in the past 10 years the danger of public school systems have been rising. What are your thoughts about homeschooling or private school?

Even before Trent was born, we decided that he is going to go a private school. I dont even care if it is Catholic.:wink the thought of turning on the news and seeing my sons school on the news just puts a knot in my stomach.

Working in the public school system in Florida has given me a lot of insight. Not ALL public schools are bad. And not ALL private schools are good. Honestly I prefer the magnet or Montessori schools. I was in public school for K-5 then I was in a magnet school until I graduated. Honestly, I think the curriculum is better, and those types of schools have better teachers.

I don't want Taylor in public school, but that doesn't mean they are all bad. Every school has individual pros and cons.

That's a bridge that I think I'm going to cross when I get to it. I have considered home schooling, but really want my child to be able to experience the social side of public or private school. I've still got some years before I need to really think about it...so...I suppose for now I'm undecided.

I agree with MichelleB. Not all public schools are bad and not all private schools are good. We have our son in a public school because he wanted to be. Our dd is in a private school for some personal reasons. When we move again, they may both go to public or both go to private.

oh i would love it if Robbie could go to a montessori school. i went to a montessori school from grade 1 to about grade 3 and i love their teaching approach. i felt i learn alot better by doing and seeing and touching. hands on learning. I dont know though if we could afford to send him to a private school so he will probably end up going to a charter school or a public school but i will be extremely picky about where we are gonna live and what school he goes too.

I work for a public charter school that is based soley on homeschooling/independant study. Before I started working here, although I didn't have much faith in the public school system, I never thought homeschooling was any better. However, I came to soon realize, not all of it is the same. That is why I love the school I work for so much, because kids here get a little bit of everything, and they just SOAR in achievement, Many of them where they were considered failure students in the regular public school. Our program offers homeschool parents, the individual support with credentialed teachers and onsite classes to supplement their homeschooling, and because we are a public charter school, we are able to even provide families with financial support for supplies and they can use ANYTHING they want to teach their kids, they have no restrictions.
So to answer the question, no I don't think all public schools are bad, but I do feel they are failing kids in America in general. The benefit of public school I see as way too small (such as interaction with other kids) and that can be gained through other means when in a homeschool environment such as the one we offer. Kids in our program have TONS of occasions where they can interact with other kids, such as field trips and 1-2 day classes at our learning centers. I would LOVE to see more programs like the one we offer here around the country, our success rate is incredible. However there is ONE major key factor involved here.....PARENTS. Parent MUST care enough and make up their mind to dedicate enough time to their children to make it happen. Obviously with homeschooling parents need to dedicate the time, so unless parents are willing to do what it takes for the success of their child, it will NOT work. I feel the same way about parents in the regular public schools, I don't think its that they don't care, I think its that they dont try hard enough to make special time to dedicate just to their kids. No matter how hard a parent works, they can ALWAYS find time for their kids. If you can find time to watch tv, or do some other down time activity, then you can find time for your kids.

Its hard to say as i don't know the schooling system like i do here.

Public school is actually better then Private here. The schools have more funding and the curriculm is much better. Drugs & bullying is the same amount in every school. We don't have to go through a metal detector before we get into school aswell. So its quite different.

All i can say about home schooling is-

I don't think its good for the child at the earlier stages of learning. I think they need to learn vital social skills only school can teach. Making friends, meeting new people etc. I have noticed home schooled children coming to school and they were quiet or didn't make friends as easy etc.

But with that being said- i think once a child has learnt the vital social skills- it can be a very good thing for them, if they were to get into home schooling.

My sister did that and her grades increased from average- to above average. She ended up getting letters from our state premier congratulating her on her awesome work.

It also depends on the child, and their personality. Some kids can't be in homeschool cos they want to be able to sit with their friends, hang out with them all day etc.

I've considered home schooling. I went to 3 private schools and my younger sister went to a 4th that I didn't go to... A LOT of crap goes on in private schools too.. it's just kept hush hush. There were actually things going on the the private schools that would not fly in a public school. My sisters high school was a top rated private school. Students were allowed to go in the woods or into empty classes to smoke pot and do other drugs. There were "game rooms" where student would go if they didn't feel like going to class. My sister spent most of her days playing video games... but still passed. Since parents paid for thier kids to go there the teachers passed them even if they did no work. There are many others the same way, not just that one.

So after 11 years of expensive private schools.. my sister dropped out.. has no diploma and lives with her b/f mooching off of his parents. She's now 21 and has never had a job.

My kids are going to a private! I know what you mean! I wwent to a country bumpkin school, and my best friend from hs told me there are metal dectors in there now! That just flew me to the floor............

