Way OT: Raising your kids: City vs Small town

[sloth316]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

 

[Huskerfan2112]

Small town. I went to a large school in Millard. My kids attend a small school. College roomate came from a town of two hundred people.

Based on my experiences, what I have heard from small town friends and my observations, small town is the way to go.

The only caveat would be if a child has any sort of learning disabliity. I think larger schools are better staffed to deal with that.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

This is a great question and I think the answer is "it depends".

Millard Public Schools are really good and bigger...Elkhorn is great and a little smaller...Gretna is fantastic (with a few issues but all schools have them) and is smaller.

But you still have "city" life.

I have friends that moved out of Millard so that their kids could play sports at a C1 school...I get it...that is what they felt was right for them.

 

[Antwill]

Small town. Was just talking to my wife about that as we drove in Omaha (here for business).

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

Problem with small towns is, if you don't meet your wife in high school, you might have to move to a little bigger city to go find her...if you are already in the bigger city, better chance your kid stays around longer for that reason alone, but I think they'll be less urge to go see what's "out there"...Just my two cents, there is no wrong answer here..

 

[Cloud@Heart]

I agree with Mr. Ewing.... It depends. There are more diverse opportunities and specialty classes/organizations in a large school. There is a more "jack of all trades" involved in everything expectation in a smaller school, and with technology options more and more availability to specialty classes. And bottom line bad things and bad people and bad influences can be found in either of the two types of schools. If your child is raised with core Nebraska values and you expose them to "life", then there really isn't a right answer. Your child will thrive in either place and be set up for success at the next stage of their life. Big school or small school, your child will end up having two awesome teachers that inspired them, 4 terrible teachers, 2.5 heartbreaks, 5 life long friends, 1 embarrassing run in with the law, and will too often think that the grass is greener on the other side of the valley!

Great off topic topic!

 

[chrsmneric]

Grew up in Fremont and have lived in Omaha for 13years. No kids yet. Honestly, I see zero benefit to raising a child here even over a town like Fremont, except the lack of healthy food options in a small town. Education from the parents is more important than education from a school system, to me the school my child attends will never live up to what I believe is "real education". But my preference is to raise my child with an eco-conscious, outdoor enthusiast, family oriented, selfless personality...itd be far less of a challenge in a small town. Big city folk have a distorted view of reality...materialism and money/business driven mentality. Sure I want my child to be successful but my definition of success is how much you can grow and improve as a person not how much the bank account grows. My vote is small town for sure! Just my .02 cents

My nephew can't even ride his bike in this hilly-ass town...what kind of childhood is that! He attends Bennington for school and showed me his class photo and pointed to every white boy said he's mean or rude... ironically the 4 "nice" children were Hispanic, Asian, Black and one lil-runt with thick glasses...the white race(I am white) has gone to crap...no morals.

 

[huskerfan1414]

Good parents matter more than anything. Because of that, it doesnt matter in the general sense. Be good parents and give your child the discipline they crave and the love they need.

But also because of that, small town. More bad parents in the city. Its just the truth.

If you stay in Kearney there are options like kearney catholic.

 

[Rod65]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

I moved my family from Omaha to Gretna partly to have them attend a smaller school. That was years ago and I think I made the right decision. My daughter was the class valedictorian in Gretna which helped her get a Regent scholarship to the University of Nebraska. It also helped her get a full-ride to the University of Colorado for her Masters degree. She is now married with a family of her own and a good job. I think Gretna prepared her well for her life. Maybe Omaha would have done the same but I am happy I moved to Gretna.

 

[chrsmneric]

Good parents matter more than anything. Because of that, it doesnt matter in the general sense. Be good parents and give your child the discipline they crave and the love they need.

But also because of that, small town. More bad parents in the city. Its just the truth.

If you stay in Kearney there are options like kearney catholic.

Solid point on "more bad parents"

 

[bleedhuskerred]

I grew up in a class B school, My wife was C-2. Our kids went Class A and both played varsity sports and received a good education. The education part should be the most important thing but the sports is a nice option. We considered moving to a small town for more opportunities, but everything turned out just fine. Both went to college, one has graduated and is working in the field of study and the other is 1 year away from graduating. Be a great parent, support, encourage and discipline your kids and the location will not matter.

