How far would you go to give your child a great education?
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Schools are set to open again in a month’s time, which puts the spotlight at this time of the year on our children’s education.
If you’re a parent like me, you’ve probably given a lot of thought to what school to send your kids to in order to give them the best education.
You know, though, sometimes I think we look too much at the school and too little at our children.
Maybe if we looked at our children more and at what they need so that they would learn best, they’d be happier in school and later in life.
I found that out firsthand from my own children.
I have two: a 19-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy.
They’re the reasons why I think the way I do about education.
You see, they’re out-of-the-box learners. That is, they learn differently from most.
I say that because when my daughter was already in Grade 2 in the small community in Prince Edward Island where we first lived, she still couldn’t read or do math despite my wife’s and my efforts. So in 2003, we moved to Calgary, where we thought some of the best schools in Canada were. We chose a private school for her called Calgary Academy that was just a 20-minute ride from our home in Altadore. That school took a good look at her and then taught her based on her strengths and weaknesses. It did wonders for her. Last year, she graduated from high school with high marks, and she’s now doing well in a university.
As for my son, he was in Grade 4 when we moved to Altadore. He had wanted to go to Calgary Academy too because it’s a beautiful school, but it was expensive, so we sent him to a public school instead: Altadore Elementary School. But when he was in Grade 7, he wanted to go to an inquiry-based school, a sort of public science school. Well, things didn’t work out for him there. I guess it was because the school still focused on a particular learning technique, no matter how different it was from the conventional instructional method – a technique that was good only for a specific type of learners: super-inquisitive and aggressive learners, which my son was not. So when my son was in Grade 8, we finally gave in and sent him to Calgary Academy. He did very well there and has learned so much that he has since moved back to a public school.
It surely wasn’t an easy journey for our whole family, but I believe that when you’re a parent, you shouldn’t ask yourself how far you’ll go to give your children a great education. We went cross-country, and we shelled out a lot more money than we had first planned, but we can’t be happier because our children are happy and they’re now well on their way to creating whatever future they want.
If you’re looking for information on Calgary and area schools for your children, check out http://www.calgaryarea.com/schools/private_
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/ and http://www.cssd.ab.ca/.
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About the author:
Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with RE/MAX House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high school sweetheart, an enthusiastic Dad and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website.
Tags: Altadore homes for sale, Altadore houses for sale, Altadore Real Estate
