i service society by rocking

I was recently reading archived blog entries written by my friend cjane, and I came across her list of her own doctrine - stuff she heartily either believes, or does NOT believe, in. I find it interesting that one of her statements is:

"Having worked in the public school system for almost six years now I can competently warn the masses: Run, don't walk away from public school."

I've heard this sort of thing before.

When I met Darin, he was planning on being a teacher; most likely a high school teacher, like his dad. (And I'm familiar with this lifestyle - my dad is an elementary school PE teacher - because those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach, teach gym.) I remember watching poor-reception tv in our first apartment south of campus (the section of town that Martha Beck refers to as: "reserved for students and white trash" in her book "Expecting Adam"; it's an area I happen to be fond of), and seeing a news story on the poor state of education in Our Fair State. D & I discussed how fortunate we were that WE wouldn't be sticking around, that HE wouldn't be one of the teachers being paid in meatballs, and that OUR CHILDREN wouldn't be going to school here. And here we are, eight years later, still living in Our Fair State. Granted, Darin works at the BYU (so he's paid in meatballs, blessings, and free tuition), but he's not a teacher. His bachelor's degree is in Spanish Teaching (minor in PE coaching), his masters is in Sociology, and he's getting his doctorate in Educational Leadership. (I understand that student teaching is far different from actual teaching, but those weeks when he was student teaching constitute the block of worst nights' sleep EVER for both of us...so stressful....)Meanwhile, he's the assistant director of the muliticultural student services office. He COULD be a teacher later, I suppose...

Digressing back to the point, our oldest daughter will begin 1st grade on Thursday. When we built our house a little over two years ago, we knew a bit about the elementary school district that we'd be living in; this school is exactly two blocks east of our house. I can see it from my bedroom window. We knew about it because my brother's wife (not then, but now) had worked there for a number of years as a "para-educator" (the title she tells me - i thought she was a recess guard/lunch lady). She had told us lots of things about said school, pros & cons of it being a year-round school, etc.. But when we were considering it as the school our children attend, that was a whole new ballgame.

li'l ~j. went to BYU preschool, which I loved. I love that secret little room you can go in and watch your child - the one the ElEd students use, making lab rats out of our children...oh well. I liked it because li'l ~j.'s my oldest, and watching her comforted ME. That little room helped me see how kids have the potential to transform - they may cry and bawl and beg you to stay, but if you do, you're just prolonging the scene. Give a kiss goodbye and LEAVE, and they'll be fine. That's a huge lesson that I learned from that little room, and I'm glad I've learned it.

One day, during li'l ~j.'s first week of preschool, "SUZIE" came over after work and told me another story from her day at work: after her tutoring was finished, she went to a second-grade classroom to volunteer; said class had a substitute this day. I happen to know this sub - she referred to herself as "the preferred sub" at said school, and also was my visiting teaching companion at the time (another trial, maybe for another blog). The activity that the class was doing was: teacher says sentence; kids write that same sentence. The first sentence out of Preferred Sub's mouth: "I seen Tom." The kids protest: Do you mean I SAW Tom? Or I HAVE SEEN Tom? No no, I seen Tom.

I could feel my blood begin to boil. This was the same week that 4-year-old li'l ~j. asked me, "Mommy, what does 'negotiation' mean?", and, "How does recycling work?" There's NO WAY I would put her in a classroom to learn 'I seen Tom'.

Now, my friend cjane's vote would be for homeschooling, which I considered for a solid twelve seconds. But, as the title of this entry explains, I have a different calling, not that of Temping. Seriously, I could not ever homeschool. I am in awe at people who homeschool successfully. My cousin Heather will homeschool, and she will excell at it - that's a fact. Not me.

Looked into private school. Selling my kidneys to afford it could only take us so far, so I felt I was at a loss.

Until my friend Jen stepped in and told me about Charter Schools. I looked into it, and found that Charter School was the way for us to go. The way I explain Charter Schools to people is that they are public schools, but get a piddly fraction of the funding other public schools get; there's no tuition, but family donations are appreciated; and parental volunteer time is required. I LOVE that. (Last year, Darin went to the school on Fridays during his lunch break to volunteer in the lunch room - playin' lunch lady.) The kids wear the required uniform (tights...), which is very general - easy to get and to maintain. And, I love that the woman in charge is the Director, not the principal - no trying to con the kids into thinking that ANYONE is their pal.

Li'l ~j. attends a charter school. Now, if you've seen the building this school is held in - save it. I know it used to be a business residence; my friend Kuulei worked there when it was. Not an ideal setting. But this is only the third year the school has been open, and plans for a new building are in the works. I cannot express how thrilled I am with the amount, and the rate at which, she is learning. She had homework, in kindergarten, Mondays through Thursdays. She had research projects. It was great. Did you know that Koalas are not bears? I didn't! Not until li'l ~j. had to give a report on them. One night, she had a math problem that read: Circle the shape that is congruent to the shape in the box. Congruent? Not only could I not remember the LAST time I heard this word (luckily li'l ~j. knew what it meant), I most certainly couldn't remember the FIRST time I heard this word - I know it wasn't in kindergarten. I love her kindergarten teacher. She is so sweet, and is from the South - her drawl rubbed off on li'l ~j. a bit, and occasionally, I'm called Ma'am. Can't wait to meet her new teacher.


I used to get really defensive and apologetic about li'l ~j. going to this school, but I'm over that now. I love it. No, I don't think we're better than anyone else for going to this school. So, you grew up in Provo? Great. You went to Whatever School? Fine. And look how you turned out? Fantastic. Great for you. We're going to a different school, and that's great for us.