What are you planning/doing for your kid’s education?

[Steve Olson]

I have two boys ages 2 and 4. My wife and I have been agonizing over where to send our oldest son to school.

• Public School
• Private Sectarian
• Private Non-sectarian
• Montessori
• Homeschool
• Unschooling
• Sudbury
• Waldorf
• Private Tutoring

Both my wife and I had highly negative experiences in both public and private schools, so we want to give our boys a nurturing learning experience during their childhood. I have read the essay The Seven Lesson School Teacher by John Taylor Gatto, and it about sums up my educational experience.

What are other people planning to do?
What are other people doing?
We are leaning toward Montessori schools? Anybody doing that?

I wrote a blog post about Education and the Law of Attraction yesterday. I appreciate any feedback.

[Trina]

I am not planning on having kids at all, but if I do change my mind later down the road, my husband and I have decided on charter schools. I think they are similar to montessori schools. I just like the idea of smaller class sizes and focus on education in school instead of sports. I will involved my possible children in sports as well, but I want school to be for learnin'. LOL.

[Doku]

My initial track will be Homeschool.
Depending on how that goes, I will look into Montessori... but I will primarily use Montessori style at home.

I also plan on lots of foreign language immersion. Wether that is through visiting other countries, or hiring babysitters that speak a foregin language, or something else. I realize that I do not have the knowledge/skills to teach a foreign language, but I feel that it is important to learn them.

"What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American."

[Guinevere]

My husband ans I were planning on Waldorf, because music (or any kind of art) is so important to us. That was until I spoke to a friend of mine who attended a Waldorf school. He said some people like it and get something back from it, but the fact that you spend so much time with the same teacher and friends is not as good as it may sound to parents. We talked for some time and he told me some stories; the bottom line was: you get typecasted. If you were the [insert bad adjective of choice: poor, bad mannered, smelly, ...] child, it was very difficult to grow out of it.
He also wished he had been exposed to more different (to him) but commom subjects - he told me: "I can knit. I'm a guy and not afraid to knit. But so what? What actual benefit does that translate into?" It was not easy for him to get to his University of choice.
(By the way, my frined is also a musician, so this was no lawyer talking).
For us, it was a dream shattered, but better to know now than later.

[Steve Olson]

Thanks,
I've read and heard a lot about Waldorf. It seems a little cultish and rigid to me. That's why we are leaning toward Montessori.

Anyone else have any thoughts, experiences, or ideas on alternative education for children?

Steve

[RandomJohn]

I used to work at a charter school. It was a pretty terrible experience, but I understand they've greatly improved matters since then.

I'm planning on either a private non-sectarian or Waldorf.

[KevinG]

First of all, it is important to recognize the fact that money should not be an option when deciding on how to educate your children. So many people make the choice to have kids, and then make the wrong choice to educate them because "it's the cheapest way" or "we can't afford private school." If you can't afford to educate your child properly, you shouldn't have a child.

Now, you should weigh the options of what you want for your child.

Public School:

Besides the fact that the private market can do anything better than a government social system, public schools in America rank far below most other countries. This is most certainly not a way to provide the best educational opportunities to anyone. Middle school and High school are also on the verge of becoming traumatizing day care institutions.

Private School:

Private schools are like any other private business. You have to assess the quality of the product you are receiving. Most have standards, but not all follow them. Another thing with private school is that if you are not religious it may be difficult to find an appropriate one.

Home Schooling:

I would only suggest home schooling to a family where a parent stays home all day with the child, and has the qualifications to teach the child. I also wouldn't recommend home schooling a child if the curriculum is based off of a public school curriculum.

Other Options:

I'm not familiar with the other things on the list except for Montessori schools. I typically feel that children need to be exposed to a good curriculum, good teachers, and a good overall environment to succeed. 99% of the time they aren't going to get it from a public school. Any other option you try will most likely be successful if you are involved and you really make sure your child is in a high-standard institution.

Again, if you are basing your options off expenses, you aren't analyzing the correct data.