Friday, April 8, 2011

Education

My grandmother, who raised me for the majority of my childhood, considered education the most important thing. I think she began teaching me the moment I emerged from the womb! :) When I was three, she delighted in telling her friends that I could read and proving them wrong when they denied that it was possible. Teaching me to read at such a young age often backfired on her though, since we had to drive daily down Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. The area abounds with adult businesses and I was determined to read every sign we passed!

As I grew older, she continued to push me when it came to my education. When I began misbehaving in school, she determined that I was bored and placed me in a small private school that allowed me to work at my pace rather than the pace my grade determined. I know she had to struggle to pay the tuition, but it was important to her. And to me, because I flourished in the new environment! The school was very laid back, teachers were called by their first names and each class had no more than five students. I would often finish my work before lunch and spend the rest of the day in the small library, reading everything in sight.

Because of her influence, education is one of the few things I am very strict about with my own children. I am a laid back parent, but school is one area where there is little leniency. Recently, my six year old son began acting up in class, not paying attention and playing instead of doing his work. His teachers rave about how smart he is, so I immediately starting thinking of ways to challenge him at school to battle the behavior problems. Apparently his main teacher was thinking along the same lines, because I received a letter from the school telling me that he has been nominated for the gifted education program for academic and creative excellence!

Yes, I am bragging. Sorry, but I can't resist! :) I am so proud of my little man! Bragging is a right that we gain with motherhood, right?

How important is education to you? What lengths are you willing to go to in order to ensure your children receive the best education possible?

4 comments:

  1. We're unschoolers but education is still really important to me. I always did well in school but I've lost my love of learning :( I'm hoping my daughter will never lose hers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Education was incredibly stressed in my family. My parents were the first that could afford to stay in school long enough to graduate and it was a HUGE deal. I was proud to finish college and get an advanced degree.

    As a former teacher I loved working with parents who were willing to work on a plan to find out why their children were acting out and to solve the problem together. You are doing great.

    I support family and friends who homeschool. I would be next in line for a couple of family members should a guardian be necessary so I have considered my local school options. I lean towards homeschooling as there are only a couple of private schools in the area that are worth the money and our local public school is not an option. There is an upper level Charter school that is growing into a possiblity.

    God willing it will never be an issue. However, my parents always taught me if you have plans you can be grateful you never needed them. If you fail to plan, you will always be behind trying to catch up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My (soon to be) step-daughter is 6. I have been with her for half her life. She is smart, but has 2 older siblings and 1 younger. She was not raised in a very good environment and since we only have her on the weekends I try to make learning as fun as I can. She is very smart, but lacks patience and listening skills. There are things she should be learning that she is not, but she has learned to memorize so she thinks that is all she needs to do.

    We went and purchased new books that she has never seen. We make her read with us for 10-15m 2X a day. During the day before she can play, and at night before she goes to bed. This way she is learning words and will be able to read a little better instead of just memorizing things to get people to leave her alone. I am trying to work on her a little as far as her patience. Sound out the letters of the words, put those sounds together, divide large words in half (which she loved learning! told all her friend).

    I just do the best I can with her when she is with us. I am pretty sure I am already doing more than her own mom.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad your grandmother stressed your education so much and now you are doing it with your son. I put myself through college and then taught elementary school for 17 years. My husband put himself through college and we put him through grad school. A lot of our friends were busy having fun while we were studying, but in the long run our educations have paid of.

    ReplyDelete