Being teachers we kind of see how a school really is. One of the reasons I like working at my school so much is how laid back everything is. And that's the exact reason that if I had kids they would never attend that school. I feel like almost all the kids are not on grade level in math or grammar/writing. And we take lots and lots of field trips. In fact, the Friday before exam week, the whole school is going to visit a volcano. Cool, but, seriously? Anyways, how bout you guys?
Having my kids in the same district and building is one of the reasons I applied at my current school. They have had teachers with whom I have had some philsophical differences, but they have received a good education. I'm not sure that I could personally justify staying in a district where I did not feel the schools were making the best possible effort to educate children.
Yes, my kids will go to school with me when they are old enough. It is filled with great teachers and I would be happy if they were in any class in the building. I work with some amazing teachers.
I'll be starting my first year so I can't say for sure, but in looking at my district's board minutes, I see tons of items approving children of staff members to attend at our district. People from all over move to the area to attend here. In actuality though, I think I would be fine with my thus far non-existent children attending about 70% of the schools in my state. Despite the hype over rankings, I think children can do well in a district that is not top ranked with the right support. Certainly there are the extremes in urban districts where discipline is such an issue that learning seldom occurs, but in most schools here, I think students can do well.
I do not have children yet, but when I do, I will not be enrolling them at the district where I work. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the teachers, curriculum or administration (all of which are fabulous). It's more a concern about the values of the community and the peer interactions.
My kiddos come to my school rather than our neighborhood school. There are positives and negatives to the situation... I've experienced both. Regardless, I would not change a thing.
Good point, my school is pretty much the same as our neighborhood school, the high school for the district I work in is a little better.
My town schools are really very good, but I think the town I'm teaching in has even higher standards...I'd have no problem ith my kids going to the district where I teach.
Working at the same district is fine, but not the same school. Not fair for my kids or me. My daughter is in 8th grade this year. Having me at the same school as her would be too embarrassing for her. She would become "Mrs N's daughter" My son is going into 3rd and is in a Special Needs classroom. If I was at the same school as him I would be wondering how he is doing all day and drive his poor teacher crazy. It is best for me this way, and them too I think.
The next town's schools, no, but the ones in my town, yes. My kids take one look at the schools in the nearest towns when we drive by and they shudder--I drive by often enough to make sure they appreciate the schools they're in.
My kids came with me all through elementary school. We walked to school every and walked home together. My son's special needs class was right next door. It was a terrific situation for us.
Exactly. My parents are both teachers. I am eternally grateful that they didn't make me go to either of their schools. My dad worked in a neighboring district and my mom worked in private school. She loved the "community feel" at her school, but thought I needed my independence. The district we lived in was just as good as the one my dad worked in, so that wasn't an issue. After seeing some teachers bring their kids to our school last year, I am even more grateful that I didn't go to my parents' schools. They would get all wrapped up in social things that they wouldn't even know about if they weren't working in the same school (Savannah is having a birthday party, and my daughter wasn't invited! Proceed to stress about this all day during instructional time). Or they would get all upset because their child got in trouble for some minor thing at recess- something most parents wouldn't know about, creating more stress for the kid (b/c their parent knows every single little thing about their day). I know my co-workers who had staff member's children in their class always felt awkward as well. We had a staff that would often bring children to social events (which I didn't agree with either, but that's another story) and people felt like they couldn't relax or have a drink with a child from the school sitting right there. As for the discussion of "good" and "bad" schools, I think professional educators should know better than anyone that test scores are often an indicator of the SES population of the district, not the quality of the teachers. I guarantee you any wealthy area is going to have good scores no matter who they hire. I would have recommended my last school to anyone hands down because the teachers were fabulous. The test scores weren't great because most of our students didn't know English well enough by 3rd grade. I would hope an educator wouldn't make a decision about what school to send their child to based on that.
No way in h-e-l-l. But with that said I love working with the population I'm working with and I love the teachers I work with. It's because of the major issues that so many students in the school have that I wouldn't want my own children (if I had any) at my school. I wouldn't have a problem with my children having any of the other teachers there are SO many great teachers at my school. Interesting question I really never thought about it before.
