An Education

It seems like my little one just started preschool, and it's already time to be looking at the kindergarten application process. When I was a kid, I don't think it was 'a process'. But then, I didn't live in New York City...

I'm not even going to describe the frenzy that is getting your tot into school here... The focus on getting your kid into the 'right' preschool so they can get into the 'right' elementary school, high school and college seems a bit misguided to me. Suffice it to say it's very competitive, time-consuming, expensive, and on many levels utterly ridiculous. Still, it has to be done.

My husband (who went to public school) tends to think that private school turns kids into entitled brats or drug-dealing socialites. And I worry that if I send my child to public school she'll be exposed to drugs, firearms, and issues way too old for her state. While each of our fears may be overblown, we do live in the city, and my husband has agreed on private school.... for now. (I will also add that one doesn't necessarily become an entitled brat from attending private school. Not if their family has any influence at all... I went to a private all-girls day school, and my mother would no more have tolerated bratty behavior or an entitled attitude than fly to the moon...)

So I've been visiting schools lately, trying to get a feel for where my daughter will thrive. There are the traditional schools, where the kids wear uniforms, are taught to learn using conventional methods, and experience discipline the way you probably did when you were growing up. And then there are the 'progressive' schools, where kids have little homework, are encouraged to play (and no, we aren't talking preschool anymore) and express themselves freely. For the record, both types of school believe they are best serving your child... the question is, what do I think would be best for Jem?

Something about traditional schooling resonates for me. Maybe it just reminds me of when I was a kid. Or maybe I secretly feel like that's where you'd learn the most (because they won't tolerate any nonsense, and everyone's working hard...) I responded well to the orderly environment of this kind of school, probably because, for the most part, I don't have trouble following rules.

But Jemma has a lot of her dad in her... Neither of them like being told what to do. But in Jemma's case, as an almost-four-year-old, she simply has to deal with not being in control most of the time... I think she might do well in an environment that is a little more nurturing of the individual, and that offers choices to the children when it's appropriate to do so...

Anyway, I'll try to keep an open mind as I continue my visits. There are a lot more to go before kindergarten 2011...