Tuition is killing us. what are the alternatives?

Gsanmb

Wed, Dec 07 2011, 6:12 pm

I'm going to echo YY's suggestion to check out Room613.org. There are several forums, and other places online to get more information and connect with other frum homeschoolers. Room613 is a truly amazing resource (and I'm not biased only because I teach a course there! ha).

Thinking outside the box means viewing homeschooling not as 'school at home' necessarily but as home education. As YY said, it's a life. You don't have to have the most patience in the world, or the most organization, or be the best teacher. There are so very many homeschooling sites which (while many of them are not Jewish) have a vast number of resources (both practical and emotional) of which you can avail yourself. If you choose this route, you can also know that it is not a lifetime choice. Nothing is written in stone. You can make a different decision later on.

Also it's worth remembering that sending a young child to school at 3, 4 years old...it's not crucial. If keeping your youngest out a couple of years would give you the breathing room you need, nothing terrible will happen. There are so many fun and interesting things you can do with a preschooler and incorporate whatever 'academics' in very informally. I guarantee you, your baby will learn and 'be ready' (whatever that means).

I am with you on this journey, and I have the added issue of a dh who is not as religious and who actively opposes sending to yeshiva (when we could send to a very 'good' public school and not pay a dime). Thus far I have managed, although I have had a couple years of homeschooling in there which I truly enjoyed. For other reasons, right now my kids are in school. We are managing, just. But I see tremendous value in being willing to think outside the box and venture to be just a little different than your neighbors.

Take a deep breath. Every challenge is also an opportunity. It could be that it is time to reevaluate what you think is a 'quality' education and how you want to achieve that for your kids. You don't have to be perfect, the most patient, the most organized. There are tons and tons of people and resources to help you. Let yourself be open to the possibilities and maybe something will show itself to be the 'good' decision (if not what seems the 'right' one).

There is a yahoogroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/.....ling/

room613.net

TORCH-D (torah homeschooling list at www.shamash.org)

Start there, and also the homeschooling board here.
Hatzlacha raba!

energy11

Wed, Dec 07 2011, 7:24 pm

amother wrote:

expenses tend to rack up in other areas. garbage bags, plastic plates ect....you cannot tell me that there is nowhere at all the school can cut. franlky especially in high school. when I was in high school, we did not need spanish in 10th grade if we were learning it no other time. we didn't need chumash as well as nosim b'chumash, ect.......and the problem with what you say about things costing is thatthey have a captive clientelle. anything else in life, if we can't afford we do without or go for a cheaper alternative. here we are basicly forced by propriety to buy a service we can't afford, and pay employees we can't afford to hire. just because they deserve it doesn't mean I'm able to pay it......and yes you were supermom. not everyone is able to do what you did, with or without grace. some people simply don't have that kind of energy or orginizational skills. and its frustrating as heck because whenever I say something like that, I find those who do manage to do it all look down on me and assume im making excuses because I don't want to do the hard work, have a poor work ethic and want things in life for free. but thats not true. I do the best I can, you were able to do better. good for you, but thats not a reflection on me. (and im saying that to all those out there who react that way, I'm not saying you think that). the fact is hashem didn't make people in a factory. we all have different skills and abilities, and just because administrators say I must do something doesn't mean I'm able to do it. they hold the future of our children in their hands. they put a price down of what our childrens' future costs and then what happens if you can't pay it? if we put our children in public schools guess who gets villified?

not every frum family can make 3 times the national average income to support a moderate sized brood. as much as they deserve it, I can't pay it. parnassa is in G-od's hands.

and you can't tell me nothing can be cut. who says kids need hot lunches? whats wrong with brown bagging nutricious cold lunches? whats wrong with parents sponsoring paper and plastic lunch utensils for the child's class here and there? to provide it for 30 kids once a year is no big cost but if the school doesn't have to provide it every day for 300 kids thats more money in the bank. whats wrong with other parents sponsering a pack of garbage bags for their childs classroom every month. another parent can send in the chalk, if they still use that. maybe schools don't need to spend money on smartboards. maybe the old chalkboards work just fine. again, cheap one at a time, but not insignificant for a whole school over the cost of a year. why not have the kids pitch in with things like painting the classrooms before school? it would be fun, and free.....the schools also have to think outside the box. cutting small expenses can make a big difference in their ability to help poor families. and considering the humiliating incredibly detailed questionaires we have to fill out just to get an appointment to discuss a break, how we have to justify every purchase and financial decision as though all our money is already theirs and they can decide how much we deserve to keep, why don't we get to analyze where all the money they insist they need is being spent. why don't we get to ask how they use the money they squeeze out of us on pain of our childrens' humiliation?

Great post! Very honest and so true..a breath of fresh air! Smile