On choosing big school for your kids

[lonely_dad]

For me, I choose convenience, traffic nowadays is just horrible and I don't want my kids spending time sitting in traffic doing nothing! We don't have a driver, and really don't plan on having one, so I don't want to be driving! Not to mention that I am working full time so I don't have the time to leave early to avoid traffic, wait for dismissal and then wait in traffic to get home.

+1000

[izabelle]

Hello everyone! Thank you for your response. Sa ngayon, mukhang mas lamang sa amin ang convenience. I think for a 6yr old, mas importante lalo ang convenience sa araw araw na pagpasok sa school and pag uwi.

Our plan is to give her support system aside from regular school. Right now meron syang tutor na nakatutok sa pag aaral nya, we intend to continue this as long as needed and as long as we can. Will see her progress and will evaluate din.

Again, thank you sa mga sagot nyo.

[yonamarie]

Please go for the convenience! I must say, ang hirap sa bata nung maaga gigising para lang magtravel.
My son will turn 5 on Friday. And he will be incoming Kinder 2 this school year!
Very lucky ako, kasi I get to teach my son to wake up early para makakain before he goes to school.
May times before (when we was in Nursery), sa super aga niya nagising around mga 530am, he ended up sleepy sa school. Ang tamlay niya. Even his teacher ask me if napuyat or maysakit siya.

Naawa ako. So, later that day. I let him sleep the usual time around 9-10 pm and then we would wake up 630 or 7am for his class at 8am

[marose17]

It's been a long time since I logged in here but seeing as izabelle here is the OP of the thread, I wanted to give my two cents.

I'd choose the prestigious school.  It is prestigious for a reason.  Aside from the academics, I also consider the formation, faculty, tradition, facilities, networking (the old boys'/girls' network is alive and well in business and politics, sad to say) and reputation of the school.  Like it or not, studying in a well-recognized grade school is a stepping stone to admission to the best university later.  Also, big schools provide a lot more opportunities for self-enhancement (sports programs, extra-curricular activities, competition in academics, sports and other events, locally and internationally) that smaller schools may not be able to offer.

It's normal for us parents to choose convenience over hardship but the thing is, what molds our children to be the best version of themselves is CHALLENGE.

It is a challenge to wake up early if you are a six year-old but with proper scheduling of bedtime and efficient organization of morning rituals, it is doable.  It will train your child to be an early riser, which is a skill that all adults should have anyway (unless they work in the evening).  By having a mindset of not shielding our children from difficulty (which has a rather adverse effect, as I can see from the general laidback and 'need to be taught everything' culture of millennials whose parents spoonfed them and made their lives so easy), we are in effect helping our children develop self-reliance, an "I can do it" attitude which will ultimately be better for them.

[izabelle]

^^ ^ thank you mga sis for your POV.

Tama si sis Marose, I'm choosing convenience para sa anak ko. Actually palagi naman hindi lang sa school. Kaya siguro natatakot ako na sa medyo effort sa transpo sya pumasok para kasi sa akin sobrang baby pa nya haha!

Ako ang nastress for her, wala pa man din.    Iniisip ko nga din parang hindi ko sya kaya pasakayin sa school bus ng mag isa at the age of 6.

I hope maovercome ko itong fear na ito.

[kaythrielle]

^lol! Normal lang yan sis, esp if first and/or only child pa.
ganyan din ako nun sa eldest ko, tuwing may field trips sila nung kinder pa sya and hindi kasama parents (that was in sg), andami kong tanong sa teacher, nakaabang ako sa school etc. ako yung may separation anxiety while my kid was excited hehe.

On topic, baby pa rin naman talaga ang ganyang age heheh i think any age, our"babies" will always be babies in our eyes

Anyway, in pinas naman, kahit sa normal schools sila elementary and high school, as long as they maintain good grades, kids can go to prestigious schools pagdating ng college (hindi lang naman Ateneo ang prestigious schools no, dami pang iba) like UP, UST, La Salle, Mapua etc. to name a few.

[twelvth_goddess]

^^I'm such a stage mom when it comes to field trip mostly because I'm very paranoid. Last year, grade 1 daughter ko and it was her first time to go on a field trip na bawal chaperone. I was aghast kase nag-file pako ng VL because I was thinking nga na allowed ang chaperone being that they're only first graders. But syempre, they couldn't stop me from following the school bus. I kept my distance naman but hinde lang ako mapakali talaga. And to make me more paranoid, the following week, nangyari yung tragic field trip bus accident sa Tanay which killed a lot of college students.

[izabelle]

^ I can relate sis. Yung daughter ko parang nagkaroon ng mini field trip dito lang sa may RCBC Makati para sa United Nations last year. Sabi ng school no parents allowed daw, hindi ko pinayagan sumama anak ko. Sobrang praning ako baka mawala sya or something. She's only 4yrs old that time, laking inis ko sa school na hindi pwede sumama parents.

[twelvth_goddess]

^Diba, sis? Lalo pang nakakaparanoid na madameng news about kids getting abducted. Plus, one of my co-workers' daughter almost got kidnapped in Market Market.

This is why I have no issues with tight school security. In AA, since my daughter is recorded as a bus rider, hinde pwedeng basta ko sya sunduin without a prior note to the teacher or calling the school. Hinde sya ibibigay and I prefer it that way. Buti nang strict kesa pabaya ang school.

[VShe]

i'd choose mas malapit na school.  Convenient.  More time para magpahinga ang bata at higit sa lahat, madaling puntahan kung biglang may emergency or suspended ang klase or magkasakit.

I can relate sa mga mommies na paranoid pag field trip time na.  Kasama pa din ako ng daughter ko sa field trip last year kahit grade 7 na sya.   Each class was only allowed one parent to join 

[izabelle]

I think forever na tayo paranoid haha! Sa bagay, ang daddy at mommy ko kailangan ko pa sila itext kapag nasa office na ako. Imagine 32 years old na ako ha. 

[VShe]

^ Hahaha!  Baka ganyan din tayo kahit older na our kids 

[Chili1113]

Security is a super big issue for me. I don't have a problem with the field trips because they always have max 40 kids per field trip with 4 teachers, police escort, 2 school security guards, and school burse and medic. Some parent volunteers are also there.

Also the picking up of children is very strict. Only people on the kid's fetcher's pass can pick up the child. This is all the way till Grade 6. NOT EVEN THE PARENT can pick up the child if he/she has no fetcher's pass with their pic on it. This is to avoid kids whose parents have an ongoing custody battle. If the mom has custody, and doesn't authorize the father, the father cannot pick up the child from school.