Education - City Mouse vs. Country Mouse

Though my experiences were not the best in the small town in which I grew up I know that much of what fuels the education debate is a crisis found more in large suburban areas and in cities where there is much disparity among schools.  Growing up  in  a small town the children received the same education regardless of whether or not they lived in a large country estate or in housing projects in the middle of town.  Having only one elementary school (now there are two) in my hometown we did not have to consider busing vs. neighborhood schools.  There were no lotteries or magnets schools.  Charter schools were something that crazy people in California were discussing and had no bearings on our educational system.  


Living in Nashville I see much the broader picture of urban education and its impact on my own family.  If we were to put our children in public school in the Fall we would be driving them a couple of miles down the road to what I hear is a fantastic public elementary school.  Looking at the website and talking to folks in our area, I believe that it is truly is a great place to be.  Unfortunately, the school in my backyard - which we are not zoned for - is also a great school and is Montessori based.  We are a 5 minute walk to that school but children have to be enrolled there through a lottery process by age 3 or else there is little chance of getting in.  That school has no buses that roll through.  The families there are committed to education and it has a high level of parental involvement (though I hear the other one has very involved parents as well).  


For families who cannot afford private school and who cannot afford to be zoned for a great elementary school, the lottery is the only choice if they are seeking a better education for their children.  I do not want this to seem like I support busing (because I do not), but there has to be a better way.  The question I always come back to is why aren't all of the school as good as the lottery schools?  In Nashville where many of the elementary schools are fantastic why do I meet parents in all areas of my life who pull their children out of the public system as they enter into middle school if they do not get into a magnet school?


What can be done to improve education overall in the US that will not only satisfy those who push for markers of success but will satisfy the needs of all communities and most importantly feed the children emotionally, socially and mentally?

Education and Roadblocks Along the Way

Okay, so I shared with you some of my personal experiences in education.  For myself, the issues in the classroom centered around a few key points.  The first is being forced to sit for the majority of the day with one person (1-5 grades) droning on about subjects that I cared very little about.  Had our day been broken up with movement and song and projects I would have had a much more enjoyable experience.  When not in the classroom (having been sent to P.E.) we were subject to the whims of a couple of women who clearly hated teaching and were to be quite frank - cruel to all but their favorite children.  We were not allowed to speak at all during lunch which limited our ability to talk to recess which was unfortunate as that was only about 30 minutes for the entire day.

Bullying was also a very serious issue for myself and a couple of my friends who also came through the system.  Daily taunts and cruelty from a few other children who were allowed to behave badly due to the social status of their families or because they were top students did not make life any easier.  Between extreme boredom and bullying the 180 days per year I was forced to attend school was pure agony. 

I want to be clear here.  I know that is NOT everyone' experience.  But, it is the experience of many.  I also know that we are in an age when so many education reformers are working so hard and putting their time and talent to improving the education of children in this country.  I know that so many are attempting to remove antiquated methods and bring in progressive thought on how children should be taught.  And, I know that those teachers are being blocked in many schools by legislation, administrative staff members who are not progressive, lack of funding (how can we fund major league sports and not have enough text books?) or teacher unions who do not allow the best to stand out as it emphasizes those who are not performing as well.  

For the children who find themselves zoned for great school districts (in cities) or who land great teachers these are not issues.  For the rest of the children....well.....they are.  

Stay tuned for more on my thoughts on education and why we have made the choices we have made. 

Experiential Education and the Reasoning

If you read the previous post you know that I am constantly thinking about education and the choice we make for our children as the financial investment into private education is huge.  It really was only this year that I began to really articulate for myself why we continue to make the choice of Waldorf education for our children.   One of my "aha's" came a few weeks ago as I was cleaning out our garage.  A neighborhood church was having a yard sale and was advertising pick up of unwanted items to be donated.  I called and a gentlemen in his late fifties came and picked up our donation.  As we spent some time visiting with this man and chatting about his life in our community talk turned toward education and where our children go to school and where his adult children attended school.  Near the end of the conversation I shared with him that I wanted my children to walk into a great experience each and every day.  He told me that was not possible.  Rubbish!  We choose our reality - at least I do - and I know that the choices we make for them dictate much of what they experience each day.

Speaking of experience, though I will not go into great detail here I will say I had varied experiences in school.  A product of public education nearly each of  the first 7 school years for me were pure hell with the last 5 improving greatly.  I can honestly say that the improvement came as a result of having about 8 phenomenal teachers between 8th and 12th grades.  Not to say my entire high school experience was great.  But those 8 teachers made the rest tolerable.  Tolerable.  That was largely my school experience.  Had it not been for those 8 teachers (who were inspiring and motivating and exciting) and of course the great group of friends that I surrounded myself with I might not be able to use the word tolerable at all.  I would guess that between 8th and 12th grades I had approximately 25 teachers and even now looking back to be able to say that 8 were phenomenal is shocking to me even now.  That is not to say there were only 8 good teachers at my high school.  There were others in classes that I did not take but I can honestly say that many of my classes were uninspiring and ineffective to say the least.  And, that is NOT to say that every teacher in every private school is inspiring and phenomenal because I also know that is not the case. 

