I have to say this to convince myself. Frequently these days, I am not so sure. My children spend hours there and they don't come home happier or really much smarter. So who is benefiting exactly. Certainly not my children. Definately not me. Maybe the teacher's union? Keeps their numbers up I guess. And don't get me wrong, I think my children are lucky enough to have pretty exceptional teachers, this year especially.
Here's an example. In the week before Christmas. Aidan came home with a gift bag. Filled with candy and a juice box. He tells me that he won it in a draw with the whole school. He is thrilled about having won something. AND he didn't touch the candy. He looked at it to make sure that it was all wrapped and thus considered safe. He discussed the sharing options with his sister while on the bus. But he didn't touch it. None the less by the time he got home he was so excited about it that I felt pressured into giving him this little piece of joy. This little piece of joy that is not so good for his growth and development. So I'm back to telling myself that the school is not the enemy.
Another example. Zoe goes to Kindergarten in the afternoon for three hours. Now three hours is not an excessively long amount of time. One day when she arrived home I went through the usual. How was your day? Did you eat your snack? Who did you play with? What did you do? To discover that she spent the afternoon watching a movie. In the music room with other classes and not her teacher. The Santa Clause 3. Something I probably wouldn't let her see at home. Certainly not without previewing it so that we could discuss the details and so that I can answer questions for her. Once again I am left telling myself that the school is not the enemy.
But if I have to continue fighting my gut instincts as a parent then what exactly is the point? Of being the parent I mean. I might as well sign my children over to the "state" and hope for the best. And so Steve reminds me: the school is not the enemy.
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