Homeschooling vs public schools vs parochial schools vs montessori schools vs charter

[KillerMuffin]

Didn't know how many types of education were open these days. I recently heard about a school in California where the children had to score above a 140 on an IQ test to even be considered for entrance. There is a great deal of outcry for and against this, or so I understand. I'll look that up when I get home.

What do ya'll think?

My little Godzilla is going to be in a school. I've thought about homeschooling him, he'd get a better education that way (so I'm conceited sue me), but he would also suffer some stunted social growth. My StudMuffin and I are not social people, we have a very small circle of friends and we don't get out much, except by ourselves. I think having a daily group of people his own age to interact with is far more imporant at this stage in his development. When he gets home in the evening Daddy works with him, teaching him Daddy things. In the mornings Mom is with him, teaching him Mommy things. Okay, so he is learning to be anal about proper tool order and proper grammar. At least it's in two languages and he can tell the difference between a carpenter's tools and a mechanic's tools.

In Korea the children's school is of tantamount importance. Every decision a parent makes, including where to live, is based upon which school the parent thinks a child should attend. They are pushed in school to an extent that some of them commit suicide when they fail college entrancef exams or don't make a high enough grade to get into a suitable institution.

How important is a school, or a specific school? Is life ruined for a child because he didn't go to the "right" schools? An Ivy League institution versus a public university. Makes one wonder.

 

[lala]

i think that rearing children is about making sure they are a happy and self-sufficient person,... in every way. pushing them too hard to do or be anything, to the point of suicide is obviously not good parenting. the point is that the little moster grows up to be happy.

i would say you chose right in not homeschooling, generally people who do have play groups and find ways to socialize their children so as not to stunt their social growth.

as for choosing schools, i don't think tha much pressure should be put on you as a parent to pick what exactly is right for him. whatever you choose will be right, because you'all are supportive, loving parents.

many successful people have come from public schools. your child's success has everything to do with the person he was born to be, and how you rear him.

oh, and just a little something- take it for what it is (which is being nosy, and i'm not personally invested in this, it's just my commentary) i know you fight with the studmuffin and i hope your little guy gets to see you all make up too,... (not all of the make-up ritual, but some )

anyhow, it'll be fine,...

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Ya know I go through this.....

Both in Virginia and here in NYC wdhere the situation is absolutely nuts.

And I just gotta throw my hands up and say - whatever.

Whatever your lifestyle, finances, educational goals for your children, priorities, retirement considerations, family financial support - what's fucking available in your local.

It can get a bit fucking complex. It can sap tons of your time. It can provide you with mucho stress.

Do the best "you think" you can.

And that is all.

 

[Latina]

I went to a community college and earned an Associate Degree. Did that disadvantage me? Maybe. I've made a good living as an electronics technician, but I've never gotten up into the six-figure salaries of engineers who went to the "right" schools. Husband went to a state university, has a BA degree, and is almost but not quite at the six-figure level after working in high-technology for over 20 years. We live in a good-sized and comfortable house, no mansion but not a dump either. And we drive a fairly-luxurious car, but only the one car betwen the two of us (unless you count his restored antique car, which goes only to parades and car shows). Would we both have done better with the "right" schools behind us? Maybe, but then we both come from families that lacked the finances to send us to top schools, so it is a moot point.

Our son has two separate and fairly-severe learning disabilities, and goes to a special school that focuses exclusively on learning-disabled kids. It is very outdoors, sports, and hands-on oriented, and even after just 2 months, it already seems to be helping. His attitude is improving a little, and his grades went from straight Fs last year in public schools, to Cs this year, and if anything this school's standards are HIGHER than his old school's, so that is quite an improvement. He doesn't seem so overwhelmed and frustrated by the schoolwork, because he is getting a lot more individual attention than he did in public schools.