Circling back around to my previous post and keeping the word "tolerable" in mind I'll share with you the conversation my husband and I had last night as we stood by the bonfire talking with his friends and listening to another alum play the guitar and sing.  I told him that SAS must have been a really great experience.  It was he said.  As he went there late (as a junior) he wasn't quite as connected to the culture and the people.  But, he had a great experience.  His days were filled with inspired learning where knowledge was taught for the sake of knowledge and for the sake of learning and acquiring wisdom.  Subjects were delved into and critical thinking was encouraged.  We stood under the stars last night and I listened and knew that these folks were greatly shaped by their education environment.  They are all life long learners and were part of a long tradition of people who had come through the ranks at the school.  Each year this reunion is for all graduates of the school.  There oldest reunion class that I saw was 1952.  To know that these folks all come back there each year to celebrate that experience is amazing.  

Experience.  Experiential.  What is it about the experience?  Stay tuned for more thoughts on the experience vs. the education.

Experiential Education and the Cost

Last night I had the opportunity to attend my husband's 20th high school reunion at St. Andews Sewanee here in Tennessee.  As I met with some of his high school friends and watched many other reunion groups during the evening it fueled much thought and fed into my ever dissecting of the decision each year we make to send out children to private school.

Let me set the stage.  St. Andrews is a former military school turned college prep in 1981.  My husband's class was only 11 years into the college prep program and now they are moving into their 32nd year of co-ed education.  St. Andrews is set on a huge campus of beautifully forrested land on a mountaintop in Sewanee, TN and the children attend classes in a wonderful modern building amid Spanish influenced dorms and offices.  They fill their days with inspired classes and have access to an incredible university library a few miles down the road.  Extracurricular programs include typical high school things such as football and cross-country, drama and art but due to their mountain setting they have opportunities to hike and canoe and explore nature as well.

Most of the graduates (of course there are exceptions) are thriving adults who went on to institutes of higher learning and are leading successful lives all across the country.  For the most part, there is nothing too extraordinary about the folks I met and spoke with.  They are in design, finance, education, and engineering.  They are married with children and live for the most part a fairly typical life.  As someone who is constantly reevaluating our choice in education for our children, I listed intently on the conversations these folks had about their school experience as well as what their lives look like now.

Let me clarify something about the reevaluation.  I do not reevaluate because I doubt the educational choice for my children as in questioning the validity of the method.  I do question each year if it will make a difference in their lives later on to have made what will eventually be a 6 figure investment into each of the children's primary education.  I am writing about this today because I know that so many of us who are making this investment do question.  Beyond the financial  the real question is this - what difference does it make if my children attend the private school of our choice or our neighborhood public school.  In the long term what is the difference? 

I am going to leave you with that thought and tomorrow you can see what I have over and over again come up with as well as continuing to have my feelings validated by experiences such as this weekend's reunion.

Kim John Payne

Recently Kim John Payne was a guest for a few days at the kid's school.  KJP shared so many things that I have said for years but it often takes someone like him to drive the point home.  He had a profound impact on so many of our families and I'm sharing his blog with you here!


http://www.simplicityparenting.com/

WOW! On Education...

I want you all to run to this article as it may be the most profound thing I have ever read or at least read in a long time on education. 

When School Goes Against Your Very Nature

On Dad's FB Response to Daughter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl1ujzRidmU&feature=player_embedded#!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJCYuybp6DU&feature=channel


Okay, so this is the guy who posted a video on FB in response to his daughter's rant about chores in the home. I know he went over the top but damn this guy is a wake up call to America.  Watch it and listen and though you and I may not complete agree with his tactics look around at how parents are crippling their children all around the world and creating an entitlement generation.

In our home our children get hugs and kisses and sleep with us regularly and get homemade cookies and at least 2 hot meals a day and playdates with friends and trips to the library and to historical and cultural events.  They also get daily chores and consequences if expectations are not met.  They are given presents on birthdays and Christmas.  They are also given the opportunity to purchase ALL of their own toys the remainder of the year.  In fact, our son is currently saving his hard earned money for a DS.  He has over $100 and very proud of that though he has been tempted to spend said money on other things.  

As society improves and technology increases and the focus on children and education continues to grow, many parents become slaves to their children's wants and desires.  I can honestly say that I am so grateful we have decided to think out of the box in regards to educating our kids as there are few status symbols on our campus and kids with the latest technologies know to leave it and talk of it (mostly) at home.   No one knows name brands and whether or not you purchase your groceries from a local farm is more important that whether or not you are wearing Prada.


I'd love to hear your opinion of this video so feel free to comment or to send me a shout out via email!


Happy Parenting.


Dana

Rainbow Girl

Check out Arwyn's awesome face painting!  Thank you to the Nashville Parent Camp Fair.