I am far from a "Bible Thumper", but I may sprinkle in some Merry Christmas, blessings, prayers, hope, etc here and there. I think everyone has what they need to survive this wicked world. But, how this foundation of enlightenment is established can start anywhere in this journey called Life. For some it is through family, in jail, after a life threatening experience, rehab, school, work, etc Be it God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Waheguru, Beer, The Wife, or whomever it is, that is your choice.
The Husband and I both went to Catholic elementary schools. We talked about schooling for our son long ago. We agreed to have him go to a Catholic elementary school and then he can choose for high school if he wished to go to public or catholic school. For both of us, it reinforced our foundation of right and wrong, do unto others as you would like others to do unto you, 10 Commandments, and has left me with a bright light of hope during my darkest and loneliest hours.
But, in recent news, there will be a new school built within walking distance from our home. Another path that both the husband and I walked during our young days. Walking to school. Coming home to a hot lunch. I remember running home at 12pm, shoveling the food down within 10 minutes so I could hurry back to school, but my mom would never let us leave before 12:30. I only appreciate it now, but I realize she was keeping us out of trouble. She is so smart, my mom. I want that for my son. I want him to come home to a hot lunch. I want him to be able to walk to school. Unfortunately, the school will be a Public school.
Now, here is the dilemma. Do we choose to have him close by and walk home for a hot lunch, but at a public school or drive/bus him to the Catholic school with daily drives home for lunch. It will be challenging to have The Husband go pick him up everyday for lunch. But, the foundation that our son will have for life would be worth it. The argument could be made that we provide the religious foundation while he goes to Public school. With Sunday school being the reinforcement. Neither The Husband nor I went to Sunday school. And I don't know if that will be enough.
Do we send him to a school that is convenient or to the one we feel will educate him on more than just ABCs and 123s?
And just to throw more options into a difficult decision, do we send him to a school near my parent's place so they could help pick him up/take him to school? They will be watching my Baby 2 for half day and Franklin the other half. So, it makes it convenient to drop everyone off there. Not sure if they were going to pick him up for lunch. We still have time to decide, but I just want to make sure I'm making the best choice for my son's future. So, now I'll start analyzing like a mad woman. Read Paralysis by Analysis post to see the inner workings of the gajillion thoughts that go into my decision-making.
ADDITION TO ORIGINAL POST: This is one bonus to writing electronically vs. print. I can make edits after it has been published. I wanted to add an argument to include Private schools. For most of my readers, you may have noticed or read about the increased number of students in the classroom. For those who currently have children in school do you sometimes feel like you are the after school program with the amount of homework they send home? We never went to private school, but the idea of smaller classes, individual attention, better marks, and well behaved children sure sound attractive enough to pay their mortgage fees. Ooops. I mean their school fees which is equivalent to paying my mortgage. But, even with the cost, as parents we always make sacrifices when necessary to provide a better future for our children. Is this one of those necessary charges? or is it just a bubble world that is just all hype? Montessori is the buzzword when it comes to sending your kids to school. But, you have to be careful with that too! Are they just charging Montessori prices, or are they practicing all the great techniques? How would I know?
Your thoughts? How did you choose your child's school? Where did you go? Did it make a difference to who you are today?
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I don't believe religion belongs in schools. I spent half of my school life (grade 1 to 6) in a school system (country) where religion was forced on you. There was almost no choice in opting out of learning about religion in school. And I wouldn't want that for my kids. I doubt the quality of education is any different in public or catholic school. So, I would base my decision on what is more convenient (Distance, location, etc.) IF I ever have any kids, my dilemma would be to choose from private or public school.
ReplyDeleteAnother well said comment that was left on my FB:
ReplyDeleteI understand your thought process - trust me, I was there a couple of years ago.
Lots and lots of thought, rationalizing and insight went into the decision process for us. One day when, and if, you care to hear it I will tell you. Diego a...nd I grew up Catholic too, went all the way to high school in a catholic school. I went to Church every Sunday until I was in university. I even went on school days because my brother was an altar boy. But at the end of the day, there is quite a lot about the Catholic religion that I currently do not agree with and for reasons which I choose not to go into here, rather than take what I thought to be a hypocritical stance based on my current viewpoints, I ultimately chose public for my Marcus. And I will make the same choice for Lani.
Do what you feel is right for yourself and your family. Base your end decision on this and not what everyone else is doing.
thanks for taking the time to share your experience Fari. When you have no choice and the whole country is forced, it's not really the intended uplifting spiritual experience, but sounds more oppressive.
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