The Oasis - A spot for FORT parents

[hepcat]

I'm stressing out over kindergarden, which my daughter won't actually enter until Sep. 2005. California has a rating system for public schools (I don't know how they do it in other states) and the school near us gets a 2 out of 10. Redwood City has several elementary schools, one gets a 9 and most of the rest are under 4. The cities directly around us on three sides all have schools with nothing but 10s. They have a lottery system, but naturally everyone wants to get into the 9 school.

It's so frustrating, but it looks like since we can't afford private school we will have to move 5 miles in any direction in order to get her out of this substandard school district. The thing I don't get is people have tons of money around here - are all the kids in private school?? Argh!

It's only elementary school, am I overreacting? I would prefer to move before she starts school, if we have to. I'd prefer not to move at all, since I live next to my brother and his family.

[Duxxy]

OMG hep - my sistah!
I'm in the same boat and we have no option to move. I have to send my kiddo to a below standard school and do what I can to make up for it at home. I am really stressing about leaving her there with 'those people' though. Luckily, Ontario has standardized curriculum so (I hope) she won't be missing out. The school as a whole isn't performing up to par - it doesn't mean (and I'm praying here) that my daughter will necessarily perform at the level of the other kids that don't have the (ahem) advantage of having a pushy mom like me.

[Daddio]

OMG hep - my sistah!
I'm in the same boat and we have no option to move. I have to send my kiddo to a below standard school and do what I can to make up for it at home. I am really stressing about leaving her there with 'those people' though. Luckily, Ontario has standardized curriculum so (I hope) she won't be missing out. The school as a whole isn't performing up to par - it doesn't mean (and I'm praying here) that my daughter will necessarily perform at the level of the other kids that don't have the (ahem) advantage of having a pushy mom like me.

Have you considered home-schooling? Its becoming a very popular option here in the U.S.

[AJane]

I'm a firm believer that if a kid can get one good, supportive teacher early on, he/she will love school and develop the confidence to excel academically. I used to work for a large school board here in Canada and it's distressing to see the huge amount of burned out, apathetic teachers, even in those who teach the younger grades. I don't want to go off on a tangent about teachers (that's another thread, for another day) but I would like to see more younger teachers with some new and innovative ideas for curriculum, especially in the math and science areas which are the traditionally *weak* subjects for girls. I was terrible in those subjects in school (to this day I can't recite the multiplication tables past 5 ) and I'm determined my girls aren't going to suffer from the math/science anxiety I did.

[scarlett530]

I'm a firm believer that if a kid can get one good, supportive teacher early on, he/she will love school and develop the confidence to excel academically. I used to work for a large school board here in Canada and it's distressing to see the huge amount of burned out, apathetic teachers, even in those who teach the younger grades. I don't want to go off on a tangent about teachers (that's another thread, for another day) but I would like to see more younger teachers with some new and innovative ideas for curriculum, especially in the math and science areas which are the traditionally *weak* subjects for girls. I was terrible in those subjects in school (to this day I can't recite the multiplication tables past 5 ) and I'm determined my girls aren't going to suffer from the math/science anxiety I did.

This is very, very true! I firmly believe the first few years of school can set the tone for a love of learning and a strong academic journey. That's one of the main reasons I am in school myself to become a primary age teacher. I worked as an assistant for a Kindergarten class before I went back to school, and the knowledge and experience that children gain in that one year alone is staggering. Deep in my little idealistic heart, I hope that when I become a teacher, I can actually make a difference.

[prettytxgirl]

All this talk about school is making my stomach form into one huge knot!! My baby is 4 right now, but turns 5 in late August. Since his birthday falls after the first day of school but before Sept. 1st (which is the cut-off date for Tx) I have the option of letting him start school this August or holding him back one more year. He is more than excited about starting kinder, it's all I hear about. I'm just not sure what to do. I kmow that he is definately smart enough, he does really well in his preschool class. His teachers say that he is definately capable of keeping up. I just don't think he is mature enough yet. He's still very "mommy, mommy, mommy" about things like going to the bathroom by himself, or picking up his toys by himself, or even just talking to people he's not sure of like the postman, or the bank tellers people like that (not including strangers, we've already learned about stranger danger). But, there again, his preschool teachers tell me that is totally different when I'm not around, he's very independent at school. My mom is also really good friends with one of the kindergarden teachers at the school, she was also my teacher, her very 1st year of teaching 20 yrs ago, and will be my sons' teacher (very small school, very small town) and she doesn't think it's a good idea for him to start. I'm so torn, I don't know what I should do. Any of you moms or dads ever been in this situation before?

[VeeJay]

My one and only starts this fall. I've been worried sick about it. We've already registered and everything. One good thing though is since I'm a stay at home mommy, I get to volunteer as much as I can when he goes. They're gonna be sick of me.

[AJane]

Let him go, hon or heck, see how it goes for a couple of weeks...then talk to his teacher and get some feedback on how he's doing. If he loves preschool, then kindergarten will be a snap. My Princess is starting kindergarten this fall, too (she turns 5 this Friday) - she's dying to go as well. It's hard to ship your baby off to school, but like Nemo's dad found out, you gotta let them go

[VeeJay]

Looks like there's quite a few of us with little 'uns starting kindergarten this coming fall.

[AJane]

We'll all have to meet here September 7th and weep on each other's shoulders

And by June 2005, we'll be wondering what the heck we're going to DO with them at home for the whole summer