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August 2, 2006 at 6:18 pm #24331williamleeMember
Hello my BBB friends, As the school years begins I have recently been asked by my boys for other options for schools.
Right now they go to a public school which in this small town isn’t really what I call top notch. I suggested private schools but they both were against it. I only knew of one other option and that was military school.
The only problem I have with this is they would be gone day and night and only home on the holidays and summer and spring break.
I would be very interested in the good people here at the BBB’s take on the pro’s and con’s of schooling. And I hope to get views of all ages.
Thanks
August 3, 2006 at 12:33 am #149764drainMemberI go to high school in a small suburb in Nebraska. I really like it. It’s easier to get to know people and there isn’t a big clique issue. Most people get along.
If it was me, I wouldn’t want to go to private school or military school. You have to wear school uniforms and I don’t think you get as much of a diverse group of people personalitly wise.
August 3, 2006 at 2:16 am #149759TigerbladeParticipantwell, there’s also the option of homeschooling, though I must caution you on this. it’s not easy. it’s not for every child, nor for every parent. both must be up to the challenge, and it’s not easily done. it requires dedication from both parties on a scale not required by regular schools. depending on the social life of the child (and arguably the parents’ as well), it can be rough. standard public/private schools offer a much easier route to social interaction than homeschooling does. there are other challenges, such as selecting appropriate coursework, securing materials, etc.
but, after all that has been considered, homeschooling can be well worth the effort. homeschooling, if done properly and well, can be far more effective and rewarding than regular school could ever be. the student can move at their own pace, focusing more on subjects of interest, taking more time with difficult subjects and less time on easy subjects. there is no peer pressure to keep up or slow down — everything is designed for that one student.
i can speak as i wish about both homeschooling and public school because i’ve experienced both. i was in public school from 1st through 4th grade, after which my parents decided i was no longer getting as much benefit from school as my potential allowed for. the decision was made to homeschool me, starting in 5th grade. for the first year, my mother did much of the teaching, often sitting down with me for long hours and going over the material. the second year, i gradually worked my way into teaching myself from the curriculum with her occasional help. by the third year (7th grade) I was teaching myself almost entirely, with only sporadic help from my mother. we had the materials, we had the curriculum, and the rest was just a matter of tailoring it for our needs.
for 8th grade my parents decided — and i agreed — that i should return to public schooling, in order to regain some of the social interaction that i had missed out on the previous three years, and to get me ready for high school. i spent the next 9 years in public schools (8th grade, 4 years of high school, 4 years at a state university).
so i can speak about both homeschooling and public schooling. after all that, i have to say that i’m eternally grateful for my parents’ decision to pull me from public school and tutor me themselves. i came out well ahead of my classmates throughout my schooling career, and i can only attribute it to my homeschooling years.
it’s your call. if you’re up to the demands of homeschooling, give it a try. if nothing else, give it a try in their spare time, and see how well they progress beyond their schoolmates.
August 5, 2006 at 12:59 am #149762PolarBearNPRParticipantWilliam, I’ve got lots of opinions, but I think the best advice is to look at the learning styles of your kids and figure out which school will be best for them. Notice Tigerblade’s experiences when his parents took him out of public schools for homeschooling and then sent him back again when it was appropriate. In addition to traditional homeschooling (where you become the kids’ teacher) there are virtual schools like this Ohio one which supplies a computer, curriculum, and it’s basically a plug-and learn system. If your kids are self-driven, or you’re ready to stand over them and crack a whip this might work out. By the way, the company sends the bill to your public schools for teaching one of “their” students and that way they make a bundle on this type of instruction. Other choices are private schools (e.g. religious, academic, military, etc.), each with their strengths and weaknesses, or you may be able to send your kids to another public school district by paying tuition and truckin’ them there every day.
I do a modified homeschooling with my kids during the summers and I thoroughly enjoy it (they don’t so much). We get to explore areas they don’t get in school, and take time to learn some subjects more in depth. That is the beauty of homeschooling. However, social interraction is necessary and around here there are lots of homeschool networks where they all hook up for art or gym or band experiences as well as the social stuff.
Repeating what I originally said . . . look to your kids’ learning styles. What suits them best? What type of learners are they? How deep are your pockets? And you decide what’s best for them. You probably already know that kids often have their own ideas of how something will be and it’s not always accurate. But it’s our responsibility as parents to get them grown and educated for the real world so they can be competent members of this society.
August 5, 2006 at 4:02 am #149761williamleeMemberThanks all for your opinions – I would love nothing more than home schooling. however my work keeps me working way too many hours. I do work out of my home and I am with my kids and I would never neglect their needs if they need me I stop working and tend to them. They have always had top grades and never once had to push them to learn.
As for money well that never has been an issue and with my kids the sky is the limit, I sat them down and we talked about it and the youngest wants to work at going to west point military school. My oldest said he will finish in the public schools and wants to apply to Harvard and Yale said he feels his grades will get him in the door and said he wants to pay for it himself. makes me proud but I will still help if he finds he is over his head. If anyone knows what I need to point my youngest toward his goal in going to west point. He just started the 8th grade this year. thanks again for all your help.August 5, 2006 at 12:59 pm #149763PolarBearNPRParticipantYou might want to talk with the folks at West Point directly to find out what the prerequisites are for entrance, suggested course of study and all that before he makes his choices of classes in high school. Maybe there’s a military group at the school he attends, sort of a pre-ROTC. I’ve seen them in parades and such.
How wonderful to have kids that know where they want to go in life, and to have the where-with-all to make it happen.
August 6, 2006 at 10:06 pm #149760gossipingraeMemberHey William,
Well, I graduated from public institutions, high school and college. My cousin just completed her first year of high school at a private, all-girls Catholic academy. She went to public school all the way up until 8th grade. Here is what she tells me about private school…
In private school, you do not have to pick out what you want to wear to school everyday. More time for your kids to sleep in the A.M. if they get showers in the evening.
In private school, she does not deal with “class clowns” or jokesters anymore. There are no fights that break out. Maybe drama from an all-female school, but you know us girls…
The bad things about private school…
You have to pay for something that is already “free”. If you send your kids there, you still gotta pay your school taxes for something you aren’t getting use out of.
You have to pay for uniforms, which cost A LOT. My aunt just shelled out like $400 last summer for her daughter’s uniform. Plus, you have to do laundry like every other day, as opposed to once a week (or every other week, like me, haha).
I personally think that if your kids are go-getters and are already great and never really have trouble with school, why pull them out? Unless they are in danger, I see no need.
Tough decision, though. Let us know what you end up doing.
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