private vs public school education
walter snow
23 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (34)
scorpbaby_excite_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agolaw_hotmail_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Sylvan vs. Home Schooling
Comments (10)I am not a big fan of Sylvan. My sons went there last year and it did nothing for them. They practiced things that were below where they were at in school and spent more time picking out rewards than actually learning anything imo. We are about to homeschool our oldest. He has been consistantly behind in school and year after year the school does little to nothing. He has an IEP so they will not fail him and will only continue to pass him along. He has major issues with keeping up with assignments with only two teachers without constant communication with the teachers. Next year with 6 teachers and all the drama that comes along with middle school in general he will surely fail miserably. On top of that every single school I have visited I have heard the same basic speech. "I cant do my job because I have to many kids. I cant do my job because I have so much to do. I cant do my job because teachers wont cooperate with me... blah blah blah" Combine that with the major cuts that we are dealing with in FL... ESE is the first thing that schools are cutting which kills any extra assistance that might have been available (which seems to be little to none) and we are certain traditional public school is not for him next year. There are a huge amount of options for homeschooling if you are serious about it. There are groups and such that your child can go to to learn different subjects. There are also computer programs. We will be using switched on school house combined with a lot of extra teaching... a whole getting back to basics approach with him to keep him on level with his grade but to boost his skills so hopefully he can catch up. My mom worked with switched on school house for my brother... which is why we chose it. It is the entire curriculum on the computer basically. She combined that with practical skills that she felt schools leave out like... how to balance a check book, how to fill out a job application, and how to handle certain finances. The good thing about homeschool is there is a huge amount of flexibility if you are willing to put in the time... for example a trip to the bank to talk to a financial advisor. For my son that is perfect... instead of sitting in a classroom staring at a chalk board learning about photosynthesis we can go out in the garden and experiance it... instead of talking about gettysburg with pictures in a book again experiance it.... it is perfect for a kid with ADD. It does take ALOT of work and you have to be commited. You cant half a@@ so to speak or he might as well be at school. But, if you work at it... it can be fantastic. There should be a homeschool network or group in your area if you look hard enough. Ask a ton of questions... those that have been doing it for a while have a lot of tricks of the trade so to speak and can help you along the way. Plus they can hook you up with organizations that support homeschoolers and things like, in our area, an annual book sale where you can find things super cheap. It is really up to what you feel you can do and what you feel would fit for your son. Only you can know that. Plus, in case you dont know there are in a lot of areas scholarships for private schools that are funded through the county. In ours it is the McKay scholarship... my only problem with that is that the private schools that accept it in our area are not much better than the public... but things could always be better in your area....See MoreMiddleschool...public or private, and why?
Comments (9)I disagree with the evaluation that private school teachers are the ones who weren't "good enough" to land a public school job, and therefore, aren't as "good" as a public school teacher. Yes, public schools pay more...but...the teaching atmosphere at the private school can be worth the major pay cut. If a teacher's salary is the family's second income, the teacher might be more than happy for a lower wage for better working conditions - private schools do not have to put up with kids who are problems (whereas public schools have to give a free and public education to every child). My daughter just last month started at a private catholic school because the public school failed her. I don't have her there because of the religious aspect - I have her there because, like missybee, my daughter does much better in the smaller setting. I used to be a public school teacher and quit teaching because of the disrespectful kids and parents (and no-consequences principal) I encountered at the last school I taught at (but I previously taught at a school I loved). A local charter school (Montessori) offered me a job, and I would have loved to have taken it, but I am the main wage earner for my family, so I had to decline. I would have had to take MORE education for the charter school, on top of my experience and state teaching credential. So, I really think it depends on the kid and the particular school. My daughter had a "drill sargeant" for sixth grade homeroom, math, and science, and between the 3 hours of homework every night, because I had to reteach her, and her teacher's dismissive attitude to us, and the frantic pace of getting to the next class in 4 minutes flat, it didn't work out for my daughter. Talk to parents of kids attending the public school, and the private schools. We were forewarned about the public school, and it was true. And the kids that are in the "gifted" IQ range do quite well there. But my daughter was getting Ds and Fs, despite help from a credentialed mom. At the private catholic school, the pace is not as frenetic, and she got As and Bs on her last report card, and her self esteem is way up. We just registered her for the catholic school for next year, as well. Oh - by the way - I happen to be a scientist-type in my current job. I did make sure that the catholic school DOES teach evolution. And I made sure that in religion class and social studies, that other religions are tolerated. I just ran into a lady today in the supermarket looking for matzah to teach her christian school class about Passover - and since we were buying matzah for Passover (we're jewish and catholic), we helped her choose the right one. We started talking about her school, and when she started talking about how she liked being able to teach about how buddhism and islam are what the devil throws out there to disguise the truth....I started to glaze over and said my good byes pretty quick. So if you consider religious school, do consider if your beliefs match those of the schools - thankfully, our catholic school celebrates judaism and other religions....See MorePrivate school, but not for step kids?
