Tractor Portability

[Harv]

Bird -

If you were raised in the country then I'm swayed in the country direction. You are a fine gentleman with a good head on your shoulders. I would be proud to have you as my son. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Interesting point about city kids not having any work to do. My daughter feels overworked having to pick up her room and set the table for dinner. I would love to see my kids feeding the chickens and bringing in the firewood before breakfast. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Bird - That brings back some memories.

I personally feel that children usually get out of school what they put into it. I was raised in the country and went to a school that was rated very poorly but I feel I got a pretty good education from it. And so did a lot of kids I went to school with. On the other hand, most of them got a very poor education, and they're the ones responsible for its poor rating, I suspect.

MarkC

 

[scruffy]

I will agree totally with Bird and MarkC. My two oldest did extremely well in public schools...bus ride of 35 miles one way. The third and fourth oldest blew the whole thing.
The youngest is home schooled all the way, and a very bright young fellow, actually too smart for his own good.
Hospitals?
Either one can kill you in a hurry, by the same token, either one can be a life saver. Depends upon the expertise available in given areas.
Shopping?
Grew up doing that on a once a month trip, which was usually an all day Saturday affair.
Friends?
Well, must admit that can be an issue, but the quality of friends selected are usually a much longer relationship. My oldest have maintained their friendships through the years, and my best friend is one dating back to high school. Although our lives have long since gone different directions, we still maintain a close relationship.
The pace of life, and the overall ambiance of said life is much happier to me than the hustle/bustle of city/suburb lifestyles.
Sorry your feelings were miffed by earlier statement, but the thoughts expressed were my own opinion of which I preferred. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Harv]

Scruffy -

<font color=blue>Sorry your feelings were miffed by earlier statement</font color=blue>

???/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif???

Nothing you have said has ever "miffed" me. I'm not particularly miffable, and I respect everybody's opinions on this board. So whatever you're referring to just ain't worth mentioning. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Okay, I was a little ticked when you sold Grumpy without checking with me first, but I'm just a sentimental ol' fool. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[TexasJeff]

Just my feelings and I asked my daughters also.
Twin girls raised in the country Graduated with a class of 42(42 kids) in 1997. Went to a college that had 13,000 Graduated in 7 semesters and then on to graduate studies at Texas Tech. I asked them their opinion of big school verses small school. They felt they had better teaching at the small school with a lot more caring and interested teachers.
Now one is a Teacher in a small town the other has 2 more semesters then she graduates. I was raised country Lived in a big city of 25,000 for a year Hated it.

 

[roysallis]

Harv, I was raised in the city but fortunately I had relatives that lived in the country (Mississippi delta share croppers) and got to visit with them and experience country life. After I got out of the Navy and started a career I married a country girl and worked with some people that were raised in the country. After spending a lot of time at my in the country with my in-laws and getting to know my co-workers I wished that I had been raised in the country. Of course it depends a lot on the parents and how they raise their children but I believe that children that are raised in the country have the advantage. They learn true values. Yes, there is more physical labor in the country but they get to see the results of their labor. They can still get a good academic education. Kids raised in the country have a better chance at learning to appreciate what they have (material things and spiritual things), appreciate nature, and learn real values. Good parents can raises good children in the city or in the country but I think country life has more to offer in making a whole person. I wish that I could better present my feelings about counry life but I am not very good at expressing myself.

 

[Bird]

Mark, I've sometimes wondered whether "curiosity" played a role? I think you learn what you want to learn, and learn very little about things in which you have no interest. I think I got a pretty good education through high school (although Mother was unhappy with me because I missed the honor roll by half a point), went to college for one semester, and like a lot of ignorant kids, dropped out to take a full time job, got married, etc. Started back in college part time when I was 26, no intention of getting degree, just to take a few subjects I was interested in, especially law. One thing led to another, and I finally got my bachelor's degree when I was 35 (made Mother happy with the "*** laude")./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

And another trait I guess I developed on the farm was a love of winter; no crops to tend and we could eat supper earlier because it got dark earlier. Dad never allowed us to have supper before dark; said as long as there was light to see by, you could work outside./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird

 

[Harv]

MarkC -
<font color=blue>children usually get out of school what they put into it.</font color=blue>
I think you're absolutely right on that one -- and so far my daughter is proving the concept. I feel it's the parents job to offer motivation and support -- the rest is up to the kids.

Jeff -
Your daughters' experience says a lot. Small class sizes can be a big advantage -- especially if the teachers care about their job.

Roy -
You express yourself just fine. I want my kids to be self-sufficient, able to take care of themselves in a wide variety of situations. Country life is probably a better environment for that kind of education.

Bird -
Your determination for an education obviously came from within. I'm not sure the parents or the environment have much to do with that. I can only hope the desire is there.

My city-type programming runs deep, but y'all are chipping away at it pretty effectively. So far our trips to the property have been weekend affairs, but now I'm hatching a plan for next summer to try spending a week or two at a stretch so's we can all absorb a little more of what it's like to actually live there.

Thanks everybody. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[TexasJeff]

Something else I wanted to add about country kids, EVEN though they are NOT saints by a long shot. After hearing about the BIG CITY stuff kids do its nice to hear some nice things. My Daughters car had a flat in the school parking lot, (Grass lot of course) the ag boys saw it took the tire off took it to the shop repaired it and put it back on the car with a bill for 1 pepsi apiece on the windshield. The girls had 4-H (Lambs,chickens and rabbits) projects so during county fair week they were unoffically relieved of school to care for their animals. They were in advanced classes mainly so during high school they had the same english teacher and math teacher for the entire 4 years. Sometimes I hear bad things about Todays Youth and wonder where the person making the statement lives. Because I have met some good ones through my Kids. OK I will get off my soapbox about COUNTRY

 

[bpence]

Harv, let me throw in my 2 or 3 cents worth about living in the country. All of the potential drawbacks you've identified for us are probably valid enough reasons not to move to the country.

On the other hand.....have you ever laid out in a field in the of a star filled sky with your kids and not heard a sound coming from anywhere? I can remember giving one of my four kids jobs to do around the place and hearing nothing but grumbling and moaning. After all of that, I also remember hearing, with a sense of accomplishment mind you, the "I did that today", after a welcome home hug. Seems like living in the country somehow teaches persistance, determination, and doing a job until is done right.

Three of my kids are off to college now (well, one actually graduated but somehow slipped past the security check point and moved back in) and it's kind of interesting. They're always bringing someone home with them on a weekend because we live in the country and as the kids say, "there's always something kind of interesting happening", or "My Dad's always got something going he'll drag us in on." (none of them were english majors)

Your kids will adapt. Your wife will adapt. You just have to remember to buy milk and bread every time you go through town. It's probably not 3 minutes to the store anymore.

You couldn't take over 20 years of raising kids in the country back from me. I really don't think you could take it back from my kids. There's just something special about growing up out where the air is clear and it gets dark at night.

You might be real surprised what the kids might think........especially if you teach them to drive the Kubota.

Bob Pence