Schools

I have three kids. Two are very close in age to yours. What is it that you want to know?
We moved here last year and my kids went to school at public school , supposedly the best one. It did not work out for us.
We are in private school this year.

which private school did you go with?

In general, public school is not a good option for continental kids -- but there are exceptions. You should make a pre-move visit and check things out. Sheiba would probably give you more info privately.

In reference to what Linda said, we may be one of those exceptions...going on 5 years and our continental kids are doing great...contact me

Public schools are behind at least a year academically. Check the national testing scores. They are bearly making the 50 percentile nationally if they meet that.at most schools.
Teachers hit with yard sticks or rulers whether allowed or not. You will hear a lot of yelling and screaming and often hear " shut up" to the children from teachers in all age groups. You will see agressive behavior. Lunch time and recess are usually unsupervised. visit a school or two.This behavior is culturally acceptable.I wish it was better,I would love to send my kids to public school, Private school is costing me a fortune!

Sent a PM to jtbayleee and Chico.

Thanks!

Before anyone here gets the impression that this island and MY culture is barbaric and behind the times please be advised that 19 states still permit corporal punishment. http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=statesbanning

But we have legislation in right now to remove it from the schools, so you should see it removed from schools in the near future....if it passes.

Additionally, the public schools do produce some "high quality" graduates who go on to attend top tier universities. I know a few CA HS grads currently enrolled at Howard, Tulane and US Naval to name a few. If my kids were young, I'd be talking "charter school" to anybody who'd listen.

Yearasta.....this would be great!. I really want to support the public school system. I would love for my state sider kids to be more integrated into island society and its rich history and culture.
On a positive note...one thing about the public schools I really liked was the serving of healthy food at lunch time, no junk . Real food (no frozen foods or foods warmed up) I saw fish, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, always a fruit and veggie and of course always a veggie tray option for the non-meat eaters. Schools and homes could take lessons on the states.

Yes, is legal to use corparal punishment in other states, on the books anyway,b,ut typically not used and if so, it is with parental permission ly following very strict guide lines.

Not on the books Sheiba IN REALITY...i've been doing the research and made lots of phone calls on it while working on the legislation to ban corporal punishment in schools.

Right now alot is being put into trying to make the public schools better, the current state of our government does not help matters any. I do however wish that instead of people complaining and bashing the public school system, of which I am a product, they would offer constructive criticism. Send it to info@judibuckley.com

As far as academics...after 5 years in public school BOTH my kids have constantly scored in the upper percentile of the of the ITBS (National Standardized Test)

Proper parenting has quite a bit to do with it.

Proper parenting has quite a bit to do with it.

yup.

Which island are you'll from? We will be down in stx in 14 days!!!

STX

I believe in a little corporal punishment every now and then. I think it's what keeps us honest, plus actions should have repercussions that doesn't end up being a video game taken away.

When I was in grammar school in central Florida back in the late 50's, I studderds quite badly when I got excited or required to read in public. My first grade teacher from the Old school mentality believed in beating the studdaring out of me. I would be required to participate in round robin reading segments and as soon as I started studdering, the teach would yank me up by the back of my neck and take me to the bathroom and spank me with a wooden paddle. She would do this 3-4 times a day for the entire school year. I got numb the the spankings and would cry, but when I would be sent back to my seat, several children in the class were crying for me:(. Did it stop me from studdering, Nope, I eventually grew out of it. My parents believed the teach knew what was best and let her have free reign over me.

So I'm not a believer in every kid gets a trophy, they need to learn what winning means and what losing means so when they hit the real world, it won't be a shock when they don't get a trophy.

Very sad story. But you seem to be saying that the beatings didn't hurt you so you believe in them? I hope I am mistaken.

There is a serious violent crime/ domestic abuse issue on island. It starts with kids, teaching them to hit to resolve problems is not the answer.

Peace and love!

