Posts Tagged "school"

Choose one only, please

Posted by Michelle on Jan 6, 2011 in Life, Observations, Parenting, Reaction | 3 comments

Choose one only, please

I’m in the process of filling out paperwork for The Little Empress’ school district assessment. On the form, they want me to identify her ethnicity.

Choose one only, please says the form.

But she’s not one only. She’s two. She’s (2) Asian – Vietnamese and she’s (4) Filipino. To claim that she is one but not the other is to deny a whole half of her heritage.

Yeah, I know it is just a form but it horks me off something fierce. It is stupid that in 2011, decades after Martin Luther King’s “I had a dream” and the civil rights movement that antiquated school forms still expect families to be of one ethnicity.

I wonder how many idiot forms like this I’ll encounter during her school career or if districts will wise up to the fact that more and more kids are coming from mixed backgrounds.

And for a side rant…

I find it interesting that Filipinos are considered neither Asian nor Pacific Islander on this form. We’re Asian, dammit. Geez.

First Day

Posted by Michelle on Apr 6, 2010 in Parenting | 1 comment

The Little Empress Playing

And so my precious little one attended school today for the very first time. While not an “official” pre-school, it is still very pre-school like with circle time and everything. For the whole week prior to her first day, I worried about how she would fare. Her separation anxiety when she was younger was legendary, crying non-stop for nearly an hour until I returned home. I mentally prepared myself to stay with her the whole day, if need be. (Luckily, the school has an open door policy and parents can sit in for as long as they’d like.)

I stayed about fifteen minutes, watching as TLE quickly acclimated herself to this toy-filled wonderland known as her classroom. It was clear that The Little Empress was overjoyed to be there. TOYS! So many TOYS to play with! So many new things to see! New people to smile at! She zoomed happily from one toy station to another, playing in the play kitchen, climbing up and down stairs, gleefully stacking blocks and pounding on a Wiggles guitar.

A few minutes until opening circle, I called to her lightly, “Okay, I’m going to go now. I’ll see you later!”

She raised a hand to wave goodbye… but didn’t even turn around. She was too entranced with whatever she was playing with at the moment.

… so much for all that worrying! She had a grand old time and school and I know she can’t wait to go back tomorrow.

Prelude to School

Posted by Michelle on Mar 31, 2010 in Family, Home Matters, Life, Parenting | 0 comments

Whew! I haven’t been to this much school since I graduated! I had to bring TLE’s immunization records and fill out some paperwork before she officially starts school next week. The director suggested bringing TLE along to let her get a better feel for her future classmates.

As soon as we walked up to the center, TLE jumped around  excitedly to see the playground. There are two playgrounds at the center, each with different apparatus to help the kids with their motor function. Luckily, we were asked to come around playtime so TLE was able to join abunch of the kids on the playground. Then we moved inside and I worked on filling out paperwork while TLE had the very important task of trying out all the toys they have to offer.

The director filled me more on the program and gave me the breakdown of the class schedule as I filled out paperwork. There is a lot of free play as well as structured play to help the kids develop whatever skills they may be behind on. She also informed me of the open door policy — basically, I can sit in on the class whenever I want. This may just ease my Mommy-guilt.

We stayed for about an hour. TLE was allowed to roam the classroom, playing with whatever struck her fancy. And just about everything struck her fancy. She zipped from activity to activity, playing with blocks, the play kitchen, toy cars, balls, etc. I liked  seeing how the teachers played with her, how they really got down to her level and explained things to her. The class is very small, maybe 8 kids to 2 teachers as well as additional volunteer aides and specialized therapists.

Later in the day, we attended an open house at the co-op preschool that I want to send her to when she turns three. Cooperative preschools are almost entirely parent run, with one paid teacher. I love this model since it is a perfect bridge between homeschooling and traditional schooling. There’s only one co-op preschool in the area so I want to be sure to get her name down as soon as possible. She loved the classroom and while she’s still too young to sign up for the upcoming school year, I’ll definitely have her name down for 2011.

I had a few concerns about preschool, especially since there’s no telling if she’ll still be delayed by the time she turns three. One of the parents that I talked to eased my fears. Apparently, this co-op is where the school district recommends for children who have aged out of the county early intervention program. Lucky! So either way, TLE would likely end up going to this co-op which makes me happy.

What doesn’t make me happy is the fact that I don’t know what we’ll be doing for elementary school. There’s an elementary school just a half mile walk from our home but I refuse to send TLE there. Unless TLE settles down a lot in the next few years (doubtful), I think that putting her in an overcrowded classroom will kill any chance she has academically. I remember being in a crowded classroom in elementary school and being frustrated that I wasn’t being called upon. (Yes, I was the annoying kid that always had her hand up.) Teachers said that I was disruptive or uninterested. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was frustrated and bored out of my skull because I wasn’t getting the attention I needed. If possible, I don’t want to put TLE in a similar situation.

There are two very popular charter academies in our school district but there’s a waiting list a mile long. It is all lottery and the idea that there’s nothing I can do to ensure that my daughter gets a good education makes me sick. All I can do is put her name down and pray really hard that she gets in. Otherwise, homeschooling becomes our other option. Luckily, there’s homeschooling through the district, which provides curriculum as well as teacher guidance once a month, which ensures that TLE would be following the same curriculum as her public schooled peers. Still, I’d rather that she was in the charter but I guess we’ll deal with that when it is time.