Would you send your science-minded child to a classical school?

[HappyGrace]

Knowing that for the most part classical schools are very humanities-based and not well-known for their science?

 

How would that affect them going forward into college?

 

Thanks for any info or opinions!

[johnandtinagilbert]

No. And I might hesitate to send my kinesthetic learner there unless I was sure there would be a lot of projects and less writing (than we do in the very classical parts of our schooling).

 

Hi, btw ;) Miss you ladies!

[HappyGrace]

Hi Tina :seeya:

 

I am not on here much lately so I miss seeing everyone! I always think of you when we are marking our spelling words ala PR!

 

Thanks for the opinion!

[elegantlion]

It would depend upon the science/math offerings at the high school level. My initial thought would be no.

[moki4]

I would also have to give a quick no, but what does your dc say? A well rounded education (classical) can encompass a stronger science load with A very strong/motivated student who "wants to do it all". There are only so many hours in a day. This is b&m school with regular hours correct? As a parent, I would want it "all" for my dc's, but reality means that it is rarely achievable. Look at the details, and decide if it is doable:).

What other factors influence your decision? And why now? You've hs'ed this long, so why the change?

Best of luck!

[Teachin'Mine]

For some, it would be akin to torture. :tongue_smilie:

[HappyGrace]

Yes, b+m school. I think in many ways the structure and other things would be great, but this dc will prbly need to be well-prepared for a science based career so I wondered if anyone would do or had done classical school in such a case. Also this is not a super strong student in the humanities so I wouldn't want those grades to be a problem (for the transcript) in high school if the student is pushed beyond what I feel is necessary in the humanities areas.

Edited November 22, 2011 by HappyGrace

[Nan in Mass]

My first consideration would be math. If the math weren't very good at the classical school, I wouldn't consider it.

 

My second consideration would be the student. Does the student want to go to a classical school? Some students are geeks. Geeks come in different flavours, of course. There is a certain type of geek that is passionately interested in several widely divergent things, not all of which are technical, and finds people interesting enough to find history or politics or literature interesting. He or she may be intrigued by languages. They (the he/she was becoming wearisome and I don't have time this morning to reword so as to avoid it) may find academics fairly easy and not be particularly bothered by not studying science in school because they study it all the time on their own and have their own mentors and projects and resources. For that sort of geek, a classical school, providing the math is good, might be a nice thing. Once they go to college, they are not likely to get to indulge those interests very much, so this is a good time to aquire a non-STEM education. If their school doesn't provide good basic sciences, there are other ways to get them on a transcript, like summer programs or after-schooling using open-source classes and then taking a standardized test (SAT2 or AP) in science.

 

If the student is the sort of geek who is very literal, making it practically impossible for them to understand the metaphores and why's and subtleties of literature until they are older and have more experience with life, or the sort of geek who is brilliant at intutively understanding how things work but can't put it into words, or the sort of geek who finds reading and writing a terrible chore or a terrible bore, then a classcial school would probably be good from the point of view of teaching them how to do that sort of thing but very bad indeed from the point of view of inspiring the student enough to want to put any effort into learning such things. In other words, it would be a bad fit. Besides, their grades would probably be bad, making it hard to get into college, and the academics would take so much of their time and energy that they wouldn't have a chance to pursue science on their own.

 

There are also the single-minded, only one passion sort of people for whom anything other than what touches that passion is a complete waste of time, either because they refuse utterly to do it or because they are incapable of being affected by it, even if they try.

 

For the more ordinary sort of student, the non-geeks, the non-single-minded, the just-more-interested-in-science-than-history-or-literature, there are two schools of thought (provided the math is good and they have a way of getting decent lab sciences). One says that they need good science so they can show they are good at science and get into a good science college. The other says that they won't get to study much other than science in college, so now is the time to study history and literature and languages. Probably which approach you take depends on the sort of college you are aiming for? Maybe? I tended to take the second approach, but only up until the second half of high school, and only because my first son was not aimed at a hard-to-get-into school and my second had plenty of science-type projects going on his own.

 

HTH

-Nan

Edited November 22, 2011 by Nan in Mass

[G5052]

My father went to a Great Books college and went on to become a top-flight research physicist. He had multiple offers for graduate school, all with free-ride scholarships/research assistantships.

[snowbeltmom]

For some' date=' it would be akin to torture. :tongue_smilie:[/quote']

 

:001_smile: I have one of those in my house.

[Teachin'Mine]

:001_smile: I have one of those in my house.

 

Me too. :001_smile:

 

We used all the Core Knowledge books in the early elementary years, but the ancient history caused my dd's eyes to gloss over. Just not her interest. And many of what's considered classics in literature, have content that is definitely not to her liking. She loves to read and write and is enjoying modern history, but the main components of a classical education would not work well here.

[Gwen in VA]

No. Classical schools are great, but they are really focused on providing an excellent education in the humanities, not the sciences.

 

Well, I guess it would depend on the school.

 

1) Are they using a rigorous math curriculum or just a standard ho-hum one? Scientific kids need REALLY strong background in math.

 

2) Are they using a rigorous science curriculum? Do kids regularly/often take any SAT-2's in the sciences?

 

3) And do they have adequate lab facilities? Colleges seem willing to overlook some lab inadequacies in homeschooling kids, but I'm not sure they'd overlook that in a kid attending a private school.

 

And, as others have said, it would depend on the kid. Look at your kid -- does he enjoy the humanities or does he merely survive them?

