What are your educational goals for your children? Sciences, classics, grad school, professional career? What do you do to support their intellectual endeavors?
Great question. I have 2 boys. One is 12 and very into engineering and math. My 10 yo is a bit more creative and less confident. I want them to have careers with a good balance but enough pay in case they have wives who want to stay home with kids. My brain always goes to IVY but the price tag may be out of reach for us.
I'm a strong believer in a classic liberal arts education, not as a means to an end (getting high paying job) but as a foundation for a life well lived. DCs will graduate from HS with a solid prep school education, with a heavy focus on writing/grammar/self-expression including Latin, etc. And they will have been heavily exposed to the arts. I expect an undergraduate degree from a well ranked LAC followed by either a pursuit into the the arts or a terminal degree in their chosen field or both. The thing I stress more than money or even "passion" is finding a career that lets you contribute something good to the world, however large or small.
My DD's strengths and interests are in the humanities, not STEM. A lot of people don't think it's practical, but I think a degree in the humanities is a strong foundation for a career in law, business or creative endeavors because you'll have good writing, research and synthesis/analysis skills. Other than engineering--and we can't all be engineers or programmers--I think undergraduate degrees in business, entrepreneurship, communications, etc., are less substantive and don't necessarily lead to better jobs. But if she wants to study those subjects in grad school, I would be supportive. My hope is that she follows her interests and strengths and applies the skills (not necessarily the specific subject of say, English or History) to a career that is interesting and fulfilling.
I want them to be capable of being well-informed citizens, and capable of taking care of themselves. I assumed college all along, and the oldest is there, but I can also think of some scenarios where i would be OK with some alternative post-HS program or a delay in going to college.
Professionals so that they never feel like they can’t support myself. would Love my dad to get a PhD in psychology and for son to be an orthodontist. Not kidding. Stable mable here who grew up
OP, is your question aimed at finding ways to make enrichment/independent study/self-directed learning happen this year? I keep wanting to guess (perfectly) what my kids would love, and then blow their little minds with the perfect remote opportunity to access or build expertise. Lightning has not struck.
My long-term educational goals are schizoid. I hope the kids can relax into learning and do what they like, and also that we can help them find good matches re. interests and personality. But also my lizard-brain is chanting “ivies, ivies, private schools.” That’s the power of habit.
What we do to help for now is some halfassed language instruction with books, magazines, dictionaries, conversation, duolingo, whatever we can find. Very short but every day. Also some music, some meditating or similar, and some falling off the wagon on all of that.
College is assumed. I'm not Ivy-focused; state college would be fine and save us mega bucks. My older kid is very strong academically but not interested in sciences. My younger one will more likely do something math/science focused. I want them to have careers they enjoy.
Broadly, I expect that all of my children will graduate from college, speak at least one language other than English and be intellectually curious for their entire lives. I expect professional or creative careers, mostly because that's what they know.
Specifically, I expect that my oldest will attend a science-focused program or university. I'd love to see him at MIT or CalTech but he is fixated on Columbia.
I sign my kids up for anything that interests them and every extra event or opportunity that their schools offer. I want them to be well-rounded and broadly knowledgeable.
I want my DCs to have a well rounded education, including classics (at least Latin). I want them both to have a career where, if necessary, they can support themselves and DCs, as you never know what happens to DH (sick, accident/disability, unemployment are real). I would not want them to be a nurse or midwife, to me these are low aspirations.
@Anonymous OP. It would be nice to know you IRL. I don’t know anyone in the US who learned Greek and sometimes miss talking to people with a similar background. Greek and Latin were my favorite subjects in school, I loved studying the -mi verbs but agree that it was much harder than Latin.
Great question. I have 2 boys. One is 12 and very into engineering and math. My 10 yo is a bit more creative and less confident. I want them to have careers with a good balance but enough pay in case they have wives who want to stay home with kids. My brain always goes to IVY but the price tag may be out of reach for us.
I'm a strong believer in a classic liberal arts education, not as a means to an end (getting high paying job) but as a foundation for a life well lived. DCs will graduate from HS with a solid prep school education, with a heavy focus on writing/grammar/self-expression including Latin, etc. And they will have been heavily exposed to the arts. I expect an undergraduate degree from a well ranked LAC followed by either a pursuit into the the arts or a terminal degree in their chosen field or both. The thing I stress more than money or even "passion" is finding a career that lets you contribute something good to the world, however large or small.
My DD's strengths and interests are in the humanities, not STEM. A lot of people don't think it's practical, but I think a degree in the humanities is a strong foundation for a career in law, business or creative endeavors because you'll have good writing, research and synthesis/analysis skills. Other than engineering--and we can't all be engineers or programmers--I think undergraduate degrees in business, entrepreneurship, communications, etc., are less substantive and don't necessarily lead to better jobs. But if she wants to study those subjects in grad school, I would be supportive. My hope is that she follows her interests and strengths and applies the skills (not necessarily the specific subject of say, English or History) to a career that is interesting and fulfilling.
I want them to be capable of being well-informed citizens, and capable of taking care of themselves. I assumed college all along, and the oldest is there, but I can also think of some scenarios where i would be OK with some alternative post-HS program or a delay in going to college.
Oops can’t support themselves ^^
Professionals so that they never feel like they can’t support myself. would Love my dad to get a PhD in psychology and for son to be an orthodontist. Not kidding. Stable mable here who grew up
poor.
OP, is your question aimed at finding ways to make enrichment/independent study/self-directed learning happen this year? I keep wanting to guess (perfectly) what my kids would love, and then blow their little minds with the perfect remote opportunity to access or build expertise. Lightning has not struck.
My long-term educational goals are schizoid. I hope the kids can relax into learning and do what they like, and also that we can help them find good matches re. interests and personality. But also my lizard-brain is chanting “ivies, ivies, private schools.” That’s the power of habit.
What we do to help for now is some halfassed language instruction with books, magazines, dictionaries, conversation, duolingo, whatever we can find. Very short but every day. Also some music, some meditating or similar, and some falling off the wagon on all of that.
Does anybody’s DC take Latin at school?
College is assumed. I'm not Ivy-focused; state college would be fine and save us mega bucks. My older kid is very strong academically but not interested in sciences. My younger one will more likely do something math/science focused. I want them to have careers they enjoy.
Broadly, I expect that all of my children will graduate from college, speak at least one language other than English and be intellectually curious for their entire lives. I expect professional or creative careers, mostly because that's what they know.
Specifically, I expect that my oldest will attend a science-focused program or university. I'd love to see him at MIT or CalTech but he is fixated on Columbia.
I sign my kids up for anything that interests them and every extra event or opportunity that their schools offer. I want them to be well-rounded and broadly knowledgeable.
I want my DCs to have a well rounded education, including classics (at least Latin). I want them both to have a career where, if necessary, they can support themselves and DCs, as you never know what happens to DH (sick, accident/disability, unemployment are real). I would not want them to be a nurse or midwife, to me these are low aspirations.
Frankly !? A career in a field where DD can always land on her feet (=earn a decent living, retrain easily if she chose to SAH, always in demand).
I'd be happy with my DD being a nurse or midwife. My educational dream for her is to study chemistry.