Best Education money can afford - from start to finish.

[mirtzapine]

This isn't meant to be intense or anything, what I'm looking for is some direction, advice and information.

Background:
I was fortunate enough to have two very intelligent grandparents who helped me a lot. I went to a pretty bad (state) school that didn't help much. I also spent a lot of time bunking school, sitting in the local library where the Head Librarian was a former house-master of a well known boarding school in the west country. He took a lot of time with me knowing my grandparents and knowing the reasons I bunked school. I used my part-time job money to pay for 'o' levels at night school that got me into the grammar school sixth from. From there to university and on to post grad.

The downside of my "unconventional" education is that the basics of effective study, doing homework, mocks for exams &c.bypassed me, so its always been a real struggle for me to study and sit exams, by some means or other, I've passed them.

I have no intention of being a "Tiger Parent", but I would like my two dd's to have the best groundings possible from schooling, so that in the future the world will be their oyster - educationally speaking, the pick of the litter, so to speak when it comes to Universities and courses.

Financially, I've worked that bit out, projecting inflation, cost of living and ancillary costs over the next 23 years based on the three London Schools I'd like them to go to and the four RG Universities to doctoral level.

Sounds a bit harsh, eh! mapping out their lives like that. That's not the intention, the intention is to plan the best possible. if they choose to go on different paths - b'ezrat Hashem (shrugs shoulders).

My Question:
So from experience, knowledge and understanding, what do people consider necessary to ground them on the right paths to educational success?

OP, I was reading an interview with Peter Jones in the Sunday Times this weekend, and he said something I'm conviced to be true; entrepreneurs are not born, they are made.

Business is a skill and can be taught.

And of course, like anyhting else in life, some people will have more natural apitude than others.

However, most people never come even close to finding out if they have any aptitude! Business is seen as something that other people do.

Consequently, I think one of the best things you can do for your DC is give them a good grounding in economics, finance and how money works and grows.

Well put wordfactory, donkey's years ago I did a HND in Business and Finance after my degree. I won a prestigious national award from a High Street bank in Entrepreneurialism, I wrote a wonderful business plan to take a beachside cafe into being an European wide franchised chain. Wow, big pat on the back there, am I entrepreneurial? Not in the slightest.

To paraphrase von Molke, "No plan survives first contact..." whether its a business plan, a project plan or some trite design for my dd's lives based on hubris. My idealised notion of what I would like for them, isn't going to pass the first test. Thing is (and I already knew this when I wrote my OP), that plans only work, if they are revised, modified and adjusted to fit as time goes by.

'S'kay, SthingMustBeScaringThemAway, It wasn't alluding to you. Actually there was only one bitchy comment, which stood out like a sore thumb and was a bit boggling. I do agree that there needs to be some form of struggle that presents itself as a challenge. I hope the dd's get that, something that makes them determined to succeed.

i think you mean mine mirt. your comment preceding mine made me think this was a by stealth thread re: posting your partners views, getting us all to disagree and then using it as evidence you were right. apologies for getting that wrong.

i am baffled by the choice of a mispelling of an antidepressant as a username though.

I sort of agree entrepreneurs are made not born but IME some people are natural risk takers and others risk adverse and that it is hard to overcome risk adverseness. To be a successful entrepreneur amongst other things you need need to be a risk taker.

Completely agree Happy.

I agree that many people are risk averse. In fact, I suspect ^most6 people are.

I wonder though, how much of this is a natural state of affairs for humans to protect themselves, and how much is people often not understanding the risks involved and thus often over thinking them?

I am starting a little business on the side as an education for the DCs. I suspect Dd will be more into it than DS but it is part of their education to learn about money. I had one business that struggled and learnt more from that than any other job or any part of my degree apart from economics which is a basic. It will also give them some work experience and show them that despite all the exam passes in the World to get on in life you need to be able to muck in. Who know what they will do with it but the experience should help in most carers.

My dad persuaded me to work on his chicken selling run every Sat. Not the most glamorous part-time job but it gave me a good start at 15 and a bit of money in the pocket at sixth form. Any work experience will help.

Just caught up with this thread, some interesting perspectives and I also thought corey's post was great, particularly with the longterm view. I suppose education and home life ideally open up possibilities together with supplying memories (hopefully good) and friendships. However to optimise chances of happiness and productivity longterm, installing resilience and flexibility (without damaging self esteem) must be valuable . How do others approach that and how much is actually under our control as parents?

I have known people who were very unhappy because they were pushed into careers which did not match their natural abilities. Academics who hated teaching for instance. Or business people who did not have that natural risk taking characteristic. Or (lower down the scale) carpenters with two left hands.