 

[ru4nu2win]

Problem with small towns is, if you don't meet your wife in high school, you might have to move to a little bigger city to go find her...if you are already in the bigger city, better chance your kid stays around longer for that reason alone, but I think they'll be less urge to go see what's "out there"...Just my two cents, there is no wrong answer here..

farmersonly.com

 

[bbarry464]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

Had this thread already.

If your not handing down wealth, city x10.

After one achieves wealth, they move to the country.

 

[bbarry464]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

If you don't like to spend half your life in a car, city..... Kids = parents are cab drivers

 

[bbarry464]

I moved my family from Omaha to Gretna partly to have them attend a smaller school. That was years ago and I think I made the right decision. My daughter was the class valedictorian in Gretna which helped her get a Regent scholarship to the University of Nebraska. It also helped her get a full-ride to the University of Colorado for her Masters degree. She is now married with a family of her own and a good job. I think Gretna prepared her well for her life. Maybe Omaha would have done the same but I am happy I moved to Gretna.

You moved from city, to city......apples and oranges.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

farmersonly.com

Well, funny you'd mention that because I tried that about 3 months ago...and if you are into chicks sending you likes that live at least 4hrs away, they yeah, that's the place to go. They have about one percent of the local chicks you'd want to date compared to other online dating sites, and that is a fact.

 

[nudan92]

I went to school in Lincoln from K-8 and Waverly from 9-12. I much prefer Lincoln schools to Waverly. While everyone did know everyone out there it seemed like there was an awful lot of partying going on while most of the parents looked away. Lost a few friends to drinking and driving and it seems Waverly loses a student every year in a car crash, maybe due to the size of the district and many of the kids are driving a long way to and from school. My son goes to Lincoln Southeast and I'm really amazed at the number of elective classes he has to choose from. I think a larger school better prepares kids for college.

 

[husker2612]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and why?

I grew up in a town of 800. My kids just started school in Millard the last few years. I don't know if it a change of culture country wide( I have been out of school for 20 years), So it could be the same way now back in my home town. I grew up with conservative values and still hold those beliefs. What I am seeing since the few years my kids have been in school. Bigger city schools, teacher, family's and kids seems to be more liberal minded. I don't judge just not the way I want to raise my kids. If I could get back to a smaller school/ community I would do it in a heartbeat. Nothing beats small town values and living.

 

[TheBeav815]

You can get a good or a bad school just about anywhere, I would focus on the quality of the schools rather than getting too dialed in on class size. My graduating class was a little under 400, my wife went to a massive high school with over 1000 per class.

You can find a club or league for your kids to play sports just about anywhere if they don't make the cut for a school team. But the academic quality of the school can't be found everywhere. Odds are that our kids aren't gonna make a living playing sports, but coming through a good school district will pay dividends in college and beyond.

Especially things like gifted programs, AP classes, etc. I would imagine it's just not feasible to offer when you've got 20 kids in a class.

I agree 100% with the poster above who said the #1 thing is parenting. Love them, spend time with them, tell them you're proud of them, teach them to give maximum effort and treat people kindly. If they have those things, the rest will probably work out pretty well.

 

[husker2612]

Grew up in Fremont and have lived in Omaha for 13years. No kids yet. Honestly, I see zero benefit to raising a child here even over a town like Fremont, except the lack of healthy food options in a small town. Education from the parents is more important than education from a school system, to me the school my child attends will never live up to what I believe is "real education". But my preference is to raise my child with an eco-conscious, outdoor enthusiast, family oriented, selfless personality...itd be far less of a challenge in a small town. Big city folk have a distorted view of reality...materialism and money/business driven mentality. Sure I want my child to be successful but my definition of success is how much you can grow and improve as a person not how much the bank account grows. My vote is small town for sure! Just my .02 cents

My nephew can't even ride his bike in this hilly-ass town...what kind of childhood is that! He attends Bennington for school and showed me his class photo and pointed to every white boy said he's mean or rude... ironically the 4 "nice" children were Hispanic, Asian, Black and one lil-runt with thick glasses...the white race(I am white) has gone to crap...no morals.

