Well, the people of or from Linda Christas continue to regularly visit my blog and leave comments. This has, as I've pointed out again and again, fueled my rise in the Google search rankings. This rise seems to upset them, so they visit again to leave more comments and, of course, they strengthen my ranking.
I'm almost beginning to think that they're doing this on purpose. Maybe they hope it will spur others to check them out. I don't know.
However, it seems that, among other strategies, they decided to launch their own blog called Linda Christas Faculty Comments.
I've visited their blog and offer two observations. First, they do NOT allow comments. Obviously, they want to control your interaction with them. For me, this seems in line with the overall way they like to operate. The seem to cherish one-sided conversations (which, in truth, isn't a conversation at all).
As you have noticed, I value freedom and the right to discuss opinions. This is why I have chosen to ALLOW comments. I write what I think or have researched. You, the reader, can agree or disagree with me. You can tell me what a wonderful fellow I am or you can call me an idiotic jerk. I cherish multi-sided conversations.
My second observation is that the LC blog seems to like to attack publicly-funded education. They don't come right out and say "Down with Public Schools", but their opinion of public education is not veiled.
Since LC's services aren't cheap, only families of a certain financial status can take advantage of the services offered. It almost sounds like they are advocating for a two-tiered education system: personalized attention for the rich and whatever one can muster for the poor and middle class.
We used to have an educational system like that, only it was maintained based on race.
Now let's wait for the LC minions to respond...which they will. They should just remember that I allow their comments; the LC blog does not!
I'm almost beginning to think that they're doing this on purpose. Maybe they hope it will spur others to check them out. I don't know.
However, it seems that, among other strategies, they decided to launch their own blog called Linda Christas Faculty Comments.
I've visited their blog and offer two observations. First, they do NOT allow comments. Obviously, they want to control your interaction with them. For me, this seems in line with the overall way they like to operate. The seem to cherish one-sided conversations (which, in truth, isn't a conversation at all).
As you have noticed, I value freedom and the right to discuss opinions. This is why I have chosen to ALLOW comments. I write what I think or have researched. You, the reader, can agree or disagree with me. You can tell me what a wonderful fellow I am or you can call me an idiotic jerk. I cherish multi-sided conversations.
My second observation is that the LC blog seems to like to attack publicly-funded education. They don't come right out and say "Down with Public Schools", but their opinion of public education is not veiled.
Since LC's services aren't cheap, only families of a certain financial status can take advantage of the services offered. It almost sounds like they are advocating for a two-tiered education system: personalized attention for the rich and whatever one can muster for the poor and middle class.
We used to have an educational system like that, only it was maintained based on race.
Now let's wait for the LC minions to respond...which they will. They should just remember that I allow their comments; the LC blog does not!
Well, as I suggested, they have responded...in droves. However, they have chosen to leave their comments on a previous entry (Friday, May 6 "Getting Out the Heavy Lumber"). That is a good strategy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they don't want a lot of people to read this one because it makes 2 critical observations -- bad for publicity, ya know? -- about their very own blog.
To Trey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving us this opportunity to comment.
Linda Christas is currently the least expensive one-on-one fully state credentialed service in the United States.
For example, a public school bills at about $8,000 per student per academic year for classes of thirty, which means that one classroom of 30 students is billed at about a quarter of a million dollars per year.
No other school system anywhere in the world comes close to that kind of expenditure. (and in many public districts, more than 50% of the education dollar is, of necessity, used for administrative overhead. Federal and state governments are outdoing themselves every academic year with new administrative duties placed on the shoulders of local public sector superintendents.)
Linda Christas on the other hand offers unlimited counseling and reading programs and full access (on a one-to-one basis) to state credentialed personnel for seven years for one fee of $2400. That's less than $1 per day.
Anybody driving an SUV who has kids and a credit card ought to seriously consider what their kids are not getting at schools of mass education, whether public or private.
The current ratio of students to counselors in those kinds of schools is approximately 800 to 1 nationally. What kind of counseling goes on with those kinds of numbers? Ask your kids. Our public school counselors are just overwhelmed, and are lucky to get the kids into the classrooms alive on some campuses.
Linda Christas has certainly done a wonderful job for our family.
Our daughter has been accepted at a top college thanks to them, and just the tuition offer Linda Christas was able to obtain from the college, because they (Linda Christas) knew what that college needed that year to complete their student body, saved us over $20,000 per year in addition to what we were willing to accept.
We had no idea that that particular college was in need of the special (oboe) talent that our daughter has. (To go to this nationally elite college and hob nob with American aristocracy is now costing us less than if we were to send Jenny to our local Community College.)
Each college's needs change dramatically every year, so unless parents have their hands on the pulse of all 3200 colleges in the United States, not having proper counseling before sending a student to college can, and, in the majority of cases does, end in disaster. (52% of all entering college freshmen in the United States never finish their degrees. They drop out.)
Again, we want to thank Trey Smith for giving us the opportunity to tell our story.