I think it all depends on where you are. If you live in an area with good public schools, don't see why my daughter couldn't go there. If they aren't good, then private schools if they are good.

I don't really like the idea of homeschooling because I think the kids miss the social aspect of school and of everything you learn in school that is one of the most important for real life. You can be awesome at math or science or literature, but if you can't communicate with others you will have trouble in the job world. Also, you miss the opporunity for school-based extracurriculars (sports, band, clubs).

I work for a public charter school that is based soley on homeschooling/independant study.
The benefit of public school I see as way too small (such as interaction with other kids) and that can be gained through other means when in a homeschool environment such as the one we offer. Kids in our program have TONS of occasions where they can interact with other kids, such as field trips and 1-2 day classes at our learning centers. I would LOVE to see more programs like the one we offer here around the country, our success rate is incredible.

I can see this kind of program being a good one so they can get their social interaction in a learning environment. Of course, I can't homeschool because we are a working family.

For our kids it will be public schools. Breanna is in public school right now. I have done my research on it and it is a good school. Of course things could happen in a good school just as they could in a not so good school. The school John and I graduated from is a good school. People move to that area just for the school. But still when Columbine happened we got several bomb threats, had the swat team on our roof, police and police dogs inside our school, and metal detectors.

Our kids won't be going to private schools for one reason; we can't afford to put 3 kids through private school and then college. Just not going to happen. Also the private high school by my old HS was known, not sure if it still is, to be the place to go if you wanted drugs.

As for homeschooling, it just isn't for us. I have kicked around the idea but Breanna loves to be around other kids and she needs time to herself without Johnny, me, or soon to be the new baby around her. Plus she loves school. She lliterally runs to school. There are 2 ladies there in the morning that just laugh when they see her coming cause they know she won't even say bye to me. She just runs in and takes off to class.

At the moment, our son is in a very good school on this military base.

When my husband gets out of the Navy next year, I am very concerned about what elementary school my son will be attending. If we can afford it, he will certainly be attending a private school.

Does anyone know the cost of a Montessori school????

We are undecided. We will probably have to put JD in private school if he is ready for Kindergarten at 5 or else the state of Wa will hold him back. We are considering private school for Lexi because most of the areas by Everett have an alternating K schedule. Meaning the children go 2 days one week and 3 days the next week. While I am not opposed to half day K I am opposed to her not going everyday. I am not sure thst I can afford $400 a month for K though so she can go full time. I will let you all know what happens in a month.

well I am all for what will be best for my kids.
My kids were in Public in Va
Public here until last Friday. I now homeschool them! IT was the best decision I could have ever made!
They aren't as stressed, I am not as stressed, they are doing work better and faster etc...

Oh and my kids get interaction through field trips, park day, Karate, dance and cheer classes.

At the moment, our son is in a very good school on this military base.

When my husband gets out of the Navy next year, I am very concerned about what elementary school my son will be attending. If we can afford it, he will certainly be attending a private school.

Does anyone know the cost of a Montessori school????


oh i dont know how much a Montessori school would cost but i might do some research on that right now. I just know that personally I couldnt do homeschool because of the fact that I have to work and i dont think i would have the patience and I dont feel im smart enough to teach Robbie school related stuff.

I think that I would be very careful in choosing where we lived. I would like to think that all schools wouldn't be poor within a 30-45 minute radius and that would be something we'd take into a lot of consideration when choosing a home. But if they were bad, then I suppose I'd do the best we could. Given the cost of private schools these days, I'm not sure how we could possibly ever afford one. The prices are rising to rival college tuition in a lot of cases, at least up here. I doubt we'll be poor enough to get financial aid, so I'd have to rely on having really smart kids that deserve scholarships.

My hometown high school hasn't change much. No real security. We didn't even have fights or any real violence. The only huge incident was when this one boy pushed another into a locker and he got a bloody nose. It was small though; I had around 60 kids in my graduating class. We all knew each other so well that I don't think that stuff that plagues bigger schools was ever an issue. I want my kids to grow up in that kind of school system!

oh i dont know how much a Montessori school would cost but i might do some research on that right now. I just know that personally I couldnt do homeschool because of the fact that I have to work and i dont think i would have the patience and I dont feel im smart enough to teach Robbie school related stuff.

I'm not sure, but I had a high school friend who got pregnant at 19, dropped out of college and went onto welfare. But even while on welfare and collecting a small amount of money from the baby's father, she still sent her daughter to Monessori school.

We were all kind of shocked - welfare AND a private school for your toddler? But who knows...

ok something sounds a little fishy to me but if you read up on montessori schools some are held within public schools. if it was a private school i dont see how anyone who is on welfare can even afford to send their child to a montessori school.

