Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

The point is that schools are not driven to coach exclusively for the purposes of looking good to the frasier institute, abandoning both the gifted and the slowest student.

This rather good recent article expressed my views rather better than I could...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle4958285.ece

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Not the point...little kids need sleep. The bus for my soon to be 6 year olds school goes past our door at 6:50am!!!! My kid is still in bed then as we are fortunate that I can drop her off on the way to work, turning a 1h15 bus ride into a 25 min drive.

being so far from school is a pain, but there are other positives of living here that outweigh that. Of course, if I didnt work in town things would be different I suspect.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I appreciate that. I took the suggestion to mean that it was better for the kids to be with their "friends" from the community at school, rather than being the odd one out, so to speak.

Apologies if I got this wrong:D

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Again, it depends on the school. My kids were coached specifically for the SAT. Whatever resources the school put into obtaining impressive SAT scores was at the expense of the students not entered for that exam.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Well, no, thats also a point.

For example, last year we invited kids to her party here at home, and only the ones we knew from local things like skating, nursery school etc came, only one of the town kids from school was prepared to come out here

This year we are holding it at the Mc-Ds in town, and virtually everyone invited has accepted.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

But in a lot of cases, their friends also get the bus and live close by you.

My kids get a bus to school (have to get it at 8:30am, so not too early a start - we would be leaving at around that time if we were driving them anyway!). In our street alone there are 4 families with children who all get the same bus - it would be very rare for your child to be the only one in a community that goes to a school on the bus.

I think the real advantage of living in a community with it's own school is not that the children don't have to be bussed in, but more that you can walk the children to school, and as a result it is easier for the parents to make friends because they meet other parents in the playground while they are waiting for their children.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I disagree.Snobbery ober Little Twinkie's schooling applies just as much from the pushy-parent brigade here as it does in the UK.

Actually, it could be considered much uglier here because of the lack of class ("all is bling") factor.

Seeing redneck hockey parents hustle for Butch Jr's schooling makes me snort.

R.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I completely agree with your last paragraph. We have recent experience of this. Last year our son started JK, at the local school which was within easy walking distance for us. My OH, upon whom the duty usually fell, was able to chat to other local parents and strike up some great friendships with them - and also was able to put faces to names when discussing our son's friends with him.

This year the board has reorganised the local schools due to shifting demographics, with the result that the lad is bussed down the road to a different school. Another relatively new family on our street has a daughter who's just started at the same school; she has met almost none of the other parents in her daughter's class and very few of her classmates. While the daughter is very happy, it hasn't helped the mother to feel at home in the community. Other parents on the street (there are 5 families whose kids catch that bus, but no others in this year's JK intake) have of course helped where we can, but I can understand why it feels somewhat isolating to have interaction with other parents only at the bus stop rather than in the schoolyard.

Ooh, I've been assimilated into the Canadian Borg... I said "schoolyard" rather than "playground" and didn't even notice until after I'd posted...

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I trust that you will eat ahead of time.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Its not about the food thankfully. Eating there once in a while for the sake of the Playplace wont kill you... Foodwise sadly its not A&W...

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

A true story. In the eighties, 1985 I guess, I took my then small children to the zoo, not realizing that the food at the zoo, for the people, was supplied by McDonalds. The kids had to eat so I got them some nuggets. One asked if I was going to have any and I said that I'd rather than eat the box than the "food". Inevitably, one said "go on then" and I did. This caught the attention of several passers-by, one of whom recognized me from a technical presentation I'd recently given. We got to chatting, I offered to share the box, he declined but suggested that I drop by his office to talk about some work he needed doing. Ultimately we got more than forty man years of work from that contact.

Moral of the story, you shouldn't turn your nose up at going in a McDonalds but it's better not to touch the product.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Hereabouts A&W is considered a "dirty" place to eat.

R.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

Isnt the whole UK grammar school thing linked in with the class system? When people want their children to go to the right school rather than a good one?

I thought it interesting to read on Wiki of class divisions in Calgary, how do you define middle class and upper middle class in Canada? We came here to get away from that thinking so I'm pleased we didnt go to Calgary.

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I see that the blanket "no" in my original response has been challenged.

I responded at 12.36 a.m. in my time zone, when I was about to shut down my computer. I knew dbd33 probably would come on here and say that schooling in Toronto was competitive, and the other usual suspects would probably come on and say the things they usually say. But at that point I was just too tired to provide a nuanced response.

I also thought that the original poster might find some response helpful. Since I'm in Canada's most westerly time zone, I thought the chances were good that everyone else in Canada was fast asleep, and it might be a while before the people in the eastern time zones woke up and responded.

Finally, the original poster did ask about Calgary.

So, under the circumstances, I thought it would help to provide the OP with a quick "no," which might provide some interim reassurance, and links to a couple of the innumerable threads in which this issue has been discussed before.

But, now that I have been challenged (and now that I'm more awake), I feel motivated to provide a more nuanced response.

I take on board what others have said about entry to some Calgary schools being competitive, the decision about schooling being embodied in the choice of residential neighbourhood, and so on.

I also agree with Helen Parnell's description of the simplicity of the whole thing.

I believe the point is that, in Calgary, parents still have the option of sanity. As Helen said, if you buy into a "nice" neighbourhood, the local schoool in all likelihood will be "nice" too.

What I mean when I say "a nice neighbourhood" is a middle middle class or slightly upper middle class neighbourhood. In the research I did for the Wiki article on the topic and also in my own real life experience, there are more problems in poor neighbourhoods. Ironically, the higher end of the upper middle class range and wealthy neighbourhoods also present certain challenges.

But, if you want to get caught up in competition, Calgary certainly can provide you with ample opportunities. Similarly, if you would be bothered by "blingy" people, Calgary will give you ample opportunities to be bothered.

But I stand by my assertion that, if you want to live a sane existence (and that includes your children's schooling), it can be found in Calgary.

There is a high level of correlation amongst the Fraser Institute's ranking of Calgary schools, the police service's community crime statistics, and my personal experience of Calgary neighbhourhoods.

In my opinion, it's not necessary to repeat the research that I did. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out this stuff. Just walk around a neighbourhood.

• If it has cars resting on blocks, broken screen doors, lawns that haven't been mowed, etc., avoid it.
• If it has people out walking their dogs, younger children playing in playgrounds, older children playing baseball or soccer, lawns that have been mowed, cars that have wheels, it I'd advise you to be cautious.
• If there are too many Hummers, I'd advise you to be very cautious.

I'd also advise you to visit the local school before buying into a neighbourhood. A personal visit will tell you things no amount of remote research will tell you. From a personal visit you'll pick up on the vibe of the school. You'll be able to tell if the children are generally happy or not. In my experience, the quality of the principal is a very important factor. You'll know from a visit whether you respect and like the principal or not.

Hope that helps.
x

Re: Does Canada have the same 'grammar school desperation'?
 

I'm considering asking my boss to make it company policy that anyone attending conventions takes up smoking, or at least pretends to, particularly if there are to be delegates from China or Japan. All my best contacts have come from smoke breaks outside.