Home Schooling and the DR.

[dv8]

I was (and to some extent still am) Calvin as a child.

you be kidding me. not only you are the size of average rugby player (or any other sport that involves brutal but swift and discreet kicks in other gents' private parts) but you also have the build and general appeareance of a man who could remove someone's entire set of teeth in one smooth move of a fist. or a foot, whichever takes your fancy...
but i stray for the subject. bob, i presume that parents of kids in your wife's school are middle class, right? they must be to afford any fee plus other costs of schooling. i have nothing but praise for dominican middle class. they struggle to survive and provide their families with the best they can afford. they value work and education, that can be seen.
but the vast majority of dominicans are poor. so poor, in fact, they cannot pay for basic school supplies and clothes for their kids, let alone for out any fees for private academies. sad but true.

i know that home schooling in my own country is very difficult as it is illegal not to send your children to school (punishable by prison sentence). it is easier to pull your liver out through the heel using a box of matches, gaffa tape and a paper clip. i have never even heard of anyone home schooling their children or being home schooled. admittedly, last year i read an article on that and there was a note of a miniscule amount of families, where the child is not severly handicapped, being allowed to do that. and the general consensus of a forum thread following the text was that the parents should be institutionalized, if not burned at stake...

 

[La Rubia]

i know that home schooling in my own country is very difficult as it is illegal not to send your children to school (punishable by prison sentence).

Wow, wish we could adopt that here (US) for truancy. I'm fine with homeschooling, but we have too many drop-outs that fall through the cracks starting in middle school. Some prison time might convince parents that yes, there is something they can do.

it is easier to pull your liver out through the heel using a box of matches, gaffa tape and a paper clip Have no idea what this even means, but I like the sound of it!

I think that's my new favorite DR1 one-liner, next to Berzin's "marinating in the drama" line.

 

[bob saunders]

you be kidding me. not only you are the size of average rugby player (or any other sport that involves brutal but swift and discreet kicks in other gents' private parts) but you also have the build and general appeareance of a man who could remove someone's entire set of teeth in one smooth move of a fist. or a foot, whichever takes your fancy...
but i stray for the subject. bob, i presume that parents of kids in your wife's school are middle class, right? they must be to afford any fee plus other costs of schooling. i have nothing but praise for dominican middle class. they struggle to survive and provide their families with the best they can afford. they value work and education, that can be seen.
but the vast majority of dominicans are poor. so poor, in fact, they cannot pay for basic school supplies and clothes for their kids, let alone for out any fees for private academies. sad but true.

i know that home schooling in my own country is very difficult as it is illegal not to send your children to school (punishable by prison sentence). it is easier to pull your liver out through the heel using a box of matches, gaffa tape and a paper clip. i have never even heard of anyone home schooling their children or being home schooled. admittedly, last year i read an article on that and there was a note of a miniscule amount of families, where the child is not severly handicapped, being allowed to do that. and the general consensus of a forum thread following the text was that the parents should be institutionalized, if not burned at stake...

Some are middle class, but most are working poor or receive remittances from a parent working in the states or Europe. One of Yris's former students, herself going to College in NYC sends tuition fee direct to the school for her two nieces ( doesn't trust her aunt to pay). Yris's rates are cheap; 800-1000 pesos per month.

 

[cobraboy]

you be kidding me. not only you are the size of average rugby player (or any other sport that involves brutal but swift and discreet kicks in other gents' private parts) but you also have the build and general appeareance of a man who could remove someone's entire set of teeth in one smooth move of a fist. or a foot, whichever takes your fancy...

I'm a harmless (semi)lovable fuzzball.

Unless provoked. :classic:

i know that home schooling in my own country is very difficult as it is illegal not to send your children to school (punishable by prison sentence). it is easier to pull your liver out through the heel using a box of matches, gaffa tape and a paper clip. i have never even heard of anyone home schooling their children or being home schooled. admittedly, last year i read an article on that and there was a note of a miniscule amount of families, where the child is not severly handicapped, being allowed to do that. and the general consensus of a forum thread following the text was that the parents should be institutionalized, if not burned at stake...

I, for one, never advocated just exclusively homeschooling in violation of local and state statute. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar and all that (in a sectarian sense). I AM advocating the Asian model: schooling doesn't just happen when kids pack their lunch and head to the schoolhouse. It continues and is reinforced at home for hours a day.

And society shouldn't have to pay the bills for parents who abdicate that basic responsibility.

And, yes, it can happen in the DR. Mi esposa is one of 13 siblings born in Cerro Prieto, a most remote mountain village. Every one of then has grown up to be responsible, educated, law-abiding citizens both in the DR as well as the US: dentists, accountants, physical therapists, business owners, etc. It is clearly possible. And the constant push by her parents-to this day-was hugely influential.

 

[dv8]

bob, i know that 1000 pesos a month is not much but some of my clients buy the cheapest generic atenolol pill (as low as 4 pesos per pill) and take half every few days. even thou they should be taking one a day every day. this is what i call poor. i cannot imagine a person like this could pay 200 pesos a month for school, let alone 1000. this is what i see as "poor dominicans'. folks who really struggle...

