School Choices
My son Drake will turn five late next August, which makes him eligible to start kindergarten at our local, public schools. A few years ago, I read Beth Hawkins’s excellent article on her challenges with the Minneapolis school choice process. I thought, oh, I’m glad I don’t have to think about that for a while. Well, time’s up, and the choices, they are myriad.
Choice: home school or school-school. I briefly considered teaching my boys at home, for three main reasons. One, I had a terrible experience in public schools, and felt I got a crappy education. I’m skeptical that my boys, already demonstrating brilliance, (I’m sure I’m the ONLY mom who thinks this about her kids) will have a much better experience. Two, most schools start super early, which isn’t good for kids. Three, my admittedly non-comprehensive research shows that early education favors the attention and learning styles of girls, not boys. (The tables turn at adolescence, though, when the boys get the advantage.)
Decision: school-school. After some soul searching, I had to admit that I’m too anxious and irritable to school my kids myself. Perhaps when they’re older, and less about the screaming and crying. (My psychotherapist didn’t hide her relief when I came to this decision. She’d known before I did that I’d benefit from help in schooling my young kids.)
Choice: now or later. Because of Drake’s early birthday, he can start kindergarten just after he turns five. Whether this is a good thing is a subject of hot debate among parents. Do I start him early, because he’s smart, or wait a year, so his social and emotional skills catch up? Also, half day or full day?
Decision: not final, but leaning to later. Other mothers whom I trust are nearly unanimous in their advice to wait a year with a boy. Our pediatrician thought it was a no-brainer–if Drake had been born two weeks later it wouldn’t even be an option. If he does start next year, I’ll do half day. If we wait, I’ll probably do full day.
Choice: School A: K through 8, “open” philosophy, arts focus, start time 8:40am. Bus stop at end of block, then short ride. Most families we know choose this school for their kids.
School B: 5 blocks away. K through 6. Math and science focus. Pretty conventional public school. 7:30am start time. A few people I know choose this school.
School C: 9 blocks away. No specialty. K through 6. 9:10am start time. No one I know has chosen this school.
Decision: On the advice of a friend, I did school tours rather than a fair. I liked A best and B least, even aside from the absurdly early start time. C is a good backup, I think, especially given the later start time, but it was unremarkable in many ways, and I think I’d prefer a K-8.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:10 am
This decision is one of my most obvious stress points, even though it’s approximately 1.5 years away for us, and our son is already in a Montessori school where he can stay through sixth grade if need be. Even so, I worry about when we have to get him into a non-Montessori school (rumors abound that this school is great through 1st grade, less so as they get older), if he will go to public school, if so, when we have to look into schools of choice (he won’t be going to school in the district we live in, regardless), how my extremely shy child reacts to any changes . . . and on and on and on. I empathize with you, even if reading this post made me break out in hives! I also completely agree regarding starting boys later. We certainly are.