NYC Moms

Dreams of Homeschooling

My daughter was a quiet baby and then a quiet toddler.  When we were touring pre-schools, I remember asking one of the directors we met how they handled quiet children and she said,

"We teach them to stand up for themselves.  To say, ‘No!’ and maybe even to grab a toy back!" Uh oh.  That wouldn’t work for my little Buddha.  She just wasn’t going to grab that toy back.  So, we didn’t pursue that school.

Still, our daughter’s calm nature became even more noticeable when she actually started pre-school.  She was not one to push or hit or scream.  She was happy to play and when asked to line up or clean up, she would do so without pause.

As she got a little older, I started to feel over-protective of her.  Or maybe I was just protective of her.  She was different, but in a lovely way.  If kids wanted to cut ahead of her in line for the balloon man, she let them.  It could seem passive, but I saw it as more…enlightened.  Go, Jared, get your sword balloon.  Om Shanti.

RECAP - Education: Public, Private or Home Schools?

Is there anything more important to a child's future than education?  Aside from the basics, like food, shelter, clothing, and parental involvement, not really.  How our children will be educated is one of the most important decisions we will make as parents.  It isn't a decision that should be abdicated entirely to a public, or private, school system.

I had a charmed childhood.  I thrived in public schools, had great experiences (for the most part) and loved school.  My little brother wasn't so lucky.

B didn't fit the teacher's pet mold.  Although very bright, he was slow to learn to read and a bit immature for his age.  This is pretty typical for boys, and even for some girls, when starting elementary school.  Unfortunately, my brother encountered a teacher who shouldn't have been teaching anymore.  One who ridiculed him, humiliated and punished him in front of the other children, and basically told him (and my parents) that he just wasn't good enough. At the critical age of 6.  That's right.  He was 6 years old. 

When B misbehaved as a result, my parents were told that he needed drugs for ADHD.  Of course, he'd never actually been seen by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist.  But the school and the administration claimed they knew what was best for B.  Better than his parents.

Is there anything worse that can happen to a child just starting out in school?

Because education is such an important issue, the moms on the Silicon Valley, Chicago, D.C. Metro, New York, 50 Something, and New Jersey Mom Blogs are all blogging about education today.  Even though our sites have tackled education generally before, today we'll be discussing public, private, and home schools. So please stop by each of our sites for posts throughout the day to read all of our individual views on this important issue.

Silicon Valley Moms Blog

From a Teacher's Perspective

Are school buses a thing of the past?

School Uniforms

Considering a parent participation/co-op school

Schedule vs. Fit

How Do You Choose?

I Am A Bi-Schooler

The Beginning of the End of the California Public School System

The Gift of Education - A Child by Child Choice

A Teacher Fretting About School

The Private School Snob Celebrates Public Education

Our School Decision Has Nothing To Do With You

Prop 13 and Silicon Valley

Chicago

The Power of Early Intervention: My Son Didn't Talk

Special Ed to Mainstream School: Making the Leap

An Inclusion Preschool Experience

It's Just So Public

Too Smart For Public School

Lockdown in a Mountgomery County Public School

Einy Meeny Mini Mo

DC Metro Moms Blog

Yes to Year-Round Schools

Education: What Makes A Summer

Why Our Kids Are Public School Kids

From This Student: What Makes A Great Teacher?

Heroes

Why So Much Testing and So Little Love of Learning

Why Mama is a graduate student

New York City Moms Blog

Confessions from a Teacher

Working for Great Public Schools

Diversity Trumps Test Scores

The Few, the Fortunate and the Secret of one (Not Really) Public New York School

Going Public

Admissions of an Admissions Survivor

Public School and the Public Interest

Because School are important - PS 234 Overscrowding

New Jersey Moms Blog

Opposite Side of the Table: From Teacher to Mom

On public education: An opinion that gifted students deserve more support

50 Something Moms Blog

Public or Private School: Both Can Be Stressful

Which School -- College Edition

Click Here to continue reading Stephanie's (aka. Lawyer Mama's) post on DC Metro Moms Blog.........

