Part of me is grateful for not having to worry (yet?) about the challenge. As a Davis parent, I’m supposed to want my child to be academically gifted, and as someone who was in gifted programs from 1st through 12th grade, I know that I had the best teachers at the schools I attended. At the same time, I know gifted children often learn from these environments to compete with one another and they put tremendous pressure on themselves to achieve at high levels.

I don’t want Lucas to go through that. I doubt he’ll be (merely) average, but I’m kind of grateful he’s not showing early signs of giftedness, aside from perhaps some artistic skills.

I hope you’ll blog about your experiences with schooling Madigan, as I expect I’ll learn a ton.

Certainly, I’ve seen a share of University students who seem to be embodying less-than-stellar academic histories, however it’s important for me to realize that there is more to this story.

What role have parents taken in these stories? I, for one, plan on being pretty actively engaged in watching Madigan (and Graeme) develop in their schools. I plan to make noise if I see something I’m uncomfortable with. And I hope to make myself available as a resource for the teachers who are interested in parental involvement.

Also, as Steve mentions, how much of what I’ve witnessed is a result of middle and secondary school when academics begins to compete with increasing number of other influences in students lives (some good, some not) — and again what role have parents played in helping their children to navigate these experiences?

Knowing teachers like you is the reason who I’m okay with the decision we’ve made for next year. Meeting folks like those I met at EduCon was a reminder of how many fantastic public school teachers are out there and how hard they are working to take care of our kids.

To a certain degree I also have had to be honest about how much of my anxiety about this situation is about ME not Madigan. *I* like the “safety” that I associate with her small, private school. *I* like the community of parents and teachers I’ve met there. *I*, like many parents, worry about how a little kid will adjust to big changes. Part of this is about me growing up as a parent as much as it is about her growing into a kindergartener.

From my viewpoint, admittedly biased and from the perspective of a fabulous elementary school, public schools work really hard not to do one-size-fits all. I could share many fabulous schools with Jim that would be thrilled to have his kids and help them continue to grow in both languages, both cultures, and in ways that respect their family’s values.

That said, testing and funding issues are huge factors right now. And factors over which we have limited control.

@Jim — I know you guys are struggling with many of the same issues, so it’s useful to hear how you’re navigating the experience. To be honest, I’m a lot less concerned with the 8 hour day aspect. Madigan’s been in a full-day program this year, and I’ve seen no problem with the length of the day. I’m hesitant to identify that issue as a problem in and of itselft, because I think the bigger issue is, of course, what they DO during that 8 hour day. I’m sure she’s spent some pretty uninspiring 8 hour blocks hanging around the house from time to time (shame on me), and I know she’s had fantastic days at school in the same amount of time.

The testing thing is WAY more concerning for me as is the idea of a strictly regimented classroom environment. Her current classroom can seem a bit chaotic at times, but that’s okay because there are only 8 students and the teacher doesn’t have to be in constant classroom-management mode.

As for the testing, I have a lot of fears about this but I think I need to better understand what the issues are and what the impact is at her school and on her school experience. But I’ll definitely be watching all of these issues closely and, as I said, if we feel she’s not thriving we’ll just see what we can do next/instead.

Interestingly, before I had kids I was really intrigued with the idea of homeschooling. But there are a variety of factors that make this pretty much impossible for us.

The other thing I want to say is that I really don’t believe that there is one answer to this. You and Antonella have some factors in your lives (particularly the bi-lingual, multi-cultural dynamic) that isn’t really on our radar. On the other hand, we have the factor of living in a fairly isolated, rural location that pushes me in certain directions.

I don’t think that education for kids should be one-size-fits all, and, certainly, one of my concerns is that public schools don’t really have the luxury to imagine anything else right now. I guess we just have to find out if their size fits us.

Fact is Antonella and I are going through this very struggle right now with Miles, and to be honest I never thought I would turn my back on public education. Especially when, by all accounts, Fredericskburg has a decent elementary school in Hugh Mercer, but I’m also increasingly skeptical of the assumed mindset of school in general, and public schools more specifically. I’m not sure think the public school I went to necessarily exists in the same way anymore, and when you factor in the fact that testing has become the raison d’etre of these schools, and the 8 hour work day for kids is the accepted norm, the whole thing kinda kills me.

Part of me just wants to say fuck it, send them to public school because god knows we can’t afford private, and how bad can it be? But then again, I have bi-cultural kids who speak both Italian and English, and they will be learning two sets of grammars, writing, literature, history, etc. Any public school going to work with us on that? Of course not, you have to build it yourself. And I think we are gonna try and do just that. I need to home school now like I need a hole in the head, and I know that it is the social scene at public school Miles will miss greatly, and I am really gun shy of the home school options, but at the same time I’m increasingly fascinated by the idea of deschooling from institutions a bit, and I guess maybe it is time to embrace some of that fear and uncertainty and see what comes of it. And if nothing else, it may make for some interesting lesson plans for the bava

Fact is, what I really want to do is start a communal alternative school of volunteers—so both the customized curriculum and social aspects of school remain, but I’m not so sure that can happen in so little time. But it is something to shoot for by the time Tomasso is 5

In other words, I feel your pain.

There is a saying that I learned as a soccer coach for my kids. It goes “let the game teach the game.” It means, do less instruction and focus on putting the kids in a game situations and they will learn to play. I believe the saying applies to kindergarten as well. Put the kids in an environment where they can learn how to interact with one another, toss in some numbers and letters ( and of course the creative wisdom of a good early childhood teacher) , and they will have a great year. The challenge for a kindergartner should be to get through the day learning how to make freinds and having fun so they want to come back next year. My $.02 .

That said, I think that there are formative things happening at these ages, particularly if you have a child who could be prone to tuning school out, which I worry Madigan might do. She’s got a lot of type-A (Me) in her, but she also has a lot of march-to-her-own-drummer in her that she gets from her father. She craves challenge and she’s a bit of a daydreamer. I also think she’s pretty sensitive, and when she’s uncomfortable or uncertain, she’ll just put up walls.

Okay, that may be more analysis than any five-year-old deserves, but I can’t help it. Heck, it’s my blog. I’ll overanalyze my kid if I want to. :-p