When P was 7 days old her Opa asked me what we were thinking about for Phoebe's education. Where would we send our darling little girl for her first day of school in this city full of dysfunctional schools? I laughed at my Father-in-law's question as if I hadn't been thinking about it already and pretended that it was an absurd question for a new momma of a 7 day old baby.(which it was) But I gave him an answer, a few school options that hadn't been researched or fully worked out- it was just an answer.
Now my little baby isn't as much of a baby anymore and I am realizing I do actually need to start thinking about school. Or at least figure out what we think about education for our little P.
In DC 'school' starts for kids around 2 years old. However, I am realizing that if you are sending a 2 year old to 'school' the curriculum is something like 'group play time' or 'open play time with limited structured learning time.' It seems clear from the syllabus that 'school' at this age is more for socializing, less for teaching. This helps me understand that if I have the time and energy to socialize my child, I don't really need to pay someone to do it....unless of course I would rather have the free time to myself and or any other children that we might have in our family. But for the most part I am feeling a little relief that I don't have to find the perfect school and sign my baby up for at least another year. phew.
Even with that sigh of relief there is still a slight nagging in my brain to be on the look out for that perfect school. (which I know doesn't exist) More than anything though, I am realizing that the mister and I need to know what we want in a school for our kid especially since the answer isn't as easy as picking the closest public school and walking your kid there on the first day of enrollment and being done with it. Unfortunately, the school system in this great city is broken and I am not sure that if I sent my child to the neighborhood public elementary school that she would learn much more than how adults yell at children who misbehave all day. I fear that our perfect little p (ha) would get bored, or anxious. That she would fall through the cracks or learn bad habits from the other kids.
Right now I have a lot of hope in
Michelle Rhee, who I am hoping will turn the public schools around and give us some real options for our child's education; for the education of all the kids in DC.
It seems like parents in DC are always talking about school options. The ladies that I hang out with on Tuesdays all have kids the same age as P, and schools tend to be a topic we touch on often. Recently, one of the women asked about the top 5 questions we have for a preschool. I am having a hard time coming up with a list because I have no idea what a kid should even be learning in preschool. These are
some things that matter to me when choosing a preschool for P:
1. How close is the school to our house/ how will we get there?
2. How long is the school day and how many days a week? (most in dc are all day every day, which seems like too much to me for a 3 or 4 y/o)
3. What curriculum do you use? (not that I know anything about it)
4. What is the demographic?
5. Is there any parent interaction? (I sort of like the idea of a coop for preschool)
6. Where does this leave us for elementary school?
