Irony is.....

Irony is living a stone's throw away from a school and sending your children somewhere else!

It has been so wonderful to see tremendous academic strides made by both kiddos this year.  It has also been wonderful as parents to embrace the unique ways our children learn, to release comparison and begin to focus on individual needs and strengths.

Growing up, I had an excellent public education.  What schooling G and L would have wasn't really a discussion, we just assumed they would follow the same route as their parents.  It was eye-opening and disheartening to learn more and more about the state of public education.  While there are still tremendous teachers and educators working towards the growth and well-being of the whole child, there are increasingly frustrating challenges being forced on them.  In G's district, 14 teachers chose to leave the district last year - non retirement age teachers.

I realized I had to mourn public education.  That sounds dramatic, but it is true.  In my mind it was one thing, in actuality it was something altogether different.  I needed to release the idea I had in mind for the kids and open up to the possibility that there was something different for them than what I had experienced.  This took me time.  It also took a lot of research and involvement with our district and administration.

G continues to thrive in an immersion program.  This program is fantastic and he is growing leaps and bounds daily.  Sadly, his district plans to discontinue it so his sister won't have the same opportunity.  The nature of this immersion program within the public school district is that it exists in a sort of bubble.  The classes of immersion on the whole score exceptionally well on all standardized testing.  Because they do so well and rank so high, classroom teachers are given a lot of freedom in what/how they teach.  (I can't find a gracious way to say they don't have to teach as much to the tests as their traditional classroom teacher counterparts.)  Our hope is for him to complete his immersion program in public school in fourth grade.  Then we will evaluate a next step for him.

Our district voted for mandatory full-day kindergarten beginning fall 2014.  L would be in school from 8:45-3:40 every day, using a curriculum designed for half day K.  There is no research that indicates there is any advantage to the child in this setting - unless the child has an IEP and would be receiving specific support during the extended time.  She would have LA blocks of 90 minutes, 2 of them a day.  She would have half a year of music class once a week and half a year of art class once a week.  She would get 30 minutes of physical education once a week.  She would get one recess a day for 20 minutes after a 15 minute lunch.  She is five.  This is not ideal for her (research would indicate it's not an ideal schedule for any child that age).  So we are incredibly excited to begin a new educational experience with L.  An approach that educates the whole child, not a number taking a test.  (Speaking of, did you know that with Common Core your child's standardized test scores will be public access for colleges or future employers to review?)  While it took me some time to get here, I could not be more excited for the University Model School we will be joining fall 2014.  More on the program another time.

Public education is not horrible.  It can work for some children.  Each child is unique and has unique needs.  If their school is able to meet their needs - WONDERFUL!  I do encourage parents to be involved in their child's public education.  I believe every parent should be at school board meetings (these are the people who approve administrative decisions for your child - like cutting art/music/phys ed time), every parent should have a relationship with their child's teacher (your child's teacher spends more time with your child during the week than you do - that is not a judgement, it is a reality), every parent should read PTO minutes (lots of good info in there), every parent should share their praises and concerns over what is happening in their child's education with the administration and the board - emails, phone calls physical presence all great ways to do so.  After two years of attending meetings, I am still shocked that in a district our size there are maybe 5 parents who come out regularly.  We take assume that those in leadership have our child's best interest in mind.  Sadly, that is not always the case.  And as I always say, you can't complain about what is happening in your district if you are not lending your voice and sharing your thoughts on the matters that concern you.

Again, these our thoughts that reflect our family and our children.  A neat thing about parenting is when you have those kiddos, you get to make the decisions you want for them, and you don't have to compare those decisions to anyone else's.

Blessings!