[Sharon007]

Michael Jackson's Children Thriving in the Classroom

http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/nm_Paris_Prince_Jackson_100906_mn.jpg

After a lifetime of homeschooling two of the most famous children in the world have hit the books in a classroom with their peers -- and their bodyguards.

Prince Michael Jackson, 13, and Paris Jackson, 12, the two eldest children of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, have broken away from the famously secluded education they received with their father.

The children are attending the exclusive and private Buckley School, where Jackson himself attended along with other members of the Jackson clan. Their two bodyguards wait outside their classrooms and follow them around the campus.

Family attorney Brian Oxman said Prince and Paris have adapted so well that he predicted the bodyguards would be gone in a matter of weeks. He also dismissed reports that the other Buckley students were lectured never to ask Jackson's children about their family.

"I don't know what the instructions were that the school gave to other kids," he said. "I do know that these kids can handle anything."

The school boasts an elite student population about 770 from kindergarten through high school. Famous graduates include Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Natalie Cole and Matthew Perry. The tuition for the Jackson kids is nearly $30,000.

"Academics are really important," Oxman said. "But as to social atmosphere -- throwing papers and what not -- listen, these kids have a real good time."

The idea to put the kids in school with other children was Prince's suggestion and was approved by family matriarch Katherine Jackson, the children's legal guardian. The youngest Jackson sibling, 8-year-old Blanket, will continue to be homeschooled for now.

Attorney: Michael Jackson Would Be Proud of Children

Oxman described Paris as ladylike and more cautious than her older brother.

"He's a very powerful personality and wants to be with kids his own age," Oxman said of Prince. "I get the sense that Prince really likes business. And he likes speaking."

Their father, Oxman said, would be proud.

"If this is what they wanted, he would have approved," he said.

But some of the Jackson clan may not be as supportive of Katherine Jackson's decision to send the children to school.

There are reports that Jermaine, LaToy and Randy Jackson were against the idea, saying that they were too young to end their homeschooling.

The children of the famously reclusive Jackson have been appearing more and more often in public since Jackson's death in June 2009 from an overdose of Propofol, the powerful anesthetic he used to sleep.

They made a public appearance at the Grammys earlier this year and have been frequently photographed on outings and attending karate classes.

Source: ABC News

[magic]

In general I feel sorry for them. There's many movies I've seen when children/ teenagers are sick of bodyguards following them. That must be very tiring.