list of approved institutions.
Barbizon? Thats a want, not a need.
no, it is a phobia not a disability.
She has school phobia, but she can go to modelling school and summer camp? What is it that she’s afraid of exactly? This doesn’t make any sense. Sounds more like she just doesn’t like doing homework. I can sympathize, but I’m not going to make the government pay for my slacking. I could understand if she had something like severe agoraphobia, and couldn’t leave the house in order to make it to school, thus her home school supplies were paid for, but I really don’t want my tax dollars going to someone’s magazine subscriptions.
I am also school phobia.
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School phobia doesn’t exist. She probably hates school, but guess what, I hate school, too. I go to school like normal boys and girls, so why can’t she? Freaking A…
So what is going to happen when she actually “graduates” from school or earns a diploma or whatnot? Is she going to have work phobia too? And are we as a society going to have to pay for her magazine subscriptions then as well?
No wonder we’re so badly in debt- money is still being siphoned away to causes like this.
No way. I would liken this situation to people who homeschool their children.
of course I don’t know the whole story, but i think her mother needs to learn how to say “go to school, you little spoiled brat.”
I have a form of anxiety disorder, and I deal with it everyday. I wouldn’t want to affect others in a negative way with it, though. So, I’m going to have to go with no.
That’s an outrageous amount of money to pay for homeschooling. We never spent more than a few hundred dollars a year for two high schoolers.
if the phobia is genuine – she should be seeking therapy.
There are many kids who dread going to school. Can they get help also?
It is the law
under IDEA504 and no child left behind
entitlement to a fair and appropriate public education
She would not have gotten the $ had they not been able to PROVE the necessity
She could be entitled to that money every year until she is 21….
Absolutely! Every child should have the option to go to public school, or take government money for private or home schooling. However, these government funds should not exceed the amount spent on a child in the local public school system.
That such a load of $%@). I can’t believe my tax dollars go to pay for that! Sigh… ~ L
If it’s proven to be legitimate, yeah, as long as she shows evidence that she spends those tax dollars in a way that is worthwhile and revelant.
Not like disability checks to the morbidly obese for more ho-hos.
No…I question the legitimacy of “school phobia” and regardless fo that, have no question that the expenses refunded were excessive.
mmm…no.
The ADA is an interesting piece of legislation; it is a blessing we CAN do these things. One of the few places on earth that can, and does care to try.
Local people must participate in their law and oversight systems. It is their money.
‘nough said!
No, she should just be left ignorant.
pfft, if I have to suffer, she has to suffer.
I was terrified of school and still went without major money breaks.
And if this is the budget that tax payers are spending per student-
Then why THE HELL are kids that actually ARE going to school not seeing that kind of money in their education?
If they want to accomodate her, fine, but only spend as much as they do on a normal student, which is ZILCH.
I know for damn sure that most my expenses came as had-me-down books from students the previous year, crappy computers, and out of my parents pockets for field trips and the like.
School phobia? Give me a break.
No. As a psych nurse I disagree with it. Allowing someone to avoid the stimulus of their anxiety only makes the situation worse. She should get funding for therapy, not for modeling camp or magazines.
Wait! I missed something! She’s afraid of going to school? She gets all this money from the government because of a dissability and they send her where? A place of learning that would be loosely termed as a school? That can not be justified. This girl only wants to learn what she wants to learn and not neccessarily the cirriculum that is expected of most of us. So, NO! I would not be happy to find out my taxes are paying for her spoiled self to get what she wants handed to her.
I do suppose though, that with this particular philosophy, even though I, as most of american society these days, am earning well under the poverty level, could enroll my child into the best schools and get this same benefit because my child may have a fear of public schools…hmmmmm. My child only wants to go to Harvard. Hmmmm…………………
Without knowing the actual situation, I want to say No. But that may be a real condition… it’s still a lot of money though.
no, parents should be the one to pay its their kid
A school phobia? Oh my god, seriously. What has the world come to?
I’m sorry, but I think that is a load of crap. There are many children that don’t like school and when they go they have to deal with bullies and lots of negative things. School is torture for shy children, like I am. Did any of us get thousands of dollars for not wanting to go to school? Hell no! We all toughed it and went anyway and (at least most of us) turned out just fine.
School phobia. Silliest thing I’ve ever heard of.
I really don’t think going to summer camp and a modeling school (uh oh! She can go to modeling school but not regular school??) is justified as helping her education out.
That is just insane.
i fond the girls myspace http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=318277573
I guess it’s worth the cause. They can be used as a helping hand for the needy. Although, this may only apply in the US or other booming countries. Mine is poor lah. This can only be a dream.
I was homeschooled…my parents had to pay for it all. Lots of people stay at home or do other things for various reasons. Why should she be any different.
This makes me ill! We home-schooled five girls for 13 years and paid for it out of our own pocket PLUS paid our taxes which means we also paid for others to attend public school. I always said I could do so much more for what the school got for each child. It would have been nice to receive a check for “school” and then used it for anything that came along.
I have school phobia too. I have an anxiety issue over all, but at school (or anywhere with large groups of kids my age) It gets so bad I get physically sick. I’m not sure how I feel about this issue, as far as I know I’m not using any extra tax money. I’m on a homebound program so twice a week a teacher brings work to my house and picks up work from my house. I know it really helps to get out and do things, it probably does make her feel better to be able to model. Also, I know it is frustrating when you have a genuine problem and people say “It’s all in your head” or say it’s not the same as physical disorders. I guess It really depends on the situation, as far as mine goes, we have done everything we need to so far without any extra tax money that I am aware of at least and everything is working out great, I’ve never been happier. I absolutely think tax money should go towards the homebound program just like regular school but as far as field trips or magazines or something…I just don’t know..I needed a computer program for my homebound since the home computer is different from school computers and my family had to pay for it our selfs, soooo…I just don’t really know.
Also, my school phobia and anxiety made me so sick I developed ulcers and a bacteria called helicobacter and spent 6 months being diagnosed and treated in and out of the hospital and I didn’t blame the school for the stress and try to get money for medical bills….the more I think about it the more it feels like she doesn’t really have this anxiety issue, I mean I would rather go to school then some type of camp, at school at least you know that at some point that day you are going home, out of state or on a long trip it would just be unbearable, to me it just doesn’t make any kind of sense, and it didn’t to my mom either, we have never received or expected any money for this problem.