So, today was interesting.
This morning DW and I drove nearly an hour away to visit what I think is the only school for the gifted in the entire state. The Head of School personally took us on a tour of the whole school. We saw a Pre-K class of five students and one teacher in which they had all just finished reading a sixteen-page story and were diligently writing out summaries of the beginning, middle, and end. Next week they were going to set up a real store in which the 4 year olds could buy and sell stickers for set prices; they have to pay, make change, keep accounts, and so on. We also saw an eighth grade humanities class in which a boy read a lovely and sensitive monologue he'd written from the point of view of a depression-era factory worker who supported a family of four and was worried about the family of the person working next to him. All the students seemed happy, engaged, well-cared for, and all the teachers seemed to know what they were doing. The classes are grouped by age for social reasons, but every class works at least one grade level above its age on average, and the students who need more are given individual plans. It was idyllic. The fact is, however, we are not about to drive an hour each way for kindergarten.
By contrast, last evening was the orientation night for kindergarten at our town's public schools. This consisted of a pathetic and disorganized presentation full of platitudes and lacking all content. It was delivered in one of the school gymnasiums to 500 loudly suffering parents. The meeting opened with a 15-minute, un-narrated slide show full of smiling children and spirited catch-phrases like "Kindergarten is cool!" I wanted to shoot myself. The only person who had anything at all interesting to say was the one kindergarten teacher they recruited to answer questions. She was smart, articulate, and interesting to listen to. It was clear she was working against the odds.
Is this what we've come to?
Last edited by BaseballDad; 01/16/09 04:02 AM. Reason: left something out
