Yes, I am back! Procrastination and life got in the way, but it’s all good: on to the custom education!
Unless you’re ridiculously rich, one of the biggest concerns parents have with a custom education is the cost. The first alternative school people tend to think of is private school, which probably is more expensive than some college education. The second is homeschool, which requires you to buy all your own textbooks and supplies and private tutors and all that.
The thing is, if you work it right, a custom education can be completely free. FREE.
Free School
You have options like taking classes from Harvard through iTunes U or other opencourseware, which cost NOTHING.
Dual credit classes are usually free. So are the classes you might take at your own high school, if you go there part-time.
Unschooling
If your school offers virtual school, they’ll usually pay for the program they’re offering.
And, of course, creating your own homeschool program can be free, if you make use of free information like the library and the internet.
Change the focus
If the education you want costs some money–like trips to the museum or a French tutor–you can try a different approach. Compare the cost of your current public education to your estimated cost of a custom education.
Costs of a public education (besides mandatory taxes): lunches, supplies (notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, book covers, locker gear, lunchboxes, you name it), gas and time to get you to and from school, uniforms or school clothes, sports programs, clubs… anything you might not otherwise use or have if you weren’t in public school.
Compare that list to your custom education estimated costs. Include admission to museums or programs you want to pursue. List all the free aspects of your education here, too, like resources from the library and volunteer mentors.
Your comments
What do you think? What would convince your parents that the cost is worth every dollar, or that a free education can still be valuable? In designing your own custom education, what would you include that costs money? Is there any way to replace that with a free option?
