I like to think that I am a fairly intellegent person othewise I wouldn't have an engineering degree. I told myself that when I started this blog that I would be honest about how I really feel with almost everything. Right now I feel like a huge failure when it comes to my kids education. Many of you know that we chose to put Connor in another year of pre-school. We switched schools and found a program that was more structured and had a true Pre-K program. At the time when I interviewed the teacher she told me that in Feb of last year all of her students were at the beginning stages of reading. Which is something Ryan and I dearly want for our son. Connor is a very intellegent boy and everyone has told us that his vocabulary is highly advanced and that they can tell he has been read to. However, he has no interst in letters, numbers, or writing.
Now we are faced with the dreaded Kindergarten question. When we moved into this house it was supposed to be in one of the best school districts in the state....but what happens when the state is 45 out of 50 states ranked in education. Does that still make it a good school district? Reading on-line reviews of the school he would attend were he to go into public schools I found things like, "there is no educational challenge, the teachers can do it, so can the students, but the administration won't let them" and "there is no parent involvement".
It is that last one that really got me thinking. Have I been an involved parent? Or have I just sat on the sidelines and waited for someone else to educate my child? Is that why I think he is behind? I have all the best intentions...we have the flashcards and workbooks...but I can never make the time to sit down and do them with him. I really has no interest in them either and it is a struggle to do them, but should I be insisting that he do them more often? It seems like the only time we have alone together is when Wyatt is napping. Sometimes Wyatt falls alseep in the car before we pick Connor up and by the time I get home and fix lunch, Wyatt is awake, leaving us no time.
How do others make the time? How do people who have multiple kids at different ages home school? Am I really a failure when it comes to my kids education?
I think your worries are very common, and very normal! I constantly beat myself up about not reading enough with Drew, not doing flash cards, not doing enough enough enough....
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you're aware of the situation speaks volumes.
Don't feel so bad, Katie started to read in preschool right away. Brandon gets it and he can do it but he doesn't want to. So it seems like he is so much farther behind. Both my guys have had the same preschool teachers, and now they are in the same christian school yet Katie likes to apply herself a bit more. Collin I have no idea yet what he will be like. A lot of it really depends on the child not so much the parent's desire for what they want the child to do. It's great that you take the time and effort to make sure he is on the right track. We made the decision for Christian School because we have no faith in our public schools just for the plain fact that they have gotten away from teaching the basic skills and now only focus on social aspects. I decided not to home school because I wanted to have my kids know the difference between following my authority as their parent and following a different authority like a teacher which they will have to do once they get a job when they are old enough. plus they have a bigger circle of friends now.
ReplyDelete