We are a multiracial family, living in a highly educated, wealthy county in the East Coast. Our public schools are well regarded. And at the same time, I understand the feeling that it’s hard to put in words what one as a parent is searching for, but we know we are not getting it. My child’s classroom is highly diverse. They are exposed to a variety of cultural traditions, many from my own culture. The school they go to is a warm, friendly community. My child is learning to speak a second language. By many measures, this is a good school experience. And yet, some of us are not convinced that there is enough of a focus on the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Each child gets their own ipad device provided by the public schools system on which they play reading and math games daily. Anyone who is at or above the reading / math level for their grade gets even more device time. The time they spend on these apps could be better used to learn how to read, for example, but that doesnt seem to be happening. Our child has pretty much remained steady in his ability to sound out letters - that same ability that he gained before public school - and I have made peace with the fact that I will need to teach him how to read.
As a parent, I want my children to be challenged in schools. I want them to learn (without ipads), be well read, learn to think critically. I want this for them because if theyre going to spend 12 years in a classroom we might as well make it worthwhile, and not because the end goal is getting into an Ivy League school. I do want them to be well-prepared for whatever college they choose. I want to believe this can take place within the public school system, but Im increasingly doubtful.
The iPads crush me.. my husband works in our kids' school so we have a very accurate idea of how much time is spent on them, and it is way too much. Our outlook is that we are responsible for our kids' education, and we know what they are getting in public ed and it's our job to fill the gaps.
I have a similar story, plus was raised in a predominantly working-class town in 1970s UK, in a county with progressive ideas about public education. They did not think children should be offered only a pragmatic job training. Until I toured elite NE boarding schools with my child, I never encountered anything in this country that came close, and, of course, those places are hardly accessible to the vast majority (including us!) Natalie Wexler is on the right track, and I appreciate her work.
Curious whether you ended up going the elite school route for your own kid? Ours are young and Im torn between trying to reach for an independent school that costs $$ and adds hours a week of car commute, or staying in the public school and supplementing their education. Most of the kids in our wealthy neighborhood go to extra math or reading classes. With well educated parents and lots of resources. There’s also lots of travel and other ways that those families augment the school experience. Frankly, it can be a never-ending pursuit and I question whether I want to effectively run on a home school for my kids on the side.
We were very, very lucky. At that time, the University of West Georgia offered a very cheap boarding program for early college, in the name of accruing cheap credits toward early college graduation(!)
That was not our goal. But having been a tenured professor in the state university system who also held programs for kids and teachers in the firm belief that we can and should have better, I knew this was his best substitute for high school.
From there, he got into the liberal arts college that he wanted, and had an excellent education, with ample challenges in the classroom, and superb extracurricular activities. But he should have had that in school.
And all of us, not just the wealthy, deserve multiple opportunities for a real education that enriches life.
If you want to see what you're missing, take a tour of an elite school, which at least gives your child experience before doing a college interview. I recommend Phillips Exeter. It's an eye opener.
Just know that, even if the kid gets in, financial aid at these places is very limited compared with college. Ours got into Northfield Mount Hermon, but without money, so he couldn't go. We had prepared him for that, though, so he was mostly thrilled to have been accepted!
I attended an elite NE boarding school and 20 years later I still can't decide if that is a good or bad thing! I feel confident that I can supplement public school curriculum and challenge my kids academically, but the sense of community and discourse is hard to replicate.
This is a total guess, but based on my limited experience interacting with peers who went to those types of schools, there is a sense of confidence and knowing how to navigate institutions that I marveled / envied when I was younger. There’s a fine line between that and entitlement but I remember being awed at the way these students carries themselves. Hard to put into words
All stereotypical cliques were pretty well represented at my school, and some of those kids have definitely 'failed to launch' even with deep pockets. I wish I was more grateful for the experience when I was actually in school.
What it comes down to simple: so called “classical” programs focus on basics of reading, writing (including grammar and spelling), math skills (kids actually memorize multiplication tables!), history (US was founded in the Judeo- Christian ethic so let’s get that down before meandering into other systems), and basic sciences. It’s what most US schools were like in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Too many schools are hypnotized by technology and infiltrated with faddish ideologies.
