Am I An Old Fart - Or Are Young People Stupid - Or Both

[Ollie1946]

I could not disagree more with "inhopes" reference schools. Your kid gets one chance essentially to set his attitude toward school and education. If you have a well run public school that does not tolerate bullying, then great. I think those are few. If your child is shy, or small, or reserved, then a private school might be just the thing. Home school has its place as well and can be a rich alternative in some areas and if the parent is committed to doing it correctly. You can usually find home school groups for desired group activities.

As for dealing with bullies, I have read too many accounts where a kid who was bullied did strike back only to find himself in trouble. Too often it is the bully who gets away with his reign of terror, especially if he is an athlete. Sad to say, a bullied kid can strike back in such a way as to wind up on prison. It happens.

Do what is right for your child. No one knows your child better than you do. The important thing is to instill in him/her the value of learning, not the value of getting along with every type of nitwit that he might come across. Building his/her confidence is important which will enable them to cope with what comes their way. I'd rather my kids be mature enough to avoid peer pressure rather than to be accepted by the group. Groupthink is usually very negative.


And for the record, all 3 of my sons were in private schools, home schooled and public schooled. They are balanced people but all agree that high school was hellish at times particularly if you were not athletic.

All the best.

[Magnolia Bloom]

Originally Posted by inhopes

Well put unque43 - I wouldn't suggest private or home school.
Private school fosters "Attitude"
Home fosters - "Leave me alone - I don't want to be around people"

Public school deals with many facets of life. You can be what you make of it. If you're bullied then take them to court. Children do not have to be pushed around and accept it! In my day if there was a bully beating on those smaller, we ganged up and "beat the hell out of him." Nobody said "Stop" except the bully. It worked and he (or they) became part of the resolve, rather being the problem.
I don't suggest it these days because of the laws that bind us. Also, the kids probably wouldn't know when to stop and might injure him/her beyond "a lesson" taught.
Nobody has to accept being ridiculed or physically harmed while in school.
That's the environment where kids should learn all aspects of living.

I could go on forever, however after a while the words fall upon "deaf" ears.

Have a great weekend!

inhopes

I agree with Ollie- I couldn't disagree more. Public, private or homeschooling are individual choices that parents make based on their values and priorities.

To say that private school fosters "attitude" sounds like self-esteem issues. There are kids in every school- public and private- that have attitudes. As parents, it is up to us to teach them to value people based upon their character.

Suggesting court as a response to bullying sounds like someone who has unresolved issues related to bullying. Every parent, I'm sure, has had to help their kids when bullied. I would not drag my kid though a court battle to end bullying, but, if need be, would move him to a place where he could again focus on learning. "Winning" a court case would not be worth the distraction it would be from his studies. There are extreme exceptions, but that would be the last recourse that I would chose.

My priority is to provide my kids with a good education. If I felt I could do that best by home schooling, that is what I would do. Never, in a million years could I do that! God bless those Tim Tebow moms who have the skills and ability to pull that off! If I felt that public school was the best place to accomplish that, public school it would be. In Duval, after experiencing two A-rated schools, I put my kids in private, where they are now thriving. Now that I can no longer afford that, we are leaving Duval.

As parents, we all do the best that we can with the resources- financial, educational, emotional- that we have. Parenting is the toughest job in the world, IMO, and to paint any option other than public school as a wrong decision, is, IMO, wrong.