In Which I Unabashedly Praise My Children's Schools

Yesterday I wrote about the many things I didn't like about Squirrelboy's early public school experience, so it's only fair that I also take some time to write about what I love about the schools my kids are currently attending. Since both of them have/had special events going on today, it's the perfect day to praise them.

Kittygirl attend a Spanish Immersion elementary school. The students have two main teachers, one of whom teaches language arts and social studies in English, and one of whom teachers math, science, and a little Spanish language arts in Spanish. They also three of their specials classes in Spanish: music, art, and library/technology. I was excited about Kittygirl learning Spanish, since that's what the two degrees I don't really use are in, but somehow I didn't realize that, in addition to being immersed in a second language, she'd be immersed in a culturally rich environment.

The majority of the Spanish speaking teachers at her school hail from somewhere in the Spanish speaking world, and they pass on their cultures to their students. In addition to this informal transmission of culture, the whole school studies different cultures of the Spanish speaking world throughout the school year. Last year, each grade gave a presentation about a different Spanish speaking country every month at the monthly assembly. The second graders presented on Equatorial Guinea, the only country in Africa in which Spanish is one of the official languages. Many people don't even know that there IS a country in Africa in which Spanish is spoken.

The school doesn't stop there, however. During Hispanic Heritage month (September 15 - October 15), the school hosts a Parade of Nations, which highlights the many nations of the world with which the students and staff of the school have a connection. Students can sign up to represent a country of their heritage, whether it's a country that they or one or both parents were born in, or a country from which their ancestors emigrated generations ago. In our case, our ancestors hailed from a variety of European nations, but we know what they all are and feel some kind of connection to them. The first year  of the parade, in first grade, Kittygirl represented Lithuania. That's the heritage with which I identify most strongly because it's the origin of my maiden name. In second grade Kittygirl really wanted to represent Sweden because her first name is Swedish, but we don't actually have any ancestors from Sweden. However, Mr. Engineer came to the rescue when he told her about his ancestors from right next door in Norway. This year's parade was today, and Kittygirl proudly represented Poland, which is the land from which our family  name originates. I always get a little teary eyed watching countries from all over the world (all continents except Antarctica and Australia were represented this year) being represented by these students and staff. There's a lot of division in our nation right now, and many people are suspicious of those who are different from them in some way. Watching this celebration of the diversity within a united, loving school community is a rare and precious thing.

Even outside of special events, I've been pleased so often with Kittygirl's school. As I mentioned yesterday, the school staff stepped up after her T1D diagnosis. I'm never nervous about sending her to school or worried that the staff will encounter something they can't handle. I have encountered so many parents who have experienced pushback when they asked that their child's medical needs be accommodated in school, I know that this kind of relationship with a school is not something to take for granted. In addition, every teacher I have encountered at her school seems to really love what they're doing and care about the kids and the mission of the school. Teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. This can at times lead to teachers who are just putting in their time until they retire or find another job. Thankfully, there are no teachers like that at Kittygirl's school.

Squirrelboy has only been at his new high school for 9 weeks so far, but I'm also incredibly pleased with it. He has commented that all of his teachers seem to love their jobs. We have also had personal experience, thanks to a stressful incident of mistaken identity last week, with how much the administrators care about the students and the effort they put into getting to know them. Squirrelboy's English teacher alone, however, might make sending him back to school worth it. As you might imagine, English has never been a favorite subject of Squirrelboys, what with the combination of his dyslexia and his ADHD. It was like pulling teeth to get him to write and to read literature when I was homeschooling him. However, his teacher has gotten him excited about learning how to communicate well, even though that includes writing. If I could have personally created an English teacher to help Squirrelboy thrive I would have created someone almost exactly like this man. He share Squirrelboy's passion of mountain biking, he does web design on the side, and he's also very interested in photography and videography, which are Squirrelboy's two main passions aside from biking at the moment. The first day of school, he told the students the story of how he left a corporate job and took a 60% pay cut to become a teacher. He's clearly passionate about his job and about helping students succeed.

Said amazing English teacher invited Squirrelboy to join the radio and journalism club, of which he is the adviser. Through that, Squirrelboy was given the opportunity to be the producer for the school news show. Since he's interested in pursuing such a job professionally, it's a perfect way for him to experience some of the things such a job entails before he makes any serious choices about his future.

Today, Squirrelboy is on the videography team covering his school's participation in the climate strike. Though most climate strikes were held a week ago, apparently this whole week has been designated at Climate Strike Week, and Squirrelboy's school decided to offer the students a chance to participate today. They aren't forcing the students to participate, of course. Those who don't choose to participate will have a supervised study hall at school, but the majority of both staff and students have chosen to participate. As I write this, they're out on a major road near their school holding signs about climate change and doing their part to raise awareness of the urgency of this issue.

I could go on about either school, but this is already getting long. Both of my children attend magnet schools, but I know it's not only specialized schools that contain caring, competent, and innovative teachers and staff. My overall experience with the public school system has been mixed, but I'm very thankful I currently have the opportunity to partner with two amazing schools in the education of my children.