Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Lets Talk About Privates, Shall We?


As in school. Get your heads out of the gutter, people.

My kid is going to kindergarten next year. I'm not sure if I want to fxx him up by paying 8 grand a year and having him get beaten up by nuns, or paying nothing and having him beaten up by kids on the playground.

Am I being a bit dramatic? Moi? The writer whose brain can't just look at an owl without screaming Smart old man! Geriatric! Gerry's doing tricks? Who's Jerry? Tom and Jerry. I hated that show. That poor mouse. He was always getting so hurt. I hope my babies never get beaten over the head with a tire iron at school.

Which leads me back to my question: What are your thoughts on education? Private or public? I'd love to hear. All of the little voices in my OCD dramatic brain want to hear.

Kiss kiss.
* Image of Stink this past summer. That face. I love it so much I could squeeze it and smush it and gush it all gushy and squeeze his little tushy and... um... I'm thinking that won't help him remain target free from the bully's on the playground. So... I'm... starting to... detach.
Help?

17 comments:

Liv said...

okay, well, because i live in an area where public schools are horrendous and i have a son with special needs, i have gone the route of montessori school. D has performed amazingly well, and i don't feel like rocking the boat. yes, it's as expensive as hell. but, yes, it's also the therapy. Peep goes to the same school because it's just easier. i suppose if we lived in an area where i had confidence in the public schools, it wouldn't be an issue. as it stands, i plan on enrolling them in parochial school with nary a spanking nun in sight. now, i know that takes the fun out of it for us catholics, but that's just how i roll. AND if they go to parochial school, they don't have to go to CCD which means that i just get to go to mass instead of spending 3 hours down at the church on sunday.

whew?! is that what you wanted?

His Girl said...

(your commenter window is being weird... if this is my third entry, so so so sorry... please pick 2 to delete...or more!) I'm doing both here... public and private. I had to go with my knowledge of who my children are. My oldest, a follower began private Christian school in 6th grade. My daughters are still doing fine here in public... we'll see how they're doing once they approach jr. high.

what i know is this... i can't protect the kids from everything that i want to... but i can improve their odds!

i know you'll be shocked by how i made this decision... lots and lots of prayer! finally, i just KNEW that i KNEW... yah know? When the time came there was no doubt in my mind... and somehow God provides the money month after month.

btw, 8 GRAND? ya'll need to move south a bit. I about DIE at the 4 I spend for Spence a year!

Dapoppins said...

I'll be honest. Public school scares me. There, I said it. But public HOME SCHOOL is cool. We did K12 when we had no other options. I mean when public school was the only option. You can always check the school out that he will be going to...meet the teacher, look at what they plan to teach...all of that. It may just be wonderful. Or not.

P.S. I found your Secret Super Power...was I right?

freefalling said...

I thought it said "pirates".

I don't think it makes one iota of difference - wherever you go there will be positive and negative experiences and school is not going to make you a better or worse person.
I reckon you just gotta go down one path (any path) and if it isn't working, try another.

Not really helpful, is it?

slow panic said...

This is a big one. We're at a private school. We love our school. Every year they raise the tuition and we have our annual freak out and discussion "are we doing the right thing? this is crazy? who do they think we are?" conversation. it's fun.

for us, it's the right place to be. my shy, nervous little boys would be toast in our counties public schools. but our public schools are bad here and in some places they are incredible. good luck. this is one of the really hard ones...

Gretchen said...

Short answer: You'll know what's right. I don't want to sound like a smarmy tel-evangelizer, but I really think that this is a God decision. Take some quiet time and pray about it.

Long answer: I'll email you. I've done both private and public. Both are good for a lot of reasons.

I know it's hard when they go to kindergarten. He'll do so great, though. xxxooogretchen

Monnik said...

I know it's different where you live, but we've done both private and public.

When we lived in the giant metropolis of Des Moines, we chose to take our kids to a private catholic school because of classroom sizes and because the elementary school in our neighborhood was on the corner of a really, REALLY busy street and it freaked me out.

They kept increasing tuition, the school was nice, but not phenomenal, and the teachers were either really old or really young.

When we moved to Tinytown, population 320, the kids switched to public school. It's a small school district - about 80 kids per graduating class (I'm sure that's unheard of in So Cal) but the school is amazing. I much prefer it over their old school.

