C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I can register my son to a long distance school in France. To get official recognition, it's 1,000$ tuition, but high school -and a bit more - would be covered. Or he can study on his own, and that would not guarantee college entry in Quebec. In fact it will cut down on his option (no French colleges and universities...) Or we buckle down and follow the local curriculum with major major supervision from the school board which doesn't really appeal to us. When they ask which brand of school bell you use and insist on 20 minutes potty break per grade level (for each kid in the family???), they have no clue about homeschooling... Oh the dilemma.. Freedom, vs security... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I think I'd choose the $1000 tuition but there is a caveat. If you enroll in the French school can you still school your way or do you have to meet their goals and use their curriculum. If you have to do it there way then you might as well do it with your own school system there really wouldn't be much difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 I think I'd choose the $1000 tuition but there is a caveat. If you enroll in the French school can you still school your way or do you have to meet their goals and use their curriculum. If you have to do it there way then you might as well do it with your own school system there really wouldn't be much difference. Gotta follow their lead completely. However, their program is stronger than the local school system. They actually learn to write proper French ;-) And they wouldn't play tricks on us. The local school system's approach is more like "you're on your own, no help from us, don't bother us, but your kid has the obligation of passing with succcess the end of year exam. And you can't ask us what's on the exam". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 My older son did the full CNED program when we started homeschooling, in 4th grade, and continued for a couple of years. Then we started devising our own program. He took (and passed) the BEPC exam at the end of 9th grade with no problem. My younger son did the French language arts program only for 1st grade. One very annoying aspect of the French educational system is that there is a lot of repetition from one year to the next (particularly in the earlier grades, but mainly in French in later years), with a little more new information thrown in each time. It annoyed me a lot when I was a kid (I went to school in France from pre-K to my master's degree in English and two years of training at a translating school in Paris), but it drove my older son absolutely nuts! And my younger one begged me not to enroll him again:-( If your child can stomach the CNED through 12th grade and then passes the French baccalaureate, then you've had a good investment for your $1,000. I've heard that kids in my area who go to the French International School (which follows the same program as the CNED or any high school in France) often get credit for about one year of college-level work when they pass the baccalaureate. And if they leave school after 11th grade, they get a high school diploma recognized by our state (Maryland). So, yes, the educational level is typically higher than in an American high school. But you definitely lose your academic freedom. Patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Yes we're considering the CNED. But because of political reasons, we no longer qualify for the low cost education it provides. We're talking 1,000$ per year, plus the books (about 200$ if I get them new, but I can get some of them used). My son did 1st grade with them and it was hard... However, now that he's starting the French college (grade 6 to grade 9 in the States) I'm no longer willing to be his sole teacher. Grade 6 will discuss Ovide's transformations, for example, and I've never read those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Best wishes to your son, then! The last course we did was 1st grade French, and that was 8 years ago. It makes me feel so old:-( Patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielle Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I'm ashamed to say that when I look at my Quicken program, I wish we'd only spent $1,000 per year! I'm not even counting music lessons, the art classes, blah blah blah. On the other hand, I would have great difficulty having anyone tell me what is right for my kid. College exams are gatekeepers. Would it be possible for your dc to go to college in the US? Oddly, it's probably more free than the French system. Best wishes, whatever you go with. Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 I wish we'd only spent $1,000 per year! <snip> Would it be possible for your dc to go to college in the US? Oddly, it's probably more free than the French system. The 1,000$ is only for basic tuition. He'd still go to his theater classes, ballet, swimming, and gymnastics class. He'll still take his electronics classes, and we're adding biology labs next year. But those costs will be the same, regardless of what we end up choosing for his basic classes (French, English, Math, etc..) yeah, we're well over 1,000$/yr already. It would be an *extra*.... Yikes! As for colleges in the States, I don't think we can afford it. Especially since it's so cheap here. Between 2,000$ and 3,000$ a year for tuition. And there would be no lodging costs. Oh well. Gotta sleep on this for a long time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Could you tell me more about these programs? Did you do a 1st grade program through a French school? Where I could find out more about them? Thank you so much for any information! yvonne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 http://www.cned.fr Long distance education by the Ministry of Education of France. Open to anyone living abroad, but must be quite at ease with French. It's meant for French speakers. If you qualify, you can get official recognition of your schooling, just as if you had attended a real brick and mortar school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Thank you so much, Cleo! My in-laws would be thrilled. I'm off to check into it. yvonne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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