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crystalbella77

crystalbella77

Capture life and embrace it
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
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how far would you drive every day to take your kids to a good school? I have been researching the options around here and the closest good schools are about 45min to 1 hour from me. It seems so far to go everyday...but I have a fear of driving and being out (another story) but I am trying to get over those kinds of things and not let my own issues hold the kids back ya know? So...I wondered what everyone else thought or what others would be willing to do for good education. I don't know what we will end up doing...but I am trying to get a game plan. :)
 
That's a tough one Crystal. Two hours is an awful long time to be on the road everyday. Not only for you but for them too. We are kind of having a related issue here too. We found out that when we move to El Paso my son is looking at an hour bus ride each way to and from school (he will be attending the German school on base). I think that is too long for him to commute an I am looking at what else we can do. Honestly anything farther than half an hour drive and I would have to really be sure it was worth it. But then again I have always lived in places where the schools are really close. Maybe there are others where an hour drive is standard.
 
I must be in minority but I don't find that bad, if it is in the best interests for my kids. But I used to commute that long every day for work so I know the time can fly and I don't mind driving.
 
I have to agree that's a tough call. We live in a rather isolated place as well and I thought about similar options before we moved here. I turned out to be enormously lucky and there is actually a school on base here that is good and I didn't feel like I had to look to town for the best option.

If this wasn't the case, I was willing to make the 45 minute drive though. I had visions of us jammin' to tunes together and decompressing from the day or getting ready for it to and from...I think that educational choices are so hugely important, that if you find something special that meets your personal standard for your kids' schooling, it's worth the sacrifice. But I agree with Kelly, I would want to be sure the pros outweighed the cons.
 
That's a hard call ... I think would homeschool before I drove that far. LOL My kids' school is only 10 minutes from me yet I was in the car for over an hour per day between mornings/kinder/afternoon drop offs and pick ups. It just shot my days to pieces. The other thing to consider is if you are driving that far, that is an hour taken from their homework time/extra curricular time/play time each day. For my kids, that would be a big deal. Especially when fall/winter hits and the days become shorter.
 
While I agree that the quality of the school is the most important, there are so many factors other factors at play. For example, do your kids like to get up early? If they really hate it, that extra hour is going to be tough 5 days a week. Will you be planning on staying in town during the school day? If not, that is actually 4 hours a day in the car for you. Does your car get great gas mileage? LOL Make that pros and cons list!
 
I would look for a job up there so I could stay up there all day. :) I think there are more pros than cons at this point, but it would be such a huge thing it has me really scared. *sigh*
 
How old are they? What gets to us is having no time to be a kid because of the commute. We live in the middle of nowhere and my daughter gets on the bus at 7am and gets home at 4:10pm. As soon as she's home she has time for homework, supper, shower and bed. She has very little time to just be a kid and she's only going to be 7 in July. It makes our nights harder too because her siblings want to play with her and we need her to get other stuff done.

Saying that it wasn't some life altering thing either. We all survived the school year and will continue to do the same thing next year. We don't really have an option for schools haha. She does have her best friend on the bus and they have a lot of time to do stuff while on the bus (that wouldn't be the same if you are driving them though). We have a great school and really that kind of commute is normal for a rural area.
 
We used to live on an acreage that was 20 minutes out of town. We didn't have to drive the kids to school, as the bus picked them up, but those were long bus rides for my kids.

I can tell you, from experience, that having to drive back and forth every single day can really wear on a person. Whether it be traffic, or background noise, or gas expenses and extra vehicle maintenance, but mainly the time it takes away from "family" time, really really wore on our family.

Among a couple of other things, we couldn't do the driving anymore and that is one thing I don't miss one single bit.

We moved back in to the city last summer and my #1 requirement when looking for a house is that it had to be within walking distance to my school of choice. No more driving. I would move before I would do the driving again. lol

It's a tough call honey. You guys will have to decide what will be best for your family.
 
I think I would drive further if my kids are in high school. For me personally security, time being children, time with family and playing are just as important as a 'good education'. Having said that though, the last place we lived we chose to go to a private school because the public school we were zoned for was that bad, but it was only 10 minutes drive further.

Are you able to car pool with other families? It's a tough decision.
 
Thankfully we live literally right across the street from the school our boys go to. But while I was in college I was doing an hour commute every day to school, and that got old fast. Plus since I had an hour drive I had to get my oldest up by 6 to get him ready for school to drop him off at 7, then drive to my mom's to drop my other son off, and then got to do the long drive into the city for school. Then their was the drive back home, wait in pick up for my oldest, then drive to my mom's to pick up the other one, then bring them back home, work on homework, keep other occupied, and make dinner. It made for a long long day. lol So I know for a fact that I would think an hour would be too far me to drive to take them to school.
 
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Well, either way, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try for a year. If it doesn't work for you, then you'll know and you won't have any regrets or wonder if it would have been best. That's my theory.
 
Yeah. Tough call is right! I'm the first to agree with the importance of a good education, but... I think it would be awfully hard for them to have to get up even earlier to get ready, and then the long drive at the end of the day. I think it would eat into "down" time and family time too, which is equally important. We move around a lot and we know that eventually we'll end up in a place with a not so great school system. Even though we don't have kids in school yet, we've talked about what we'd do in that situation. The first choice would be to put them into a good private school, assuming there is one. If not, then I'll home school. That way I know that they'll get a good education, tailored just for them. I think I'd drive 30 minutes, but anything farther, I just don't think would work for us. But, that's just my 2 cents. You've got to do what you feel in your heart is right for you and your family. The good news is, whatever you decide isn't permanent. If you try it out and it's not for you, you can always put them in a closer school next year.
 
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Thanks for the info and insight ladies. I just don't know what to do but I love how Kellie put it sweet and simple. We have been doing the homeschooling, but it's just not working for me. I am not into it at all and it just wears me down to do every single thing anymore. I am alone like 90% of the time and I feel like I need a little bit of help with some of the burdens...schooling being one of them. The public schools in this area are so poor. We live in rural IN and there just are not good options. I am looking at a few private schools and one charter school. Ideally I would like to be able to be a part of their education still either by working at the school or volunteering. We have one meeting scheduled for next week and another person I have been communicating with and filled out the papers for just to see if there is space available. IDK...I am thinking about our options and seeing what could work for us and like a few of you said...it's not permanent so it's not hugely hugely binding for us. I will keep you posted!
 
This is going to be us once Colin hits middle school and moves from public to private. I'm not looking forward to it, but the middle school here is just not a good one for him so he'll go to Catholic school downtown. It's really only 10 miles but in the traffic it will be 45 each way. Their current school is less than a mile from our house right now and it's so nice it will certainly be an adjustment when he changes.
 
we've done the 30min each way... it sucked. gets realllly tedious.
 
I think it is tough either way, Crystal! driving that far seems way overwhelming to me, but thinking back on my own childhood, we lived a good 30-40 minute drive from our school and it wasn't that big of a deal to me as a kid. My mom worked in town and so she dropped us off on her way in and then when we were done with school, we either had activities after school or went to her work place. good luck with your decision though and hopefully all the details will fall into place for the best situation for all of you!
 
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