Choice of Schooling

[mom2two]

I am curious to know what factors play into people's decisions regarding the type of schooling their children will recieve (homeschooling, public, private, etc). As a child I attended public school and now I teach in one, so my circle of influence is quite narrow. I have never considered anything else for my own children but I know that I am missing out on other opinions. I'd love it if you could share your thoughts (and expand my horizons!)

Carly.

[svanmep]

Our lo's are not old enough for school but we already know what we will be doing for elementary. DH and I went to private elementary school. For highschool DH went to private and public, I went to public.

We agree on private for elementary for our LO's. Right now we don't agree on highschool - he wants private, I say public is fine.

I found that when I went from private school to public - I had been taught some basics that were not covered with the people who went to public school. I had already been taught phonics, grammer, spelling, how to write an essay and other things like that, our teachers started teaching these things "quick" to the class in grades 11/12 so that students would be prepared for university. One teacher would say " you already know this" and would tell me to read a book or not ask me the answer because she knew that I had been taught it in elementary school.

I am sure this depends on what type of private school or public school you go to.

[le cupcake]

Ds has always gone to a Catholic French First language school. We plan on sending Ellie to FFL just public this time.

[PikaJen]

I'm cheap. I don't do preschool, waldorf, montessori or private school. I went to public school and now my oldest is going to the same one. She's only in SK, but so far I have no complaints. They work to keep her occupied (she's advanced) and I don't even need to bug them about it. They set it up on their own.

Homeschooling is not an option for me. I do not have the patience, and I really need my couple hours with one less kid around. Also, my math skills are fairly subpar and I wouldn't want to pass that on to my kids due to my incompetant teaching.

[mum-to-a&m]

I went to private schools for elementary are higschool and was accepted to private university in the states, but decided to stay here instead. I would love to send my dds to private school, but can't afford that option. I am very nervous about sending my girls to public schools, but I think its because I never attended myself... dh attended the schools my girls will go. I do believe the quality of education is different between public and private schools. JMO

[doulamom]

I base my decisions on a few things. One is that I feel a responsibility to support public education as I believe that great education is important for all and that my children will benefit from a well educated community. I do not like the one fits all approach of public school so I have looked into alternative programs where I feel as a parent I will have more say, my children will be part of a community and they will grow with the same children. That is why we have decided on the APPLE program.
I would homeschool and really like this option but I feel the responsibility to public education and would like to see if my children do well in this environment. If either of my children were not thriving in the public system I would pull them out and homeschool them while finding other ways to support public education.

[momoelliot]

I spent K to grade 12 in the catholic system and had a positive experience. I taught in both the private and public systems and also saw good things happening.

IMO - the biggest two factors in choice of school are
1) what neighborhood is it in?
2) what is the educational philosophy of the principal?
Public, private, catholic - it is all the same to me as long as the school is in a neighboorhood with respources (financial and parents) and has a principlat that is on the ball.

The single largest factor in your child's education is ..... YOU. Invested, educated parents who take time to be invovled in their child's education make all the difference. Put a kid with a great parent in the worst school and she'll be ok. Put a kid with a crappy parent in a great school and she'll probably do poorly.

As for our decisions - we are still humming and hawing. We have a terrfic public school 10 houses down the street, but it is slated to close the year after my soon starts there and if were already registered when it closed, we'd be forced to send him far away to a school that had a stabbing at it a few years ago . The catholic school in the 'hood is also great, but we are United and we don't want to baptize our kids catholic just so they can go to that school. Private school is not an option for $$ reasons. So, I'll be watching this thread for ideas....

[mom2two]

Momtoelliot: I believe that you are speaking of Tecumseh?! Have you considered French Immersion as an option for Elliott? You couldn't send him until SK as there is no JK in the FI program, but he would attend Lord Roberts if you chose this option.

Just a thought...

[bleuhorizons]

I have decided to try homeschooling. Its a totally new concept that just fell into my lap earlier this year. DS is advanced in SK and my fear is that he will find other ways to occupy his time (ie. getting into mischief) if he is bored. Right now he LOVES learning, he is fascinated by everything and that is the main reason why I want to try homeschooling. I want him to never cease to desire to learn! If I can keep him interested by offering curriculum that is always peaking his curiousity to know more then I may have a chance at helping him to develop independant study habits and critical thinking about the world around him.

That being said, I have no problem with public or private education or french immersion for that matter. I researched all options and chose my own way. I myself did public up to gr. 11 and then went away to private school for gr. 12 and loved it. I thought personally the public then private experience was better for me because I didn't feel the need to rebel against it. I have many friends whom are teachers in the public schools and I expect they are wonderful at what they do. My feeling is just that if I have the means to invest my life (time, money, energy, love) in my childs education..I should give it a whirl because there is not one person out there that has a more vested interest in how my kids turn out than i do!

As a side note, I like the philosophy of some homeschoolers about "age integration" rather than "age segregation". The idea being that children get to learn how to converse and interact with all age levels rather than being left to find their place among a bunch of other students the same age which usually ends up being a fight to the top of the popularity chain and someone inevitabley gets hurt. I'm not saying DS and DD will never get hurt, I just like the idea of them being able to interact with multiple ages and types of people since it seems so well-rounded.

[forestenchanted]

Our family is currently starting homeschooling. We reached this decision after a lot of reflection. The things that motivated us to try another option are quite varied. Some of my concerns include the fact that we are trying to raise children who are not surrounded by materialism or media. This is a huge issue in public school, something I'd rather not expose my children to at such an early age. I want to be involved in my children's education. I know them best and can use their interests as a guide to assist them in reaching their full potential. I am not convinced the public system would have as much priority on my children's emotional/psychological development. We do not all develop at the same pace..the curriculam standards do not take this into consideration. I do not wish my children to start out with a perspective on their development that is not accurate based on the mandated standards within the system.

I can acknowledge that I did not do great in elementary school. I excelled in certain subjects such as music, art and social sciences. The opportunity within the school system to fully develop these talents was not present. As a homeschooling family we have the opportunity to really immerse our children in their interests. I would rather homeschool and enroll them in study groups or classes to enhance their interests and skills. I will look to other homeschooling families for support and peer interaction. We will also seek out mentors or fellow peers who have experience and knowledge in the subjects that challenge us as teachers.

Our goals for our children are not necessarily the norm. Yes, I want my children to be successful, but my idea of success does not necessarily coincide with the "goals" of the standard education system, this is a key factor in our decision to try something different.

I do not have a belief that there is one perfect way to educate our children. I am also willing to accept that what we try may not work. If things are not working we will consider other options... but for now this is a small sample of the issues that are of importance to us. Good luck with your decision

[Jasmine&2Boys]

[mom2two]

Jasmine&2boys: I have had several of my very bright students come to me from CTEC (Children's Talent Education Center). It has moved to Wellington Rd recently and I believe that it offers a kindergarten program. You may want to investigate this place too.

Just a thought...