My bottom line:

If anyone thinks I'm paying taxes *AND* additional money for a private school, they're smoking crack.

3/26/2007 4:13:54 PM

To Boone's point about Enloe being #52:

I saw that on Newsweek - here's their methodology:

Quote :

"Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2004 divided by the number of graduating seniors."

Sounds like there are a few flaws:
1) Private schools are excluded
2) AP & IB test-taking is the criteria, not student success on these exams
3) Apparently no other factors are considered besides # of tests taken and # of total students.
4) Some public high schools pay for students' AP & IB tests. Others leave it to the students to pay. That certainly factors into the total number of tests taken by students in a particular school.

At $75 each (in 2003-2004), I certainly wouldn't have taken an exam if I wasn't certain of achieving a 4 or a 5; I'd have taken a few more for the hell of it if they were free.

Plus, any list of top high schools that includes these from NoVA - Woodlawn, Geo. Mason, Woodson, Washington-Lee, Langley, Yorktown, Robinson & Chantilly - but doesn't include Thomas Jefferson Magnet, is kidding itself regarding validity.

Hell, I just read that the whole thing was devised by a Washington Post writer, and here's another person from the Post critiquing it!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/10/AR2006051000825.html

Can anyone find a list with a more substantive methodology?

3/26/2007 5:39:37 PM

Quote :

"You're being so completely contradictory."

I am not being contradictory...I don't think that NCSSM is a key life experience. If my kid wanted to goto NCSSM I would not allow her to go...I would find out why she wanted to go and find that somewhere closer to home. Just because she wanted to be away from her parents/family/home wouldn't be a valid reason. Keep the attacks coming since you seem to be gettin' your kicks out of this. What might have worked for you doesn't work for everyone! TO EACH THEIR OWN

3/26/2007 8:43:11 PM

While I wouldn't ban my child from going anywhere, I'd think I would rather not ship them off anywhere. I feel the experiences you gain from being at home are just as valuable as experiences which pull you away from home (boarding schools)
Weren't you attached to other friends at home? I couldn't imagine going away and leaving my friends and family behind.

Same goes for choosing colleges. Some people want to be a #. Some want private school attention, just depends on the individual

3/26/2007 9:00:11 PM

Quote :

"I am not being contradictory...I don't think that NCSSM is a key life experience. If my kid wanted to goto NCSSM I would not allow her to go...I would find out why she wanted to go and find that somewhere closer to home. Just because she wanted to be away from her parents/family/home wouldn't be a valid reason. Keep the attacks coming since you seem to be gettin' your kicks out of this. What might have worked for you doesn't work for everyone! TO EACH THEIR OWN "

I didn't say NCSSM was a key life experience, but what life experiences would someone miss out on by going to NCSSM? I didn't miss out on anything, as far as I'm concerned- it's not like I could afford a car in high school, or would have worked during high school. I was too busy. I didn't say it's okay if the kid's only reason is wanting to go crazy and run away from his/her family. The few kids like that who do get in are usually sent packing quickly.

I'm not making attacks. But I have no idea how you can say you'd want your child to try new things, but then slam a door on one of the options. I just don't understand why you're so irrationally against letting your kid have an opportunity if he/she wanted it.

Quote :

"While I wouldn't ban my child from going anywhere, I'd think I would rather not ship them off anywhere. I feel the experiences you gain from being at home are just as valuable as experiences which pull you away from home (boarding schools)"

Saying you'd rather not is a completely reasonable response. My parents were really worried about me going, but they knew I had to figure out what I wanted to do for myself. But banning your kid from doing something they might want to do someday is absolutely overprotective and unreasonable. I'd also like to clarify that nobody "shipped me off" or got rid of me or pressured me into going anywhere. I didn't miss out on my life, I just went to a different place! When you went to college, did you all of a sudden lose your entire existence? It really wasn't so detrimental.

Quote :

"Weren't you attached to other friends at home? I couldn't imagine going away and leaving my friends and family behind."

Sure I was. But to whom are you more attached now: your college friends or your friends from your freshman year of high school? I did more and saw more with my NCSSM friends, and in general I have a greater bond with any of them than I did with people at my home school (with one notable exception). It's not like you never went home- they have extended weekends where you basically go home just about every month (sometimes it was as long as six weeks, but once you get into the groove of it, you barely noticed). You weren't leaving everyone and everything behind, you were just starting life in a new place with a bunch of other people in the same position. I had been stuck with the same people since middle school (even though I really did and do love and admire at least a few of them), and it was refreshing to be immersed in such diversity.