Comments (28)This discussion was about PAYING to send children to private school, because the public schools weren't good. It's just not true that you have to spend a fortune to live in an area that has good public schools. If your area doesn't support public schools, then you either need to fork out the bucks for private school, home school, work to change your public schools, settle for substandard public schools, or you need to move. My public schools are excellent, mostly because parents care about their kids' education. It is not because the parents are rich. There are scores of families in our school district who work in the local car factory, the local hospital, local small businesses, or in other local factories. If you really think that only private schools provide a good education, then you are living in the wrong school district. These people are not wealthy, they were just smart enough to consider their children when they chose a place to live....See MoreAutodidactism vs What We Were Taught at School
Comments (50)lemonhead, thanks for picking up on the research paper/project question. I find the responses very interesting and informative. I'd bet that you still remember more about Bonnie Prince Charlie than many of us ever learned. If I hadn't had a brother who loved Sir Walter Scott's Waverly and anything by Robert Louis Stevenson, I would have gone through elementary and secondary school without hearing a thing about the Jacobites. I took an anthropology class in gender language differences and found it both fascinating and dismaying. For instance, females often have a 'voice' they speak with around other females, but if a male enters an otherwise all-female group some of the gals' voices change immediately (often becoming breathier), no matter if the females are eight or eighty years old. I already knew this from observation and often found it annoying; but that it is largely an unconscious thing on the part of some females irritated me even more because I had thought it was a matter of choice, a mere affectation or a bad habit. elliottb: I'm intrigued how and why myths come to be, though the myths themselves don't interest me much. I will take a look at the 'Unhistory'. I know what you mean about anything "that holds interest" -- so in furtherance to your dilemma and mine, I will respond to woodnymph: woodnymph, I would enjoy a nonfiction thread and I would certainly contribute. Nonfiction seems to get short shrift here at RP. I know you mention the NF you read, Mary, but I'd say the "What are you reading?" thread runs something like 70/30 or 75/25 percent, favoring fiction over nonfiction. I can never keep up with all the bestselling fiction -- sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm only one person while there are dozens of people here at RP (and multitudes elsewhere) following the fiction trends. Yet nonfiction is even wider than fiction, so it's hard to comprehend that reading through post after post and there's hardly a mention of it. Maybe a thread devoted entirely to NF would bring more of it out -- I hope it would....See Morewhoami_fatbroads_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agopannable_aol_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agosheilajoyce_hotmail_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agokearnsc_bcfn_bcfreenet_org
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMpfei8595_aol_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agopannable_aol_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoAngryperson85_hotmail_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agolaw_hotmail_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agomillerfam9_home_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agosandalha73_hotmail_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimmy73jam_aol_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agosheilajoyce_gw
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agopittypat
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoTara2001_aol_com
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agopittypat
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoamy460_charter_net
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agopittypat
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agofaintstar2k
21 years agolast modified: 9 years agosheilajoyce_gw
21 years agolast modified: 9 years agoArkansasgardenboy
21 years agolast modified: 9 years agobuggydude
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoteddas
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoplumbly22
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agodlynn2
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoplumbly22
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agodlynn2
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agobigdogmom48
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agopjaxson
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agosarahandbray
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agojuliemaye
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoGenX-Luddite
10 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Related Stories
TINY HOUSESAdventure Seekers Hit the Road in a Cozy School Bus Home
Wood floors, butcher block countertops, custom furnishings and LED lights make life on the road feel like just another stylish day at home
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSMy Houzz: Modern Settings for Old-School Pieces in a Pittsburgh Loft
Transitional style merges an urban couple's traditional furniture with the modern backdrop of their whitewashed loft
Full StoryFRANK LLOYD WRIGHTStep Inside a Frank Lloyd Wright House Saved From Demolition
The historic Phoenix property is now part of the architect’s school at Taliesin, where it will be used as a design lab
Full StoryGREEN BUILDINGOff the Grid: Ready to Pull the Plug on City Power?
What to consider if you want to stop relying on public utilities — or just have a more energy-efficient home
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSWhat We Can Learn From Longwood Gardens’ New Meadow
Sustainability, ecology, native plant communities ... this public garden is brimming with lessons on horticulture for home gardeners
Full StoryMOST POPULARArchitectural Icon: The World’s First Bauhaus House
The Haus am Horn in Weimar is the first architectural example from the famed school, and the only one in the German city where Bauhaus began
Full StoryFUN HOUZZSculptor Susan Wallace Turns Screen Doors Into Art
No more boring screen doors! Texas metal artist creates unique grillwork for doors, windows and public spaces
Full StoryHISTORIC HOMESMust-Know Modern Homes: The Robie House
Frank Lloyd Wright's foremost expression of Prairie style is an architectural masterpiece, now restored and open to the public
Full StoryARCHITECTUREHouzz Tour: Family, Fundraising and 'Familiar Modern' Style
Parties for 300 and private time merge in an award-winning design for a university chancellor's residence
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: Sleek and Minimal in Singapore
Contemporary style and a neutral palette transform a public housing unit in Singapore into a chic retreat
Full StoryMore Discussions
abce_efg_com