Oh and my kids get interaction through field trips, park day, Karate, dance and cheer classes.


That's what I've been thinking about. Homeschooling Alex and putting him in sports and such for interaction with other kids and to make friends.

Thats how all the kids in our program get their interaction. Most of our students are very active in a lot of extra curricular activities. And the fact that they can use something like say Karate for PE credits, makes it that much more awsome! We've had kids do so much cool stuff to get credits for different subjects, one student used a family trip to Italy for some credits in World History!

i'll cross it when i get there BUT if my child needs the one on one attention then i will homeschool and if we can afford it. same with private school if we can afford it

DH and I do not have children yet, however, we are considering putting them into either a montesorri school or a magnet school. The public school system is horrible in JAX, FL and there is no way I am sending them to any of the schools in our area.

Thats how all the kids in our program get their interaction. Most of our students are very active in a lot of extra curricular activities. And the fact that they can use something like say Karate for PE credits, makes it that much more awsome! We've had kids do so much cool stuff to get credits for different subjects, one student used a family trip to Italy for some credits in World History!

that is what we are going to do.
Not world history but we are going to go to NASA and they can count that has science and some history. The Alamo etc....
There are so many things that can count towards it

Here we were told that the school my kids attend was the best in CCISD. So we went with it. That was our mistake. Here once in 3rd grade the "have" to speake in spanish all day when asking ??s and such. To me that is BS. IF it is in spanish class fine well and good but all day :screwy.
Any way that isn't even a reason that we took them out.
Here this particular school is ONLY worried about their scores. The principal tries to convince parents to hold their child back because they are afraid that their scores will drop. With this little letter that they have you sign keeps them from looking bad cause your child didn't "fail".
And here if a child doesn't sit and act like a "robot" then they have ADD or ADHD :rolleyes.
We did our research but apparently it screwed us in the end.
Will my kids attend public school again? Possibly it will all depend on WHERE we end up.

oh wow breezy i dont blame you for yanking them out of there. so are you teaching all 3 of them at home now? wow no school should be allowed to force a child to speak in spanish all day long. thats just awful.

Right now, Emily is in a very good public school. She was at the top of her class last year, and doing really well in 3rd grade. I did research on this school when we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. I feel very confident with the school and their teachers(except for one, but Emily doesn't have her). Plus, Washington schools tend to do very well in general.

Noah is in a pre-school throught the school district, and he is doing extremely well there. He can already spell his name perfectly, but he's always been very smart ;). I couldn't homeschool my children, because I don't have the patience to do it. Plus, I am finishing up my college education and I work.

Now, when we move, and if I am NOT happy with the public school, I will find a private school and enroll them. It doesn't matter what the cost is. I want my children to get a great education.

Breezy, that's horrible how your children's school did that, with making them speak spanish all day! I would have pulled my kids out as well, and I would have found a private school for them.

I commend you for taking on that responsibility of homeschooling them.

That's what I've been thinking about. Homeschooling Alex and putting him in sports and such for interaction with other kids and to make friends.

This could also be a very bad thing... do you want your child's only social interaction with peers to be competitive? Using sports, karate or other competitive environments as his "fun with friends" day may backfire later. There is more to social interaction than just high fives and three point shots.

Homeschooling is only as effective as the teacher. This IS your childs future you're talking about, so working towards a child development degree would be invaluable to you. You'll learn things like "Master Training Schedules", "Enabling Objectives" and other terms used in the education of another person, and how to more effectively use certain strategies to convey concepts. If you have a hard time in a subject, you may want to reconsider - your ignorance will only hurt your child.

If you're worried about your child being hurt in school, you have every right! Fights are a part of growing up (and a part of being a GROWN up, hence this very debate board), and your son has a 33% chance of being in one. It happens, but you also have a pretty high chance of being in a car crash every single day.

Just my observations, anyway :)

This could also be a very bad thing... do you want your child's only social interaction with peers to be competitive? Using sports, karate or other competitive environments as his "fun with friends" day may backfire later. There is more to social interaction than just high fives and three point shots.

Homeschooling is only as effective as the teacher. This IS your childs future you're talking about, so working towards a child development degree would be invaluable to you. You'll learn things like "Master Training Schedules", "Enabling Objectives" and other terms used in the education of another person, and how to more effectively use certain strategies to convey concepts. If you have a hard time in a subject, you may want to reconsider - your ignorance will only hurt your child.

If you're worried about your child being hurt in school, you have every right! Fights are a part of growing up (and a part of being a GROWN up, hence this very debate board), and your son has a 33% chance of being in one. It happens, but you also have a pretty high chance of being in a car crash every single day.