Steven and Maggie Hamilton
Parents of Jenny
Steven & Maggie,
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the post, you're lucky you came to the Rambling Taoist and NOT the Linda Christas blog as THEY would not have allowed you the opportunity to tell your story.
That said, you wrote, "To go to this nationally elite college and hob nob with American aristocracy..."
Is this every parent's dream? For their child to "hob nob" with the elite? Whatever happened to parents wanting their children to be happy and fulfilled?
Dear Trey,
ReplyDeleteAgain, thanks for the chance to comment.
You are right.
Happy and fulfilled is good.
It is just that why not have both happy and "hob nob."
I mean, if Jenny is ever going to be part of the happy AND powerful 10% in America (her dream), I think going to a place where the upper 10% actually are is important. (On the other hand, community colleges are great too, but the next Secretary of State is probably not going to be a graduate of central city junior college, sad as that may be to hear. It's just the way the human species operates. If we are ever going to be realistic about our society, it's good to be so when a person is young, don't you think.)
I know we don't like to talk about money and power in the United States. But egalitarianism only works if a person has the perspective of an eagle. (Why suffer all one's life saying I don't want to be a snob as justification for working from pay check to pay check.)
The idea of going to an elite school was not ours. It was Jenny's dream. And, we could have in no way afforded such an experience for her, brave face that we put on it. Maybe the first year, but that would have been all.
John Kennedy was found in the back of only two college classrooms, Harvard and Stanford (he audited a course at the latter).
I am not talking about character here, although I'm sure that the elite schools have some great people on campus. After all, most of them were founded for religious purposes.
On another subject:
I think that Linda Christas used www.lindachristascf.blogspot.com as a preliminary to another site that is going to be launched for the public and for ongoing staff training. I believe it's going to be called The Educator's Nightly Reader.
I know this because I was talking to Jerry (our Advisor) last Wednesday and he was looking forward to it. (I called Jerry to ask him to contact a guy I work with who can't wait to get his son with a Linda Christas counselor.)
The Dean is a nationally published author, and he's going to contribute to The Educator's Nightly Reader along with some of the celebrities.
Kind of exciting really, if you are into Linda Christas.
It's (the new site) going to have a fireside chat (Franklin Roosevelt - Harvard)flavor.
And, lastly, I wanted to say that the way we heard about Linda Christas was through a mailer.
It came to the house, and we just contacted Jerry (Advisor) by e-mail. Talk about no pressure.
At that time Jenny was constantly talking about her plans for college and Maggie and I were kind of upset because it didn't look as though we were going to be able to provide Jenny with that kind experience.
Linda Christas to the rescue. They did a Holland Evaluation for Jenny, and used that as a tool to apply gentle pressure somewhere.
The results were fast and fantastic.
Maybe not every family gets the same results. I don't know about that. All we can tell you is that we were never pressured in any way. Our Advisor was simply that. We told Jerry what we needed. He told us that it was possible but certainly not guaranteed... But, that we would do a lot better with Linda Christas than without.
Jen was not getting anything from her high school counselor because the lady had several hundred kids to take care of.
So, we just decided to take a chance.
I mean, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. accepted a chair there.
We were familiar with his high integrity, his Pulitzer Prize, and his work at the Curtis Institute of Music (I mean the Curtis Institute graduates about 20% of all symphony musicians in America.)
Juilliard and Curtis are about the best. They just so happen to be attended by really talented people. The problem is getting into one of these places.
Incidentally, we purchased Efrem Zimbalist Jr's autobiography. Very interesting. I can recommend it. (Jerry pointed us to the book. Good insider reading.)
Thanks again for the chance to write here, Trey.
I'm sure that Linda Christas appreciates your attention.
Steven and Maggie Hamilton
Parents of Jenny
My name is Gail Lombard, and I both took Dr. Voisin's Tier II equivalent, and went to work as a Community Academic Advisor for the School.
ReplyDeleteI can only say from my experience that they never once didn't do what they said they would, and the business side of things is terrific.
Not to mention that the kids who were in trouble in crowded classrooms are being saved literally by Linda Christas teachers and counselors.
I respect your right to an opinion, Mr. Smith, but too bad you didn't use that talent to work for the good cause rather than against it.
I am a former executive secretary who was desk bound for many years making money that didn't really support my family.
Now I have a better car, better house, better working conditions, and certainly a better feeling in terms of what I am doing for a living.
There is knowledge in opposition so the good book says. Maybe someone will get this far down the comments and listen to a person who has actually cooperated with the program, and done well.
Bless you all out there.
Gail Lombard
Unfortunately, I was one of the people suckered in to giving up $400. They expect you to get 7 sales and have absolutely no sales support material. I spent three weeks advertising in the paper, submitting articles to the local paper and calling school districts. I was turned down every time. Interestingly enough, one paper told me the reason they didn't print my article was because it sounded like a scam to them. When I e-mailed them about the difficulty I was having getting a sale, they told me simply, "What a shame that people don't appreciate tutoring services in your comunity."
ReplyDelete