Groups I'm Really Looking Forward to

When our community launches I'll be heading straight to a section called "Groups."

For parents new to Web communities, a group is simply an online collection of people with similar interests. A group relevant to you might be one composed of parents with kids the same age as yours, or parents struggling with the same parenting or academic issues you are, or parents with the same concerns about our educational system. Groups facilitate the sharing of experiences and knowledge.

Within each group, expect to find separate discussions taking place. Expect it to be like your last family reunion, or the last party you attended, where many conversations happen at the same time. The beauty of a group, and the advantage it has over a party or a meeting, is that you can participate in several conversations simultaneously. You can have your fingers in all the pies, if you want!

Initially, GreatSchools will start with several dozen groups, but members are free (and encouraged) to create as many groups as they desire. You can create an invitation-only, private group or you can create a public group.

What are the two groups I'm looking forward to? As the mother of a sixth-grader and an eleventh-grader, (and I will take responsibility for creating these groups) they are: Strategies for Success in Middle School and Junior Year Survival Skills. I'm interested in creating the first one because I'm concerned about my sensitive sixth-grader. I feel that he needs to learn what it means to apply himself to his work and to experience a sense of mastery, something that has eluded him so far. These are issues I didn't have to grapple with when my daughter was in sixth grade.

I'm equally concerned for my eleventh-grade daughter who is taking a rigorous slate of classes in an extremely competitive school. She always does well in school, but at great cost to her (and everyone else who lives in the same house).

So, I'm looking for any and all parenting advice. It won't be a total one-way street, as I have some words of wisdom to share.

I'm sure that you, too, have issues and concerns particular to your unique situation. If, once our community is up and running, you don't find the group that you want, please create it. When the conversation and advice start to flow, you'll be glad you did. And so will all the other parents in your new group.

Comments

[Valerie]

We recently moved to Chicago from Atlanta, I would like to enroll my daughter in a school that challenges her to study and stay focused on school and not so much fashion and popularity.

Unfortunately, we can't afford private school, nor will the district allow us to attend a school that is outside of the area we live in without some kind of recommendation.

Any suggestions for a new comer who wants the best in education for her daughter.

Valerie

[sfmom]

Private schools are vastly overrated. Try to get a recommendation for a public school outside of your area. And look twice at the public schools in your area. Lots of unfounded George Bush type rumors about public schools are simply not true.

[rachlove]

I've always been the one whom people come to for advice but I'm hard pressed for answers on what to do with my dear daughter's academic issues. She's very bright and unconventional - her learning style, her pursuits, her output. We've tried traditional public, pricey private, and private montessori - now we're back to less pricey private. I hate to admit this even to myself but I'm considering a MEDIOCRE public school because it's a magnet program in the Arts; multimedia music technology to be specific. My problem is with the mediocre academic part. I've always strived to get her the best educ or very near. Where I live public ed is poor to fair for the most part - (for ex. my CT best friend has all her kids in public & there it makes absolute sense). I'm also concerned about changing her schools every 2 yrs. I'm all about continuity - I went to 2 schools from k-12. How different it's been with her - it's like I gave birth to my alter ego who's as smart & very good hearted but a rebel (which I secretly admire).
Any advice would be welcomed & Thanks :o)