Alternative Education

The school district that we live in is considered one of the highest performing in the state of California. Declan's school is one of the better performing schools in the district and I have heard it said that it is in the top 5 public schools in the state.

Sounds wonderful, right?

We thought so too when we made the decision to move into this area. In fact, the performance of the school district was probably the main reason why we chose to live where we are right now. I have always been a big believer in emphasizing academic performance and providing kids with an environment in which they are encouraged to excel and to challenge themselves - it seemed like a great fit.

Declan is not in this sort of environment at the moment. In fact, he is so busy with homework, projects, studying for tests and finishing off classwork that there is no time for him to challenge himself or even play after school. As a minimum, he will spend an hour a night (Monday through Thursday) on homework and most days it is much, much more. Regularly, he works on his homework right up to bed time.

I have had enough. I want to go back to having fun with my boy and watching him smiling and discovering things on his own, not pouring over maths facts. I want him to succeed academically for sure, but not at the expense of him not learning how to throw a ball, play soccer, or love being outside.

Last week I took a tour of an alternative school which is part of our school district and comparing these smiling, happy, creative and engaged students with Declan's current sterile, high pressure teaching environment brought tears to my eyes. This school is not easy to get into (we're on the waiting list) and it requires a lot of parental involvement - a minimum of 4 hours per week at the school plus other "jobs" that are required.

Its a big investment of time but, after touring the school, its an investment that right now seems worth it and I'm lucky that I am able to make it.

Are we doing the right thing? By pulling my child out of a  competitive, top performing environment am I limiting his chances in the future? Am I taking an easy way out? Giving up? I'm not sure but my heart tells me its the right thing to do. Plus, think about the really successful people you know and respect. How many of these people grew up chained to a homework desk? How many more of these people grew up as independent, free thinking discoverers?

So right now, I am hoping for two things; that our stay on the wait list is short and that we have made the right decision.

p.s

I want you to know that there are an abundance of wonderful, caring and very hardworking staff and students at Declan's current school, and just because it doesn't seem to be working for our family, it doesn't mean that it isn't working for many others. In fact most families love our current school, and it has produced some highly successful alumni.

In addition, Declan thinks his school is great too and he will be very sad to leave. In the long term, I believe he will be happier elsewhere but right now, and I have asked him, he would totally stay where he is.

Science Fair

We took the kids to the Bay Area Science Fair today which was held at AT&T Park, the ball park across the road from where Jack and I lived in San Francisco 11 years ago. Because driving into, and parking in San Francisco rather sucks, we thought that we would give Caltrain a go. It turned out to bes a great way to get into the city and if I had it my way we would never drive into San Fran again but I think that Jack has differing opinions to me on this point.

The Science Fair itself was amazing and lots of fun. We did not get to see everything that was there but everyone enjoyed what we did see immensely. The kids built paper airplanes and trialed them in a special launcher, simulated earthquakes, played with bubbles, got up close and personal with giant South American cockroaches, visited a planetarium and did plenty of science experiments, one which involved a food chewing contest  (Reuben won this one, no surprise to us).

In other weekend news, it has turned freezing. All of a sudden we have gone from beautiful, warm, sunny, cloud free days to totally Arctic conditions, especially in the morning. Oh, and we bought a car. We're picking it up sometime this week and I'll tell you more about it then. Sadly, its not a Mini. In fact our new car is the opposite of mini.

Here are some photos of the weekend. Jack took all of these because I was too idle to drag my camera around this weekend.

Concentration

Double decker train, cool

The cockroach was bigger than it looks in this photo. I wouldn't go near it personally.

Making chromatographs

Sutro Bath Ruins

We did a LOT of driving last weekend. It wasn't planned, it was just that we would drive somewhere, and then make a decision to go somewhere else until we ended up miles from out original destination, and of course home. Needless to say, I don't think the kids enjoyed this weekend spent mainly in the car as much as some of our others.

On Saturday we had lunch in Mill Valley and then dinner (of ice-cream at Ben and Jerry's) in Napa. Although we didn't stop in any, the wineries of the Napa Valley don't look to me as child friendly and welcoming as those in Australia's south west. In fact, the whole area seemed to lack the laid back casualness that I love about Margaret River but Jack and I will need to go on a serious Napa wine tour before I can make any fair comparisons.

We had planned to take the kids to the beach at Half Moon Bay on Sunday but when we got there it was foggy so we drive up the coast and into San Francisco where we stopped to investigate the Sutro Bath Ruins. This is a cool place with amazing views, walking trails, sea caves and of course the dilapidated ruins of the Sutro Baths themselves.

As we were walking to the ruins I saw two kids dislodge a soccer ball sized chunk of masonry which ended up falling to the ground from about ten feet, not on to them or anyone else thankfully. After seeing this, my paranoid parent instinct kicked in and I didn't let the kids roam around the place as much as they would have liked. You can see from the pictures below that these ruins are literally crumbling before your eyes so, while I would love to spend more time exploring them, I don't think the Baths (like a Napa wine tour) are really a child friendly exercise.

Obviously I didn't take it, but I do love Jack's photo of Ivy and I

Can you see the heart shaped hole in the rock?

The ruins

Emma Prusch Park

Last week, Reuben's preschool visited Emma Prusch Park as a part of their Halloween celebrations. The land for the park was donated by Emma Prusch 50 years ago to help preserve some of the agricultural history of the region and it now remains a bit of a rural oasis in the middle of sprawling San Jose.

All the kids had a great time meeting, feeding and petting the animals, including an angry looking, cherry tomato eating pot bellied pig. There were also hay rides, a pumpkin patch and some amazing food (especially the pumpkin bread!) provided  by the parents of the preschool, and by Reuben's teacher, Miss Riem.

Reuben and Aaron

The pot-bellied pig

Feeding the birds

Reuben's favorite duck

Carving his pumpkin

The finished product