Bottom line is, you'll figure something out. Oh, and the nuns can't beat the kids anymore. My husband has a scar to this day on his neck from when a nun dug her nails into it while dragging him to the principal's office. He calls himself a 'recovering catholic' because of his experiences.

Evenspor said...

I am seriously considering homeschooling our kids. I don't really have a problem with public schools, afterall, I went to one all through growing up and turned out fine, but deep-down this is what I feel is going to be best for our family. What that means for you? Sorry, I have no idea. Lol.

Dapoppins said...

What they said...I thought I left another comment? Didn't I? Did blog monster eat my comment?

Roberta said...

We have the kids in a public school, but they have a uniform dress code. I really like that better. They have less distraction and it's easier to notice someone that shouldn't be there. The teachers are great and it's also a K-8, so no junior high to contend with. So, I think public school can be just as good, of not better and definitely cheaper, if you find a good one.

Heather said...

Mama P - this is a decision for YOU.

Re: MY decision - Public Schools all the way. We did a charter (hybrid of private and public) last year, but it was in its first year of operation, and oh. MY. GAWRSH! This year we are at our neighborhood public school, which means our kids' friends in the neighborhood are and will be there too (and if your kids don't yet know neighborhood pals, it could be the start of something beautiful). I am a firm believer in parental involvement, as I know you are too, and have held that the real life lessons are the convos I have with our kids at home, though some of those do get their start at school.

We have issues at our school - lots of poverty and many monolingual spanish speaking kiddos - but I think that is the beauty, is my daughter gets "all kinds" at an early age.

That's my chunka change on that one - but really, it is a very personal decision.

ms chica said...

No kids. No advice.

Personal experience, for what it's worth...I went to both. I was in private school grades k-8, and then a public high school. Both were good experiences. My private school lacked the resources (enrollment and equipment) but had small class sizes and flexibility perks. My public school experience taught me how to get along with all people and had more course offerings.

It all depends on what your kids need, and how the education system measures up in your district.

Valerie said...

well, you & i both know how much fun the schools are in LAUSD.

i grew up in Long Beach, and went to private schools up until my senior year of high school.

was i sheltered? oh youbetcha. would i have survived in public school - the chunky, shy, teased beyond reproach chicky that i was (and yes, still am)? maybe. but i think i was slightly less miserable than i would've been in public school.

on the plus size (no pun intended): i loved the fact (now) that the classes were smaller. much better one-on-one help.

except in math.

sari said...

My boys are in public school, but we have a great school. They have friends that they have known for the last five years, and i think that we pretty much lucked out. But that doesn't keep me from still thinking "hmmmm...maybe they should just homeschool." I don't know. There's always something that they're going to have to deal with, isn't there?

Toni Lea Andrews said...

I was, briefly, one of those kids that got picked on and beaten up. It was about age 11. When I try to think objectively why I was such a target, I don't know whether it could have been prevented, or what the school or my parents could have done to stop it.

Not much help, I know.

Claire said...

I am very anti-public school, having experienced public, private and homeschool (private and hs with my own children).

I live in L.A., as well. My husband works for a school district. He would never put our kids in public school. He sees what goes on at all the levels. How's that for insider info?

We put it to prayer five years ago, and ended up taking our daughter out of private, Christian school in the middle of 3rd grade. My son completed K in private school. They've been home ever since.

Nothing is perfect, but I think God chose this path for us, so we continue on.

I get compliments about my kids' behavior all.the.time. I find it sad that people expect kids to be obnoxious and unable (or unwilling) to communicate with adults. My children, at 8 and 6, could hang with grown-ups and carry on an intelligent conversation, and they still can. My teenager looks you in the eye. I see that missing from the public school kids. Why is that? I have my theories.

Anyway, praying for you to make the right choice for your family and your children. Like someone else said, you can always change things up if you don't like the way they are going.

Susie Q said...

We are blessed with great public schools in our small community. Very caring teachers, great buildings and super curriculum. If it was not, private it would be. The Dayton schools near here are a mess. There would be no contest.
You have to choose what is best for that sweet face. You will know when you find it. And if you do not.
: )
Love,
Sue