I changed School: Did I do the right thing?
I changed Schools for my 3 y.o son this year.
He was studying in a super-duper expensive school for exclusive kids and I took him off their rolls and got him into a Public school where the criterion for admission was a lottery and not deposit and capitation fees.
He has just started Kindergarten and I am already opinionated about what he learns. For heavens sakes! All he has to do is master the regime of getting up at 7 am, bathe, brush and wear his uniform on time to be in school. In school he gets to sit on multicolored chairs to read poems out aloud!
No, I totally disagree, there is more than that meets the eye.
I see it this way. For around 4 hours, he is with trusted strangers, children, caregivers, teachers and the general school environment that in a way tells him that the world outside his cushioned home is like this! Important lessons of life, like handling peer pressure, bullying, punishment for mistakes and rewards for good behavior are meted easily. He makes friends and talks and handles friendships early.
He already has an opinion on whom he sits next to and talks to or plays with. Something he has inherited early from me of course. I do not raise my children meek and accommodating. They have a liberated voice, the only thing I look out for is the conviction in their demand. “Mom, I want to eat a chocolate”, has to sound so convincing that I hand it over to the brat- risking dinner or lunch time.
I teach them conviction, yes that’s important.
He turns in school each day, enthusiastic and energized because he has something to look forward to and not just because his elder sister does the same or that mom tells him to. This energy is translated into homework and assignments that they bring back from school. I am all for homework and holiday assignments. This habit keeps the parent tied down to the chair with the child. Good for them!
In the last expensive school that he attended, there were some fundamentals that did not appeal to my senses. Homework was a trickle. The Teachers were so scared to hand over any homework to the students thinking their pricey parents would complain that if the child worked at home, what was he schooling for. Ridiculous!
Extra curricular and sports were so good, I had no reason to complain, but the child was so pressured to run faster, better and talk out lines and lines of complicated dialogues and his basic ABCs took a backseat to accomodate the drama and skit dates.
Bright, naughty and sparky children always draw attention, and my children are all that. But, frankly I was looking for a more staid atmosphere for my children where the parents pockets spoke less and this sparky child was treated at par with the others. I wanted a school that bridged the gap between the haves and havenots well and comfortably. When my H cringes to see my son accompanying a friend of his, who has runny nose, I reassuringly touch his shoulder to remind him that they are only children and they are entitled to such allowances. Just because a child has an expensive boogy wipe pinned to his shirt does not make him so perfect to befriend our son.
This is a gamble I have taken after all due considerations. Atleast that’s what I think. So God help me that this experiment of mine turns out well or else I have to stand with all the conviction in my 5 feet 7 inches frame and tell them I want to eat the chocolate!
