Navigating the Education System

My husband and I were born and raised in the Philippines. Needless to say, we were educated in our native country. We went through Kindergarten, Prep, Elementary School (Grades 1 through 6), four years of high school, and then moved on to College. It seemed really simple especially since both of us went to the same elementary schools and high schools respectively. Unless you really missed the mark academically, or partially burned the school down, acceptance was a foregone conclusion. Entrance to a college was through taking the NCEE (National College Entrance Examination). Some universities demanded a higher score than others, and most did conduct their own entrance examinations but that was about it. Parents normally paid for education, and children were not expected to take on a job or pay off student loans after graduation.

Fast forward and we found ourselves living in San Diego, CA with a 5-year old ready to get into the educational system. He had already been in daycare/pre-schools most of his life due to the fact that not only were we both working, but it was widely known that your child was disadvantaged if he did not already have basic reading and writing skills. I read to Jason while he was in the womb and mostly almost every night after he was born until he could read by himself.

Free public education is a right in this wonderful country; however, where your child goes to enjoy that privilege is based on zoning laws. We had just purchased our first home in Chula Vista and while it is a good area, I had a problem with having no choice in terms of where we were supposed to enroll him. There is always an option to transfer to a different zone but it is something we would have had to apply for every year and was based on availability. There are no guarantees. In addition, we had always wanted a good Catholic education for Jason. So I did my research and decided to apply for his acceptance to a private school which was also nearby to both of mine and Henry’s places of work.

We went through an interview and so did Jason who I am pleased to say passed with flying colors. That took care of Kindergarten, Elementary School (Grades 1 through 6), and Middle School (Grades 7 and 8). Up to now, I am not sure about the value of adding those two extra years except that perhaps he was older and more emotionally ready for high school? I remember that classes in the Philippines always started at 7:45am and ended at 4:45pm while in comparison, Jason’s school day ended at 2:45pm. During his last year in Middle School, he had to apply to a high school of his choice and while we had no fears that he was going to be accepted, we did get what they call “sticker shock.” Including the after-school fees, we could have bought a small house in the Philippines after those 9 years of education. But I digress, and he is so totally worth it.

Orientation for freshmen and their parents came and then I started really getting confused. I do not remember having a choice in terms of what subjects we took in high school. Moving classrooms was minimal, the teachers came to our classrooms and my classmates for a particular year were the same set of people. High school over here is more like college over there. You were told what the requirements were for graduation and how you got there was your choice. To add to the confusion, they throw in AP (Advance Placement) classes to the mix. These are equivalent to undergraduate courses in college. Advanced Placement classes are graded differently than other classes offered. I used to get confused why someone would get an average of 4.18 or higher if an "A" was equivalent to a 4.0. I quickly learned that getting an "A" in an AP class or an honors class was equivalent to a 5.0.

The bottom line is that someone who wishes to get into a good college needs to take them. There are prerequisites before you can enroll in an AP class and there is a test that the student needs to take after taking the class so participating colleges can grant credit to students who obtain high enough scores on the exams to qualify. Whether or not the actual college you end up going to will actually give you credit is another matter.

Then there are the ACT and SAT exams. These are the two major college entrance examinations administered in the United States today, and are designed to allow college admissions officers to judge all students by a common measurement. I almost panicked when I received a letter in the mail advertising a prep course conducted at his school for these exams at the beginning of Jason's sophomore year. Was it not too early? Did we miss a deadline due to ignorance? I was very much relieved to find out that he did not need to take either one of the tests until his junior year so he will be enrolling in this prep course next year. He has an option of buying the 600-page review material and studying on his own but while he is a good student, we are not going that route.

Planning for your child's college education is a full-time job and I am not even going to cover the financial aspects of it on this blog. Since my son did take a practice SAT and ACT, he is now on a database somewhere and we constantly get mail from different colleges and universities. The amount of information out there is mind-boggling. In addition, we get mail from such organizations like The National Society of High School Scholars and the Congressional Youth Leadership Council indicating that he is privileged to have been invited to join their organizations. The question is, should he? Does he need all of that trimming on the side?

His grades are excellent, he is involved with the student body organization, the student newspaper, and just recently made the junior varsity volleyball team. He is awaiting word on an internship this summer so that he can show on his college application that he is responsible enough to show up somewhere daily and produce work. I am already exhausted just thinking of the actual college application process and the deadlines we have to meet. Please let me know if I missed anything.