Going in to debt to educate our kids....

[NM_Shooter]

Moving here to ABQ, we knew that there was going to be some bad along with the good.  I was disappointed to learn more about the local school... University of New Mexico.  It is fronted by Central Street, which is full of drugs, prostitutes, tatoo parlors and smoke shops.  It is not a great area of town.  I have also worked a little with UNM in terms of being a volunteer industry-type liason for a tech company.  What I saw behind the scenes in terms of administration and department infighting was horrible.  Nepostism at its finest.  Yeah, I know that isn't unusual.  But seeing it right up front made it just that much more unpalatable. 

We opted to go into a little bit of debt to send our daughter out of state to go to school.  I miss her, but from time to time get reinforcement that this was the right decision. 

My daughter sent me a picture that she took while bicycling through campus the other day.  I am comparing it to a picture that was taken on the UNM campus this year.

Yeah, this is a bit of a hyperbole in terms of photographic representation.  But it still expresses exactly how I feel about these two schools :

Picture from UNM :



Picture that my daughter took.  (Queue the deer)

[peternap]

Good for you!

We teach our kids morals and values as they grow up, many times they are things that aren't taught or are the opposite of what they teach in K-12.

Then they go off to college and IMO, that's the deciding point in their lives. They are going to take one road or the other.

Sending her to a school where the norm is less than desirable just tests her upbringing. At best, she'll survive it but her education will suffer. At worst, she'll fall in with her classmates and send the rest of her life in the wrong direction.

Sending her somewhere that doesn't have as many temptations can only increase the odds of her cutting the apron strings for the right reason.

My wife and I scrimped and did without to educate our kids. My son took some pushing but at over 30 years old, my Daughter still calls her mother every day on the way home from work and our son works for a Defense Contractor making more money than I ever dreamed of.

I think it was worth it!

[MushCreek]

We took a different route. Our son went to a private Christian school from pre-school through to high school graduation. It was far more expensive than college! He then went to a huge university (48,000 students) and we worried, but he did fine, getting his Masters in Engineering. He was immediately hired, and is a fine young man, if I don't say so myself. It's interesting that he stayed with the same group of friends even through college, and they are still the same group of friends today, working, getting married, raising children. They are much more clean-cut than I was!

[peternap]

They are much more clean-cut than I was!

I left that part out Jay....on purpose!

[UK4X4]

"They are much more clean-cut than I was!"

we can only hope to improve our families - generation to generation

I'm surprised I ever ended up where I am today.................and so's my family !

My wasted youth backbacking and surfing my way arround the world to my family was a disaster, my 1 year out became 9
and only this year 25 years after that fatefull day did I get a pat on my back from my father after inviting him to Bogota to see how we live.

Schooling is so dificult- the best schools - the best teachers mean nothing if the child just wastes his days thinking of where he'll rollerskate at the weekend.

temptations will be always there wether 300 or 3,000 people at the school

My reports always said could do better- well eventually I did but it took a while to work out what I wanted in life.

Education and discussions in the house and family helps more with temptation

than a leather strap - or in my fathers case the horse whip was his weapon of choice.

My daughter is 4 and will be 5 in December - Graduated from "kindergarden" in July and straight into School in August
here in latino land they start early and she's already in full time school, leaving at 7.20am and back at 5pm

The company pays and the school seems to be excelent, but its a long day, she's knackered when she comes home.

I only hope that she'll surpass me and still be my friendly daughter when shes in her 20's

The world changes so fast- I have no idea where we'll be or what will be out there in 15 years time !

[NM_Shooter]

Spend time with your daughter now, and she will spend time with you later. 

Everything... tea parties, dad / daughter dances, Halloween, movie night.  Especially tuck her in every, single night.  Let no topic be out of bounds.  Read to her and pat her back while she falls asleep.  Tell her how much she means to you, and how much you love her (every day).  Make being with you the most fun thing ever.  Teach her to shoot, ride motorcycles, build forts, throw a curve ball, catch lizards, and climb a tree.  Find her interests and figure out how to make them yours too.  Let her know what is appropriate, what to expect from boys, and teach her by example with regards to how you treat your wife.   

Piece of cake.  I wish I could do it all over again!

[zion-diy]

Spend time with your daughter now, and she will spend time with you later. 

Everything... tea parties, dad / daughter dances, Halloween, movie night.  Especially tuck her in every, single night.  Let no topic be out of bounds.  Read to her and pat her back while she falls asleep.  Tell her how much she means to you, and how much you love her (every day).  Make being with you the most fun thing ever.  Teach her to shoot, ride motorcycles, build forts, throw a curve ball, catch lizards, and climb a tree.  Find her interests and figure out how to make them yours too.  Let her know what is appropriate, what to expect from boys, and teach her by example with regards to how you treat your wife.   

Piece of cake.  I wish I could do it all over again!

I can't say it any better than Harry.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttI-Ibythls