I sadly agree. Stuff, things, and how many activities you can be in have become priority number #1 to most kids and I am seeing it first hand now that my kids are in school. I want my kids to think of family as the most important thing. Being kind, treating people with respect and kindness. I just don't see it in 75% of the kids now days. When my son was in Kindergarten a couple years back he wanted to have a friend over to play. My wife tried I bet 7 or 8 different times to line something up and the boy never could. He was involved in football, basketball, baseball, swimming, soccer. Never had a day free. This is most of the kids. If your kid isn't involved in at least 3 or 4 activities by 1st grade they are way behind.

 

[TheBeav815]

I grew up in a town of 800. My kids just started school in Millard the last few years. I don't know if it a change of culture country wide( I have been out of school for 20 years), So it could be the same way now back in my home town. I grew up with conservative values and still hold those beliefs. What I am seeing since the few years my kids have been in school. Bigger city schools, teacher, family's and kids seems to be more liberal minded. I don't judge just not the way I want to raise my kids. If I could get back to a smaller school/ community I would do it in a heartbeat. Nothing beats small town values and living.

At risk of sending the thread off the rails, what do you mean by that when you say the schools are "liberal minded"? I hear that a lot, especially about college. What is an example of something a school teaches a kid that is a "liberal" thing to teach them?

Before you answer, run it through the WWJD filter. I'm dead serious, take the scenario and go, "What do I suppose Jesus would think of that?" Because that's the part that always confuses me. Jesus was pretty clear on the whole, "treat everyone the way you would want to be treated" thing.

 

[TruHusker]

Interesting responses. I have traditionally been a small town person. Grew up in McCook area, town barely exists today. Have worked in education the last 34 years and I have seen a lot.

Kansas had a national company do a study on our system almost 20 years ago. What conclusion I recall was that things were best in high schools of around 300-400 which is 4A for us. I happened to be working in a 4A school at the time. The idea was there was a variety of clubs, groups, technology, and opportunities for all different groups of kids. I would tend to agree with that. The class sizes remain manageable and you generally have most of the bells and whistles. Basically retired but I do some work in a couple of larger 5A high schools and they are not for me. I am not a fan of big. In spite of what people tell you, schools teach to a level - that level can vary depending on what the kids/parents can handle and demand. Lots of different classes they can take at the big school, but the nonsense that goes on there is crazy. That's not to judge all big schools - because I have been around several over the years.

A lot of it depends on how your kids are wired as well. I had one that was very bright but had Asperger and he would have been an ideal home school candidate. He had the chance to be a very good distance runner but he hated the social side of school. Here is the one thing I found to be nearly always a common thread in the smaller schools - the kids make their own fun and too much of it centers on parties. Where I was a principal I had 200 in the HS and I knew of less than a handful that didn't party. My daughter on the other hand was pretty social and found her small group of girls that had the same Christian values (here is where the size creates opportunity for more groups to fit in) and she excelled in sports, music and was valedictorian of her class. I guess what I am saying is there is no magic bullet,

The comment about parenting is right on the mark. We talked to our kids all of the time about things that were going on. I never once worried about where my kids were at any given time. Good communities support your children and keep them honest, some small communities support their poor choices and I fought that as a principal. I guess some thought it was OK to sponsor parties and supply bedrooms.

A thought on everyone who thinks their schools are "good." There was a study done several years ago where many parents graded their schools and said they were good or very good. The data showed the majority of them were not even average or good but below average. The truth is there really is nothing to compare a school to. Parents do not really know. I have long thought that any school can teach that top 10% and they will do well. They are motivated and generally have good parental support. Its what you do with the middle and lower groups that makes the difference.

A fairly good barometer is to look up the schools ACT test scores. Most schools do not require every student to take them, it is optional but it does give you a comparison of state averages as well.

I have also been in the private school sector and if I ever have grandchildren, I would go back to work in a heartbeat if that is what it took to get them in a private Christian school. They may miss out on some sports and activities but the learning and personal growth are tremendous.

 

[husker2612]

At risk of sending the thread off the rails, what do you mean by that when you say the schools are "liberal minded"? I hear that a lot, especially about college. What is an example of something a school teaches a kid that is a "liberal" thing to teach them?

Before you answer, run it through the WWJD filter. I'm dead serious, take the scenario and go, "What do I suppose Jesus would think of that?" Because that's the part that always confuses me. Jesus was pretty clear on the whole, "treat everyone the way you would want to be treated" thing.