3/26/2007 9:23:26 PM

Quote :

"I'm not making attacks. But I have no idea how you can say you'd want your child to try new things, but then slam a door on one of the options. I just don't understand why you're so irrationally against letting your kid have an opportunity if he/she wanted it."

Actually, you are attacking and have been from the beginning by saying that I was attacking and crapping on your whole experience just because I wouldn't send my kid to NCSSM! I am not irrationally against anything. I have logic behind my statements. Just because you don't agree with someone/something doesn't make it irrational. And you did imply the NCSSM was a key life experience when you called what I said as being contradictory. Being overprotective isn't slamming the door on one option...it is closing the door on many options and controlling ever single detail of your child's life.

Quote :

"overprotective= to treat with extreme or excessive care or kindness"

Extreme nor excessive is even relevant in this case

3/26/2007 9:55:41 PM

Quote :

"Being overprotective isn't slamming the door on one option...it is closing the door on many options and controlling ever single detail of your child's life."

Hey, good luck with controlling every aspect of your teenager's life (because where they go to school isn't up to them and never should be, apparently).

Quote :

"I have logic behind my statements. "

Where? Nobody got mugged/raped/murdered/assaulted at NCSSM when I went there. Maybe security was more lax back in the day, but now the school has all those keycards and shit. It is unreasonable to decide preemptively to deny your own child the opportunity. I'm in no way saying it's for everyone, and I'm in no way trying to get you to say "WHY YES! I WILL SEND ALL MY KIDS THERE!" But there should be no reason why you wouldn't if you had a kid that wanted it. Heaven forbid you ever have a smart kid. Then you can avoid the entire issue.

[Edited on March 26, 2007 at 10:13 PM. Reason : .]

3/26/2007 10:08:44 PM

Hmmm.

All the kids I know who went to private school are fucked up beyond belief.

3/26/2007 10:14:18 PM

^ Have I met any of these fine people?

3/26/2007 10:17:02 PM

I don't believe you have. However, there was always talk about how rampant drug use was at some private schools in Charlotte. Lots of kids with lots of cash and lots of free time = drug problems.

3/26/2007 10:19:24 PM

Just because your kid is smart doesn't mean your ONLY option is NCSSM! There are plenty other options without your child living away from home and just because I will not let my child goto NCSSM doesn't make me overprotective

3/26/2007 10:29:19 PM

Yeah, there are. That doesn't mean you aren't ruling one out for no reason.

[Edited on March 26, 2007 at 10:32 PM. Reason : But I'm done- you're completely unreachable.]

3/26/2007 10:32:43 PM

I am not ruling one out for no reason at all. I think there are better alternatives and ways to get a great education for a child besides them going to NCSSM at the ripe old age of 15-16. And no you aren't going to change my mind by saying that I crapped on your experience and what not. This thread isn't even supposed to be about NCSSM but about cliques in public and private schools. The original poster is the one who had mentioned NCSSM and I shared my opinion about it which had absolutely nothing to do with you or your experience but you are the one that took it that way. Just like a few weeks ago when you jumped all over someone else in another thread because of her views about something (If I can ever find the thread I will reference back to your antics from it). You of all people definitely would never influence my opinion one way or another about anything!

3/27/2007 8:33:49 AM

WHO cares??? I mean seriously if you care that much go back to high school and your glory days. Not every school had cliques If you went to a small school like me everyone was just about the same and people talked and hung out with just about everyone.

3/27/2007 8:41:00 AM

unless it's an elite private school in the sports category...
no way my kid will go there. I'd rather select a popular football program


Sports > Education


duh!

3/27/2007 8:45:07 AM

Quote :

"Just like a few weeks ago when you jumped all over someone else in another thread because of her views about something (If I can ever find the thread I will reference back to your antics from it)."

Yes! Let's bring up completely irrelevant stuff because you don't like losing arguments! And you can't read:

Quote :

"I'm in no way saying it's for everyone, and I'm in no way trying to get you to say "WHY YES! I WILL SEND ALL MY KIDS THERE!""

