You know, I seriously hate being negative on here.  I really do.  However, some thing just tick me off to no end, so you all have to hear about them. 

If you are a regular reader here, you know about my struggle with the public school and that we are considering sending her to private school.  Click here to read all about it.

Now, my taxes pay their salaries and getting someone to talk to me is like pulling teeth.  Then they don’t really answer what I ask either.  However, my favorite has to be the Chicago Tribune article I read this week that the schools districts are telling parents to ignore the state test scores since they were graded differently this year.  However, at the state level, they are saying the grading is comparable to years past.  So who is right?  Who needs to recheck their job descriptions and find out that they have no right to tell the parents anything?

Seriously, where is the accountability?  I hear over and over that public schools are better since they are accountable.  Really?  They won’t talk to parents, they lie about test scores, etc. Where is the accountability?

Here is what I have learned from the private school.  They are very transparent.  They don’t baby any parents.  The principal even said at the open house that if 90% of the parents can do it right, they all should be able to and that they don’t put up with that crap.  Every time I have called and talked to them, they have answered every single one of my questions.  They told me the class size this year for every single grade (K-8).  The people answering the phone were extremely knowledgeable.  There has only been one question they didn’t know the answer to and she gave me the number of the person who would (and that person did!).  I can come in anytime and tour the school, and their test scores are an open book that can also be looked at any time I want.  Granted, I have to pay to get this type of service but don’t I pay the public schools too?

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Oh the joys of having a four year old (who is almost five and cries almost everyday because she is not five yet).  Madison has finally started noticing things – especially things called commercials.  Every single commercial she sees she wants whatever product their are selling be it a pancake ball maker to a baby that swims (though she said she wanted that and a towel to dry her off too so she is able to think beyond the commercial).  It has gotten to the point that she actually will take the remote and pause the TV to make sure you see what she wants (and no I am not kidding about that).  Needless to say, we have started talking about money.

I will be honest — Madison has no concept of money whatsoever.  However, we have explained to her that daddy goes to work to make money so we can buy things we want.  (Madison asks every morning where daddy is and why does he have to go to work).  This conversation is daily so hopefully one day she’ll get it.  She is too young to understand that 5 pennies is the same as a nickel.  In her head, more coins equals more money.  I am hoping that because we are starting to talk about money now already that she won’t fall into the traps so many of us have.  I don’t want her to be one of the many Americans who carry loads and loads of credit card debt (which her parents do not.  We pay off ours every single month.  If she does choose to have credit cards, I want her to be smart about it.  For example, the one credit card we have gives us 1% of purchases.  That 1% is then directed to the principal on our mortgage).  I want her to be able to live within her means and be happy (which her parents also try to do).

Capital One has stepped up to the plate and has developed a Moneywi$e eLearning tool to help us teach our kids about money.  It is more for teenagers than my little ones.  However, there are definitely some tips on there that I can start teaching my children now.  I have to thank Parent Bloggers for bringing this to my attention.

When did you start teaching your children about money? Over at Bargain Life, there’s a great article on the effects of couponing and the family.

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.