# 1 My kids teacher told the class their parents shouldn't be voting for Trump. That he is a racist. ( If he is or isn't ,school is no place for a teacher to put her political views on 2nd graders)
#2 A hispanic boy (my sons friend) said if Trump becomes president that they can no longer be friends because he will be deported.
# 3 The teacher won't let the kids climb on a tree because," it is a living breathing thing and they could hurt it",
#4 Letting the kids do walk outs during school hours. (again people are free to believe what they want. It is no place for school ,let alone young kids who probably have no clue what they are even protesting.
#5 Kids are no longer aloud to bring any birthday treats to school because it, "isn't fair" for the 1 or 2 kids that might have a food allergy.
#6 They discourage inviting just a few friends to birthday parties. If they are going to have a friends birthday party. They encourage them to invite the whole class so nobody feels left out.
Forgot 1 #7 They have a dedicated amount of time every week called "pride time" Basically a group of 6 or 7 kids get together with a teacher and they talk about how important they are, and what makes them special, what they can do to feel special. They practice breathing and relaxation exercises. I am all for showing kids they are loved and important. To actually have to take time out of school to do this seems a bit silly.

 

[GretnaShawn]

I grew up in Gretna and loved it. It is too big for me now. My wife went to a large school, she graduated with 2,000 kids or something crazy (different state). She pushed for a bigger school, I wanted a smaller one. I had a much better high school experience than she did (I think part of that is the difference between guys and girls). So I pushed a lot harder.

We just moved into the Springfield school district, which I wasn't a huge fan of initially (old rivalries stick with a person), but it has really grown on me. We went to see my cousin who goes to Platteview in their homecoming parade and it had a charming, small town feel. Our plan is to try and opt into Louisville when the boys get old enough. But if that doesn't go through, Springfield will work out well.

The discussion my wife and I had when deciding was, you can play a lot more sports/activities in a smaller school, if you want to participate in the main activities (football/basketball/soccer/track/wrestling). But there are a lot more activities at a larger school (intramurals included). I had stronger feelings on it, so I think I would have won her out. But it was sealed when we found our land that we live on now.

 

[newAD]

Born and raised in Omaha. Went to Millard Schools as do my kids. Education was good, but if I could do it over again, I’d have lived somewhere close but smaller school district. Some class A schools your kid can just get lost in the shuffle. I won’t be able to control what my kids do when they become adults, but I’ll strongly encourage them to live in a smaller district, but will suggest they research the school district closely.

 

[TheBeav815]

# 1 my kids teacher told the class their parents shouldn't be voting for Trump that he is a racist. ( If he is or isn't school is no place for a teacher to put her political views on 2nd graders)
#2 A hispanic boy (my sons friend) said if Trump becomes president that he will be deported.
# 3Teacher won't let the kids climb on a tree because," it is a living breathing thing and they could hurt it"
#4 Letting the kids do walk outs during school hours. (again people are free to believe what they want it is no place fore school let alone young kids who probably have no clue what they are even protesting.

1 - I would agree, teachers shouldn't be weighing in on who people should vote for regardless of who the candidates are or the teacher's leanings. This sounds, however, like an individual teacher being unprofessional, not sanctioned curriculum from the school. If I were an admin and it were brought to my attention, I'd warn them to knock it off.

2 - A couple things: Again, one student making a statement is not at all the same thing as the administration's sanctioned curriculum. I'll bet there are lots of kids in little conservative towns whose parents are in meat packing worried about that exact same thing and for good reason. Trump himself said he would do that and what he's actually done. ICE is out there raiding and deporting people, so if there are any immigration status questions in his immediate family, that could very well have been a statement of fact.

3 - That made my brain hurt. I want to argue that's not a stereotypically liberal thing to say but it totally is and it's stupid. I don't want to think about it because it's so dumb, but I'm dying to know what the context was and why the teacher said that.

4 - The school legally cannot punish kids for a protest any more than they punish anything else. They can apply the penalty for skipping class but it's illegal for them to put a special penalty in place. I would also challenge you to stop 1200 kids from doing something without violating the fire code. What are you gonna do, lock them in?

Let's say you do punish them. What does that look like in terms of labor, paperwork, and disruption of class and practices to suspend a thousand kids? It's totally unfeasible from a cost/benefit standpoint.