You crapped on my experience by saying the entire NCSSM thing was a bad idea- oh, so my education was a bad idea? You said you'd never ever send your kid there- what does that make my parents? Bad people? Irresponsible? You keep saying there are better ways to get an education- so I made the wrong choice? If there's a reason you absolutely refuse to send a kid there, you must look down on people who would go there, despite all your "ohhhhh, I know, some people thrive there!" What are you saying, exactly? What kinds of crazy/odd people thrive there? Are we all so weird that you're completely convinced you kid could never be that way?

3/27/2007 9:14:34 AM

I am not bringing up completely irrelevant stuff just pointing out that you have a pattern of such behavior. And I am not losing an argument here...it will actually be a stalemate because neither of us is going to change the others mind nor do I care to. Just because I would never send my child there doesn't mean anything about you, your parents or your decisions. I never said that NCSSM was a bad thing or a bad school...I have actually said the contrary...I think you are the one who can't read. All I have said is that I wouldn't send my children there. That doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea for other people, their kids or their families. Just because I wouldn't want my child there doesn't reflect on you. I never crapped on your experience, you just don't like my opinion in the fact that my child will not go to NCSSM. And I said that I think that better options exist other than going to NCSSM to get the best education possible for your child that doesn't mean that those ways are for everyone either. As I said before TO EACH THEIR OWN! Just because I don't want my child going to NCSSM doesn't mean I look down on people that have gone there...that is just asinine. And where in the hell did people that go to NCSSM being crazy or odd ever come up? Now that is completely irrelevant. Everyone is different and people should rejoice in those differences instead of making them into pariahs. And I never said that NCSSM was a bad idea...I said that I didn't dig the idea in reference to my children not to all children.

3/27/2007 9:41:36 AM

SUSPEND. if this was my thread. i would have gotten moved to chitchat so fast.

3/27/2007 10:21:11 AM

I went to private school and basically hated it. If you do send a kid to private school make sure it is one that fits them. I agree with some of the posters about private schools being more homogenious. Private schools are smaller and if you don't fit in with the main clique its unlikely you'll find close friends. I could be biased as my parents sent me to a baptist school (they aren't even baptist) and I didn't relate with the majority of people there.

When you are already paying for school in taxes and there are quality magnet schools why the hell would you pay extra for private school. Unless you find some extremely prestigious private school (read 20k+ a year) the education and opportunities are not going to rival a public magnet school. The only reasons I can think of sending a kid to private school is that 1) They want to go to a certain one 2) The local schools are bad and no magnet options 3) You are trying to shelter them (religiously affiliated private school).

Also a private non-religious school is, as many people have said, going to have a large group of rebelious students that your kid could get involved with. These groups may be less violent than some underprivaleged groups in public school but the drug use, alcohol and sex will be just as bad and worse.

3/27/2007 1:22:30 PM

^We had a girl like that in my Catholic private school that wasn't Catholic. She wasn't shunned or anything like that and still had plenty of friends but I felt really bad for her during religion classes!

3/27/2007 7:46:25 PM

I can't imagine how high-school me would have reacted to having to sit through "religion" classes at a private school.

The outcome would not have been pleasant.

3/27/2007 7:50:26 PM

They were taught by nuns too!!!

3/27/2007 7:54:23 PM

^^try being an ex-Catholic. My 8th grade classmates were confused that my parents "let" me not be confirmed...which is silly b/c the whole point of Confirmation is that you're making an adult decision to be part of the church.

One HS religion teacher cooed over anyone who was of another faith [she taught World Religions] but lambasted me because I refused to write a prayer or any other 'homework' assignment that wasn't factual. As long as you could be labeled as something, you'd be fine in Catholic school

I should also add, how terribly ironic it is that I received a scholarship to said Catholic high school, even though I failed religion for a quarter in 8th grade for refusing to write prayers & meditations on the beatitudes. I figured, well it's for Confirmation prep and I'm not participating, so I didn't need to do it. Then I found out those papers counted as test grades

[Edited on March 27, 2007 at 9:12 PM. Reason : *]

3/27/2007 9:10:56 PM

^whoops...lol. They prolly weren't allowed to discriminate based on religion so that might be able to come back and kick them in the butt if they didn't let you have a scholarship for failing part of your religion class. They also should have offered some sort of alternative to writing prayers n such!

