Quality vs. Quantity
I don't really want to say that I am not concerned about the "quality of my children's education." But the truth is, I'm not really concerned about the "quality of my children's education."
See, in spite of having some relatively high quality educational experiences of my own, I believe that a very high percentage of the education I've received didn't happen anywhere near a classroom. I had a handful of inspirational teachers, but I don't remember the mechanics or details of what they taught me - instead I remember that they taught me how to learn, how to read for story, how to appreciate, how to believe. Also, in spite of receiving a pretty high quality education, I had some extremely low quality teachers - the kind who made "learning" excruciating.
Regardless of whether I was studying under the good or the bad, I had (and still have) excellent parents who were there, always. They were involved. They followed up and they taught us all day long. It was their commitment to my education and their efforts to foster a love of learning that made the difference for me. I remember learning early on that old, historical things were cool by the way my mom would get excited pointing something out to me for the first time, and that every vacation is an opportunity to learn new things. (I'm not your girl for a shopping getaway, unless we're shopping in a medieval castle or restored tenement building...) I am fascinated by the elements of strategy because my dad has weaved it into every game we have played for 32 years. Mom and Dad turned the measure of our education from quality to quantity.
So, when I say that the quality of my children's education isn't really a factor, I mean simply this: as committed parents, we have (at this early level) the power to fill in the gaps. We are more responsible for flipping those switches than any teacher, and I believe that wherever they are, if they are learning to love to learn, by learning all day long, then together we will find ways for them to meet their potential.
It's probably easy for me to make these claims because of the excellent experience we've had in the public school so far. It has its drawbacks, sure, but they don't come near to outweighing the positives. And so, we find ourselves choosing between two excellent options - a wonderful public school and a home school experience that would probably go pretty well. For us, "quality" of education isn't a factor right now, but would I drop my kids anywhere and hope to make up the difference? No, of course not. I'm just saying that maybe, if we as parents would give ourselves some credit and believe that our input into our children's lives carries some serious weight, then we would feel less pressure to chase the mythical "best."
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(I've just read over this post and there are already about 10 disclaimers in my head - regarding safety, special needs, social development, upper level learning, team sports and all kinds of other reasons to seek out opportunities offered by some of the "higher quality" schools. No two families are the same, nor are any two kids even in the same family...this is just my explanation of why the "quality education" argument doesn't hold water with our family right now.)
See, in spite of having some relatively high quality educational experiences of my own, I believe that a very high percentage of the education I've received didn't happen anywhere near a classroom. I had a handful of inspirational teachers, but I don't remember the mechanics or details of what they taught me - instead I remember that they taught me how to learn, how to read for story, how to appreciate, how to believe. Also, in spite of receiving a pretty high quality education, I had some extremely low quality teachers - the kind who made "learning" excruciating.
Regardless of whether I was studying under the good or the bad, I had (and still have) excellent parents who were there, always. They were involved. They followed up and they taught us all day long. It was their commitment to my education and their efforts to foster a love of learning that made the difference for me. I remember learning early on that old, historical things were cool by the way my mom would get excited pointing something out to me for the first time, and that every vacation is an opportunity to learn new things. (I'm not your girl for a shopping getaway, unless we're shopping in a medieval castle or restored tenement building...) I am fascinated by the elements of strategy because my dad has weaved it into every game we have played for 32 years. Mom and Dad turned the measure of our education from quality to quantity.
So, when I say that the quality of my children's education isn't really a factor, I mean simply this: as committed parents, we have (at this early level) the power to fill in the gaps. We are more responsible for flipping those switches than any teacher, and I believe that wherever they are, if they are learning to love to learn, by learning all day long, then together we will find ways for them to meet their potential.
It's probably easy for me to make these claims because of the excellent experience we've had in the public school so far. It has its drawbacks, sure, but they don't come near to outweighing the positives. And so, we find ourselves choosing between two excellent options - a wonderful public school and a home school experience that would probably go pretty well. For us, "quality" of education isn't a factor right now, but would I drop my kids anywhere and hope to make up the difference? No, of course not. I'm just saying that maybe, if we as parents would give ourselves some credit and believe that our input into our children's lives carries some serious weight, then we would feel less pressure to chase the mythical "best."
******************************************************************************
(I've just read over this post and there are already about 10 disclaimers in my head - regarding safety, special needs, social development, upper level learning, team sports and all kinds of other reasons to seek out opportunities offered by some of the "higher quality" schools. No two families are the same, nor are any two kids even in the same family...this is just my explanation of why the "quality education" argument doesn't hold water with our family right now.)
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