I get how it could feel like the school is being complicit in the protest, but if you slow down and look at it, it makes way more sense for them just to let the kids get it out of their system than to waste time and money trying to fight it. Think of it as the fiscally conservative choice.

And the surest way to keep some high school kids SUPER into a cause is to make it seem like the teachers/principal/administrators are against it. Kids that age love to rage against something, very often the best way to shut them down is not to pour any fuel on their fire.

 

[planored]

Good topic and one my wife and I have discussed recently. Grew up in Ralston, small town and loved it. My kids go to School at Plano, the HS is bigger than town of Ralston, about 5500 students but they have 2 9/10 grade high schools and Sr High for 11/12. Very diverse HS which I think is great experience, sports are tough but all 3 played, and Fr son just made baseball team. We have thought about smaller or private but school is strong academically as well, so don't want to spend another 12-15k for HS. So I guess it is what you are most comfortable with.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

# 1 My kids teacher told the class their parents shouldn't be voting for Trump. That he is a racist. ( If he is or isn't ,school is no place for a teacher to put her political views on 2nd graders)
#2 A hispanic boy (my sons friend) said if Trump becomes president that they can no longer be friends because he will be deported.
# 3 The teacher won't let the kids climb on a tree because," it is a living breathing thing and they could hurt it",
#4 Letting the kids do walk outs during school hours. (again people are free to believe what they want. It is no place for school ,let alone young kids who probably have no clue what they are even protesting.
#5 Kids are no longer aloud to bring any birthday treats to school because it, "isn't fair" for the 1 or 2 kids that might have a food allergy.
#6 They discourage inviting just a few friends to birthday parties. If they are going to have a friends birthday party. They encourage them to invite the whole class so nobody feels left out.
Forgot 1 #7 They have a dedicated amount of time every week called "pride time" Basically a group of 6 or 7 kids get together with a teacher and they talk about how important they are, and what makes them special, what they can do to feel special. They practice breathing and relaxation exercises. I am all for showing kids they are loved and important. To actually have to take time out of school to do this seems a bit silly.

This is not new...this has been going on since the first school opened.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

I grew up in Gretna and loved it. It is too big for me now. My wife went to a large school, she graduated with 2,000 kids or something crazy (different state). She pushed for a bigger school, I wanted a smaller one. I had a much better high school experience than she did (I think part of that is the difference between guys and girls). So I pushed a lot harder.

We just moved into the Springfield school district, which I wasn't a huge fan of initially (old rivalries stick with a person), but it has really grown on me. We went to see my cousin who goes to Platteview in their homecoming parade and it had a charming, small town feel. Our plan is to try and opt into Louisville when the boys get old enough. But if that doesn't go through, Springfield will work out well.

The discussion my wife and I had when deciding was, you can play a lot more sports/activities in a smaller school, if you want to participate in the main activities (football/basketball/soccer/track/wrestling). But there are a lot more activities at a larger school (intramurals included). I had stronger feelings on it, so I think I would have won her out. But it was sealed when we found our land that we live on now.

Wow, this is almost 100% the same as my friends sister. Even the towns. Crazy.

 

[TheBeav815]

This is not new...this has been going on since the first school opened.

It's almost enough to make you think that schools are staffed with humans and humans tend to find excuses to wedge their opinions into things regardless of whether they really ought to be or not. Not that we ever see that on this board...

There's a favorite story in my house of an a-hole history teacher at Westside who used to like to spout off about kids from a certain neighborhood and what he thought of them, their parents, their income level, the whole nine yards. He apparently went on some rant about them in class and it so happens that's the neighborhood where we lived.

My dad goes to conferences, introduces himself and says, "I'm the father of one of those spoiled, obnoxious kids from (neighborhood) that you can't stand." Evidently the teacher's face changed a couple shades before they got around to discussing my sister's grades.

My other sister went on to teach there, she used to get calls from parents all the time just frothing at the mouth because they were teaching some book in English that year and the parents were sure it was just the pinnacle of all that was wrong with the world. Nine times out of ten the parent had no idea what was actually in the book because they'd never read it. My sister would assign the book to the parent and invite them to call back and discuss their concerns over specific passages

 

[JohnRossEwing]

It's almost enough to make you think that schools are staffed with humans and humans tend to find excuses to wedge their opinions into things regardless of whether they really ought to be or not. Not that we ever see that on this board...

