School Daze

Everyone knows Daniel and I procrastinate.  Therefore, it should come as a shock to none of you that although Karolina is almost three and a half, we have only just started to decide her high school/collegiate path.  This is the part where you chuckle politely, and I respond: No, I'm serious.  I know that this seems extreme, but someone has to decide what she's going to do with her life.  And what, I should let her make the choices?  The child who decided that our dog's behind looked like a good place to stick her finger??  No way.  And I'm sure she'll thank me, er, us for it later.  I mean, what adolescent wouldn't? 

First up is high school.  Public or private?  Daniel and I both attended public schools, and are no worse for the wear.  Would choosing a private institution rob her of the experiences I had?  I loved appreciated completed high school.  Certainly, the costs of a private education come into play.  It can vary widely according to location.  For example, the top school in Shreveport is approximately 7K a year.  In Dallas, it's almost 24K.  Is there really that much of a difference in educational quality? What am I getting for my extra 17K?  Is The Old Man and the Sea discussed on a yacht? Fun fact about this particular school: the PRE-kindergarten class is 16K per year, although I suspect they are utilizing the same crayons and paste as the rest of us commoners.  Oh, Dallas, don't ever change.  Daniel thinks this school would be most beneficial in preparing our girls for life on the outside.  Oh yes, nothing says the "real world" like a bunch of wealthy, white chicks in pleated skirts.  Did I mention this is an all girls school?  I personally believe the extra 17 grand goes toward testosterone removal, making the academy most attractive to fathers the world over.  In the end, I suppose my feelings on private education are similar to the opinions a lot of people hold on embryonic stem cell usage: I was against it and never really cared to look into it, until I needed it for my kids. 

Next up, college.  I'm not as uptight about this one as Daniel is.  I'd be happy with any school the girls' boyfriends are not attending.  Daniel, on the other hand, is only amenable to the Ivies, and Stanford.  I'm left wondering exactly which of our girls he thinks could actually get in to such schools.  The one who's running for drooling champion of Central Louisiana, or the one who absolutely refuses to acknowledge the existence of a toilet?  I know those schools are clamoring to admit white, middle-class people, but I still have my doubts.  For argument's sake, let's say K got accepted to Stanford.  We all know exactly what would happen.  She would immediately embark on the patented Hall Six-Year college plan.  Sometime in the middle of those six (ridiculously expensive) years, she'd declare a major- Theater.  Except Stanford probably spells it Theatre, allowing them to charge more money.  And then, one fine day, she'd receive her degree, and promptly move to Europe, (on our dime), to go find herself. 

I don't know what the future holds.  I have no idea where we'll be living when the kids start school.  But every month, without fail, Daniel and I put away money for high school and college.  Karolina's (and Evangeline's) future is coming fast, and she's going to love it... because we're planning it that way.