School Year Round Up

I've been trying to 'write' this post for awhile now, but the words are not coming easily. I think I just wanted it to sound thoughtful, or eloquent or some other odd thing. But I guess you'll have to take it as it comes. And please forgive me for its length. I will forgive you if you fall asleep in the middle, but if you actually make it to the end and comment then well, there might just be a surprise in store for you! (Well at least a pat on the back in a cyber way)

My kids just finished their first year of education at an expeditionary learning charter school. It has been an interesting, fun, adaptive year and I wanted to reflect on how it went.

First my educational philosophy, so I have something to measure against.

Education is very important to me. I think a well educated society is the way to having a successful society. I believe that it is primarily the parent's job to make sure that their kids are educated and I fully support choice in education. This means public, private, charter, homeschooling are all viable and good options for parents to look at. I wish there was not such a spirit of 'contention' between different methods of education because I really believe one size does not fit all and a variety of options provides for the best education for all kids. I believe all kids are 'gifted' and that through the right education they can all reach beyond their perceived potential. I personally believe learning should be enjoyable and does not always (or even necessarily most of the time) happen at a desk with a worksheet. I believe hands on experiences and projects that allow for kids to discover things themselves bring the greatest learning moments. I think teachers are undervalued in our society. They have huge responsibility, sometimes little control of the circumstances and high expectations. In general I think they do a great job at reaching those heights and when they do I think their compensation should be commensurate. I do not think those heights should be judged solely on test scores. I think other measures some intangible must be used to see if an educational method is working. I believe 'the system' should be run by those closest to the school, the farther away from the school the less clue people have about how to make it successful. I realize this is hard to do in a real world scenario. So despite its conflicts that is my educational philosophy.

We embarked on a new chapter in our families educational journey because I felt there were some items that were lacking in the previous arrangements. It is now time to investigate whether our decision was a good one.

First the kids take...Tim (5th grade) LOVED school. He loved exploring new concepts in a student led learning way. He loved the hands on field work and projects, he even learned to love a subject that has previously been a most distinct least favorite...that was Art. He had an art teacher that taught real art concepts (rather than craft projects) AND related it to the subjects being taught. Tim learned how to draw the parts of a bird about perspective, and form. He learned that he does have art talent after all. He still didn't feel very challenged in math, but did learn new things, though turning in homework is still on his 'Why do I have to do that list'. I am hoping he'll figure that out next year.

Emily (7th grade) struggled at the first part of the year. Her teachers (some only being hired a couple of weeks before the start of school) were not as prepared as some of the lower grades to run full on expeditions. She struggled with missing her FANTASTIC sixth grade teacher and tended to compare everything unfavorably to last year. However, she had some great learning experiences this year and some great teachers. Top on my list was her math teacher. He really inspired her to go for the gold and as a member of the Math Counts team she did just that taking with her team the First Place for Small Schools award at a State Math Contest. She also loved her band experience and she had an excellent teacher and group. Overall I believe she is on board with the concept of the charter school and will be even more so next year when she has a locker and doesn't have to carry all her books around on her back.

Sierra (2nd grade) had a very adequate year. She enjoyed her expeditions and loved being an expert on Trees and Frogs. She at times felt that they went too much in depth on subjects and on occasion would talk about wanting to return to her old school. She missed many of her old friends but most of all her best friend across the street. In asking what she liked most about the old school she answered learning different things, so I asked her what she remembered learning at her old school and she answered mixing colors and the science of bubbles. It just so happens that both of those topics were science fair projects. Both hands on--done entirely at home projects that didn't have anything to do with school except the display and the judging of the projects. Looks like we need to do some more of those...at home. Comparing Sierra's second grade to Emily & Tim's experience she had an outstanding year. I think all in all it was a good move for her even if she doesn't recognize it yet.

Some of the highlights:

Tim's launch of his bird expedition~ an evening field work at the Nature Center.

Sierra's field work at the Violin school.

Emily's participation in the Venture Decathlon

Intensives including Christmas around the World, Holiday Celebrations and Quilting.

Tim's pen pal experience with a wonderful senior from Brigham City and the subsequent writing of her life story and lunch date.

Sierra's trip to the Natural History Museum and later the Zoo to see the Frog exhibit.

Celebrations of Learning for Trees, Birds at the Bear River Bird Refuge, The Living Hero Museum, the interactive Frog Exhibit, & Energy Expo.

Band concerts

NOT having regular fundraisers

Fully integrated email communication~means better school/parent communication & less paper waste.

Lots of other field work...often weekly.

Sierra becoming an author!

School Uniforms (no big decisions on what color to wear)

Drawbacks:

The construction ridden commute

Learning/Growing Pains with a new school, a new system and new teachers.

No lunch service (thankfully that should change next year)

Hard to play with new friends because of the distance

Missing old friends.

Old building (though in many ways it was an upgrade from our old school it had a library and decent restrooms)

School Uniforms (little choice on what colors to wear.)

Overall I think we made the right decision. I think we'll do it again next year!