3/27/2007 10:36:08 PM

i think public schools depend on the students that go there. My highschool started out good but became a sinking ship after they drastically redrew the school zone plans. I stayed along b.c i was getting ready to graduate but my school was a sinking ship. Instead of middle/uppermiddle class future college go-getters, it became infested with the scum of society who came to school just for free lunch and sell drugs rather then to get an education. I remember my friend telling me the year after i left some kid got shot, and another time he walked into the bathroom during a gang initiation.

3/27/2007 10:55:41 PM

^x's a billion

I agree that having Enloe in the top 100 sounds odd, but my point was that there's no way on earth Enloe is ghetto by any stretch of the imagination.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/nc/other/1969

20% free or reduced lunch? 49% minority?

The school I teach at is ~65% and 83%, respectively, and I wouldn't really call my school ghetto.

3/27/2007 11:19:49 PM

wow...this thread is too much

it really isn't that big of a deal

public or private there are dumbass kids at both
kids do stupid shit
the more you stiffle them the worse they will act when out of your sight
Evidentally most private school kids are like Ryan and SMG in Cruel Intentions

3/28/2007 12:07:23 AM

being a private school kid

education is better, smaller classrooms for more interaction, dress code-now that I look back at it kept me from dressing like a thug after I left, better chances for acceptance into colleges.

but like everyone else has said, each kid chooses their own routes... but its up to the parents to point them to the right one.

3/28/2007 12:58:33 AM

Ah, young parents thinking they are going to script their kid's childhood.

3/28/2007 1:32:28 AM

I think one the best reasons to put a child in private school would be the better influences. We can all argue and bring up examples of public schools that are better, but simply public vs private. The students in a private school are most likely college bound. This is especially true in extremely rural high schools and inner city public schools.

3/28/2007 4:15:24 AM

Quote :

"The students in a private school are most likely college bound"

Because they're rich, not because they're any smarter than kids in public schools. Likewise, it's true in rural schools because those kids are poorer, not always stupider.

If you read the thread, you'd see that people didn't necessarily see better influences in the private schools they attended.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 10:10 AM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 10:06:24 AM

Ah, young parents thinking they are going to script their kid's childhood.

3/28/2007 10:15:32 AM

Private schools have several things better.

1) Better Teacher versus student ratio
2) Better teachers overall due to private schools paying better which in turn allows them to be more selective about who they hire.
3) It's privately owned so they can choose an appropriate curriculum that makes sense. There's much less macro management
4) There is more structure and ability for students to be pointed in the right direction, being either more attention paid to that student or better communication with parents overall. Better behavior management. If someone needs attention they can get it compared to a public school where that's just not possible.


Don't get me wrong. We all had AWESOME teachers that we remember, but we ALL had more teachers we don't remember or wish we never had.

I specifically remember 4 teachers who were dumber than a brick and got their job out of sheer luck. I corrected them on occassion and I was a C student in highschool.

However, all that said, I completely agree with the statement repeated in this thread that while you can give your kid all the tools you still have to teach them how to use them. Making sure they don't stray too far from the right path while still having their own identity.

3/28/2007 1:04:44 PM

I'm definitely aware of why they are college bound. The reason they would be smarter (being wealthier) had nothing to do with my argument.

I did read the thread. But people just named all sorts of outliers as reasons why "it just depends".....

3/28/2007 4:19:15 PM

its also worth noting that even in the same district, there can be a big disconnect in high schools

for example in Charlotte...Garinger High School is on the low end of the CMS system for eduction and the high end of the violence side...a school like Myers Park is kind of the opposite, though they're both public schools in the same system...course there are also smart people at Garinger and Myers Park had somebody shot at a football game a few years back, so who knows

3/28/2007 4:29:27 PM

Quote :

"Better teachers overall due to private schools paying better which in turn allows them to be more selective about who they hire."

i thought on average most private school teachers got paid slightly less than public school teachers - that's the way it was at my private school

3/28/2007 4:37:14 PM

rich private school kids get the best drugs.

3/28/2007 4:39:28 PM

Quote :

"Because they're rich, not because they're any smarter than kids in public schools. Likewise, it's true in rural schools because those kids are poorer, not always stupider."

she obviously went to a public school

3/28/2007 5:18:23 PM

^^from the public school kids who skip class to go slang at private schools

3/28/2007 5:21:49 PM

Quote :

"Better teachers overall due to private schools paying better which in turn allows them to be more selective about who they hire."

