Educational Confusion
Of course I have considered home schooling my son. The public school system is far from perfect and the Board of Ed is so far behind the times when it comes to educational advances that it is the equivelant of teaching computer programming with two sticks and a diagram in the sand. It is frustrating to watch the goings on at my son's school and see the overwhelming pressure to squash children into the group mold. From my own, personal experience, I feel this is a tragedy. The system does not understand how to integrate individuals into a cohesive group. They are bound and determined to train drones. Workers who tow the company line and can spit out facts and figures but only acquire applicable skills by accident or force of will.
But then again, I see value in the group. I work in a communal art form. The ensemble is an obsession with me. I believe it is not only possible to be a part of a group and stil maintain your individuality but that this kind of balance is preferable.
So I find it frustrating that I have this group of brilliant home school kids who are so leary of working together that they actually set out to sabotage one another's efforts! That's not right, either!
My public school kids have a basic understanding that working in a group is important. They will listen to one another (sometimes begrudgingly) and have some respect for others' time and ideas. They can and will complete group projects and take pride in their association with the finished product. They find safety in group work and, in a weird way, find a bit more freedom in it than if they had been asked to perform by themselves. They might grumble with one another, but when they are asked to join the group they throw themselves into the task with great enthusiasm.
My home school kids feel that only their ideas should win out and when I set them to a task they must accomplish as a group- they never get the project off the ground. They can parrot the values of working together and they have an incredible intellectual grasp on the concept, sometimes spouting great orations about the need for people to work together and listen to one another-but they can't actually do it- yet. (I'm working on it!) They bicker and become quickly bored and drift away. It's like herding cats.
The only kid in my home school group that is able to work cooperatively is the kid who went to public school for most of her life. AND she is also an original, definitely her own woman. She left public school because they did their best to squash her creativity and reign in her rather expansive mind. I can relate to that. Now is definitely her time to move forward and become more of herself without being hemmed in by such mundane conventions as are provided by the New York City public school system.
But- she clearly gained something from that system that the others have not. I may be wrong, but I feel what she gained from her difficult experiences in the system will be the difference between success and failure in the grown up world. These other kids are brilliant, well spoken, flexible and motivated. I fear, however, that if they don't learn how to take those talents to a group environment and find their place within that group (wihtout compromising their abilities) that they will have difficulty as adults. Working relationships are bound to be strained if they don't learn how to navigate the social structure. I see chronic dissatisfaction in their professional futures if things do not change. I guess that's where my skill set comes in, but right now it seems an uphill battle.
Of course, this debate inevitably comes back to what I am going to do with my own son. I don't know. I don't think I have the patience to home school him. Having been his first life teacher and his first class room teacher as well, I know that he needs a different voice than mine. He needs to be exposed to more points of view- even points of view that I do not like. He needs to learn how to deal with them and decide for himself. I can't afford private school and I cannot afford to drop myself any further out of my chosen profession. So I guess that leaves public school, warts and all.
I just hope I can be strong enough to watch him go through it.
But then again, I see value in the group. I work in a communal art form. The ensemble is an obsession with me. I believe it is not only possible to be a part of a group and stil maintain your individuality but that this kind of balance is preferable.
So I find it frustrating that I have this group of brilliant home school kids who are so leary of working together that they actually set out to sabotage one another's efforts! That's not right, either!
My public school kids have a basic understanding that working in a group is important. They will listen to one another (sometimes begrudgingly) and have some respect for others' time and ideas. They can and will complete group projects and take pride in their association with the finished product. They find safety in group work and, in a weird way, find a bit more freedom in it than if they had been asked to perform by themselves. They might grumble with one another, but when they are asked to join the group they throw themselves into the task with great enthusiasm.
My home school kids feel that only their ideas should win out and when I set them to a task they must accomplish as a group- they never get the project off the ground. They can parrot the values of working together and they have an incredible intellectual grasp on the concept, sometimes spouting great orations about the need for people to work together and listen to one another-but they can't actually do it- yet. (I'm working on it!) They bicker and become quickly bored and drift away. It's like herding cats.
The only kid in my home school group that is able to work cooperatively is the kid who went to public school for most of her life. AND she is also an original, definitely her own woman. She left public school because they did their best to squash her creativity and reign in her rather expansive mind. I can relate to that. Now is definitely her time to move forward and become more of herself without being hemmed in by such mundane conventions as are provided by the New York City public school system.
But- she clearly gained something from that system that the others have not. I may be wrong, but I feel what she gained from her difficult experiences in the system will be the difference between success and failure in the grown up world. These other kids are brilliant, well spoken, flexible and motivated. I fear, however, that if they don't learn how to take those talents to a group environment and find their place within that group (wihtout compromising their abilities) that they will have difficulty as adults. Working relationships are bound to be strained if they don't learn how to navigate the social structure. I see chronic dissatisfaction in their professional futures if things do not change. I guess that's where my skill set comes in, but right now it seems an uphill battle.
Of course, this debate inevitably comes back to what I am going to do with my own son. I don't know. I don't think I have the patience to home school him. Having been his first life teacher and his first class room teacher as well, I know that he needs a different voice than mine. He needs to be exposed to more points of view- even points of view that I do not like. He needs to learn how to deal with them and decide for himself. I can't afford private school and I cannot afford to drop myself any further out of my chosen profession. So I guess that leaves public school, warts and all.
I just hope I can be strong enough to watch him go through it.
posted by Bree O'Connor at 10:32 AM
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