My oldest son will be going to kindergarten next year, and in our town we have a magnet school system so WE HAVE TO APPLY TO SEND OUR SON TO KINDERGARTEN!!! Seems a bit much to me. There are six schools to pick from all with different specialties or slants on education (one is next to the local University and uses the Univ. resources, college students as teaching assistants, and has courses designed by Univ. professors, another is a Montessari school, a gifted and talented school, a school of global studies, another is focusing on family and environmental studies, and lastly a science and technology school).
One of my many problems with this set up is how can we judge our 4 year olds learning style after one semester of full time preschool? Ever try asking a preschooler what their favorite things about school are, "Besides playtime, yes not including imagination station, your favorite things besides playing, no mac n' cheese is your favorite food not a subject at school ..."
My main concern in choosing a school is at this young age do I pick what he likes, what I like, what will prepare him for the world or what will prepare him for 6th grade? Some schools seem to have a non-competitive vibe "cooperation and collaboration, not competition, are emphasized," which is really great, but will that be preparing him to be crushed in an extremely competitive capitalist society, plus he'll be getting enough commie indoctrination at home, just like he'll be exposed to the arts at home, should he be going to the science and technology school?
It comes down to this, should we be choosing a school that reinforces our values and interests of being open minded, creative and socially conscious, or one that teaches him things that he won't be getting at home? I don't have a fucking clue ...
We're just coming out of two weeks of 104.5 fevers and missing Thanksgiving at all three grandparents homes, no more than three hours of straight sleep due to being awoken because of our congestion, runny noses and sore throats, and in the 22 month old's case, being miserable and not having the vocabulary to express how shitty you feel.
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3 comments:
You might want to look into the Montessori school as they have been around for a looong time and seem to have a proven track record for preparing kids more than adequately for entering the local school system.
Interesting situation. I can see your frustration as I feel that way too when presented with too many choices (like choosing health plans/ 401k / enormous menus etc.)
On the flip, its kind of cool to have the choices you do have.
If time/energy allows, I would try to visit some of the schools you are considering to see what the people, facilities, overall vibe are.
If you choose a school that ends up not working out, I'd hope that G-Carlo could transfer to a different school without a drawn out competitive application process.
If it were me, I'd attempt to put my child into the most liberal school in the beginning of their education so they could get a taste for as much as possible. This way they might hopefully find their passion earlier and be able to focus on it more later.
Doesn't seem to make sense to me to have such specialized kindergarden schools for kids who are far from deciding and focusing on a particular educational/career path like Science and technology or whatever.
What ever happened to learning simple stuff like colors, etiquette, and the alphabet?
I'm sure you guys will make the best decision and, in the grand scheme of things, G-Carlo will most likely get a much better education than say NYC pub school kids or the like.
I'm down with Montessori, but the truth is is that he's a bright kid with support at home, so any interests he has will be developed no matter what. Too bad there's not a music school. Self-confidence is the most important thing to not get crushed in a capitalistic society, so anything that fosters that and empathy, and reading skills, is the best, I think. There will be plenty of time for specialization later.
Has GianC played any Cranium games?
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