Diversity Trumps Test Scores

I can hardly think about my children's education without thinking about our move from the suburbs to live in the city--the same values formed both decisions.  I know we're counter-cultural, that most families in our stage move the other way, perhaps hoping schools with higher test scores and more economic resources will set their children's feet on the yellow brick road to a shiny emerald future.  But I've been to the 'burbs.  I lived in a planned neighborhood of track homes in which all the houses in our vicinity were nearly identical--not just in looks, but in price--ensuring our interactions with people in higher or lower income brackets would be minimal.

The lack of racial and cultural diversity in our former suburb goes without saying, but the uniformity of appearance is further-reaching than that.  Whether you are a thirteen-year-old girl or a thirty-year-old mom, the fashion trends are narrow and rigid, with little belonging extended to those who cross the lines.  Beauty is a narrow construct in the suburbs, and belonging is the weapon used to hold girls hostage.  Highlands Ranch high schoolers were a great motivator to get my girls out young.  By their teen years, the girls we saw seemed hollow, like people living in poverty of self-expression.  Like unknowing prisoners who lost freedom to be an individual and still belong.

When we arrived in Brooklyn, we couldn't jump on the school obsession bandwagon. 

The Few, the Fortunate and the Secret of one (Not Really) Public New York School

I moved to New York City almost 21 years ago, post college. When I was single, I never considered raising a family here-- Or worse, sentence my future kids to public school!

Yet since having kids, not a day has gone by when I haven’t thought about or talked about EDUCATING my kids. It’s true. New Yorkers are obsessed with getting a good education. The real question for our neurotic parents is ...are we thinking about our educating our kids or are we more interested in how a the educational badge of honor we publicly wear on our sleeve?

New York conversations typically go like this, “My son goes to blah, blah, blah school…” And, if it’s a well known private school, we easily make the assumption that their child is bright and the parents wealthy. If it’s a known public school, we determine that the parents live in the right part of town and they are cool enough to support the public school system.

Public schools and the public interest

My husband, Matt, has been helping out at our local elementary school, PS 9, and wanted to speak to this issue. I hope you enjoy his post!

When I think about education — and education for our children (a 2 year old boy, and baby on the way) — I have two things in mind. First, of course, I want to find a school that is nurturing, challenging, and rewarding. I want well educated, experienced teachers who have modern materials at their disposal. I want an environment that is calm and secure. I want our children to be academically challenged and to develop the academic record and skills that will garner them acceptance into top colleges and universities, when the time comes.

I think of these hopes and desires as our private interest in education. But as members of society and a community, we have both private and public interests. For me, this translates to a belief in public education. I believe that a strong public education system is important to achieving a just society. Sometimes our private concerns and our public concerns are at odds (e.g. it hurts when we do our taxes, but we still want parks and roads). This tension also exists when considering schools. The "best" school to meet our private concerns is not always the best when we balance those concerns with our public interests.

Because Schools are Important - PS 234 Overcrowding

I got this information from another local mama:

PS234 has experienced overcrowding due to the increase in child age population in Lower Manhattan.  Please help support us in getting the Board of Education to deal with this issue.

Part of the Board of Education's plan for dealing with the increase in child age population in Lower Manhattan was to build a school on Beekman Street (this the the Frank Gehry project that we have all heard so much about). The Beekman school is not the final answer to the overcrowding issue but it is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately the project has been delayed do to funding problems and although construction has resumed as of last week the opening date has been pushed back from 2009 to 2010. In the interim, PS234 will be bearing the brunt of the continuing climb in enrolled students in the area. Although 234 opened the Annex this year to aid in dealing with the increase in student population--the PTA and PS234's principle, Lisa Rippeger are concerned that the Beekman school delay will have immediate and substantial impact on class size in the coming years.

The Opportunity to Educate is a Terrible Thing to Waste - RECAP

Several weeks ago, the SV, Chicago, and DC Metro Moms all banded together to discuss one topic - Health Care.  Today, we're taking on education and the NYC Moms will be joining us.  We're hoping that our politicians will start listening to us instead of just throwing around sound bites about the importance of educating future generations.

