Public vs private school

Posted by tanel
August 14, 2007

You know, I’m not exactly sure what’s better. All I know is that we are currently struggling to pay our bills so I don’t see any way that we can continue to have Noah in private school when he gets to kindergarten age next year - unless I go back to working full-time that is. I don’t think it’s worth giving up my time with my children and extending their days outside of the home just so I can keep them in private school. Not when we have decent quality schools in the neighborhood.

I grew up going to public school, and I turned out OK. My opinion is that with either one, a child can get a fine education. Parents just have got to stay involved.

So here is what I plan to do: Since I plan to work part-time, I’ll have some time during the week to be able to stay involved in my children’s lives and in their school. I can volunteer at the school a couple of hours a week and that will give me first hand experience with the school. Theoretically, I’ll also have time to help with homework after school giving me first hand experience with what they’re doing. By doing these things, I’ll be pretty well connected with their schooling and be able to make changes if I need to (even if it means switching to a private school). I’m sure that this “plan” will see many changes between now and the time Noah starts school next year so it is still a work in progress. Any suggestions?

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Comment by egr2rst on August 15, 2007 @ 1:34 pm

Staying involved is the answer.
The best model for education in my opinion is the model used for special needs kids. I always said if all kids have this it ould be a much better system.
Here it is:
Being an engineer, this should be easy for you.
Develop “SMART” goals for your children.
S= Specific
M= Measurable
A= Achievable
R= Realistic
T= Time specific

These goals should be tested by the above as they are set. You should work with the teacher to agree to the goals and measure the progress. If the goal isn’t being met - course correct, modify the goal and continue to measure.
An example could be-

Noah will be able to read a 1st grade level book, on his own with no help, by December 1, 2008.

Hope this helps.

Comment by tanel on August 26, 2007 @ 1:20 am

I like that idea. Do you also share the goal with the child?

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