Are kids raised in the country at a disadvantage?

[TripleR]

There are advantages and disadvantages, but you really shouldn't worry.

My wife and I lived in a suburban setting for 20 years to give our kids a "better education" and to develop/maintain "good social skills". Our two oldest graduated from school there. When my youngest son was fourteen we built a new house on one of our farms and moved as by that time we realized our previous assumptions were not necessarily true. Our youngest finished his education in a small town with a population of just over 1000. My nieces and nephews also attended that school and all are very successful, well socialized adults.

One of my daughters is a high school teacher who has taught in the public and private sector in large and small schools. She has settled in a small school district and loves it there. She took the job as a "stepping stone" to a larger school district after moving back to MO, but has turned down offers from the bigger schools.

My brothers all grew up in the country and did OK.

I think who raises you and how you're are raised is much more significant than where they are raised.

Yes, this is a tractor forum, but I believe you have a pretty diverse group of people here.

 

[Bigfoot62]

As already noted, the only real academic hurdle is the lack of advanced math and science courses at really small schools. When I graduated from high school, I was in the top 20 of my class. (the other 19 were too) I struggled a little with algebra when I went to college, but that was about it. I still graduated from a private university with a 3.65 gpa.

My daughter just completed her first semester of college. She's on the Dean's list. She went to the same little high school.


The ADVANTAGES of growing up in the country are enormous! They far outweigh any slight handicaps of the little schools, etc. :thumbsup:
I believe that country people are MUCH more self-sufficient. As Hank Jr says, country boy will survive.

 

[PaleFX]

Will they grow up to be socially awkward as a result of the more sparse population?

I feel this would only serve to ensure social responsibility due to the lack of anonymity! A big plus!!
People who live in large populations tend to be more willing to act indifferently toward others due to anonymity!

Are they at a handicap from an education standpoint, given the generally smaller schools they will need to attend?

They may lack some of the advanced resources and tools but I feel this contributes to creativity, and the ability to adapt and overcome, problem solving skills are greatly improved and self confidence is increased!

For the most part you will find those smaller schools have the same resources anyway... some may even have more regionally specific resources through community fundraising.

JMHO...

 

[forgeblast]

Educationally speaking, there is so much down with aligning the curriculum to promote the best practices that what we are teaching in rural schools (curriculum wise) is similar if not the same as a larger school.
Coming down the road of education you will hear a lot of common core. Common core is where the state will have a common curriculum and also back tracks that curricum by two grade levels. So (for example) what is being taught in 5th grade will be touched upon in 3rd grade and 4th grade.
Common Core State Standards Initiative | Resources

As far as my rural school district, i feel since we are smaller we can more readly adapt to change and we are doing some interventions and initatives that other schools do not. So I would say over the last 10 years what is being taught has been really looked and and improved.

 

[milkman636]

Rural kids should actually have an advantage over urban kids. They should grow up with life skills and confidence from experiences that can't be found in the city.

I have grown nieces and nephew that are not able to do anything that doesn't involve personal electronic devices or sports. It is sad to think of all the things they missed by being confined to small city lots and never experiencing work.

By the time I was turned loose on my own I knew houses from roofs to basement, wells to sinks, and septic to electric, could fix a car truck or tractor, raise my own food, fish, hunt, weld, and heat a home. It was all from doing stuff with my family and neighbors when I was growing up. Even though I didn't go to the best schools I had confidence in my ability to tackle anything that was in front of me, and that has benefitted me greatly over the first 40 years of my life. It is one of the things I hope to pass on to all of my own children.

 

[Redbug]

A friend had sent me this a while back...

My friend recently attended a NASA Educator Workshop at the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Alabama. One of the presenters was a lead engineer at the facility who had grown up in the region. He was in charge of hiring new engineers. His ideal "hires" were B/C engineering students who grew up on a farm! 4.0 students scared the heck out of him, and usually couldn't interact well with people as well as in problem-solving situations. He said the farm folks made the best engineers; bar none! The farm provided them with invaluable, practical, think-on-your-feet experiences that connected the world of how things actually work (behave) to the world of how things are supposed to work. Some of the school's best and brightest...struggle to follow assembly instructions for lab set up when another student could just look at the equipment and know how it needed to be set up. Just like there are various athletic talents, there are a wide variety of mental talents. Life isn't about "holding all the cards," it is about playing the cards you're dealt with.

 

[farmfun]

Rural raised children actually win out.

Having personal experience in city (Northeast), small ag regions (Midwest) and giant suburb systems (South), the best education opportunities occurred in the small systems. Personal responsibility and actual discipline provided a MUCH better class room experience which reflected in material covered. Don稚 buy into the spending per pupil crap as the numbers are skewed fancier buildings may up the cost, thus increase per capita pupil ranking, but it means LESS in resources available for actual learning in the classroom. The rural environment allows for much more personal growth.

Encourage your college bound children to dabble in some of the trade training available along the way it helps round them out and contributes to even greater college performance. You can稚 lose.

 

[KennyG]

I think you have to be concerned about school size if your kids have any special needs (either on the high or low level). It seems to me that a minimum high school size is 800 to 1000 to offer a full range of opportunities. Our school (900) has a good math and science center but my son (and a couple of other students) blew through the last calculus course in his sophomore year. He had to go to a local college to take an advanced calculus course and keep moving forward.

The really important thing is that kids get a chance to pursue their interests and goals. Did anyone else see the 60 Minutes show last night about Warren Buffetts son, Howard? He farms 1500 acres in Central Illinois. And apparently has one of everything John Deere builds. :thumbsup:

 

[165masseyky]

I am very happy to raise my kids in a rural setting. They will learn things at a different rate no doubt than if they were in a city but they will also I feel learn things that will teach them to think outside the box. Using common sense and hands on experience instead of only having school taught knowledge. Don't get me wrong they need to learn science and math and reading but learning how to work smarter and not harder doesn't hurt either. Bottom line I think your children as well as my own will be fine socially as well as at home if you instill some values such as church,fair play, win with grace and loose with pride, and to remember family will always be family no matter what. My dad use to always say how smart you are depends on where you are standing at that moment. Put me on the space shuttle an say fly it an someone is gonna die. Put the shuttle pilot on a tractor with a batwing bushhog pushing him over a step grade and a pop up summer shower comes and that pilot is toast. Worry about letting them be kids and enjoying life before work and bills and all the crap we deal with now starts and all the other stuff will work its self out. And remember take em fishing and always and I mean always respect her make up and his privacy and your life will be tons easier trust me lol.

 

[AGGIE00]

I grew up in a school of 300 K-12 and had the same 24 in my class the whole way through. We had a large farm and our closest neighbor was 2 miles away. I wouldn't trade the country upbringing for anything as I learned how to work and enjoy doing it. I never had a video game and all our entertainment happened outside.

As far as school goes, every one is different and so is every class. My sister's class was somewhat calm and she managed to graduate at the top of her class in high school and held a 4.0 in college. My class was wild and not at all interested in education. Even though, half of us went to college and 4 to major universities. Where I was behind in the books, I was ahead in work ethic.
The only down side to small schools is that you don't choose your friends, you are stuck with them.

We have three girls 1, 3 and 5 and they will grow up in the country, but go to private school where academics trump athletics.