Anonymous wrote:Our son is at a Big 3 school. He currently doesn't work very hard or study much, but manages to still get mostly As and a couple of Bs on his report card. We're worried that when he enters high school he will be in for a rude awakening and realize that he needs to buckle down and work a lot harder to get good grades. Right now he is totally unmotivated by school and more into video games. We're trying to decide if it even makes sense to keep him in private school and pay all this money for an education he doesn't seem to care much about. He's a smart kid so would probably do very well in public, and from what others have said on this board he might even have a chance of getting into a better college than if he sticks with private and is competing with much more accomplished kids. I think our son would be upset to leave his friends and the only school he's ever known, but we're frustrated by his apathy towards his education.

What would you do?

New to these Boards. Do people really think this about the Big 3 vs Public? Based on what?

^deserving

Leave and give the spot to someone more desreving

What is the school doing to inspire him? Are there any classes he likes? Is he into any ECs or is there nothing there that interests him?

This is why we kept our kids in public.
It's hard to go from a luxury private to a bare-bones public,
and it's even harder when you leave your friends. If you have the money, I wouldn't switch schools at this point.

Just know this:
1. The transition from middle to high school is hard everywhere.
2. Parents who can afford it pay for tutoring, whether their child is in public or private.

What grade is he in?

He’s getting As and and. How do you know he won’t level up in high school. Most kids get a rude awakening with the workload at that transition. I agree that if he’s spending too much time on video games, set more limits. Most kids aren’t able to self limit at that age. It’s our job.

FWIW, I wish we had pulled our unmotivated kid.

Send him to public. Do not waste money on a slacker.

Anonymous wrote:Pull him. Public may provide more opportunities to find something that really compels him - whether it be an extra curricular or an elective. The Big3 pile on homework and suck the life out of school. For kids that thrive on the grind it can be motivating but sounds like that is not your kid.

This.

I don’t know that the answer is public school - I’d probably move to a different private that could help him enjoy learning again - but definitely don’t proceed with your big 3 for upper school.

Pull him. Public may provide more opportunities to find something that really compels him - whether it be an extra curricular or an elective. The Big3 pile on homework and suck the life out of school. For kids that thrive on the grind it can be motivating but sounds like that is not your kid.

Pull him out. Our Big 3 made college acceptances much harder than if ours had stayed in public.

Don't borrow trouble. Wait to see what shakes out as he gets older. He will realize he needs to buckle down and work harder for good grades, or he won't. Then make the decision.

Set limits on video games.

Our son is at a Big 3 school. He currently doesn't work very hard or study much, but manages to still get mostly As and a couple of Bs on his report card. We're worried that when he enters high school he will be in for a rude awakening and realize that he needs to buckle down and work a lot harder to get good grades. Right now he is totally unmotivated by school and more into video games. We're trying to decide if it even makes sense to keep him in private school and pay all this money for an education he doesn't seem to care much about. He's a smart kid so would probably do very well in public, and from what others have said on this board he might even have a chance of getting into a better college than if he sticks with private and is competing with much more accomplished kids. I think our son would be upset to leave his friends and the only school he's ever known, but we're frustrated by his apathy towards his education.

What would you do?