I see a couple of years of this school as doing him a WORLD of good in preparing for life in the real world. The school is expensive, but worth it for what it will accomplish working so closely with him. He lives at the school, and the teachers work with him outside the classroom as well as in it. Five kids to a classroom, not 30 or 40 as in public schools, and one staff member per every two kids, that's what makes the big difference. He was home for 10 days at Thansksgiving, and will be again for Xmas/New Year's.

I'm all for having a wide choice of school options, to fit the personalities and needs of the kids and the budgets of the parents. I'm glad we have the school we found for our son.

An interesting and thought-provoking thread.

-- Latina

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Whoops, sorry.....

just had to check back in and see how long Latina's reply was. Typical. Heart felt. Her heart. Not bad.

The good thing is they taught her how to deal with English!!!!!!

But I still hear a female Ricky Riccardo in her posts.

Go figure.

 

[Prussian Overlord]

hey,
I went to a parochial school for my elemenatary and junior high years and then switched to a local high school that was private (also happened to be Georgia Military Academy once apon a time). I was happy with both but found them more than a little conservative. I have friends who were home schooled and they don't seem to have suffered from it but then again their parents made them be involved in community activities and sports. The public schools of America have much to improve upon so that is probably not an option if it can be avoided. You said that you are husband spend lots of time with your kid and i think that is the most important part. There ARE some kids whose parents are incredibly obsessive about their kids getting into good colleges but most are not like that and it appears that you are a long way from having to worry about that anyway! Just some opinions on that anyway: UVA, UNC, and various other state colleges are among the best in the nation, so the applation "Ivy League" doesn't mean as much as it once did. And the service academies are right up there with the best of them also. Don't know if any of this helped at all.

Prussian

 

[Latina]

Hi, Sparky!

It never ceases to amaze me how others who don't know me might perceive me. Here I go along thinking that people on the BB know me, then I see comments that make me realize they don't really.

"Female Ricky Riccardo," that's funny that you imagine my voice to be like that.

I'm third-generation Mexican-American, I can't speak any Spanish at all, but my dad speaks Spanish AND English fluently, and two of my sisters speak SOME Spanish (my other two sisters and brother do not). I have more a California-girl accent FER SURE than a Spanish one, but I have typical Latina features (the dark complexion/dark hair etc.). I'm told I have the stereotypical Latina sexual appetite, and the Latina temper too. I guess that's why I chose Latina as my pen-name. But my voice has no tinge of my Spanish heritage.

-- Latina

 

[Weird Harold]

When he gets home in the evening Daddy works with him, teaching him Daddy things. In the mornings Mom is with him, teaching him Mommy things. Okay, so he is learning to be anal about proper tool order and proper grammar
...
How important is a school, or a specific school? Is life ruined for a child because he didn't go to the "right" schools

With the support he's getting "learning to be anal about proper tool order and proper grammar," the school isn't terribly important.

No matter how good (or bad) the school, it is the students attitude that matters the most.

The reputation of a college may have some effect on his prospects in finding financial success later in life. However, a good attitude and actually learning how to think for himself will do more to affect his success later in life.

My granddaughter (age 6) applied for and was accepted at a "magnet school" and that's a good thing. It puts her in a group who share her interests and abilities so that the curriculim advances at a rate not dictated by the need to teach to the lowest common denominator. She's still at the stage where she's disappointed when she can't go to school. With that attitude, it won't matter where she's exposed to information, she's going to suck in as much as she can lay her hands on.

Later, when she's got more developed goals and needs specific classes to fulfill them, the school she attends will matter much more than it does now in first grade.

As long as you and the studmuffin stay involved in his education, encouraging and guiding, only a truly horrendously bad school can do him any harm.

 

[Busty]

Home Schooling vs other schools - I have two wonderfully bright nephews who were home schooled until grade 5 - unfortunately they are two of the most socially inept children I know. Yes they will be finished high school well before they should but they do not know how to socialize, do not have any real friends and I think have missed out on being "children." Where I live the public school system is still fairly good and they are desparately trying to improve it even more. They have come to realize how important it is to improve the cirriculum and bring up the standards, however, it is up to us as parents to work with our children to help them grow and learn. To leave it up to the school system is unfair to your child. I have seen the difference between my children and those whose parents don't have time to work with them. It is amazing the difference just a little bit of time each night can make.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[Curious Guy]

A Rednecks Opinion

Send the little shit to public school. If a child is going to learn he/she will learn. It will also allow a chance to learn people from all walks of life.