 

There are only so many hours in a day. Hours he spends pursuing a rigorous classical education are hours he is probably not developing his interests in science and math.

[angela in ohio]

Yes, for the same reason I spend a lot of time on humanities with my science-minded dc. I want them to be well-rounded and grounded in the Great Conversation, and they will spend their college years buried in math and science, so this is my last shot. I have been working to light a fire that will keep them reading the classics and discussing politics, history, and literature for the rest of their life hopefully. As long as the math was solid and traditionally rigorous, which I would expect in a classical school, I would not be concerned at all.

[Ester Maria]

I would be most likely to sit down with the child and talk about what is important for us as parents and what they would have to study (whether formally, as a part of their schoolwork, or informally at home), as well as let the child formulate what is important to them in terms of their academic self-development. Then we would see whether there is a school which can bridge our requests to reasonably suit both sides. If it would not be possible to find such a school, there would be two options: (i) a child could enroll into a science-oriented school and study classics or whichever humanities parents feel necessary at home, with parents or with a tutor, or (ii) a child could enroll into a classical school and get adequate tutors and outside activities related to scientific interests which are not covered at school.

 

I suppose it would mostly depend on the school. There are some scientific schools which still have an option of doing all years of Latin, with solid literature, history, art history and philosophy education - such schools are typically a good compromise, a win-win situation. On the other hand, if the school was really weak in humanities, some kind of extra work would have to be ensured. I do not think that each child needs to attend a classical school, but if there are things which are culturally important to the parents, it is reasonable to expect they would require some sort of make-up for "missed" parts of the school curriculum if the child opted to attend a different school.

[HappyGrace]

Every one of these responses has got me thinking. I have been mulling over them all day. I have to say that I'm leaning against it. The math seems so-so, which from these very helpful responses, would be a deal-breaker.

[Bluegoat]

Yes.

 

If the school wasn't good enough, I wouldn't send any child there. Kids who don't seem interested in science can end up there, and vice versa.

 

But I would like to have any child of mine who became a scientist understand what science is including logical underpinnings, limitations, and cultural assumptions; what its place is in the history of thought; be able to make informed decisions about the intellectual and moral implications of scientific research; and have enough general knowledge about many things to make connections that lead to new and exciting places. Not to mention vote, be a good public citizen, a good conversationalist with many types of people, and be able to attend to the education of his or her own kids.

[Chez J]

I would. I want dd to have read the great works and learned how history has flowed through time.

 

In looking at some universities' degree plans for engineering, I have determined that dd will get very little exposure to literature and history once in college. So, I want to make sure I provide that well-rounded education before she gets there.

 

That said, I wouldn't sacrifice good science and math courses in high school to that. We need AP, and we're going to take AP. If a school didn't offer that, then I'd have to think twice.

 

My dd goes to a b&m part-time university-model school. Fortunately, I can have her take classes cafeteria-style. I plan to add more science to what they offer. When we get to the AP courses, we will outsource that (unless I can convince the teachers to offer the ones I need).

[angela in ohio]

In looking at some universities' degree plans for engineering, I have determined that dd will get very little exposure to literature and history once in college. So, I want to make sure I provide that well-rounded education before she gets there.

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

[MBM]

IMO, science, because it can affect so many for the better or worse, should be studied along with humanities. Scientists especially need to think about the potential ramifications of their work.

 

My eldest son went to Illinois Math and Science Academy -- a very strong math and science school -- and was required to take rigorous humanities courses. Many of his teachers had double majored in science or math and classics. If the school offers both a strong math and humanities program, then I'd send my child. If not, I'd reconsider.

[HappyGrace]

Hmm..I had not thought of it that way-having the humanities aid the science. I do think the humanities, when approached right, help to develop critical thinking, etc. I never had any classical education in the humanities myself, so I guess I tend to downplay the importance of that and so does dh.

 

I will have to look into the math more and see how strong it is. Sounds like that may be a deciding factor.

[foxbridgeacademy]

No, I believe in focusing on a childs strengths and gently working on their weaknesses.

[Laura in STL]

Yes, for the same reason I spend a lot of time on humanities with my science-minded dc. I want them to be well-rounded and grounded in the Great Conversation, and they will spend their college years buried in math and science, so this is my last shot. I have been working to light a fire that will keep them reading the classics and discussing politics, history, and literature for the rest of their life hopefully. As long as the math was solid and traditionally rigorous, which I would expect in a classical school, I would not be concerned at all.

 

:iagree:

 

Lately I have been discussing what we will do for science in high school(we are still in logic stage) with ds and dd who are both likely to go into science. Dh has degrees in biology/chemistry and a MD. He claims that what he did in high school science didn't have that much effect on his college studies. He did have a good math background - he went through AP Calc in high school. He does think that communication skills both written and oral were very important even as a science major.

[Teachin'Mine]

A high school program can be well rounded and rigorous in English, history and language without being a classical education. I firmly believe that while it's very important to concentrate on math and science, it's important to teach writing skills and to get a good all around education in the high school years. What I have noticed when looking at colleges which are classical and emphasize the great books is that their math and science programs are lacking. This is fine for someone majoring in history, English, pre-law, etc., but it's not the place for a math or science major. I would think the same would be true of some classical high school programs. It's not that a classical education is detrimental, it goes back to the fact that there's only so much time, and generally it can't all be done.

 

Happy Thanksgiving! Yeah I'm on here while the food prep is calling me. :lol: