School Daze November 16, 2006
Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 2 commentsThe School Post.
DISCLAIMER: I am seriously F*d when it comes to school. I was placed into our G&T program in 3rd grade and graduated 2nd in my class (0.007 behind my best friend in GPA..I kid you not). My childhood experiences from parental pressures to teacher expectations has seriously screwed me. Which is why I had nightmares last night after writing this up.
I have an unhealthy fear of school. Seriously. This is just not right.
Soleil will start kindergarten in September 2007. This scares the hell out of me.
Why?
- How will she deal with the structure?
- How will the school deal with her off days?
- How will I deal with the pressure to do the right mom things?
- Will she be okay in Kindergarten?
- Will I put too much pressure on her to do well?
- Will I not push her enough that she slacks off?
- What will I do when she is home after school?
- Testing testing testing!
Whew, that’s a long list: Let’s tackle them one by one
1. How will she deal with the structure?
Honestly, this is my own fear. I know she does great in daycare and her class is leaning more towards a kindergarten class than her preschool class did. She has more structured time and she follows rules well, but at home we allow a great deal of freedom. I worry about how she will deal with "you have to do it this way". I know, stupid, but there it is.
2. How will the school deal with her off days?
I was raised that you NEVER EVER miss school. It is that important. But, Jay disagrees with this. And slowly, I see it too. The girls will miss school on the Jewish holidays. No argument from me there. That is a simple fact. Our district is not Jewish enough to give the holidays off, unlike the town next to us. So, the girls will simply not go to school those days.
We also travel a bit. The school’s website has a big important note about how parents shouldn’t schedule vacations during the school year, how important it is to keep the children’s education consistant…blah blah blah. Listen, Jay and I can handle most of the subject matter the girls will take until, maybe highschool. And even then we can help out. I think we can help them with assignments and such if they go with us on a trip. But this attitude from the school that nothing is more important then school just sends ripples of fear down my spine. I fear the school system…
3. How will I deal with the pressure to do the right mom things?
You know, those THINGS. The PTA, the checking assignments, the baking cookies (yum) and all other things maternal. Hell, I have no time now? Will I do the right things? Will I fail miserably? I worry how I come across will affect my children’s success in school.
4. Will she be okay in Kindergarten?
This applies to both kids, although I think Luna more than Soleil. I know, every parents wants to think their kid is smart. Yeah. But seriously, Soleil was asking us about how ELECTRICITY works. Why can’t we see it? We explained how the electrons move in the wires and how it isn’t something you can see and then she wants a microscope to see the wire moving. She asks questions that make you think. Such as "how thick is air?" Or "what if you took ice from the freezer, let it melt and then froze it in the freezer? would it be the same thing?"
Luna is using vocabulary that blows us away. And her logic. oh man, the logic. The other day Luna said something about a crack-crack bird. Soleil and I laughed and said there is no crack-crack bird. Luna got angry and said "the egg goes crack-crack and then there’s a bird. The crack-crack bird!" Okay. you’ve got me there.
Will they maintain their love for learning at school? I worry that school will kill their spirits..
5. Will I put too much pressure on her to do well?
Again, for both girls. I want them to respect learning, but I also know that in school, I was stiffled from the organization. Will they feel that way too? Will I put pressure them to "get good grades"? I remember a time from my freshman year in college. I got a 66 on my Geo 101 final. I needed a 3 on the final to get an A in the class and I had decided to worry about my physics 101 class instead. My dad was furious. I was thrilled that I had pulled 66 without studying and once I knew I had one question right, I blew off the rest of the test. I hated that pressure that my dad and mom gave me. I don’t want to do that to my girls, but I worry that once we hit the school years, with the quanitative measures, I will pressure them.
6. Will I not push her enough that she slacks off?
I had a teacher in my senior year in high school. She was an idiot. She was teaching us physics and I was reading the Sky and Telescope magazine. I asked her about Schrodinger’s cat. She had no clue. Come on woman, this is basic quantum physics. How can you teach physics without hearing about that? I lost all respect for the teacher and it was only my love of physcis that kept me going in that class. (yeah, love for physics, you can retch now). I worry that the girls will find teachers that are idiots (we all had them) and just slack off because of it. If I wasn’t terrified of my parents displeasure, (see #5), I would have blown of 11th grade English… Trust me on that one. However, I don’t want to terrify my children into working hard… Sigh…
7. What will I do when she is home after school?
Logistical. I work from oh, 9ish to 5ish. Kindergarten is 8:30-3:30, T-F. I don’t work on Mondays, so that is taken care of, but what do we do the other days of the week? I figure we’ll be in work early other days of the week, but to return home? I am lost in the maze of after school care. Babysitter? Nanny? Sign her up for classes and have someone take her to these? After school care through the town?
I just don’t know….
8.Testing testing testing!
We have the wonderful state tests called the MCAS. I can’t believe they are forcing kids to take these, but there we are. I have a healthy disrepect of standarized tests. I hate them. I feel kids need to be evaluated on severa; items, not just how they deal on a test under pressure. These tests start in 3rd grade…. 3rd GRADE! Why do we put this pressure on kids? And don’t get me started on the "teaching to the test" crap that goes on..
Whew. This is insane. I know that the root of all of this is my experiences in a small town school. But I want my kids to have a much calmer experience in school than I did. It is such a huge thing in people’s lives. School days shape so much of who we are, our ambitions, our goals, our fears…