 

[Patryn]

Disregarding the above term used in reference to KM's child....

The U that I go to is an excellent school in the biology and natural resources programs, they're both ranked very high nationally, but it's otherwise good all around as well. There really are no "bad" programs here...the pre-professional ones might be a little weak, but that's because this isn't really a pre-professional oriented school. It's a public university.

I went to public schools my whole life, and did rather well except for my Jr. and Sr. years, but that was due to home problems and also my own teenage rebellion.

My cousin went to Catholic schools her whole life. If you compare the two of us, we're both bright, but she's sheltered and naive. That could possibly be due to her parenting and not school, because teens are teens in any school, but one does wonder.

I think most public schools are more than adequate. There are some in certain parts of the country that aren't, but everyone knows where those are. If you'll excuse my being blunt, I think a lot of private schools charge tuition for a name.

 

[ManOSafety]

Ummm

Since I teach at a Christian school and I haven't seen this viewpoint addressed, I decided I should respond and add at least a little to this thread.

We are a small school with a classical and Christian curriculum. In other words, we teach Bible classes to all of our students and Latin to our grammar students and Logic to our Dialectic and Rhetoric students. Our goal isn't necessarily to provide our students with the same detailed instruction that they should receive in a public school or in a private school geared towards college admissions. What we want is for our students to be able to discern what they think is right and wrong, be able to make the right decisions for themselves and be able to persuade others to accept their opinions.

Is this right for everybody? Absolutely not, and our admissions reflect that, we don't accept all of our applicants and not everyone that inquires about our school is interested in sending their children to our school once they learn more about us. However, I think we put out a pretty good product and that our kids are fairly well prepared for life when they leave us.

As far as my opinions about public schools go, I was educated in public schools until I attended a competitive private school for college. Was I any less prepared for college than my classmates that had attended prep school? Not at all. As for the education received in public schools today, it depends upon the student, his/her family support, and the teacher.

The primary concerns that I have with homeschooled students is the one that you've already addressed, too many times if they attend some type of school later, they are socially behind the other students. Typically they are either at least as well-prepared academically (if not more so) than the other students, but that social ineptness sometimes causes problems in the classroom and in their performance.

 

[Whispersecret]

I AM a teacher, so I'm biased.

There are good and bad public schools, and good and bad private schools. At the moment, public schools have a bad image, which is in many many cases undeserved. I hear a lot of people complain about public school, but I think that it's largely because the current dogma is that American schools aren't up to snuff. Also, most people assume the private schools are always better than public, and that's just not the case.

The best advice I can give you is to go and visit the neighborhood school. Ask if you can observe or take a tour while school is in session. Most likely you'll be welcomed. Don't just look at test scores. Those can be misleading.

Also, get involved as a volunteer. You find out much more about the school and who the better teachers are. And if you help enough, you might be treated with a little more deference if you request certain teachers for your children.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Send the little shit to public school. If a child is going to learn he/she will learn. It will also allow a chance to learn people from all walks of life.

guluhganun chookunun meecheehanun nom

I forgive you for being a ignorant, rude, mannerless, little shit. Continue to aspire to redneckdom, someday you may even make it. The entrance exams are just awful aren't they?

We've already decided what we're going to do as far as his education is concerned, public school for now, until he has an interest in life picked out, if it's something that requires a special school for it, then we'll look for a magnet school or academy that will fullfill his needs. Right now, though, he wants to be a superhero, so public school is fine. We supplement his education at home, so I'm not too concerned about substandard education. Particularly not when his father and grandfather have the equivilent of five four year degrees between them in the bluecollar side of things.