Tuition is killing us. what are the alternatives?

↑ energy11 ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 5:39 pm

amother wrote:

I checked out time for learning. where's the tuition table? and also how do you start? once you sign up, then what? they give you lessons, or material and then you plan lesons?

You can start a few minutes after you sign up. It's all according to the material taught in respective grades.
Look under demo first to understand the basics.
After signing up you can log in as a parent. You can then organize the lesson plans according the number of weeks you want the homeschooling to last for.

BinahYeteirah

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 5:46 pm

amother wrote:

energy11 wrote:

Check: www.time4learning.com
It's great and cheap.
For math you can add www.ixl.com as well as www.khanacademy.org, voila!! LOL

Koddesh, I designed my own program which includes: shmirat halashon,
""praying with fire"", Emuna, Chassidut, Pirkey Shira, Chumash with Rashi, one Halacha a day and online shiurim.

you do homeschooling??? where do you live? I am so excited to find someone who's actually done it.

There's a whole homeschooling forum here with a number of members who homeschool. If you are really considering it, come on by to ask your more specific questions.

AliG ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 6:15 pm

A group of families in Miami Beach have joined together to create independent grades for their children. I am looking to create a grade one girls class. It is still costly but not as much as the regular yeshivas. We have a serious emphasis on secular studies and Judaics. It is a very frum hashkafa. If you have a girl, going into grade one and are interested, please get in touch. This is one way to deal with the expensive tuition. There are many curricula online and through various publication houses that are excellent. Hatzlacha to everyone.

↑ energy11 ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 6:28 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

OP, I took a full time job and looked for the cheapest school. We cut out all extras, too. I didn't see any way around it.

At some point, your income will be higher, when you're not a beginner at what you do, and you will be able to add in some new things. But tuition is tough and we all go through it.

Working full time and putting all your salary in private tuition is not a solution for everyone.
Finding creative solutions and "thinking out of the box"is another way to go!
AliG, I love your idea!!! Kol hakavod!!

↑ AliG ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 6:37 pm

I am determined to get this class together with syata D'Shmiya. There is an essential need to think out of the box because the enormous stress and challenge tuition is causing to families. Further, I am very frustrated at the constant complaining about this issue. I am not saying that my idea is the ultimate solution. But it is solves the immediate problem of the staggering tuition for some families. Further, learning in a smaller enviroment can often be incredibly powerful and effective for children. Howard Gardner's Theory on Multiple Intelligence enables teachers to really reach out to the varied ways children learn, paritcularly in a smaller group. I have seen the K12 curriculum and its outstanding and challenging. Hashem should bentch the entire Klal Yisroel with a solution and a better way to deal with this, either through increased finances or better educational grants or government funding. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

↑ chocolate moose ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 6:47 pm

energy11 wrote:

Working full time and putting all your salary in private tuition is not a solution for everyone. Finding creative solutions and "thinking out of the box"is another way to go!

Depends. I was always a working mom and I now have 2 kids who work full time AND go to college. I showed my kids what was important and the work ethic to go along with it.

My friends who did not work full time and went on programs, have kids who also milk the system and aren't educated; in fact my son has a Regents diploma and he is the only one of his classmates to even graduate high school.

↑ amother ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 6:48 pm

are you in brooklyn?? I am in love with that idea but my daughter would be going into nursury. what would your plan cost? maybe when my daughter hits that age she could join. I am so releived that you are doing this. before I started this thread I felt completely trapped but at least now I have hope that there may be other optons. I am VERY interested.

as far as working full time, I am not ione of those supermoms who can have a full time job and also manage the household. I can work mornings but then I need a couple of hours before the kids come home to get supper going, do laundry and tidy up so that I can do homework with the kids. I have no family nearby who can take my kids after school til I get home, and paying a babysitter for that time, plus tuition would likely leave me with less thani'd be getting paid.

↑ AliG ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:02 pm

I am not in Brooklyn. I am in Miami Beach. If you move here, your welcomed to join.

The cost is half the local tuitions for now. It depends on how many students we get and our location (rent, etc). I am volunteering my time and efforts to gather all the curriculum and resources for the grade. The plan is to hire two teachers, one for secular and one for Judaics. Again, the goal, with Hashem's help, is to provide very strong levels of education but also to reduce the cost of the tuition. The way to do this is through everyone paying their part. It may be actually more expensive for several people as they may not pay even half the tuition of the other schools. I am not complaining or resentful to those schools, I have compassion on them for the situation they are in and their need to charge 12K plus a student. But I am very interested in children learning in smaller groups and developing an educational initiative this way.

This doesn't take a masters of education. It takes initiative and motivation. I am sure if a group of parents got together in whatever city you live in, you could pull this off. It means hiring great teachers, figuring how much everyone can afford and seeing if you can match the curriculum and resources needed. I haven't done it yet but friends of mine have and they say they are within budget. Further, I would like to add that this really isn't for every student and my kids will certainly miss out on the larger school experience if this doesn't work out. There will be big things that schools give kids, like the greater energy and seviva of the school that my kids won't have. So I am not saying this is the ultimate solution. I am sure it is better for all yiddishe kinder to go to school together and see beautiful teachers being marbeetz Torah and showing their love for Torah. But there is a reality to our lives these days and this may be an alternative for now.

↑ amother ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:19 pm

Chocolate as I said, I am not a supermom. you are fortunate to have the energy and stamina to handle college, work and home, but I barely juggle things as it is. I am not making excuses. I know very well that I do the best that I can and I cannot make myself a shmattah or I would be useless to everyone. I can handle mornings and weekend work, but unfortunately can't find any. As for hubby, he does have a job, but its a dead end job and he hasn't been able to find anything better. raises are few, far between and his income barely covers half our living expenses. he would like to start his own business, but has been struggling to get a location and start up money, and since he doesn't have a degree he can't find a regular job that will pay more than he's getting now. he has considered going back to school but he current job have him working into the evenings and on weekends so there was never when to take classes. We just keep davening that a suitable location for his business will come through so he can begin to work on getting funding. I would love to start my own business and have made several attempts at starting a home business but they never got off the ground. I'm willing to give it another go but I feel like I need a business crash course or something before I try again so I can find out where I've been going wrong.

I will be honest I never intended to work. I grew up with my father working and my mother always at home and the values of a mother belonging at home with her kids were drummed into me from the earliest age. it was always my plan and my dream to be a stay at home mother and thats what I geared myself towards. life didn't work out that way, but my attempts at earning an income have met with varying degrees of success, none of them very good. I understand that it is neccessary and I cannot give up and I must find a way to make it work, but working full time, putting my kids by babysitters, while also trying to juggle at home, is something that is against my nature and frankly I have no clue how to handle.

however mornings, weekends, or from home, I am willing to try just about anything at this point. just havent found it.

↑ amother ↓

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:20 pm

I believe I am the friend that the op was talking about (Hi there Wink

). I also live in the Boro Park, Flatbush area, and send my girls to one of the "cheaper" schools. Dh and I both work, long and hard hours. The profession that I am in, is unfortunately known to pay very late. Therefor I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I am very well aware of the fact that I need to pay tuition. Whatever the amount is that we agreed to, is going directly into a "tuition account", which goes directly to the school. They don't want to hear my stories! THEY WANT THEIR MONEY! They are right! But what is one to do?? The entire tuition situation has gone completely out of hand! This is DEFINITELY NOT what Sara Shnerur had in mind! I am absolutely positive, that when children are publicly humiliated by not getting a reort card, or by being sent home from school, both due to no tuition, Sara Shnerur is turning over in her grave. This vicious cycle seriously needs to stop!