 

[bob saunders]

DV8 writes: bob, i know that 1000 pesos a month is not much but some of my clients buy the cheapest generic atenolol pill (as low as 4 pesos per pill) and take half every few days. even thou they should be taking one a day every day. this is what i call poor. i cannot imagine a person like this could pay 200 pesos a month for school, let alone 1000. this is what i see as "poor dominicans'. folks who really struggle...

Agreed , the real poor send their children to the Public schools or not at all. Pretty well all the private schools, including Yris's sponsor some children who pay nothing, or a reduced fee. I have sponsored some children in the past, and full expect to do so in the future.

 

[Robert]

Agreed , the real poor send their children to the Public schools or not at all. Pretty well all the private schools, including Yris's sponsor some children who pay nothing, or a reduced fee. I have sponsored some children in the past, and full expect to do so in the future.

Use the "Reply With Quote" option, it's much easier for us to read.
I fixed your last post

 

[frank12]

I'll throw my two cents in here.

We got a 7 year old, equal parts monkey, human, and Oompa Loompa. She came here in October 2008 from Russia (near the Chinese border). When she arrived, she didn't speak a word of english or spanish. Never heard the languages spoken before! In three years, she's fluent in three languages English, Spanish, Russian.). Nothing unique about that. What is unique, however, is that when she arrives home from school, she has to sit down and do homework for 2 hours everyday--6 days a week. There's two Russian women here (Babushka's) who stand over her and makes sure that she studies math, english, spanish, and russian...and this is only after she has studied and done her school work! Yes, she has two homeworks everyday: one is for school, the other is for languages.

This part monkey, human, Oompa-Loompa, is an A student at her international school. she routinely comes home with spectacular grades. My job in all of this, i'm happy to report, is only to read children novels to her every evening. I love it because, i'm finally getting the chance to read novels that i have not read since Johnson and Nixon were in office. I'm also getting the chance to read children's novels that i had never read as a child. My responsibilities in this household is a piece of cake. The Babushka's, not so much. They often need to tie the monkey down in a straight jacket until she completes college algebra and finishes reading Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The Moral in all of this story: If you want your child to succeed, truly succeed--it's not enough that you send them off to school and assume that they're going to get a sufficient education there. On the contrary, it's the parents responsibility to continue the child's education at home. No rocket science here. What is not known is this: The child needs at least two big Babushka's waiting at home who know how to tame the monkey, make the monkey accelerate by lighting a fire or some kind of highly flammable accelerant underneath said monkey butt, and push the monkey to continue doing backflips even when the monkey wants to do nothing more than sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons all day (somethng the Dominicans are very well trained at, and unfortunately, excel at.)

Frank

 

[bob saunders]

Robert writes: Use the "Reply With Quote" option, it's much easier for us to read.
I fixed your last post
-----------------------
I'd liked to but my work computer will not allow it, nor will it allow me to like or dislike.

 

[keepcoming]

When my son was younger my in-laws always argued that he needed to practice his baseball skills, especially since he could hit or throw with either his right or left hand which my father in-law claimed would make him a guaranteed star. At the time my son bought into it and decided that this was what he was going to do. I said ok however we had rules when it came to school. First off he needed to maintain a B average or above. All homework was to be finished before he went to the practice field during the week. He must read a least 1 book a week and be able to tell me about the book every Friday. Eventually his " love " of the game went away, he developed new interests and baseball was not one of them. However to this day I will always catch my son reading a book at night before he goes to sleep and he is now 18 yrs old. The learning should not stop the minute a child walks out the school door each day. Some of the best education you can give your child is right in your home.

 

[cobraboy]

When my son was younger my in-laws always argued that he needed to practice his baseball skills, especially since he could hit or throw with either his right or left hand which my father in-law claimed would make him a guaranteed star. At the time my son bought into it and decided that this was what he was going to do. I said ok however we had rules when it came to school. First off he needed to maintain a B average or above. All homework was to be finished before he went to the practice field during the week. He must read a least 1 book a week and be able to tell me about the book every Friday. Eventually his " love " of the game went away, he developed new interests and baseball was not one of them. However to this day I will always catch my son reading a book at night before he goes to sleep and he is now 18 yrs old. The learning should not stop the minute a child walks out the school door each day. Some of the best education you can give your child is right in your home.

Excellent post.

In the Mom & Dad CB household, we were required to pursue an after-school activity. No exceptions, even while in grammar school. We had a YMCA function called Gray-Y (for whatever reason) that ran organized football, basketball and baseball leagues within a group of local grammar schools with practice every day during the week and games on Saturday morning. That's where I got involved in athletics that carried over for a couple of decades.

Athletics (or music, drama, etc.) and athletics are NOT mutually exclusive. They actually complement each other in may ways...

 

[keepcoming]

Agreed, the after school programs such sports, music (which became my son's passion) dance etc..I believe are important part of a childs educational development as well as social development.