Noooo. Teachers who go private almost always take a pay cut. Not just in pay, but a serious cut in benefits and retirement.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 8:13 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 8:09:15 PM

Quote :

"she obviously went to a public school"

hahahaha

blow me

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 9:07 PM. Reason : at least I didn't go to Charlotte Catholic ]

3/28/2007 9:05:20 PM

how the hell do you know that i went to charlotte catholic

3/28/2007 9:23:41 PM

You said you went to a catholic school in Charlotte in this thread. Anyone who was ever in CMS (or went to school in Mecklenburg county, really) would know.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 9:37 PM. Reason : I was in IB at North Meck until junior year, then I was at NCSSM.]

3/28/2007 9:34:53 PM

ah ok.. for a minute there I thought you were stalking me


I mean, not that I wouldnt mind.. since your attractive and whatnot

3/28/2007 9:39:00 PM

I went to both public and private, this is not representative but here were my experiences.

Public school (7th, 8th, and 9th) that I went to in Oregon had tons of classes you probably wouldn't see at private schools. It literally felt like I was choosing college courses (they were shorter but we had 7 or 8 classes). There were lots of cliques and they seemed not to get along or socialize at all. In addition, the I don’t care about education people/cliques were widespread. Teachers were pretty good, and the class offerings and facilities were insane (though the school wasn't too big, you knew a good majority of the names).

Private school (10th, 11th, and 12th) that I went to in North Carolina had less classes, but they also had dramatically less students (my graduating class was like 15). While less classes were offered we had good teachers (many with post grad stuff and industry experience, but some didn't have certification). AP wasn't offered but the school paid for us to take college courses at a 4 yr institution if you qualified. Sports were almost required as were clubs. Cliques were pretty widespread (punk, prep/sporty, dorks, etc.) even in this small school, but as stated in other posts the I don't give a shit about education wasn't there (every graduate went to college and more importantly a good majority were flagships or state colleges). Drugs and alcohol were widespread, and all cliques engaged in them. (Cost was less than a year of in state tuition at state).

If you do a good job stressing the importance of education and somewhat monitor social stuff then either type of school will work (don’t be a hardass, but don’t let anything and everything go). Also, like said above in other posts, there is a big difference btw an elite private school when compared to a common every town type private school (like mine). If you're worried about college and think you will probably want to send your kid to a flagship or a state school then I don't think there is much difference btw a private or a dencent/good public school (unfortunately for this the county your student resides in matters the most). Now if you want to send your kid to an Ivy League type of joint an elite private school wouldn't hurt.


Also my dad was in the service, but he always researched the shit out of schools I think it was because he went to like 15 of them in his childhood.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 10:35 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 10:37 PM. Reason : ..]

3/28/2007 10:32:05 PM

Quote :

"I seriously doubt that. I don't know of any other high schools in NC that taught polymer chemistry. I also don't know of any that had a course in immunology. Or a course solely devoted to the plays of Edward Albee. Or a course on fractals and chaos theory."

I took three of those four classes (Poly Chem, Immunology, and Fractals & Chaos) :-)

Going to NCSSM definitely broadened my horizons and options. I was from a fairly backwards rural area. I went to high school, prior to going to NCSSM, about 45 minutes away. Not because I was bused to a different district, but because that's where the closest high school was. For many areas of the state, NCSSM is the only way to get a superior education.

With that having been said, there are also areas of the state where you do not need to go to NCSSM in order to get a superior education. I'm sure there are HS in Charlotte that would qualify. Enloe is certainly an example. One of my roommates my junior year at NCSSM (I was in one of the few rooms that was a triple instead of a double) came from Enloe. He ended up with a 1600 on his SAT and won a Westinghouse scholarship for original research in biology (though he ended up not graduating HS I believe because he failed biology... too scatterbrained sometimes to show up to the tests. One failed class at NCSSM = not graduating). He's an example of someone that didn't need to go to NCSSM to get a great education. He more than likely could have done that at Enloe (though I'm not certain since I didn't go there). But for every kid like him that have the opportunities in his home area, there are many, many more that don't. That's why the areas that do have schools such as Enloe do not neccassarily have a representative number of people at NCSSM.

