As Erin approaches kindergarten age, we have begun our shopping of area schools. Today’s visit was to a French immersion K-8. Erin now says she wants to go there, because she wants to learn to speak French.
All I could think of the whole time I was there was “chow-dare”.
Being Canadian from eastern Ontario (though now ex-pat), I grew up with French all around, and was in immersion myself in grades 7 and 8. The thought of sending her to immersion is very appealing to me.
But, the school is focused on academics over arts and athletics. I wouldn’t normally care if an elementary school didn’t have a baseball team, but there don’t seem to be any drama or performance classes on offer. I’m an academic, so I would have been fine attending this school; Erin, as many of you know by now, loves performing, so we’d have to find her outlets for that beyond school.
There is another school in the area that has a drama focus.
Kierkegaard said there were two kinds of despair: The despair of the finite and the despair of the infinite. We despair of the finite when we realize we have no choices, that some things are inevitable, that we are going to die. But we also despair of the infinite, when we have no boundaries to our lives, when the choices are too abundant, when our options too many. Both kinds of despair are paralyzing.
We are privileged to live where we live, to have these options available to us, but it’s still a stressful position to be in. I don’t want to make the wrong choice.
I wonder if we academics tend to stress EVEN MORE over the school choices for our children. My advice (not that you asked for it) is to let her try the French school.
You might need to dig deeper and ask questions to find out how much art, music and drama an elementary school has. It usually depends on the teachers interests and can change dramatically over the course of a few years. That said, my son went to a French immersion school and loved it.
You’ll also find that there are children’s theaters, sports teams and art classes readily available outside of school. Do some talking to parents who have older children who can give you advice on these activities.
My son would have been bored stiff without the French because academics have gotten so boring. With so many entertainment choices in most homes many kids are simply not interested in school so it’s really being dumbed down so everyone can be successful.
Science and history are an afterthought in elementary school. My son already knew all that was taught from reading about it prior to learning it in school.
From what I’ve read around the blogosphere this week, it is okay for them to pick their own school. But not okay to pick what they wear for their school pictures. You apparently (again?) are focusing on the wrong thing.