Elizabeth Edwards kicked it off, meeting with the Silicon Valley Moms in person and with the Chicago and DC Metro Moms by conference call.  We all relished the opportunity to talk about the important issues facing our country.  And presidential candidates?  We'd like the opportunity to meet with you.

Senator Clinton? Senator Dodd?* Senator Obama? Senator Thompson? Rudy Guiliani? Senator McCain?  Oh and Senator Edwards?  Don't think we're letting you off the hook because Elizabeth so generously met with us.  We'd like to talk to you as well.  Are you listening?  You have the opportunity to educate us about what you'll do for this country if elected. If education is so important, don't waste this opportunity.  In the meantime, I hope that everyone will join in our discussion about the education issues important to us. 

* To be fair, someone from Senator Dodd's campaign has contacted us.  We're hoping it will lead to something more.

RECAP!  Here are a list of all the posts that went up on SV, Chicago, DC Metro and NYC Moms Blog!

New York City Moms Blog

• Nancy:  Teacher Conference:  Kids Included
• Cynthia:  NYC Public School Grades

Silicon Valley Moms Blog:

• Karianna:  Parity in Education
• Sheila:  School Reform Starts Young
• Glennia:  School Days
• Kimberly:  When Did Creativity Fall Off The Curriculum?
• Amy:  Education (or lack thereof)
• Nicole:  Pegue Demasiado (Too Much Glue)

Chicago Moms Blog

• Kim:  Giving Up On Public Education
• Catherine:  Teasing?  Really?
• Veronica:  Girls vs. Boys
• Kim:  Mom Takes On State Board Of Education
• Sophie: Our School Food Cafeteria Is A Disgrace
• Lydia:  The Writing On The Wall
• Kathy:  School Supplies

DC Metro Moms Blog

• Robin:  Animal School
• Joanne: The Unintended Consequences
• KC:  Thinking About "What If's" Of Same-Sex Education
• Andrea:  DC Area Special Needs Identification Programs
• Stephanie:  Filling A Pail
• Jean:  Thinking Outside The Track
• Linda:  Lost In Education:  Need Directions
• Sam:  Preschool

NYC Public School Grades

The New York City Department of Education published progress reports for 1,224 public schools this week, grading each school with an A, B, C, D or F. The criteria used to determine these grades included student progress, as evidenced by improvement in test scores (55%), test scores (30%), and environment, based on student, teacher, and parent surveys (15%). But the formula that was used to determine the grades was a complex one that compared schools to others with similar populations, based on demographics and incoming students' scores, as well as how individual students improved, as explained in the NY Times.

Once again test scores were weighed heavily in determining a school's grade which can turn a school's focus from teaching to testing. Absorption of reading and math materials, for the sole purpose of scoring well on standardized tests, becomes the goal. The paradox is that schools are expected to have high performance by 100% of its students. But "high performance" is, by definition, above average. So, how can all of the students be above average when measured against each other?

Teacher Conference: Kids Included

I remember when I was a kid and my parents left for their parent-teacher conference.
They went out the door and I went out of my mind.

What were they saying about me?  Did my teacher like me?  Would she tell them about the time I lied about not doing my current events homework because there were no magazines or newspapers in my house, ever?  Would they laugh about my troubles with math?  Gossip about the crush I had on Tom Kelly? (I had good taste even then.  Such a nice boy.)

And I was a good student.  My husband remembers feeling sick to his stomach on conference day.  What would his parents do when they found out he had forged their signature on all the notes his teacher had sent home?  Or that he'd been calling an overweight girl Tubby Tammy all year? (Yes, I married a bully.  He's reformed now.)

Ah yes, the joys of parent teacher conferences.  The talking behind our backs, the secret grown-up chatter. The punishment or accolades when Mom and Dad got home. Whoever thought of this concept must not have liked children very much.

Enter my kids' school.  They don't have the dreaded Parent Teacher conference, they have family conferences.