I know, theoretically, that the older my kids get the tougher the decisions will be. But right now we are dealing with a big one. If last fall's question to preschool or not to preschool seemed obvious. This year's question is a lot bigger, and I find myself wrestling with the thought, "what if I mess up his whole life". School begins here with first grade. Back in the day, when Ukraine's flag was red, everyone started first grade at 7 years of age. Homeschool didn't exisit, you got 10 years in Siberia for things like that. And school lasted through the 9th grade. After the 9th grade a kid (or likely his parents) decided what his future profession would be, and the student was enrolled into a college specializing in his chosen major, ( future lawyers started law school in 10th grade).
Today, things are a little more westernized. The average public school now has 12 grades, and parents now have the option of enrolling their kids at age six or seven. You get to take all those factors into account like, birthday, maturity level etc.. In addition we get to choose which public school we want our child to attend. Each public elementary school has a special emphasis, economics, mathmatics, languges, fine arts. So the last few weeks the parents of preschool #12, ( post soviet preschool's have held on to their creative soviet names), have been very seriously courted by the eight public schools in our city. Each meeting leaves me more uncertain. The issue isn't so much the school, it's trying to decide whether or not William is ready. He has the unfortunate summer birthday that makes him either the youngest or the oldest in his class. And he is slight for his age, which is a concern to his Ukrainian grandfather (he doesn't want him to be picked on for his height). At the moment Andrey and I have no definate direction, one day we decide to go ahead and enroll him, the next day, we decide to wait a year.
There is another issue at hand.William would have been a great spy in the cold war, fluent in three languages and yet he never leaks a bit of information about anything. It is almost impossible to get him to share what he does at preschool all day. Only in rare moments does he open up this little world to me. The most I can usually get from him in what they had for lunch, at best it's something funny that a kid said in class. Today was pretty much the same, I asked William what they learned at school today,
"nothing"
"what did you talk about?"
"nothing"
"what was something cool or funny that happend today?"
"nothing"
At bedtine he began reciting one of his favorite things, "2+2 is 4, 3+3 is 6, 4+4, is 8.." (Is this really my kid?) So in an effort to bond I start reciting this stuff with him, counting off two fingers on one hand, three on the other to make five, thinking I would stump him after 10. But William jumps right into this game. He says, "let's do 11" I decide to take off my sock and use my big toe for 11, (I've always been the artsy type). William sighs, "no, Mom, I'll show 6 fingers, you show five" and up we move all the way to 13, he already has 8 fingers up, I on the other hand am stumped, "Mom," in his patronizing little voice, " it's five fingers, show five fingers, 8 plus 5 is 13"
And that's why we're not homeschooling.
Today, things are a little more westernized. The average public school now has 12 grades, and parents now have the option of enrolling their kids at age six or seven. You get to take all those factors into account like, birthday, maturity level etc.. In addition we get to choose which public school we want our child to attend. Each public elementary school has a special emphasis, economics, mathmatics, languges, fine arts. So the last few weeks the parents of preschool #12, ( post soviet preschool's have held on to their creative soviet names), have been very seriously courted by the eight public schools in our city. Each meeting leaves me more uncertain. The issue isn't so much the school, it's trying to decide whether or not William is ready. He has the unfortunate summer birthday that makes him either the youngest or the oldest in his class. And he is slight for his age, which is a concern to his Ukrainian grandfather (he doesn't want him to be picked on for his height). At the moment Andrey and I have no definate direction, one day we decide to go ahead and enroll him, the next day, we decide to wait a year.
There is another issue at hand.William would have been a great spy in the cold war, fluent in three languages and yet he never leaks a bit of information about anything. It is almost impossible to get him to share what he does at preschool all day. Only in rare moments does he open up this little world to me. The most I can usually get from him in what they had for lunch, at best it's something funny that a kid said in class. Today was pretty much the same, I asked William what they learned at school today,
"nothing"
"what did you talk about?"
"nothing"
"what was something cool or funny that happend today?"
"nothing"
At bedtine he began reciting one of his favorite things, "2+2 is 4, 3+3 is 6, 4+4, is 8.." (Is this really my kid?) So in an effort to bond I start reciting this stuff with him, counting off two fingers on one hand, three on the other to make five, thinking I would stump him after 10. But William jumps right into this game. He says, "let's do 11" I decide to take off my sock and use my big toe for 11, (I've always been the artsy type). William sighs, "no, Mom, I'll show 6 fingers, you show five" and up we move all the way to 13, he already has 8 fingers up, I on the other hand am stumped, "Mom," in his patronizing little voice, " it's five fingers, show five fingers, 8 plus 5 is 13"
And that's why we're not homeschooling.
Well, I'm not sure what cultural differences are involved, but here in the US, most parents lean toward waiting to start school if they can, especially for boys, to give them another year of maturity and growth and whatnot. I will say it makes a lot of sense to me and it's hard to see that there's any downside to waiting-- another year of the freedom of childhood, another year to gain emotional discernment and ability, etc. It's so hard to be the one making the decision though, isn't it? :)
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