I have to apologize in advance to Natalie, as I fear I am monopolizing the comments. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this in relation to my own educational experience. As a child I was experienced a high quality, traditional education outside the US and then had the chance to contrast that with a public education in the US when I emigrated here twenty plus years ago. One of the biggest differences to me was the approach to math. I had grown up learning math through drills, problem sets and repetition. Of course I memorized the multiplication tables, why wouldn’t I? And then I arrived here, and my math books had so much text, and characters, and stories. The premise was that each of us were to be a little mathematician, understanding and exploring, until we found the principle we were supposed to be learning. This is in the mid 2000s I guess the idea was that we would understand the concepts better if we had arrived at the on our own? In my experience this was very, very ineffective. We rarely learned what we were supposed to learn, and there was rarely any time left for practice, repetition, or drills. to no math once I got here. I much prefer the “old school” approach.
With the help of classical education, parents can locate institutions that uphold traditional learning ideas through history, ageless literature, and critical thinking. It offers a comprehensive approach to good education, and Assignment Writing Service London https://assignmentmaster.org.uk/ is one of the resources that can support good education.
That certainly was not my intent. I'm not sure what parts of the post you're referring to, but the point I was trying to make is that families who are NOT conservative and/or Christian might not feel comfortable sending their children to a school that embraces those things--just as a conservative Christian family might not feel comfortable sending their children to a school that has a left-of-center, non-Christian orientation. That's just human nature.
I'm not passing judgment on families who want their kids to be educated in a conservative Christian environment. I'm just pointing out that it's not an environment that will appeal to everyone.
Public schools don't appeal to everyone. Everyone "uncomfortable" with conservative Christian teachings certainly have endless secular options (i.e. there are over 130,000 K-12 public schools in America!) Those seeking conservative Christian education have to pay taxes towards public schools on top of private school tuition. Talk about unfair...
That’s what The Well Trained Mind Book is. I’m not sure I would agree with describing it as a manual. It is available from most libraries and it is definitely worth a look. I have used some of the actual curricula written by Susan Wise Bauer and it is easy to use and very effective.
I forgot the link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393253627/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile She does a great job of tying the curriculum to each developmental stage. If you want to preview curriculum google books has previews of some of her books and libraries carry homeschooling materials as well.
We are a multiracial family, living in a highly educated, wealthy county in the East Coast. Our public schools are well regarded. And at the same time, I understand the feeling that it’s hard to put in words what one as a parent is searching for, but we know we are not getting it. My child’s classroom is highly diverse. They are exposed to a variety of cultural traditions, many from my own culture. The school they go to is a warm, friendly community. My child is learning to speak a second language. By many measures, this is a good school experience. And yet, some of us are not convinced that there is enough of a focus on the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Each child gets their own ipad device provided by the public schools system on which they play reading and math games daily. Anyone who is at or above the reading / math level for their grade gets even more device time. The time they spend on these apps could be better used to learn how to read, for example, but that doesnt seem to be happening. Our child has pretty much remained steady in his ability to sound out letters - that same ability that he gained before public school - and I have made peace with the fact that I will need to teach him how to read.
As a parent, I want my children to be challenged in schools. I want them to learn (without ipads), be well read, learn to think critically. I want this for them because if theyre going to spend 12 years in a classroom we might as well make it worthwhile, and not because the end goal is getting into an Ivy League school. I do want them to be well-prepared for whatever college they choose. I want to believe this can take place within the public school system, but Im increasingly doubtful.
The iPads crush me.. my husband works in our kids' school so we have a very accurate idea of how much time is spent on them, and it is way too much. Our outlook is that we are responsible for our kids' education, and we know what they are getting in public ed and it's our job to fill the gaps.
I have a similar story, plus was raised in a predominantly working-class town in 1970s UK, in a county with progressive ideas about public education. They did not think children should be offered only a pragmatic job training. Until I toured elite NE boarding schools with my child, I never encountered anything in this country that came close, and, of course, those places are hardly accessible to the vast majority (including us!) Natalie Wexler is on the right track, and I appreciate her work.
Curious whether you ended up going the elite school route for your own kid? Ours are young and Im torn between trying to reach for an independent school that costs $$ and adds hours a week of car commute, or staying in the public school and supplementing their education. Most of the kids in our wealthy neighborhood go to extra math or reading classes. With well educated parents and lots of resources. There’s also lots of travel and other ways that those families augment the school experience. Frankly, it can be a never-ending pursuit and I question whether I want to effectively run on a home school for my kids on the side.
