Re: Character of a growing girl (middle school question)

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, beeswing says...
>
>I posted this question in the financial aid thread, but I'd really like to
>discuss it further. Could anyone please give me some input on this?
>
><< If one can (potentially, maybe) pay for instate, public university education
>*OR* private school (especially at the critical middle-school level), how da
>heck does one decide, anyway. Either? Both, with the hope of a windfall? What
>makes the biggest difference to the character of a growing girl? >>
>
>My daughter is almost 9, and she's an only. My only experience with "middle
>school" is having gone to public junior high myself. And I remember those years
>as being fairly miserable, though it wasn't all attributable to school-related
>issues. I'd like my daughter to have a better experience than I did.
>
>beeswing
>

I had a terrible experience, too.  I was pretty geeky, and, after sixth grade
when we moved from a place where we'd lived for five years, we moved nearly
twice a year such that I went to five junior high schools through four grades
(JH started in 6th in Texas, went through 9th in Colorao).    So once I left my
hard-won social connections in sixth grade ('though some were retained through
seventh grade - long story), it was a pretty bleak experience.

For my son, on the other hand, it's been much different.  He's been in one
neighborhood and one school district, and he's *much* more socially inclined
than I am, so he's fairly well connected.

I guess the upshot here is that your own experience in Junior High won't
necessarily translate to your daughter's experience.    The biggest difference
to her character is her temprament; the next biggest is your relationship to
her, bringing up a close third is the overall environment.

Banty