Kids on boats

[mandlmaunder]

Just read the post from CalicoJack re. taking child out of school for RYA training, and the attendant difficulties experienced with the school.
Just as an aside, we have found that the children brought up on a boat by cruising parents outshine their their peers 'at home' in educational progress, mental and physical abilities and social adroitness....AND, most importantly, common sense!
Aa an example, a friend has just taken his 3 children back to land after 8 years cruising and home schooling and the oldest is considered at entrance level for college/uni. She is 14 years old. The 12 year old girl is considered bright and an 'extremely gifted artist' and the 10 year old boy is a 'computer games genius' - fits right in with land-based teenagers!

Any other cruisers found the same?

 

[KenMcCulloch]

I don't find this surprising at all but the explanation is in who the parents are, not their lifestyle. 'Cruising families' will, to a man and woman be people who have been sufficiently successful in their careers or business to resource the cruising life. They will tend to be more curious about the world, and more open to new experiences than the average Jane or Joe. Whether or not they have had a longer period of education than most, they will certainly be well endowed with 'cultural capital'. All of this adds up to an environment in which children will, in most but perhaps not all respects, flourish.

 

[akirk]

It is also a good example of how schools generally can only teach to the norm, and when you consider 2 parents to 3 children as a ratio, and the amount of involvement / knowledge of each child - then the teaching can often be 2x - 3x higher...

Usually the biggest problem is the children fitting back in with the culture they find at home - but then maybe that is not a bad thing /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif