Thoughts on Public Education

Posted on February 8, 2012 by amoment2think

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr Creative Commons

Education has become a topic of conversation amongst many parents in my circle of friends. With most of my ‘mommy peers’ have children beyond the baby years, the decisions about preschools and kindergartens are getting closer and closer. And so, though Audrey is still a ways away from kindergarten, the topic of public education has started to swirl around in my mind.

Luckily, this is not my first introduction to concepts of Education. I work in Post Secondary Education- and so the topic of the impacts of public education on students- particularly as it relates to their future careers- is something I am fairly well versed in. I have also been paying close attention to a number of twitter friends and other mommy bloggers who are well into the trials and tribulations of school age children. I have always been interested in Education and Education politics.

Now, before I start sharing my thoughts, I will again repeat that I strongly and truly believe that each parent is their own best decision maker when it comes to their kid. Every kid is different and we all need to try and make decisions that we think are best for our kid. The Public/Private/Home school education choice is no different.

I believe too, especially in Canada, we have a pretty good system of choice between those options. It seems there are more and more Private (or Charter) schools cropping up with unique educational focuses or philosophies. I also understand that the popularity of homeschooling has increased and there is more support now for parents who choose that option. (When I say support I mean, it is a more normalized option in public opinion and that there are resources out there to help parents who choose to home school develop curriculum, ect.) There are certainly individual family circumstances, including financial, time constraints and personal skills and abilities*, that impacts the ability to explore the different options for schooling- but I think there is much more choice now then there was when I was growing up. Which is good.

My husband and I haven’t really started talking seriously about this decision yet. I believe my husband (I hate speaking for him, but I think I am right on this one) has thought more about Private school options then I have– but realistically I doubt we could afford any Private school. I also believe that neither hubby or I would be particularly strong at homeschooling and we need two incomes. We just do. Very likely, the home school option is out. Therefore, from my perspective at least, Audrey is likely going to public school.

Despite that, I certainly have some bones to pick with public education. I suspect I will be one of ‘those’ parents. Some of my core issues include:

Homework: From what I have heard from some other Canadian parents- the amount of homework students receive is insane. I strongly believe that homework adds little value and that children need free time to play. Beyond that, it is more then just homework. It seems to me that public education also encourages kids to spend much of their free time ‘involved in something’. I remember 5 day a week morning band practice, 3 day a week after school basketball, ect. ect. and a plethora of other opportunities I passed up because I just could not fit them in. Over scheduling has become a hot topic.

Quality of Teaching: The system has some amazing teachers and some really bad ones. I know this from personal experience. A child’s perspective of themselves and their skills, abilities and intelligence can be very strongly impacted by the experience they have in school, and not always for the better. Teachers play a huge role in this. I know for myself that I had some amazing teachers who really, made me who I am today. I also have strong memories from some really really horrible teachers, who negatively impacted my learning and my self-esteem.

Learning Style: Public Education rewards a very particular learning style: those who absorb information via primarily reading and writing. It also rewards students who are strong at memorization, mathematics and have the ability to quietly sit still. The infuriating reality of this is that is means a certain type of kid is considered ‘smart’ and a certain type of kid is considered ‘not smart’. However, based on my knowledge about careers, our economy needs a very wide diversity of skills and abilities. It needs hands on kinestheitic learners, who can figure out how to build or fix something. It needs great communicators- outgoing and gregarious. It needs feisty risk takers and people that can think in very unique ways to innovate and find solutions. I think our Education system tells many of these people they just don’t add up- because they don’t naturally do well in a situation where they sit in a class 6-8 hours a day and read and write. And above all, I believe our economy needs critical thinkers, problem solvers and people that have a strong ability to self assess and know what they are really, truly good at. Based on the students I talk to- this quality is a rarity and does not seem to be fostered in Public Education at all.

And despite all this- I would still choose Public Education over the other options,* even if I felt our family was in the position to explore those other options. There are a couple reasons for this. First, I believe kids are resilient. I do not believe my job is to make sure things go well for her all the time. I believe there is nothing more character building then overcoming a difficult situation. An other part is that I don’t think that by choosing Home schooling or Private Schooling that I entirely avoid the possibility that my child’s experience won’t be idyllic. No option is perfect.

But more then anything else, I believe deeply in public education. I can’t even explain to you why I believe so deeply it in. I should clarify, it is not that I ‘believe’ in it in the sense that I believe it is perfect. As you can see from above- I really don’t think it is perfect. But I believe in it from a social capital and community building perspective. I would rather have my child in Public school and be one of ‘those’ vocal parents- trying to change it from the inside- then opt out. I think it is partially because I am a glutton for punishment and have a deep ‘save the world’ bent that is currently being largely unfulfilled. Or maybe it is just because I love, love, love a great challenge. I am not sure. As I say, I am not sure at this point I can put into words why, despite the negatives, that I want my child in public education. Because I just do.

What do you think?

*These issues are huge and I think is something we need to be keenly aware of. Even having the option to choose anything other then public school is a privileged situation to be in. Yes, some family’s make huge sacrifices to get their kids in the educational system of their choice- but many more families really just do not have any options.

