Private School Vs. Public

if she is bored with the subjects she's learning now she should def switch schools, her academic needs are def more imp than her social needs at such a young age. she will def make new friends at her new school and she can always keep in touch with her old friends! sitting in on a class is a great first step she will never know if she likes it until she sees it for herself... good luck with your decisions!
 
Give her some extra-curriciulars, definitely. When I was young, I had Saturday Japanese classes, piano lessons, chess club and Speech & Drama classes (including theory) to keep me busy. If you have the time and the will, try home-schooling her a little bit (in addition to day school). Over the summer, my mother would have me do math problems a grade or two above the one I was going into. Your daughter could do that at home.

In the future, if she's disciplined enough, and she's into the idea, you could get her doing high school night school classes, correspondence courses, or summer classes, if they're offered. If she starts reaching ahead now, she might be able to do a few university classes while still in high school.

Nobody should have to come home crying from school. I say, get her out as fast as you can.
 
I posted earlier, and I agree with elongreach. There are plenty of great public school that are just as good or even better than private schools. Why do some people assume that all public schools are bad? Education isn't necessarily better because you're paying more money for it.

Some of you are missing the point. Jill's question and concern wasn't about private vs. public school. It was about finding a chanllenging curriculum for her child. It just so happens that she attends a school in an area that isn't challenging enough academically. There are plenty of private school that don't offer enough academic challenges, and you can't generalize that all private schools are great.

Do I really need to insert a purse analogy here? I could, but I'd rather not. I'm sure you smart ladies catch my drift.
 
My son is not even 2 yet, and we've already had the debate. My husband went to private school all his life and I went to public school. I think public schools are just fine, but he begs to differ. It is proven you get a better education from a private school. The more $$ the school costs, the better the education they'll recieve.


Some people really believe that the more money you spend on education, the better?! Well, how do you explain all the people just like me? My parents spent about $50,000 a year to send me to NYU (over $200,000 total for 4 years), and my brother went to UCLA for 1/4 of that amount. He's now a Cardiologist, and I'm surfing the web and posting messages on a purse forum.
 
Do what is best for your child. My son is in a public school, but as this school is close to a University most (University) faculty kids go there and there is good parental awareness and cooperation with the school faculty with regards to children.

My son is a bit curious of concepts ahead of his class, and I supplement his classwork with extra work (I ordered a set of books for homeschoolers that I thought would help). He likes that just fine, and is ahead of grade level in some subjects. The only private school in our area is not upto the standard of public school, especially in the extracurricular activities and sports options offered.
 
If you can get her into a better school - public or private - you should do so. I was in her place when I was ten, we moved to a new neighborhood and the new public school I went to was not nearly as well funded. The gym had nothing in it but some old squashed balls. I, too, was far beyond most of the students in my new school; frankly for most of them English was not their primary language at home, and they were way behind in everything. I ended up lowering my standards way down because I wanted the other kids to like me. I think I would have done much better in highschool and college if we had stayed at my first grammar school.
 
Well I went to public and a private school for me the private school was much better altho it wasnt great but just the environment made a lot of difference like the kids/teachers.. If you know your child will do much better in a private school I think its the best option
 
Good Luck Jill. You will know in your heart if this school is going to be better for your daughter.
I am in the UK, so its slightly different for us here, but we chose the private route for our eleven year old (they go up in year 7 here) and its the best thing we have ever done. She is in a class with 9 other girls, they all made friends very quickly, as they get to know each other all so well, so quickly, and everything is made interesting for them, if one child was doing better or lagging behind, it would be picked up and addressed very quickly as the staff to child ratio is so much better.

I also agree that children adapt quickly. Friends that seem like the best in the world, can quite quickly be forgotten if they are having fun in a new school ;)

Just follow your heart and listen to your daughter too, I know you will make the right decision for your family :smile: good luck
 
Hey Jill,
Though I don't have kids, I would at least have your daughter explore the option to sit in on a class in the private school. Similar thing happened to me and my sister and we ended up switching to a private school. Yes, it sucks initially to make friends, but we both did it and received superb educations which has carried us to where we are now. Your daughter sounds fantastic and very well-adjusted- she should be able to make new friends and I'm sure she'll keep some of her old friends as well.

Good luck!
 
Some people really believe that the more money you spend on education, the better?! Well, how do you explain all the people just like me? My parents spent about $50,000 a year to send me to NYU (over $200,000 total for 4 years), and my brother went to UCLA for 1/4 of that amount. He's now a Cardiologist, and I'm surfing the web and posting messages on a purse forum.
Here, the more money the school is, it's better. I didn't know if it worked the same way everywhere. I'm not talking college, because I go to the best nursing school in KY, and it's the cheapest. In Louisville, we don't have many private schools. It's all public and Catholic. The best school in the entire state of KY is here in Louisville, and it's $30K a year. It's K-12 and it's hella expensive. Only the people who live by Johnny Depps house can afford to send their kids there.
 
It is definitely not true that one choice is always better than the other, nor that spending more money equals a better education. It really depends on your situation, your child, and the area you live in.

Some public schools, like in CT, are better than inner- city private schools. But on the other hand, many private schools are better performing than public schools although they spend less money per student.

It's a tough decision, and nobody knows your particular situation better than you. You just have to get your daughter to make an informed decision.

I was homeschooled, and most homeschoolers believe we had it the best. :P
 
In the long run, I think, private schools will do her better. When you send her in to visit for a day or two, she may not like the concept of going away from her friends and moving to a different school. I think if she does go to the private school, however, she will realize that it is truly better for her. If she still doesn't like it, she can always try extra curriculars. It may be 20k, but education is very important in life. I think if you can afford to have a department store of purses in your closet, it'll be okay to spend that much on education as well.