Clark's Big Book of Bargains (9 page)

Private school isn’t cheap. It ranges from $3,000 to $16,000 a year for day schools, more for boarding schools. High school tends to cost more than elementary school because there are more public elementary schools and thus more competition to hold down the tuition. Generally, the Catholic-affiliated schools have the lowest tuition, if you’re a member of the church and the school is small.

One way to assess the quality of a school is to see how many of the students stay through graduation. At Rebecca’s school, 85 percent stay to graduation, a very high rate. Greenberg, the educational consultant, says you should ask a school where its students go after leaving. For example, if a school ends at third grade, what school does it feed into? If it ends at eighth grade, what high school does it feed into? If a high school, what colleges did the students who graduated in the last few years go to? Ask for the school’s SAT scores and the results of other standardized tests. But don’t get hung up on accreditation, she says. Some very good small schools find it too costly to seek accreditation.

Some parents—about 2 percent nationally—are skipping both public and private schools and electing to teach their children at home. The winner of a recent National Geographic Bee was homeschooled, as was the third-place winner and 22 percent of the national finalists.

Some people look at parents who homeschool their children as weird or cultlike, but I think it’s a perfectly valid way to educate your child, if you have the time and patience to do it. A survey by the U.S. Department of Education found that nearly half (48.9 percent) chose homeschooling because they thought they could give their children a better education at home. Of those surveyed, 38.4 percent cited religious reasons and 25.6 percent said there was a poor learning environment at school. Other factors cited were family reasons (16.8 percent), the chance to develop character/morality (15.1 percent), objections to what school teaches (12.1 percent), the opinion that school does not challenge child (11.6 percent), other problems with available schools (11.5 percent), student behavior problems at school (9.0 percent), and child has special needs/disability (8.2 percent). Parents were allowed to choose multiple answers.

A lot of people look at homeschooling as an either/or matter. But what’s happening around the country is that parents are doing a hybrid of school and homeschooling. The children go to school, perhaps, to study the sciences, and the parents teach the rest of the curriculum at home. Or the child may want to participate in a competitive sport. So they attend high school part-time. Schools have a financial incentive to cooperate with this, because they receive more funding for each child who attends.

There’s even a school now that doesn’t want to be called a school. It’s a resource center for homeschooled kids.

Another avenue for some parents is private “learning centers” that provide extra help for children with their studies. Some parents use these centers because they feel guilty that they can’t afford to put their child in private school. That’s the wrong reason. Use a learning center if your child needs one.

I had a call from one parent who couldn’t afford private school or the high cost of a private learning center. I passed along a suggestion I got from a teacher: Find a student who is studying education in college, a junior- or senior-level student, and hire them to help your child. Call a nearby college that offers education degrees. A college student can earn experience in their field and earn $8 to $10 an hour at the same time.

Some people think that anything that changes the educational system is harmful to the idea of universal education. Free public education is a strong part of our society. But options are what create innovation, which strengthens all forms of education. Don’t get stuck in a rut where you think the only place for your child is in a private school, or a public school, or homeschool. Keep your perspective. This isn’t about philosophy. It’s about your child, and you always should keep in mind what’s best for your child.

• Tips on Private Schools •

• Schools have personalities. So the school you loved as a child or that worked so well for one of your children might not be best for another.
  

• Evaluate any school, public or private, by determining how your child would fit in, educationally and socially.
  

• If you don’t have that intuitive feel for what would be best for your child, it’s okay to hire an educational consultant to help.
  

• Private school ranges from $3,000 to $16,000 a year for day schools, more for boarding schools.
  

• If your child needs extra help in school, call a local college that offers education degrees and hire a junior- or senior-level student as a tutor.
  

* PETS *

Every time a new movie comes out that features a particular breed of dog, people rush out to get one. It happened with Disney’s
101 Dalmatians
and with
Snow Dogs,
which starred a pack of Siberian huskies.

The sad part is when the new owners realize that either they’re not dog people or they don’t like the personality traits or needs of that particular dog. Dalmatians, for example, are very lively, probably too much so for very young children. They need a lot of exercise. Huskies shed their thick coats at least once a year and like to dig. And they’re friendly with strangers, so they don’t make good guard dogs. Many of the dogs the owners return end up in shelters, waiting to be put to sleep, or with rescue societies who take them in.

The American Kennel Club (www.akc.org) publishes a book,
The AKC’s Complete Dog Book,
that describes the characteristics of each breed. Look for a copy at the library, or look for information online. The Web site www.about-dogs.com has a table that lists the size, coat length, activity level, temperament, and other qualities of various dog breeds. For example, if you want a dog that is tolerant of children, you might consider a beagle, border collie, or golden retriever, but rule out a German shepherd, Jack Russell terrier, or Pekingese. If you want a small dog that isn’t too hyperactive for an apartment or small house, you could choose a Boston terrier, a Maltese, or a dachshund.

If you truly want to own a purebred dog, one of the best things you can do, both for the world and for your wallet, is to go to one of the rescue societies for that breed. You get the best of both worlds. Instead of writing a big check for a purebred dog, you get one for free. And you provide a loving home for an unwanted dog. There are rescue societies for virtually every breed.

When you get a purebred dog from a rescue society, it may or may not have papers, the documents that establish its lineage. Unless you’re going to breed for profit, that shouldn’t matter.

If you’re not a breeder, and very few people should be, please spay or neuter it. Dogs that are spayed or neutered live longer, healthier lives, and doing this helps reduce pet overpopulation. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that 8 to 10 million dogs and cats enter shelters each year and 3 to 5 million are put to sleep. The Humane Society says one female cat and her offspring theoretically can produce 420,000 cats in seven years.

There’s nothing wrong with having a mixed-breed dog—in fact, there are a lot of good reasons to own one. Just as breeding can enhance certain desirable traits in purebreds, it also can enhance undesirable traits. Mixed-breeds benefit from their genetic diversity. Instead of being one of many, your mixed-breed could be one of a kind.

You can get a mixed-breed at the Humane Society or shelter in your city. You’ll take a dog that probably doesn’t have much of a future and create a loving home environment.

Most of the complaints I get are from people who buy dogs, either from a pet store or a dog breeder or broker. A lot of the people who pretend to be breeders actually are just brokers, selling the dog on behalf of a breeder.

I had one caller who had some serious problems with a pedigreed puppy he bought from a pet shop. The dog turned out to be sick and didn’t have the proper papers. The pet store told him that his papers were simply lost, and that they didn’t have any knowledge of the puppy’s illness. The pet shop owner was conveniently absent whenever he went back in to discuss the problems with his dog, and his calls were not returned. Finally, he spoke with the mall management office where the shop was located, and was able to get some pressure put on the pet store. He received a credit for the missing paperwork, but still had to shell out big bucks to make his dog well again. This pet store was likely buying from a puppy mill, where dogs are kept in deplorable conditions and bred for the sole purpose of a quick profit. They are often taken away from their mothers early (less than eight weeks), and might be abused or neglected.

A real dog breeder is someone who loves animals, and because they do, they will take the dog back and give you a full refund if it doesn’t work out for you. They won’t want an animal to be in a situation that isn’t best for the animal. Brokers and pet stores have the opposite policy. All sales are final, as soon as you purchase the dog. No refunds. That’s how you’ll be able to tell someone who is a fellow animal lover versus someone who is a lover of money. If you can’t bring the animal back for a full refund, that’s the wrong place to buy.