Just my observations, anyway :)

Well I wouldn't have sports being his only interaction :)
I don't have a degree but I've helped homeschool other children :shrug I've considered it for a couple reasons and one of them being that we may be in SC next year and they have the worse school system in the country. I haven't made any decisions yet. I think Alex going to school would be the best as long as the school is a decent school.

ETA: I definiately know fights are part of growing up. I was the small kid that was spit on and thrown down the stairs in middle and highschool regularly but still maintained the highest GPA in the school and graduated 2 years early.

Well I wouldn't have sports being his only interaction :)
I don't have a degree but I've helped homeschool other children :shrug I've considered it for a couple reasons and one of them being that we may be in SC next year and they have the worse school system in the country. I haven't made any decisions yet. I think Alex going to school would be the best as long as the school is a decent school.

ETA: I definiately know fights are part of growing up. I was the small kid that was spit on and thrown down the stairs in middle and highschool regularly but still maintained the highest GPA in the school and graduated 2 years early.

It's good to know that you're looking into the places your child is going to school at, and I believe it would benefit you to do both. I'm sure you could have it arranged that all of his remedial courses are taught in the morning, you pick him up at noon and you can help him digest what he's learned, as well as give him more information on that topic. I plan on closely monitoring my kids progression through school, but I place no emphasis on grades. I got absolutely horrendous grades in school, and I know what to look for in my kids because of it. Like with most debates, I think the answer here lies somewhere in the middle.

DH and I do not have children yet, however, we are considering putting them into either a montesorri school or a magnet school. The public school system is horrible in JAX, FL and there is no way I am sending them to any of the schools in our area.

Just to let you know, all of the schools aren't bad. I don't know if you guys are at Mayport or NAS, but if you are at Mayport, Atlantic Beach Elementary is a VERY good school. Also, magnet schools are part of the public school system, and at least in Jax, just because it's a magnet, doesn't make it better than another elementary school down the street. I'll use Andrew Jackson High and Fletcher High as an example...Andrew Jackson is a medical magnet school, Fletcher is not a magnet school at all, but yet Fletcher's testing scores are higher. The SAT scores of the students at Andrew Jackson have averaged around 800-850, whereas Fletcher has been averaging just over 1000. Andrew Jackson is also pretty ghetto and I wouldn't want my child going to school there. Also from personal experience, I can say that Fletcher has a really good AP program. Sorry to rant on about this, but it bugs me when people send their kids to a magnet school, just because it's a magnet, when their neighborhood school is just as good, if not better.

ETA: Sorry to threadjack :D

Cat yes I am teaching all 3 of them. Most subjects like Science, History etc.. can be taught together. LA, Reading and Math have to be separate though. So far it is working for us.

Sarah They are "promoting" this spanish thing. They actually get extra money cause they hold some sort of title for being English/Spanish. Here the immigrants get pulled aside to learn english but because a kid (english speaking) is stuggling in a subject and doesn't have a "learning disability" or isn't ADD/ADHD there is no help :rolleyes

I don't know what we will choose...All depends on where we are living, how much money we are making, and what kind of a child she is.

I don't know if I'd have the patience to homeschool her...But then again, if all the schools were crap, I guess I'd have no choice.

I'm VERY scared for when she gets to the age of being aware of things & influenced. The things I hear about, the things I did when I hit highschool, and the things I see- I'm scared...Homeschooling sounds really good in this aspect but I can't protect her from everything.

Here they will go to the public schools. Other places, I will look at the schools. Either I will homeschool or private. If they are in highschool, and the schools are bad, then private. and if they ever think they are bad asses, then I will send them to military or catholic school. I think each parent has to advocate for their child. Even here, I'm going to have to teach Ethan more in the evening.

Homeschooling sounds really good in this aspect but I can't protect her from everything.

That is a VERY good point Rach. I think the problem is, that we want to protect our children from everything evil that is out there. We all want what is best for our children, but at some point, we have to sit back and wonder , am I doing more harm than good?? My kids should experience life, because if I shelter them from even the bad things, how will they handle them or those situations as adults? I am not necessarily saying that about the homeschooling, but we want our kids to be safe when they go to school, and not worry if some crazy person is going to shoot up their school. A madman can easily walk into a private school, Montessori or magnet school, just as easily as a public school. Unfortunately this is how the world is today :sadeyes

Also, one thing Bill and I talk about is when he retires in 6 years, and when we head back to Florida, what ever city we live in, the number one thing we will be looking at is the school systems. If they are crappy, then we won't even consider going there, unless there is a wonderful private school the kids can attend in the area.

I never would have thought I had the patience for homeschooling but We are ALL happier with the decision. And the kids know that they MAY go back to public school when we move