Why I Value The Education Available Through Public Schools

I love the stone and water epiphany and think it's very true. Let it go baby let it go. It's weird how people find you and then take the time to write a negative comment. Do they think they are helping you?

Also, even if you said, "yeah school is starting and I get to have my son out of my hair for a few hours now yippeee!" what business is it of anyone's?

Brilliant! Both your realization that you don't have to engage with the hecklers but that you can just write your own positive message and people can take it or leave it as they prefer and also your lovely homage to public schools. My mother was a teacher. I trained as a teacher. I taught (in Japan, not America). My brother is a teacher. There is a lot of work and understanding (not of subjects but of children) in being a good teacher.

As for the socialization aspect, I think it's really important. We need to know how to survive with teachers who don't understand us and that we don't get along with--because we have to learn how to deal with bosses, other parents, rude customers, know-it-all inlaws, and snipey blog commenters. It's important to be in a classroom situation with people who are not like us, so that we can learn that they are people, too.

Finally--I've been meaning to send you this link since this discussion started. It's really pretty normal to be happy that school has started.

http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/archives/003978.php

How confident of you! I still can't handle not yelling back- getting all flared up. It really isn't worth an ulcer. The last commenter was quite right.
At any rate- what will you do with the elderberries? I recently made some elderberry syrup (for the boys) and some elixir for the adults. It sure looks pretty -all those little berries floating in their jar.
btw- I am loving public school. AND I would be a wretched homeschooler- not every child would do well by it and not every mom should take it on. AND I am glad to get a bit of special one on one time with my younger one and some more time for just me!

OK, the minute I finish responding I promise to go and clean up all those awful glitches in my writing. I was on the clock and didn't have time to double check it before going to Kung Fu- oy! Big mistake!

Thank you- it's really hard for me to let go of things like that, when people disagree with me in a really hurtful way. I often do lash out and engage in battle- but it's so good for me to see this in a new perspective. I love a good debate, I have no problem hearing people disagree with me: when it is done with respect. The last post was pointing to myself and noticing that I had been a bitch in a debate because I was feeling defensive. The whole point was that I was recognizing my own weakness and need to grapple with that. It felt a little like being kicked while down.

There were good points brought up and MSS- you are such a good debater and I love that you are so respectful while disagreeing or questioning things. I think I will always enjoy a debate with you.

It just hit me that I keep launching into subjects from the point of view that people are going to fight me- again- defensive. My blog is my world. I can love public school without hating homeschooling. I can be critical of anything I want but what if I try, more often, to go back to presenting my loves, my choices, my rejoicing, and if someone wants to object or put a different point of view in the mix- fine- as long as it remains respectful.

I don't want to end up being like that commenter myself.

Yeah- water and stones- we learned a move in Kung Fu a while ago that came along with a talk about being water instead of stone when you're trying to defend yourself. It was really quite beautiful. I'm laughing at myself too, though, because I'm going all Buddhist on you all. But really, that just takes me back to my roots, meditating with my parents in front of a lovely stone statue of the Buddha in my parents' bedroom.

Oh- I forgot- the elderberries- I want to make a syrup for colds. Yours came from your own garden didn't they? That is so exciting! I forgot that you planted elderberries back when we were going to Harmony Farms together and discussing what trees to order for our gardens. Did you get the European kind? The kind I foraged are the Pacific Northwest native elderberries. I understand that generally the European kind are used for medicines but I believe my National Geographic herb encyclopedia says that the US natives are also good for medicines. I need to do some double checking. I want to plant the European kind in my own yard this winter!!!

If I have enough to play- I would love to do a cordial too. We'll see how much I actually harvested when I get them off their stems.

I felt this incredible connection with the water/stone analogy. I loved it! It really is a beautiful concept to live by. I try, then fail then try and I guess if we keep trying then we are staying true to our journey, yes? But, I also believe you can scream and despise home schooling and talk about how you despise it because this is your blog. Your blog for you to say how you truly feel about something without having to take the crap from readers.

On to elderberries...so cool you found them growing wild! I still haven't made it over to Clackamas and wouldn't know a wild elderberry to save my life. Totally awesome find!

Thanks, Angelina. I'm not always so noble as you make me out to be. Sometimes I can't restrain a passionate outburst or keep my attempts at humor from turning into sarcastic and cutting jabs. I do love to discuss ideas, though. The biggest struggle is finding people who are interested in a dialog and not a diatribe.

