Janice in NJ Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Has anyone read it? http://susanwisebauer.com/blog I did. As I was reading, an ad for this slid into my email window. The graphic caught my eye. http://www.hammacher.com/Product/81696?source=EMZ01512&cm_ven=WC&cm_cat=20120202_EMZ015&cm_pla=BYR&cm_ite=81696_The/%20Air%20Fish Which made me smile.... Like an air-fish, a high-priced, gotta-have-it education may be a must-have for some, but for those of us here on the lower rungs of the ladder, life is really more about the basics. An air-fish. Who would even WANT THAT? I can't help but wonder the same thing about $40,000 worth of kindergarten. I'm sure I would have spent the whole year looking at my five-year old and wondering if I was the only one who was getting ripped off. If you gold-plated my kids, I don't think you could have increased their net-worth by $40K each at age five. We barely master enough dance to avoid collisions at weddings. Forget the nuances of Zen. Our culinary arts milestone is met when you know what to do with lettuce that doesn't come from a bag. We use that $243 per day for housing, heat, and running water. And when my kids were in kindergarten, we tried to teach them enough English (their primary language) so they could at least order in a restaurant. These folks are on a different planet. I wish them and their kids well. I hope they aren't ever forced to get by here in Jersey. Life on this side of the river seems to demand a different skill-set. Your thoughts? Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I see those air fish at the mall all the time. My son always tries to jump on to the shark's back! :p I can't understand the reason for them either other than just novelty. :confused: The clownfish one does look like Nemo though. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Great blog entry! I agree completely - we can definitely do better with homeschooling, and we can even shave the price tag a tad. :lol: Maybe it's just me, but the air fish look cool - not $40 worth of cool, but I wouldn't mind seeing one in action, or maybe that would help it to lose its cool factor rather quickly. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Now I'm sure the air fish will follow me around the Internet. :lol: 40k for K? Pay me $243/day and I'll come up with some fun activities. Honestly I think we spent less than 2 days of worth of that on our supplies this year. I remember way back when we considered homeschooling. I could buy the entire years curriculum for 1st grade, same one the school was using, for less than one months worth of tuition, and that school was affordable. I'd pick zombie cookies any day. Ds just practice his culinary arts for today, Ramen Noodles. Oh so healthy :tongue_smilie:, but he cooked for himself. He'll be doing more of that than Zen dancing in his adult life anyway. At least I suspect that will be the case. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 An air-fish. Who would even WANT THAT? I'm not too keen on the 40K kindergarten, but I do know someone who would absolutely love the air fish (at least the shark version). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 One of the things I do every year, for my own amusement and to prove to my husband how creative and frugal I am, is to add up everything we spend on education and compare that total to the tuition for local private schools (and packaged curricula). Every year, even when I spend more than I might like, we come in at some tiny percentage of the costs of other programs. And this isn't a case of getting what you pay for, as far as I can tell. My kids know some peers who are attending those pricey private schools, and so far I've never seen anything that makes me feel like those other kids are ahead of mine. As for the air fish? I saw one at a New Year's Eve party this year, and I have to admit it was extremely cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 One of my boys wants that silly air fish. It'd freak me out to have that in my bedroom. $40k for kindergarten seems a crazy disconnect with reality to me because I would be in hog heaven to have $4k for all grades for all my kids.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope in God Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 My kids auntie sent us an air fish clownfish. It was cool for a few days but I always wondered what the neighbours thought when they looked through our large front window at night and saw a gigantic clown fish swimming by. I don't think it is worth $40 and I sure don't think a $40 000 kindergarten will help you love and appreciate your children more. I think it would be a quick introduction to task oriented parenting 101. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Has anyone read it? http://susanwisebauer.com/blog I did. As I was reading, an ad for this slid into my email window. The graphic caught my eye. http://www.hammacher.com/Product/81696?source=EMZ01512&cm_ven=WC&cm_cat=20120202_EMZ015&cm_pla=BYR&cm_ite=81696_The/%20Air%20Fish My neighbor kids received the air shark for Christmas. It's a hit with my girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I was behind reading SWB blog..... I have a new favorite quote from her (from her review of the Driscoll's book on marriage): "it is never a good idea to base an exegetical point on a figure of speech." Full article: http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/2012/janfeb/realmarriage.html?paging=off (some day I will learn how to link here....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Sorry but all the "Air Fish" remind me of is the Doctor Who Christmas episode with the shark a couple years ago. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Oh I so need that air fish for my daughter, the future marine biologist. She already has many fishes suspended from her ceiling (who in their right mind would sleep in a room full of fish??) Could anyone get me an air fish in the states and ship it to Canada??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Oh I so need that air fish for my daughter, the future marine biologist. She already has many fishes suspended from her ceiling (who in their right mind would sleep in a room full of fish??) Could anyone get me an air fish in the states and ship it to Canada??? Does Amazon ship to Canada? http://www.amazon.com/Swimmers-Remote-Control-Flying-Clownfish/dp/B005FYCBR6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Ha! I went to St. Ann's for 12 years--where they now teach "Roman Travel Writing" :D It was, at the time, a wonderful (albeit expensive) experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my education there. But I wouldn't have gone there if my parents couldn't have afforded it, and they certainly weren't the type to homeschool...I wonder where I would have ended up had I not attended St. Ann's. In any case, having recently moved from NYC, I can tell you that the reasons most parents send their kids to schools like this are 1) prestige: they are very well-known schools, with wonderful facilities and great teachers 2) connections: all their friends send their kids there, and social life for children (and often their parents) revolves around these schools. 3) like people: the children who attend these schools come from families who are very similar to themselves. Not ALL, mind you--St. Ann's has a healthy scholarship program which is not often mentioned. But the majority of kids who attend these schools come from families that all prefer to hang out together, and are from similar backgrounds (prep school, ivy league, squash and a cappella groups ;)) 4) their exmissions rate (yes, parents think about this sort of thing in Kindergarten, absolutely!) is top notch, if that's what you care about. St. Ann's High School sent the highest number of its graduating seniors to Ivy League colleges of any school in the country. 5) Superb teachers-I remember many of them very fondly. Is it "worth" $40,000 to most people? Probably not. If I had an extra $40,000 lying about (and knew that I could afford the tuition for the coming years) would I have sent my children there (we lived nearby ). Perhaps. Perhaps. But then again, I do believe the school's "vibe" has changed quite a bit since I went there. Now, many of the students are sons and daughters of bankers. When I went, it wasn't as expensive and children of artists and writers and such were given priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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