There's a favorite story in my house of an a-hole history teacher at Westside who used to like to spout off about kids from a certain neighborhood and what he thought of them, their parents, their income level, the whole nine yards. He apparently went on some rant about them in class and it so happens that's the neighborhood where we lived.

My dad goes to conferences, introduces himself and says, "I'm the father of one of those spoiled, obnoxious kids from (neighborhood) that you can't stand." Evidently the teacher's face changed a couple shades before they got around to discussing my sister's grades.

My other sister went on to teach there, she used to get calls from parents all the time just frothing at the mouth because they were teaching some book in English that year and the parents were sure it was just the pinnacle of all that was wrong with the world. Nine times out of ten the parent had no idea what was actually in the book because they'd never read it. My sister would assign the book to the parent and invite them to call back and discuss their concerns over specific passages

I taught in a school where a few parents freaked out that our library had Harry Potter...because that is "witch craft"...No joke.

But like you said, teachers are human...99 times out of 100 we do our best not to bring our views on things and in fact, I don't like discussing my views on things with my students.

On the walk-out thing, you nailed it. We can't stop X amount of students from walking out and frankly, I don't want to do that. It is an experience for them (for some anyway). We told them...on that day 4/20 you can walk out if you want...if you don't want to walk out, fine. But, if you walk out before 4/20 or after 4/20...you will be in trouble because now you are just trying to take advantage of things.

And like your sister...I have invited parents to practice...when they have questioned why their super star isn't playing more...

Also...I could share some emails from parents about how the "respect the coaches" but...

Some are AMAZING!

And trust me...I am not perfect, I am an ass at times, I have bad days too. I try not to bring the into the classroom...I save it for the lounge!

 

[TheBeav815]

I taught in a school where a few parents freaked out that our library had Harry Potter...because that is "witch craft"...No joke.

But like you said, teachers are human...99 times out of 100 we do our best not to bring our views on things and in fact, I don't like discussing my views on things with my students.

On the walk-out thing, you nailed it. We can't stop X amount of students from walking out and frankly, I don't want to do that. It is an experience for them (for some anyway). We told them...on that day 4/20 you can walk out if you want...if you don't want to walk out, fine. But, if you walk out before 4/20 or after 4/20...you will be in trouble because now you are just trying to take advantage of things.

And like your sister...I have invited parents to practice...when they have questioned why their super star isn't playing more...

Also...I could share some emails from parents about how the "respect the coaches" but...

Some are AMAZING!

Oh yeah. I know zero teachers who are not a WEALTH of stories about insane, entitled parents (cough cough and they're not millennial parents, we didn't invent entitlement) who think they somehow get to dictate the terms of what their child will or will not be taught. Blows my mind.

Teach your kid to be able to absorb and analyze information and think critically about whether it has factual merit for the love of God. I am forever thankful that Westside forced me to learn about what a credible, scholarly source is when doing research. The number of people running around in the world who don't know the difference between an opinion in a blog and scientific findings from a multi-decade longitudinal study of a thousand subjects will frighten you.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Oh yeah. I know zero teachers who are not a WEALTH of stories about insane, entitled parents (cough cough and they're not millennial parents, we didn't invent entitlement) who think they somehow get to dictate the terms of what their child will or will not be taught. Blows my mind.

Teach your kid to be able to absorb and analyze information and think critically about whether it has factual merit for the love of God. I am forever thankful that Westside forced me to learn about what a credible, scholarly source is when doing research. The number of people running around in the world who don't know the difference between an opinion in a blog and scientific findings from a multi-decade longitudinal study of a thousand subjects will frighten you.

I have a friend that coaches at a nice private school in Omaha...I won't give it away but they are sort of really good at wrestling. You should see the crazy emails! And most of them...crazy soccer parents...of course the coaches are more than happy to share the emails

 

[Chief Wiggum]

Grew up in Scottsbluff, live in a Denver suburb (Parker), both my girls go to a public school with 2300 students in it. They love it, so much to do, lots of opportunities and they both have a pretty diverse group of friends, which they might not have the opportunity to have in small town USA, especially small town Nebraska. Pros and cons to each side, like many have said, the parents have so much more of an opportunity to shape a young person's life than school has.

 

[husker2612]

This is not new...this has been going on since the first school opened.

