Should we send our son to a Magnet High School or our local neighborhood High School?

Question

We would like to provide the best education possible for our son but have conflicting beliefs about how to proceed. I think that if my son goes to a Science and Math Magnet school and makes "B"'s he would be better off than going to a regular school and making "A"'s, please help us solve our disagreement.

Answer 1

He may have an advantage for several reasons. The school I taught at had a magnet program. Many of the classes the kids had to take were honors classes and were weighted higher than the regular classes. Therefore a "B" in an honors class was weighted as a 4 when averaging grades. So straight B's (in all honors classes) were the equivalent of a 4.0 grade average. Consider, though, that not every class taken will be an honors or weighted class. The other factor is that maybe your child will have an advantage by being with kids who are more highly motivated, in a curriculum with higher standards and expectations, and may be looked upon more favorably when it comes time to apply to colleges. However, you must make sure your child is interested in pursuing this option, otherwise the stress of the program may have the opposite effect on his grades and outlook on school. Another thing to consider is sometimes the bus ride to a magnet school may be very long, and your son will have to be at a bus stop very early in the morning (some kids have to be at a stop at 5:30 am!), and will be home very late. Driving them to sports activities at a school that is far from home can be a pain, too. There's a lot of factors to consider.

Answer 2

As I high school principal, I would want to know your son's feelings on the matter. From research we know that tapping into a student's interests is critical in getting them actively engaged in learning. If your son is not interested in the magnet program and visits and discussions with other students and staff at the school have not helped, I would hesitate to force him to attend.

I agree that making a B in a more challenging curriculum is more important than making an easy A. Universities agree with that also and tailor their applications to gage the level of difficulty of course work.

One last note, the social setting is very important to adolescents. Will your son have friends that attend the magnet school? Will he be able to be involved in sports and extracurricular activities? Will you, as a parent, be able to be involved at school if the magnet is farther away from your home? Will you be able to volunteer and attend games and school events regularly? Students will be making life changing decisions during their high school years and parents need to be involved. Even if students act like they don’t want you there – they really do! Good Luck!

Answer 3

i don't see why this should be a problem for two reasons.
1) no matter where one studies, he can do well
2)wisdom accusition does not depend on what the wise man says but on the listener.
your son can go to any school anywhere, however i strongly advice you to take into consideration your son's age.
if he's too tender he can school in the neirbourhood, if he is of my age (21) his a man and should be allowed to see the world as it is.

all said, talk to your son not asking him where he wants to study but to get to know him.
through that you'll know which school will suit him and above all his studies.
because of less time i'll end here.