The area around NCSSM can be a bit tough. I graduated from there in '95 and there were 2 muggings I believe, and a suicide attempt while I was there. That having been said, both muggings occured while students were doing things expressely told not to do (walking to the mall through the bad area, Walltown, after dark. The suicide attempt... well. I never found out the exact specifics. The school is full of fiercely competitive people that are used to being the best at whatever they do. I was certianly one of them. NCSSM prepared me to not be the best anymore because, except for a very few people, there is going to be somewhere better than you at NCSSM. I continued to do very well (was one of the few people to take Fractals as a junior, and the only person to take it without having taken Calculus first), but was no more the very top of the peak. Some people can't handle that at all...

I consider NCSSM an excellent school and an excellent option for any child that has the maturity to live away from their parents and the intellect to cut it. That having been said, if you do your homework you can eliminate the neccessity of sending your child to NCSSM for them to get that excellent education (though the option remains if they want to attend NCSSM). When my parents moved to the area they live in now, which determined what schools I would be going to, the extensive data collection regarding schools that now occurs was not occuring. My parents had to base whether or not the schools were good on talking to people in the area, of which they knew few/none at the time. It was more difficult to make an informed decision on the quality of the school system at that time than it is now. (Though evidently my parents were just ahead of the time... the area they moved to, north Lake Norman around Mooresville, is now growing tremendously and a new huge HS has been built with many more options for classes, and athletics which was quasi-important to me at the time).

Having lived near some of the best high schools in the country for the last couple years, Thomas Jefferson Magnet in Fairfax County and Episcopal HS in Alexandria, Virginia (though the closest HS was T.C. Williams, which is primarily known as being the HS in "Remember the Titans"), it really was an eye-opener about how you really need to choose where to live based on the school district if you plan on living there while you have school-aged children. Episcopal was private so that didn't matter, but Thomas Jefferson was a public magnet. As to why Thomas Jefferson was left off the US News rankings (as is NCSSM) and Enloe was included, I believe it has to do with whether or not the HS is solely a magnet or not. NCSSM and (to my knowledge) TJ are both only magnet schools, i.e. you can't go to the school based solely on your proximity to the school. Enloe, as well as the Charlotte magnet schools, I believe you can go to regardless of whether or not you would meet the qualifications for the magnet school if you live in the area. At one point US News either released a ranking of all schools regardless of this, or it didn't have that qualification, and NCSSM was ranked at the top for a year or two. I believe it was the increase in schools like NCSSM (which started in 1980) and Thomas Jefferson (which started in 1985) that were starting to skew the results but wheren't neccasssarily what US News was trying to portray (which was where should you live to go to a good high school) that led them to include that qualification.

What I think it boils down to is this:
1) NCSSM is an excellent school and an excellent option for kids with the maturity and intellect to attend
2) If you do some research, you can determine the quality of the school district you live in/want to move to and can chose where to live so as to live in a good school district, lessening the need for #1 above.
3) Private schools are another option, but as long as I'm already paying for my child to go to publich schools through taxes, I'm going to do whatever I can to send my child to public schools (the libertarian in me speaking...). With some work on picking where to live, you can lessen the neccessity of needed to send your child to either a private school or to a far-away magnate.

*waves* Hi Nicole and April :-)

3/31/2007 10:59:29 AM

agree on the importance of parenting. however my husband and i have decided our kids will be home-schooled. he loved his high school. i was bored to tears at mine.

3/31/2007 11:05:57 AM

out of all the options, you picked the worst. GG

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 11:25 AM. Reason : sdf]

3/31/2007 11:25:12 AM

why? it's cheaper than private school. they would only need to attend "class" about 4 hours out of the day instead of wasting their ENTIRE day at a public school. they will have more hours in the day for enriching activities. more field trips. they will have a healthy lunch and snack. they will learn how to interract with more than just their immediate peers. they will have more options as to what they learn - italian, spanish, afrikaans. they will have the opportunity to flourish in the areas which they are best at and love most.

and they will respect the shit out of me, the all-knowing one!

3/31/2007 11:31:20 AM

I certainly respect the people that home school their kids. They get a bad rap because alot of the home schooled kids have parents that are nuts... Home school organizations (it really is tough to home school a kid on your own as few parent know enough to cover all areas competently) can address the needs of their kids alot better than schools can oftentimes as they are able to be more flexible. There are still socialization issues though as home schooled don't interact with children their own age as often. So they are socialized better with adults, but not kids.

3/31/2007 1:16:18 PM