 

[cobraboy]

Robert writes: Use the "Reply With Quote" option, it's much easier for us to read.
I fixed your last post
-----------------------
I'd liked to but my work computer will not allow it, nor will it allow me to like or dislike.

Try enabling Java on your work machine and see if that helps.

 

[LaTeacher]

THe SAT and ACT are offered in various locations across the island. Same with the TOEFL ifthe first language is not english

There are international testing sites. In the DR, there's one in Sosua.

ACT Registration : International Testing

 

[CaptnGlenn]

Agreed, the after school programs such sports, music (which became my son's passion) dance etc..I believe are important part of a childs educational development as well as social development.

Actually, this touches on my big worry about home schooling. Unfortunately, many home schooling parents here (U.S.) that I've talked to, do so because they don't agree with the school's philosophy, or for religious or other similar reasons. All well and good, as long as the kids get the proper instruction academically. My concern is the individual socialization of the kids; which in my opinion is as an important a part of education as the 3 R's. Many claim that through participation in extracurricular activities, sports, etc.; the kids get this integration into the "culture" of their peers; but I'm not so sure. Yes, they'll be OK in the end; but it might put a speed bump they have to hop on the way to adulthood and life in the "real world".

 

[pi2]

The problem is that a culture that places huge emphasis on the ownership of the latest iPhone, being driven everywhere and eating junk food may not accord with the childs best interests. In many respects the prevalent culture of the DR is better than the US.
DR scores well on happiness.
pi2

Actually, this touches on my big worry about home schooling. Unfortunately, many home schooling parents here (U.S.) that I've talked to, do so because they don't agree with the school's philosophy, or for religious or other similar reasons. All well and good, as long as the kids get the proper instruction academically. My concern is the individual socialization of the kids; which in my opinion is as an important a part of education as the 3 R's. Many claim that through participation in extracurricular activities, sports, etc.; the kids get this integration into the "culture" of their peers; but I'm not so sure. Yes, they'll be OK in the end; but it might put a speed bump they have to hop on the way to adulthood and life in the "real world".

 

[cobraboy]

Actually, this touches on my big worry about home schooling. Unfortunately, many home schooling parents here (U.S.) that I've talked to, do so because they don't agree with the school's philosophy, or for religious or other similar reasons. All well and good, as long as the kids get the proper instruction academically. My concern is the individual socialization of the kids; which in my opinion is as an important a part of education as the 3 R's. Many claim that through participation in extracurricular activities, sports, etc.; the kids get this integration into the "culture" of their peers; but I'm not so sure. Yes, they'll be OK in the end; but it might put a speed bump they have to hop on the way to adulthood and life in the "real world".

I know several home schoolers in FL. They abide by approved state courses.

Part of their "deal" is the ability to enroll their children in school activities in the school district where they would attend, so much of the after school socialization is there, sports, music and clubs.

Additionally, they routinely get together with other home schooling families for organized field trips, etc., just as a regular school.

 

[jojo2130]

Home Learning

This is great, we are just in the throws of deciding about Home Education. I have a 4 year old. I am Canadian. Therefore he is Canadian. I am investigating whether having him registered with a Canadian School Board is possible.

The private schools here are great but distance is an issue and driving on these highways every day .......... I need not say more.

IMHO the pros far outway the cons, I have the time as i work at home, We have the space and I have the education (Not teaching).

Pros
- Knowing that your child understands each subject and item taught
- Being in complete control of what is taught
- Actually having more time for family socializing which to me is more important than the friends thing
- Spending more time and knowing my kids better
- them not "missing" or not understanding subjects
- Not having to travel to school
- Costs, of course, are lower
- Being able to participate in extra-curricular activities with them (At least in the younger years)
- being able to ALSO teach subjects and materials that are not being taught in Brick and Mortar schools

Cons

- Learning as you go so as to be able to clearly teach (A level of dedication is needed)
- organizing the home for the class time and making sure other members understand the requirements for quiet
- Maybe spending TOO MUCH time with your children ?
- Staying on top of curriculums and materials and geting the right text books and materials


I also have been studying the pros and cons, while my first reaction was "what about the socializing issues" .
IMHO: In reality kids from an early age, are animals of peer pressures, eventually putting the need to be accepted above all else. I think that controlling those issues are much easier done in a home schooling environment. these issues can be resolved through enrollment and participation in sports, arts and maybe even a few "classes" of other sorts.

Has anyone seen the Khan Academy website?
Khan Academy
I mean the future has to be internet based learning ! Doesn't it ? It is Logic !

 

[Chirimoya]

The problem is that a culture that places huge emphasis on the ownership of the latest iPhone, being driven everywhere and eating junk food may not accord with the childs best interests. In many respects the prevalent culture of the DR is better than the US.
DR scores well on happiness.
pi2

You just described most middle class/upper class Dominicans to a T.

 

[cobraboy]

IMHO: In reality kids from an early age, are animals of peer pressures, eventually putting the need to be accepted above all else. I think that controlling those issues are much easier done in a home schooling environment. these issues can be resolved through enrollment and participation in sports, arts and maybe even a few "classes" of other sorts.

Great post!