Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Also in our current high school system here in MA, the electives are mostly semester-long but the core courses are all year long. I've been looking in Chapel Hill and as near as I can tell, their classes are the more traditional schedule. The biggest difference I can see is that the elementary schools start and end earliest and the HS start and end latest. That actually makes sense to me. Send the little kids early--they're up anyway!
Back to the original topic though. I've never lived in SoCal (which should really be a different state than NoCal, IMO), but I would never want to raise my kids in California. I lived in the Bay Area for 8 years off and on (no kids) and besides the expense, well--it's just not an area that I would consider good for raising a family.
I understand how those of you from California now living in North Carolina are happy with your decision and enjoying your new way of life. I am happy for you. I ask, though, that you do not paint Californians with such a broad brush. I have lived in central California all of my life and will be here mostly likely another couple of years. Yes, there are some of those obsessed with materials possessions and such. But not all. Most of this occurs in Northern and Southern California. I know lots of down home wonderful people not obsessed with money and status in California. They just don't get the media. I'm afraid all of the stereotypes about Californians give us a bad name when we DO decide to venture out of California.
Yes, I agree, I am guilty of some generalization about CA. By the time we left I had had it up to here. That said, I grew up in Woodland...about 20 miles N of Sacramento...small farm town...lots of 4H clubs, tomato fields...small town life. My young years there were great there...lots of neighbors, family & friends, open space...all the things I wanted for my kids. I lived in So Cal 12 yrs, it was fun when I was married with no kids & all career, but I knew I never wanted to raise kids there either. I have seen CA end to end, corner to corner.
I think everyone should see CA...its a very beautiful state. Its just not the way it was or the way we wanted to live anymore...
California is a beautiful state. It has the ocean, beaches, mountians, desert, snow - every kind of weather. When people share their opinions/views on these threads they are talking about their own experiences. Living in California may not meet some people's needs and thus they want to live elsewhere. It may be the perfect place for some people and that's great. I just wish people would try not to take things so personally.
California is a beautiful state. It has the ocean, beaches, mountians, desert, snow - every kind of weather. When people share their opinions/views on these threads they are talking about their own experiences. Living in California may not meet some people's needs and thus they want to live elsewhere. It may be the perfect place for some people and that's great. I just wish people would try not to take things so personally.
I agree! I have been making generalizations about NC and I don't see anyone defending them. Not to mention, the original question was not asking for a statement of precise fact, it asked for opinions. If you disagree with someone's opinion, state WHY you think they are wrong. To anyone who may be getting a bad opinion of CA from someone's statement, your opposing viewpoint would defend CA a whole lot more than just telling everyone not to make generalizations. I haven't been posting on message boards for very long, but I was under the impression that you used message boards to talk about your opinions and ideas, so that is my opinion, anyone is welcome to disagree.
I'm a born and bred SoCal girl...raised in San Diego, attended UCLA, married there and had my first two children there. It was FANTASTIC!! And yes, many people think all the things that have been mentioned on this thread (plastic people and such). But I have to tell you -- those too exist here in Raleigh...they are everywhere. We have been living here for the past 5 years and while I do love Cali, Raleigh is definitely now home for me. The changing seasons, the people, the pace, the housing, churches, just the general feeling you get that makes me love living here. However...
My children attend a private Christian school and I'll tell you why.
I live in a very nice, upper middle class neighborhood in North Raleigh. My children were going to be sent to a school where 40% of the kids are "free lunch". Now, I wouldn't complain...except the school is 15 miles from my home while there is a perfectly good elementary school literally 1/2 mile up the street. I do not trust WCSS. They have been telling our neighborhood for the past 7 years that they would reassign us to our neighborhood school. Finally this year we are supposed to be assigned to this school, but now we're hearing rumblings that this may not happen do to the low enrollment in year-round schools (this one is traditional). So instead of having to worry every year about my kids being sent to a new school or being switched to year-round, we opted to send them to a private school, where not only will they received a well-balanced education but in will be in a loving, unchanging environment.
Just some thoughts! Good luck on making your decision.
I was driving down a street today admiring the beautiful trees and green, open land everywhere and I was reminded of the land I used to love to see around Bat Area, CA when I was a kid. That land in CA is, of course, now homes and it is tough to find any undeveloped land in the Bay Area, CA. Is anyone else worried that something similar could happen here. I fear chopping those trees and overcrowding may eventually follow me here. Or do you think the people of this area may prevent that?
I loved CA, but I would hate to see this area become another CA, packed full of overcrowded apartment complexes and housing tracts. I so enjoy the openness here.
I don't have a problem with block schedule. I have a much more interactive way of teaching, so it isn't really a problem for me. My issue is with the crazy half a year classes. In CA, you take English all year long and Math all year long. You aren't given 8 months in between levels so that you can forget everything.
I teach English.
In CA, at least where I am from, block schedule means that you still have 6 classes, and you have 3- 90 minute classes everyday, but you alternate classes each day. So, you still have the same core subjects all year long, you just see your teacher every other day instead of everyday. It works quite well, actually.
I have lived in Ca. all of my life until last year when I chose to move here. IMO kids in California need a full year of these classes because they are too busy bragging about their designer clothes and their "status". Since Wake county is a better atmosphere for kids and families without the materialistic attitude I think the kids here focus on the curriculum and retain the information a little better. From everything I have read the schools and test scores are much higher here than in California so that must say something.
I have lived in Ca. all of my life until last year when I chose to move here. IMO kids in California need a full year of these classes because they are too busy bragging about their designer clothes and their "status". Since Wake county is a better atmosphere for kids and families without the materialistic attitude I think the kids here focus on the curriculum and retain the information a little better. From everything I have read the schools and test scores are much higher here than in California so that must say something.
I think that is a naive opinion. My students in CA were not very materialistic since most of them were from low income families. You also need to be careful when looking at test data since NC has to deal with a much, much, much smaller English Language Learner population. If you actually looked at a break-down of demographic information, CA is dealing with a much larger low-income population where education of the parents was far below what their children were receiving. Different states, different issues to face, so it's not really fair to compare general scores.
Where I taught in CA, many of my kids were trying to keep from getting into gang trouble or worried about helping their parents raise their brothers and sisters. I don't know where you came from in CA, but as an actual teacher and one who was born and raised in the Bay Area, I can wholeheartedly say that most teens in the area can barely afford to be arguing about "status" since most of their parents are working several jobs just to afford house payments. As always, there are exceptions to this, and some areas are going to have teens with more money than others, but if you did some research, I think you would find that MAJORITY of the state is not wealthy.
The last thing I would point out is that according to testing data, NC students are doing incredibly well.....until high school when you see a bit of a decline. In terms of SAT and ACT scores, CA is actually higher than NC. So I ask, why the decline in high school?
This may be a different coast, but I have still seen my fair share of teens running around in "Hollister" and "Abercrombie and Fitch" clothing, I seriously don't think materialism is the issue anywhere. If you were to cite family values as a reason students retain information better or perhaps the fact that families have more time to spend with each other because the cost of living is so much closer to income, or even the fact that the average highest education received is higher here than in CA, I could see where you were coming from. However, to say that you lived in CA and only saw teens that were concerned with "status," just tells me you stuck to the wealthier areas of CA. But, that is just my opinion.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Worried about overcrowding?
