Parenting:Homeschooling v.s.Public or Private?

For those parents searching for the perfect school, I am here to tell you, it doesn't exist. There will always be something not quite right about it, so decide beforehand just what you can (and can't)accept in a school. Speaking as a single mom,who put her daughter in two public schools,three catholic schools, and four years of homeschooling, I feel I may have some advice to pass along. The trouble started when I became unhappy with my daughter's Kindergarten teacher. I enrolled her in the very same public school a block away from my mother's house, where we happened to be living. I figured it's a block away, and free, how great! Well,the teacher had like 30 five-year-olds, no teacher's assistant, and some violent ,inner city five-year-olds. Being the overprotective mom I was (and still am), I yanked her in a month. I found out a year later, that teacher had a nervous breakdown sometime after.That was the start of a rough road of disappointing schools,administration,teachers,and fellow classmates. There is far too much to give you a play-by-play, I will however explain where I went wrong. I should of chosen one school, and voluteered to help where they fall short. This is important for two reasons: (1) Choosing one school will help your child learn ,grow,and bond with one group of kids,thus building lasting friendships. (2) Getting involved with the school is also important because you get to know the teachers, and other parents in the community. This is where I went wrong, and I would really like to prevent someone from going through the same. Public schools can be great, if they are in a community that gets involved. Private schools don't guarantee happiness, especially if it is in a neighborhood far from you. This will ony create problems when your child wants to visit schoolmates, and needs to be driven. With the rising costs of education, I would strongly suggest finding a decent public school, and putting money away for college. When your children start complaining about classmates, and those problems start early, you need to teach them ways of coping. Explaining that there are difficult people everywhere (especially in the adult world), and they need to learn how to ignore, them is very important. When a child goes from a city public school, to a suburban public or private school, sometimes there is some trouble catching up academically. I have spoken to many people who have encountered this problem, and although I have no articles to prove this theory, I believe city public schools keep their curriculums at low standards.

Homeschooling can work, if you have the patience, and join a support group. Joining some kind of homeschooling group is important so you can trade information and advice with others. They also offer some great trips, and social events, this is important for your child.There are homeschooling kits available online, they provide books (and answer books for you) ,and curriculums for all subjects required by most states. Check your states local homeschooling laws for guidelines you need to follow.

How did all this school switching work out for my daughter and I? Well, she wanted to try a boarding school of the arts for her freshman year of high school. She was accepted, and excited. There were just too many changes to adjust to at once, she left the school during x-mas break, and had to be homeschooled for the remainder of the school year. We have to find her a new high school this fall. While I admit to making many mistakes, I have to say I was just trying to make my child happy when she said she was unhappy in a school. At the time, I thought I was doing right by her, and I wanted better for her. She is bright, artistic, funny, beautiful, and smart. Needless to say,a lot of boys liked her, so, of course most girls did not like her. As much as I tried to explain that "Cat-ty" mentality, she couldn't believe any girl would be jealous of her. Good luck in your quest for the "perfect school".