*Note: This decision is not entirely up to me, obviously, as I have mentioned, what we actually decide to do will have a lot to do with what my husband thinks and the circumstances we find ourselves in when Audrey is ready to go to school.

Survival Strategies for Sick Parents

Posted on January 20, 2012 by amoment2think

photo by Enokson via Flickr Creative Commons

One of the hardest things about being a parent is that when you are sick you don’t get to just lay in bed and recover. You just don’t. When you don’t have kids you can live on cans of soup and ginger ale and just let the dished pile up. When you are a parent, you have to, you know, take care of an other human being and they, quite frankly, don’t care two hoots that your not feeling well.

I am finally, (FINALLY, knock on wood) recovering from a three week cold. Three weeks. I am sure that part of the reason it took three weeks to recover, rather then five days, has something to do with the fact that I couldn’t really just rest. There is still a child to feed, dress, put to bed, drive to the dayhome, keep entertained on the weekend and the evenings. And even with a loving supportive husband who does a lot and did a lot more when I was feeling particularly crappy, there is still a lot to do.

I know the title of this post suggested that I had some kind of tips or strategies. I really don’t. In part, its just an other thing that they don’t tell you about before you have kids that you just have to grin and bear it. But I do have a few ideas. I am hoping you will add to them in the comments. There must be some great strategies floating out there in the collective wisdom that is the parenting community! Bring them on!

Survival Strategies:

#1 Quiet activities: Books, colouring, playdough, puzzles- all of these are your friends. Next time I get sick, the first thing I am going to do is go and buy Audrey a new puzzle. (She is OBSESSED with puzzles right now.) Because those quiet toddler activities are a life saver- they allow you to lie half asleep on the couch while your kid (hopefully) can entertain themselves for 3 minutes.

#2 Cut your to do list: Yes there are still things we have to still do even when we are sick. Like, you know, feed the child. But cut out any of the extras. Do not try to be super women/man. Just don’t. Give yourself a break and permission to leave the dishes or let the laundry go unfolded. (My husband knows this was my strategy all too well. At one point I think we had 3 full baskets of clean laundry for a good 5 days before I finally felt well enough to deal with it. Husband would deal with it, except no one would be able to find their clothing if he put it away. Love you honey!)

#3 Ask for help. Full disclosure- I suck at this one. But I think, as parents, we all need to do it more. The truth is that if you get two toddlers together- they will entertain each other. Sometimes two is easier then one. So it would be great if we felt more comfortable as parents asking each other for help. I’ll watch your kids if you aren’t feeling well, you watch mine. Not all the time, but a two hour nap when you feel horrible is a huge help. I think part of the reason I hesitated to do this this time is in part because I really didn’t want to be around friends and get anyone else sick. But in retrospect, it probably would have been fine with some good hand washing and cover your mouth when you cough techniques. Point being, our lives would all be easier if we pooled our collective time (and sanity) more often.

#4 Okay, I’m out of ideas. Do you have any? What helps you get through being sick? How do you cope when you feel horrible and your kid(s) are full of energy?

The difference between Calgary and Vancouver

Posted on November 29, 2011 by amoment2think

We have been living in Vancouver for about 2 1/2 months now and in that time I have been mulling over what the differences are. There are many. Weather is the obvious one. Which, in late November, I am grateful for the lack of snow and-30. Local businesses is another.. And I am working on a post about that. But one of the main things I have noticed is how people dress.

I find, amongst the business community, that Vancouver is much more formal then Calgary. Dress pants, top and cardigans would suit almost any occasion. Working at a business school where I often went downtown to meet people from various companies, I was often more dressed up then they were. I owned one blazer.

My initially impressions of Vancouver, despite it’s laid back reputation, are of a much more formal business culture. Lots of full suits. I’ve already bought another blazer and I think I really need to get a full suit. Formal means formal.

This seems to apply also to going out. I have yet do go to any trendy upscale restaurants in Vancouver, but I won’t dare wear my jeans when I do. In Calgary, you can see people in jeans at ever restaurant I’ve ever been too. I’m not sure I’d see that here.

The other thing that is interesting here is some of the more casual clothing I see just being out and about. There are some here with a very interesting sense of style. Of course, there are people everywhere who make you turn your head with surprise at their unique ensemble. But in Vancouver they seem to be out in higher numbers.

I don’t know what that all really says about the difference between the two city’s. People talk about how Vancouver is more relaxed. I don’t see that. Calgary seems much more laid back to me. I see more of a tendency here to want to be unique and stand out. Calgarians, writ large, seem more comfortable blending in. Again, I don’t know what that all means.

Except that I need to buy some more suits.

Enough about me..

Posted on November 28, 2011 by amoment2think

Tell me about you……

I’d like to learning a bit more about all of you! I was thinking about doing a readers survey- because I love surveys, but I’d like to start off a little less formally. Consider this a informal survey and invite to delurk in one.

Who are you? Where are you from? Do you have kids? Do you work outside the home? What do you like about reading blogs? How many do you read per week (not just mine)? What are some of your favorite topics/types of posts? What would you like to see me do more (or less) of?

Please share with me your thoughts to as many or as few of the above questions as you like. Or ignore my questions are tell me something totally random about yourself.

And GO!