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School: Public vs.
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School: Public vs.
School: Public vs. Private vs. Home School
Hi Chatterboxers! I was just wondering about what kind of schools you guys go to (even though I know it's summer).
A bunch of kids have written that they do homeschool, and of course some must go to public and private schools.
Personally, I go to Challenger. It's a private school, but it's not religious, and it has its own political view, which is that people should be self-reliant and not be obliged to help other people in things like government assistance. I don't agree with all of their ideas, but it's a good school so I don't really mind.
I've gone to Challenger all my life, wearing uniforms every day and having tons of homework is just normal for me. Challenger doesn't have any sports teams whatsoever, no clubs except Student Council. So I'm just pretty interested in seeing what you guys do for school. Are you homeschooled? Go to a religious school? Public school? A school that focuses on science, or math, or sports, or English? ESL? Do you go to school in a completely different system, like in another country? How does that compare to your experiences with kids from other schools? Do you like your school?
School's a pretty common topic for us kids :-) so let's chat about it!
Arianne
PS Sorry this is my first thread. I'm kind of awkward.
submitted by Arianne, age 12, California
(July 7, 2014 - 11:29 pm)
(July 7, 2014 - 11:29 pm)
Hi Arianne! I don't remember seeing you around the CB before, so welcome! Your post didn't sound awkward; it was stated very well.
To answer your question, I currently go to a public school. I used to go to a private school, but they don't offer the grade I am in. At first, I didn't think I'd like the transition to a public school, but I actually did. I met some new kids and teachers and eventually discovered that I like public school for the most part, but there are definitely pros and cons to each type of schooling.
Speaking of school, Arianne, what are your favorite subjects? Mine are English, math and Spanish.
(July 8, 2014 - 9:50 am)
Top please!
(July 8, 2014 - 9:50 am)
I am homeschooled. I can't imagine waking up super early and walking/taking a bus to a school, coming back home at 3, and using the rest of the day to do homework. I mean, how can you cram all of that in one day? And how can you stay away from your family for half of the day?????
(July 11, 2014 - 11:19 am)
I'm unschooled. I don't do any real schoolwork whatsoever. I learn from life. It's not that I'm lazy, I learn better that way. For example, once I was interested in weather. So I built a weather station, got some videos from the library, and went to a museum. When I was interested in birds, I built some bird houses, found a robin's egg, and watched birds at the park. I've also had obsessions with cooking, the civil war, hieroglyphs, botany, etc. I can't imagine learning in a different way. I choose what to do, when to do it.
(July 11, 2014 - 12:39 pm)
Cool, another unschooler! :)
I'm in public school doing the I/B program, but I wish I wasn't. I'd much rather be home/unschooled (Thanks, Teenage Liberation Handbook!). I do really well at school, but I have lots of problems with it: standardized testing, lack of hands-on anything, zero student input, mass conformity, cram-learning, grades over learning, no desicion in our own education...
So in the meantime I'm relishing summer, connecting with friends, trying to learn stuff (failing epicly in some places!), and designing a website for people to come and connect about their problems with school.
(July 11, 2014 - 7:02 pm)
TOTALLY agree (I just don't know what i/b is. Is it advanced?)!!!!!!
I really do love school, but there are always cons.
I think it stands for International Baccalaureate, an international schooling program.
Admin
(July 12, 2014 - 10:24 am)
Admins are right. It's an advanced program, but unlike other programs like AP, there's (supposedly) more hands-on stuff and discussions. There's also a greater emphasis on stuff like foreign languages and history. You have to take a select group of higher level and typical level courses, do community service, and get hours for CAS (creativity, action, service). It doesn't actually start till junior year, but you can enroll in pre-I/B courses (what I'm doing).
It's all very confusing. Sometimes it can be enlightening and interesting, but...yeah. Confusing.
Also known as: Organized Academic Torture, Land of the Five Paragraph Essays, Excessive Use of the Word "Holistic" in Grading Scales
(July 12, 2014 - 7:01 pm)
That's interesting. I've read about unschooling before. If you don't mind, Bookbug, can I ask you a question? What about math?
(July 12, 2014 - 10:22 am)
Good question, Madeline. I learn some real-life math from cooking, balancing checkbooks, and I'm starting my own business. I do a little algebra here and there, because I know that I'll eventually have to do it if I want to go to college.
(July 14, 2014 - 9:57 am)
Normally when adults ask why I'm not in school, I say I'm homeschooled. But honestly I'm more unschooled than that.
Right now I'm in an ultra-craze about anything Egyptian.
(July 13, 2014 - 8:15 am)
I've been Homeschooled since kindergarten and love it! A lot of people change to a high school for either sports or theater.
(July 11, 2014 - 1:27 pm)
Welcome to the CB Arianne :D And your post's not awkward!
I go to public school. I mostly like it, but I don't because I learn a lot of useless stuff. Ah well. Just play along with the game...
I'm going into 8th grade which is hard to believe, too. I would be in high school, I guess, but our district's high school is 9-12, the middle school 5-8. At least 8th grade is supposed to be easier than 7th, which was a pain, and plus Earth Science! And no shove-down-your-throat enriched math! Mostly because I didn't want to do it but yeah.
I would love to be homeschooled, but at the same time I wouldn't be able to do my school's jazz band and cross country, which I both love. And I wouldn't see my friends as often... Well, I shall enjoy the summer to its fullest! I'm glad it's going so slowly, so far.
(July 11, 2014 - 7:43 pm)
I was homeschooled for most of my life, but I've been going to public school for two years now. On the one hand, I loved homeschooling. I got to relax, sleep late, and I really did get a great education from my mom, probably better than I could have gotten at regular school. I got to do some fun stuff I wouldn't have done otherwise. That said, I like public school, too. It's probably best, because mom can't really teach us the stuff we're learning right now. There are days when public school seems sooo bad. I don't want to wake, don't want to go to school for hours, don't want to do homework, don't want to do this every day for months. Still, homeschool can be BORING. It's kinda like that now, since it's Summer. Say what you will about early mornings, at least at school I don't spend the whole day on the internet. Plus, seeing other kids is a very welcome change.
(July 11, 2014 - 7:45 pm)
I am really ahead in school. I am going into sixth but could be going int 9th. My school is so annoying. But I get to go to a new middle school.
(July 11, 2014 - 8:38 pm)
I go to public school. I've been going to public school since kindergarden, and I can't imagine going to private school. I...ah. I don't exactly like how large my school is, but small schools...just...no. My school is an IB magnet. It's so diverse and I love it!! (Seriously, my best friends are an Albanian Muslim and...yeah, that's it. But I have friends in all sorts of situations.)
Gah this sounds like an ad.
So basically I really like public school and I'd recommend it unless you're sensitive to noise.
(July 11, 2014 - 9:23 pm)