Agree, Not saying it is new. Just saying small town vs Big city this is more common.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Agree, Not saying it is new. Just saying small town vs Big city this is more common.

Oh, yeah it might be. I taught at a small school in a small town (3,000 people school, school was C-1) and I mean, the teachers all talked about hunting, guns, drinking...It was a real small town conservative place. I am trying to remember but I think there was 1 minority family...but the teachers still spoke their mind but I think what happens is this...if they are saying what you agree with...it is okay. That is normal, I think we are all that way.

 

[GretnaShawn]

Wow, this is almost 100% the same as my friends sister. Even the towns. Crazy.

Weird. I am like 99.99999% sure you are not my brother in-law.

 

[ZaneHickey]

Kind of an off the wall topic, but my wife and I just had our first child a few month back and it has started to raise the question of where we would like our son to attend school down the road. I grew up in a small school with 30ish classmates, participated in all sports/activities (was never really all that good at any of them, but at least had the opportunity) and really felt like I knew everyone in town.

We now live in Kearney, which I don't really consider a city, but it is a Class A school...I certainly see the benefits of sending your kid to a Class A school district, but curious what everyone's preferences are and

You can get a good or a bad school just about anywhere, I would focus on the quality of the schools rather than getting too dialed in on class size. My graduating class was a little under 400, my wife went to a massive high school with over 1000 per class.

You can find a club or league for your kids to play sports just about anywhere if they don't make the cut for a school team. But the academic quality of the school can't be found everywhere. Odds are that

I agree 100% with the poster above who said the #1 thing is parenting. Love them, spend time with them, tell them you're proud of them, teach them to give maximum effort and treat people kindly. If they have those things, the rest will probably work out pretty well.

You can get a good or a bad school just about anywhere, I would focus on the quality of the schools rather than getting too dialed in on class size. My graduating class was a little under 400, my wife went to a massive high school with over 1000 per class.

You can find a club or league for your kids to play sports just about anywhere if they don't make the cut for a school team. But the academic quality of the school can't be found everywhere. Odds are that our kids aren't gonna make a living playing sports, but coming through a good school district will pay dividends in college and beyond.

Especially things like gifted programs, AP classes, etc. I would imagine it's just not feasible to offer when you've got 20 kids in a class.

I agree 100% with the poster above who said the #1 thing is parenting. Love them, spend time with them, tell them you're proud of them, teach them to give maximum effort and treat people kindly. If they have those things, the rest will probably work out pretty well.

...and, for the love of Pete, let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. Don't do a 'behavioral countdown' in Wal mart. Finally, way too many wuss dads out there who give their kid a directive, followed by, "please". It is almost as if they are asking their child's permission to correct/direct them. No mas!

 

[TheBeav815]

...and, for the love of Pete, let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. Don't do a 'behavioral countdown' in Wal mart. Finally, way too many wuss dads out there who give their kid a directive, followed by, "please". It is almost as if they are asking their child's permission to correct/direct them. No mas!

I say please to teach my child what a polite request/instruction sounds like. It is not, however, optional.

I train dogs and I tell people all the time, if you say things you don't mean your children and your dogs will call your bluff. If you spout a bunch of warnings they will learn to use up all of them except the one that comes right before you DO something about it. A dog that doesn't come when called has the same issue as a child who doesn't listen: lack of follow-through.

I have a neighbor like that, will tell her kid not to do something, he does it anyhow, then she does nothing about it. And she wonders why her kids are difficult. Then they have their friends over who are even crappier parents and they're like, "Yeah you're welcome to drop by!" I generally decline because I can only stand it for so long before I round up everyone's kids and yell at them to knock off throwing tantrums and hitting each other or I'm gonna take their toys and it's game over for everyone.

 

[husker2612]

...and, for the love of Pete, let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. Don't do a 'behavioral countdown' in Wal mart. Finally, way too many wuss dads out there who give their kid a directive, followed by, "please". It is almost as if they are asking their child's permission to correct/direct them. No mas!

Agree, although I have no issue with the please thing. I am a big believer in leading by example. If I expect my kids not to hit, I don't hit. If I expect my kids to use pleases and thank yous. I better be doing the same thing. Now if If I say, "get on your shoes please" and they don't do it in about 5 sec, there is consequences. I don't ask twice.