We are in the throes of choosing between private and public school education. If you have followed this blog, you are well aware of how hard it was to pull Savannah from West Chester Friends and put her in public school. It was hands down the right decision but a decision that was NOT easy.
Now we are exploring the opposite decision. Should we pull Lila Grace from public school and send her to West Chester Friends School?
While the decisions look similar in nature, they are very different. We pulled Savannah out of private school because the school refused to meet her at her academic level. After beating our heads against a very hard brick wall, one that is a couple hundred years old, we realized that no matter what we said or did, the school was going to do what they have always done. Thus, out with private school and in with public. And yes, I repeat, we are so very happy that we made this choice. Savannah is having to perform at a higher level (not quiet at her academic level but higher at least) and is recognized as a student that has fully met the requirements of 2nd grade. We are also paying $0.00 dollars for this change. Yippee. I seem to worry at a lot less about the day in and day out happenings of her classroom now that it isn't costing me anything.
Our decision to pull Lila grace out of public school and place her in private school has very little to do with academics and much to do with her well being, confidence and general stability.
Lila doesn't like school.
It is hard for me to say it.
She never wants to go.
She doesn't care if she reads, even though she can. Somewhere along the way, Lila's academic fire missed its lighting ceremony. This personality doesn't work well in a public school setting. Public school is results driven. Think: Drill and Kill! It works, there is no question. Lila can read at a Kindergarten level and is hanging right at average, sometimes, low average but average nonetheless. Drill and Kill taught her to read, count, and spell. It also taught her that doing well just means the work gets harder, not more enjoyable. There is always a new word list, set of numbers, reading group or story that is waiting for her. While I love the quick results and data driven results, my little girl doesn't. I think she would rather learn in a more holistic manner. West Chester Friends subscribes to holistic teaching. While public school kids learn to read the Dolch sight words on a word ring, WCFS teaches these words over time with an exposure to a variety of meaningful texts. I am not sure I have seen a meaningful text in public school but I can guarantee that Lila knows more sight words than the average Kindergarten student at WCFS. Therein lies my dilemma. I love that she can read (if you call three letter words and 60 sight words reading, I don't think I do), but I hate that she doesn't want to to climb out and walk into her classroom every morning.
My gut tells me that giving Lila a chance to learn by doing, through themes and as a close knit group of students, her chance of LOVING learning increases. Not that I really think it is going to solve her drive issue, I just hope she will want to go to school. WCFS creates a family in the classroom. They spend hours on the social piece and try very hard to let each individual shine. Public school doesn't have time for this. I think Lila needs to feel like she belongs to something more than The 100's Club or a center group. She needs to feel loved at school. She needs to feel understood - not scared to ask when she doesn't understand. She needs to feel proud of her work and believe that it is meaningful.
Can West Chester Friends do trick?
Lila did her second admissions visit last week. The first one was a disaster and very painful. You can read about it here to get a sense of how strongly we must feel about T. Michelle and her ability to empower my girl! We wouldn't be back if we didn't believe in the magic of T. Michelle. Lila spent two hours with her last week and met us with a bright shining smile when we picked her up. There was a bounce in her step. During those two hours, T. Michelle made my girl feel special - IMPORTANT! I think we have to give T. Michelle a chance to light Lila's fire.
We are still waiting for the final word from West Chester Friends. So far, all signs are positive.
My pocket book weeps, yet my heart is hopeful.
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