Yes, you can be taught things but if you always do them less well than the people around you who have a natural flair, it is going to dent your self confidence. (and also be very irritating for your boss)

The reason my own sibling group have ended up so happy is that we are all doing things that we naturally do rather well.

I am a good teacher, I can go to work happily in the knowledge that if I only put in the right effort I will be doing a good day's work. I would be a hopeless business woman because I am not a risk taker and bloody hopeless not naturally comfortable with figures. I would work hard because I am that sort of person, but I would probably be the kind of person who ended up losing vital contracts because I did not see the possibilities.

My db otoh who started the business would have been very unhappy in any kind of academic career as he loathes having to explain things. He is not good at it and he absolutely does not enjoy it. He would probably also be unhappy in a business career of the type where you have to make presentations and engage closely with clients. He has done well because he has found himself a niche where he does not have to do that, but where his natural flair for business and opportunities as well as his talent for technological inventions come into their own.

It's tough for kids these days. All these expectations. Ticking boxes, performing so that adults can feel good about themselves.

Just send them to a decent school and support them and love them.

The expectations are equally on the parents, we are expected to send them to "decent" schools, and the expectation to support them and just how do we meet these expectations? I'd like my children to get an education better than my own, I would like to have an expectation that educational standards have risen from my day.

"Just" sending them is one thing, but you're missed out something that's more important. Hope, hope for a better future, hope, that by giving them a leg up early on with education we will give them that better future. Hope that by encouraging them to explore things via education they will find a path in life. Hope that it will give them the confidence to not be afraid of trying and challenging.

But, bear this one thing in mind. There is little that I can control in life, I won't be able to control how my DD's respond to an education, I won't be able to control their life choices (some I'll disprove of but I'll keep that to myself). But, I can give them access to the best education possible - what that is I'm not sure of - and hope that they will make use of it.

cory I agree t that pushing Dc in the wrong direction is wrong. But no one is suggesting that. Rather we are advocating opening pathways and opportunities...in the same way that we might introduce our DC to music and sport, why not business and economics?

Don't you think its better to provide for doctoral level, even if they don't use it. Than them wanting to go that far and I can't provide!

Can someone tell me what the point of having a PHD is? I understand it helps if you want to be a university lecturer but apart from that, is one demonstrably beneficial to have?

I do not understand the life plan you make for your kids. Don't you want to see what they are good at first? I don't think you should have such fixed aims for them.

summer it is my firm belief that resilience and Flexibilty are two of the most important factors in leading a successful life. Too few people exhibit those characteeristics. But how to instil them? First, lead from the front. Show your DC how resilient and flexible you are. Let them see you getting out of your comfort zone. Second, let your DC experience failure. Too many parents try to protect their DC from any and all disappointment. Third, let your DC experience hard graft. A child's life doesn't have to be a non stop glitter fest of fun and magic. Hard graft never killed anyone. Fourth, teach your kids to laugh at themselves. People who take themselves too seriously will always find change difficult.

There are many jobs where PhD would be beneficial.
Policy advisor to the WHO, Analyst at the European Commission on Human Rights and Democracy, Quantitative Analyst, Scientist for Pharmaceuticals, Bio-technology, Field Archaeologist for the British Museum. There is quite a long list.

My first ever Boss has three Phd's because he wanted to work for NASA as an astronomer and he did before becoming the MD of the R&D arm of a technology company.

And as for business and Economics, DD1 has already tried that at 6, she'd seen a cartoon where they had a Lemonade Stand (y'know the American thing). So she set about making the lemonade, she and her four year old sister set up a little table, with glasses and a bowl and tried to sell her lemonade to passers by. Of course no one wanted to buy it, this being the UK and all and we don't have that tradition. Her little hopes were dashed, but a couple of weeks later she bounced back and had another try.

Again, there is no fixed goal, just a general provision that encompasses a broad spectrum.

Thanks Word, definitely think last one is very important.
There is a balance between persistence (hard work towards a set objective) and flexibility ie try another path or acquire a different skill set.
Striking the right balance must be a matter of instinct or good judgement which is also an important skill to acquire?

Yet at the school gates I meets loads of parents who are going; "Bajit IS going to be a Barrister", "D'nisha WILL be a Doctor", "Yosep IS going to be an accountant", "Sophie WILL be a vet" and then go on about it.

When bajit and D'nisha have a nervous breakdown at the age of 19 you will see how their ridiculous snobby parents have damaged them.

Oh acid whilst that's a slight risk, it really isn't that much of a problem. More middle class angst.

It's funny how if you're very poor and your parents do everything in their power to propel you out of poverty and into the middle classes, they're never seen as too pushy or damaging. They're legends.