May 28 pressure

Ok , I’ve been sitting on this for a while and maybe I should wait until I’ve rounded up more data . Education is big business Comparisons between the Southbay in LA and what I know back in Aus isn’t a simple process .Our kids went to primary school in grades 1 and 6 at St Macs in Mornington . We were pretty comfortable with the school and although we had some issues they would stay the course and head to Padua College once finished .On arriving in the US our place of residence (Hermosa Beach) has a reputation for its high academic standards.. The kids were placed in the same year levels as at home . The issue being that they would jump from the start of the year to the back end of the US equivalent. The schools are split .Elementry: kindergarten(Aus grade prep) to grade 4. Middle school : grade 5 to grade 9 . High school : year 10 to 12. After settling in for a week we noticed there was a significant increase in home work . Actually it was a shock to me and more  so the boys . It gets murky when making comparisons as there is a lot of variables to consider ,but I have no doubt that at the very least the Hermosa schools are well ahead of the StMacs equivalent. You may read this back home and get defensive about the schooling your child is receiving and I sympathise . My kids are average and are always going to have to work at it and maybe yours are going extremely well at StMacs ,but I am convinced that even without missing a chunk of the year that they would start well behind the hermosans .The race to achieve startled me . The kids are tested every week. Every term they get tested for ranking throughout the state. Leroy does 1 hour of homework a night . Tex…..   It’s a war zone at home pushing him to do anything but he’s drowning with what’s expected .Testing ,competition and comparison is they’re way. Yes Tim Hoffman you were right with our little school debate.You are expected to push your kids up the educational ladder by any means .A lot ,and I mean a lot of kids will go into summer holliday tuition . There is no let up if your child is in the pack . You should ‘pay ‘ to boost them . I am guessing this is how your top private schools operate in Melbourne.The US is all about getting that degree . If you don’t you are flipping burgers for a living or worse , a tradie .As of grade 5 you are in middle school going from individual classes and teachers throughout the day like in year 7 in Aus . Like junk food outlets there are tutorial services on every corner here . Yep it’s big money to get you’re kids to the top . A user pay system that will keep your child out of the trailer park . This is the US.