We were very, very lucky. At that time, the University of West Georgia offered a very cheap boarding program for early college, in the name of accruing cheap credits toward early college graduation(!)
That was not our goal. But having been a tenured professor in the state university system who also held programs for kids and teachers in the firm belief that we can and should have better, I knew this was his best substitute for high school.
From there, he got into the liberal arts college that he wanted, and had an excellent education, with ample challenges in the classroom, and superb extracurricular activities. But he should have had that in school.
And all of us, not just the wealthy, deserve multiple opportunities for a real education that enriches life.
If you want to see what you're missing, take a tour of an elite school, which at least gives your child experience before doing a college interview. I recommend Phillips Exeter. It's an eye opener.
Just know that, even if the kid gets in, financial aid at these places is very limited compared with college. Ours got into Northfield Mount Hermon, but without money, so he couldn't go. We had prepared him for that, though, so he was mostly thrilled to have been accepted!
I attended an elite NE boarding school and 20 years later I still can't decide if that is a good or bad thing! I feel confident that I can supplement public school curriculum and challenge my kids academically, but the sense of community and discourse is hard to replicate.
This is a total guess, but based on my limited experience interacting with peers who went to those types of schools, there is a sense of confidence and knowing how to navigate institutions that I marveled / envied when I was younger. There’s a fine line between that and entitlement but I remember being awed at the way these students carries themselves. Hard to put into words
All stereotypical cliques were pretty well represented at my school, and some of those kids have definitely 'failed to launch' even with deep pockets. I wish I was more grateful for the experience when I was actually in school.
What it comes down to simple: so called “classical” programs focus on basics of reading, writing (including grammar and spelling), math skills (kids actually memorize multiplication tables!), history (US was founded in the Judeo- Christian ethic so let’s get that down before meandering into other systems), and basic sciences. It’s what most US schools were like in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Too many schools are hypnotized by technology and infiltrated with faddish ideologies.
I have to apologize in advance to Natalie, as I fear I am monopolizing the comments. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this in relation to my own educational experience. As a child I was experienced a high quality, traditional education outside the US and then had the chance to contrast that with a public education in the US when I emigrated here twenty plus years ago. One of the biggest differences to me was the approach to math. I had grown up learning math through drills, problem sets and repetition. Of course I memorized the multiplication tables, why wouldn’t I? And then I arrived here, and my math books had so much text, and characters, and stories. The premise was that each of us were to be a little mathematician, understanding and exploring, until we found the principle we were supposed to be learning. This is in the mid 2000s I guess the idea was that we would understand the concepts better if we had arrived at the on our own? In my experience this was very, very ineffective. We rarely learned what we were supposed to learn, and there was rarely any time left for practice, repetition, or drills. to no math once I got here. I much prefer the “old school” approach.
With the help of classical education, parents can locate institutions that uphold traditional learning ideas through history, ageless literature, and critical thinking. It offers a comprehensive approach to good education, and Assignment Writing Service London https://assignmentmaster.org.uk/ is one of the resources that can support good education.
I don't know if you realize this, but you come across as being extremely negative and hostile towards conservative Christians.
That certainly was not my intent. I'm not sure what parts of the post you're referring to, but the point I was trying to make is that families who are NOT conservative and/or Christian might not feel comfortable sending their children to a school that embraces those things--just as a conservative Christian family might not feel comfortable sending their children to a school that has a left-of-center, non-Christian orientation. That's just human nature.
I'm not passing judgment on families who want their kids to be educated in a conservative Christian environment. I'm just pointing out that it's not an environment that will appeal to everyone.
Public schools don't appeal to everyone. Everyone "uncomfortable" with conservative Christian teachings certainly have endless secular options (i.e. there are over 130,000 K-12 public schools in America!) Those seeking conservative Christian education have to pay taxes towards public schools on top of private school tuition. Talk about unfair...
I would be curious to access a list of whatever the reading curriculum is by grade that is recommended by proponents of ‘classical’ education
That’s what The Well Trained Mind Book is. I’m not sure I would agree with describing it as a manual. It is available from most libraries and it is definitely worth a look. I have used some of the actual curricula written by Susan Wise Bauer and it is easy to use and very effective.
I forgot the link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393253627/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile She does a great job of tying the curriculum to each developmental stage. If you want to preview curriculum google books has previews of some of her books and libraries carry homeschooling materials as well.