Mar

4

Parts of them are like Dennis Hopper

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DISCLAIMER: do not watch if offended by Charlie Sheen-isms.

Mar

3

Watching ‘Waiting for Superman’ didn’t help this

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I recently wrote about fretting over kindergarten, and it’s true, I am. Fretting, that is. Sort of. I mean, during the times I forget that it’s not sort of ridiculous to fret over kindergarten.

I’m not thrilled about the school’s policy of daily homework, but I realize I have no idea what that means yet. It probably doesn’t mean, like, five consecutive hours of long division (SHOW YOUR WORK!), right?

I’m torn on whether we should start Riley in full day or not. On the one hand, I didn’t plan on doing so, because why not take advantage of the fact that I’m at home while we can, he’s sure got plenty of years ahead of him when he’ll be required to spend his entire day in classrooms. On the other hand, it sounds like he’d miss a lot of fun stuff (basically everything outside of reading and math) if we only do half days, and maybe more importantly to my decision-making, be one of only a tiny handful of kids who go home at 11:30.

(Note that half days are free while full days cost $350/month. I assume one of the reasons so many kids do the full day option is because it’s so much more affordable than daycare.)

(Oddly, the entire Bellevue school district is released after lunch on Wednesdays. That must be a nice pain in the ass for working parents.)

(WHAT IS WITH ALL THE PARENTHESES OH GOD I CAN’T STOP.)

I don’t know how much I should worry about the fact that his school has relatively low testing scores as compared to the rest of Bellevue, or whether or not it’s even politically correct to helplessly wonder if the large percent (40%) of transitional bilingual students slows down the rest of the classes.

Our neighborhood is a microcosm of low/mid income in the midst of a ridiculously opulent suburban area. The best schools, at least according to scores and ratings? Situated in areas we could never afford to move to.

I catch myself spiraling down a rabbit hole of lip-chewing and I grab for perspective but I don’t know, I feel completely unqualified for thinking about these sorts of things. There’s so much I hope and want for my kids in school—not really in terms of amazing grades, but in happiness and a sense of adventure and an appreciation for the outdoors and not getting caught up in the bullshit of comparing yourself to others—and I know it’s up to us to help guide them.

Which is exactly what makes me worry, I guess. Wondering if there’s something I should be doing now to improve their chances.

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