No. I think my district is decent, but there are others in my area that are better. My nieces and nephews will come up through my district though. I'm pretty excited for my first niece to come to my school in 2013-14. I will be requesting to have them in my class.
I will not have my son attend the district I teach in. Not because the teachers aren't wonderful (they are), but because of the fact that I know that teachers in my district are being told not to teach certain subjects because they are not "tested" subjects. I have never heard this about the district I live in (I am friends with some teachers that teach in that district).
Yes! I am now in the best school in the city, but I am leaving my daughter where she is. I feel like the change would be too much, especially at her age (10 almost 11, and this new school starts middle school at 5th grade, the grade she's entering).
I'm not sure if I would have my hypothetical kids attend the school I work at. It would be okay for awhile but we only have one English teacher per grade level and I'm just not comfortable teaching my kids. Plus I drive 45 minutes each way and wouldn't want to coop them up that long if I didn't have to. It would be hard too for sports and play dates. Again, don't even have kids and hopefully won't for awhile so I guess it's a moot point!
I love my school and the district, but it's a small district with not a lot of opportunities that the district she's in now gives her.
Next year I will teach my fourth (and last) child PE. I taught my first two PE and some other subjects from K-5. I have now taught my youngest son PE 3 years and now Presley, my daughter will come to me for K PE. I see lots of advantages in it. I spent the last few months of last school year praising her new K teacher. She is excellent and I am excited to see how it goes.
I would definitely want my kids to attend the same school I taught at, but only if I could hand-pick their teachers. At every school, there are lots of really great teachers, but there are also a few "duds." Thankfully, I'd be able to bypass the weaker links and place my child(ren) with a strong teacher every year.
I respect most of the teachers that I work with. That's not the issue. I wouldn't want my hypothetical children in the school I work at due to safety issues and the number of classroom disruptions.
My child and I are in different counties. Where we live and where we work are about 30 min apart. My friend watches him after school, as she has a home daycare. He loves his school, and I love mine, so I guess it's all working out. He is still in elem school, and I teach at a middle school. I'll probably let him stay where he is as long as he wants to.
When my son is old enough for school, he will be attending school where I work. I applied in this district because it is a GREAT district, and while I don't live in it's boundaries currently, we will in a few years. If I would have stayed at my charter school, my son would not have gone to school where I taught. It is too small and I didn't like how it was run.
If I had kids, I would definitely want them in my school. My school is ranked in the top 10 in my state, and I know the expectations are very high. Some schools in my state are very low (and many people think all of the schools are), so I'm thankful I'm in such a good area.
While I would have had no concerns about my children attending any of the schools I have taught at, I would not transfer them from the neighbourhood school to do so.
I'm making the switch from elem. down to preschool this year and both of my children will be at my school.
I did and it was not a good choice on my part. My son is ESE and was in the EBD classes. Many times staff members stopped me in the halls to discuss him or in the lounge on my lunch break. Tears fell frequently than. I finally put him in private in fourth. Really wish I had done that at first.
My mother was a teacher. She and I were never in the same school, but she learned an alarming amount about me via the district office. The news was almost never bad, but one did still feel rather in a fishbowl. I could probably have taught my own kids, had circumstances been different, but there's a great deal to be said for giving a kid at least some space.
No. I teach in HS so there is a BIG difference between having your Mommy around when you're five than when you're 15. I've seen the problems it causes for teachers and parents. Plus, I don't particularly want my children to become friends with the students at my school. For a whole host of reasons.
Yes! And mine have for 5 years, since age 3. My kids are thriving and they enjoy the extra attention they get from the adults at school. My children spend a lot of their free time at school so they get to know the adults there pretty well. We've spent 40 hours unpacking the classroom in the last 7 days...school starts the 21st!
I would be ok with it if I had some input over who his/her teachers were. There are some people that I wouldn't want near my kids.