No, Iwasn't something that I enjoyed, but I didn't turn into a serial killer or child abuser for it either. I do however believe in the old adage spare the rod & spoil the child. Children need to learn at an early age that there are consequences for their actions. But that is a personal debate and not really something for an open forum.

No, it's kids having a lack of respect for others. People tend to forget that all respect is, is having a healthy respect for something. When I went to school, you might have disliked a teacher, but you respected them because you knew if you didn't, you would be sent to the office, where you would get a spanking and then when you went home, you would get another spanking for causing trouble at school. Kids no longer have that healthy fear or respect for their teachers or for anyone else for that matter. If they grew up in my generation, they would have a real eye opening experience and when spoken to, they would respond with a yes sir or no sir, yes mam or no mam.

Yes mam/sir, no mam/ sir does not equal respect. Children are not soldiers.

I'm with mtdoramike. I'm a bit younger than you but lived in Appalachia Virginia in elementary school. I got paddled at least once a week from first grade on. My crime was sucking my thumb and talking too much. Each time I got paddled in school my mom got me again once I was home. I learned eventually that if I talked after the teacher told me to stop or if I sucked my thumb in class I was going to get whacked in school and then again when I got home for embarrassing my mother with my poor manners. Not much different here. Children are expected to greet adults and others and have good manners so not to embarrass their parents. I have never once looked back and felt that I was abused by those teachers or my parents. Did I have some bad teachers? Yes I did. I couldn't wait until the year was over. All the kids knew who the mean teachers were and so did the parents. We endured. Was it right? No. But we had respect. Did we turn out bad. No. It was what it was.

I have 5 adult children. They all got spankings. Very few but they got them. Did they have bad teachers? Yes, but they knew to behave in class so not to embarrass me or they would get it when they got home. I think if you asked them not one of the 5 would consider themselves abused or neglected in any way.

I now have a 9 year old son. He has been spanked once in his life. He was in kindergarten at Country Day School, 5 years old at the time. I picked him up from school and he was playing on the little kindergarten playground and didn't want to go home. He threw a tantrum, "meltdown" in today mommy speak, and I grabbed his little arm and smacked his backside. When I looked up all the teacher and mommies were having their own, "meltdown" because I smacked my sons backside. I told this audience that my son was not "hurt" by the smack, but he was embarrassed and would probably never do this again. I was right. Now all I have to do is tell him that I am going to smack him one. He "respects" that.

Now schools are not what they used to be and the family unit has completely changed. Kids go into daycare at 6 weeks and preschool as soon as they are potty trained. Parents turn their children over to strangers for 8 to 12 hours a day. When I was growing up we started school at 6 and there was no daycare. If a mom had to work then a family member took care of the child. There is no home training or time spent with the children. Strangers are raising the children. Parents pick up their children from school or daycare and take them to activities or they spend hours doing homework usually both. There is no family time. Activities, homework, dinner and bed. Maybe some family time on the weekends. My feeling is that if you are going to have a child, stay home and raise the child. Know your child's teacher, get involved! Corporal punishment in school today. I don't know. Know your child's teacher.

I moved a lot growing up. I went to 22 different schools. Never was there a school shooting, stabbing, nothing. Every boy had a pocket knife in his back pocket. Most boys had his rifle in his truck during hunting season and never did anyone shoot or stab another student. We didn't have any anti bully programs and very few fights in school. What has changed? The family. Our children are being raised by strangers that we don't know. No moms or dads at home raising the kids.

Just my 2 cents.

sheiba, in my family yes mam/sir and no man/sir do equal respect and is required of even my adult children when speaking to their elders. Not soldiers but respectful. So are the words aunt and uncle when I greet my elderly aunts and uncles. It is respect.

Sorry to go on and on but I have to say to Yearasta, Chris, your culture is not barbaric. It is the states 40 years ago. You are a great father and a great representative of all Crucians. If I had it to do all oven again I would have put my son in public school gotten involved and lived in a more Crucian neighborhood. I "respect" you. Thanks for all your efforts on this forum and the example you set for all parents on St. Croix.

Thanks Tam