The Internet has opened up a world of disrespect. I suppose it was always there but most of us didn't encounter it in our social circles. I think that most of us try to share our ideas earnestly and so when we encounter a heckler, we don't understand that they've only come to do things we would never do to others: make fun of us, stir up trouble, push our buttons, and generally be hurtful.

As I finally figured out that these people aren't really interested in a discussion, I've learned to stop responding to them. For those people who disagree with me, but who disagree out of a serious conviction, I try to find some common ground. Maybe we don't agree on the solution but we at least agree that there is a problem that needs to be solved--that we share a worry or concern.

The thing that helps me the most is celebrating our differences. If we were all alike, how boring the world would be. But we're not and we have so much to learn from each other. Some of us are introverts; some, extroverts. Some of us spend a lot of time thinking; some, jump right into the action. Some of us are ruled by our hearts; some, by our heads. Some of us require plans and organizations; others feel constrained by too much discussion. There is no one right way--all these ways of living in the world are part of the human experience.

I have seen the good and bad with homeschooling. I had two aunts who homeschooled. One was fantastic and those kids had a much better education than I did from public school. The other did nothing and luckily sent her kids back to school after a few short years.

Every child is different and each school is different. I make people on both sides of the debate mad because we send our kid to a private school. The local public school is terrible! My aunt is a teacher for inner city Chicago and after seeing the stats on our public school said she wouldn't send her own kids there. I don't have the patience to teach her at home so we scrape together for a private school.

And you know what! That's our decision. I commend you for choosing public school and defending it. I am extremely happy we live where we can all choose what's best for us and our kids and Not have that choice made for us!

I love the "be water, not stone". I will use that in the future, so Thanks!

Ah, I LOVE the stone and water analogy as well....I have a tough time "flowing around" comments like that, too. What great inspiration.

Thank you so much for the baby congrats, much enjoyment and snuggling going on here! Though I didn't know I could feel hungover just from being tired....no fair without partaking in some nice vino or whiskey beforehand!! ;)

oh that was my comment. too tired to remember to add my info at the end, i guess!

:) :) :)

you've made me smile so wide with this post - for too many reasons to list...

suffice it to say - i'm a product of public education and much time spent on nature preserves - valuable resources both of them!

I'm so happy this post made you smile so much Alison!

The hecklers, it turns out, all know each other and one of them was someone I had called my friend. So I've been pretty well thrashed by a band of really defensive and mean homeschoolers who have let me know that while it's alright for them to criticize the public school system it isn't alright for anyone to question to homeschooling. I am so disappointed right now that a decent intelligent discussion couldn't happen and I'm just trying to get over the hurt that my "friend" dished out.

Anyway- I love the rock and water analogy too and I'm glad it resonated with so many of you. I think about it a lot. It's such an old concept, I had just forgotten it for years.

What happened to you on facebook? Everything ok?

I have always liked public school for all the reasons that you mentioned above. Perhaps it's also because I had great teachers, who taught well and loved working with kids and instilled a love of learning in me. To me, learning "how to learn" is the biggest benefit that a public school education gave me.

My mom didn't have a choice, and I probably won't either. Being a single parent with no family around, going to graduate school, and working multiple jobs, it was impossible for her to send me to a private school or homeschool me even if she had wanted to (but she didn't because she herself went to public school, albeit in a different country, and now she is a PhD).

Jade- the majority of parents I know don't have the option to homeschool either. Most of them work- so for many parents even a desire to do it isn't enough. I couldn't even if I wanted to either because I'm working too many hours. But that, of course, is beside the point for me since I am happy with our situation. You mom worked her butt off! I think she's got a lot to be proud of- for accomplishing what she has but also for doing it as an immigrant to this country. I think most people coming here from elsewhere have to work quite a bit harder than others to achieve the same things. Being a single parent and doing all that? AMAZING.

I didn't do especially well in school so the school work was difficult and I didn't love it a lot of the time but I have so many good memories of the teachers and of the smells of warm classrooms and the cheerfulness of the cafeteria (I didn't eat the school food- my mom packed our lunches) and the feeling I had when I got out of school at the bell's ring- there was the lazy walking home with my backpack full and chatting with kids on the way. I remember getting so excited taking French class because my teacher was so pretty and elegant and she was really kind and she got our whole class French pen pals and I thought that was just about the most exotic incredible thing! I did have an undying hatred for PE though.