We have been trying to decide where the boys will be going to school next year. They have enjoyed their time at Jordan Ridge, Connor has excelled in his class and Tate has come further than we thought! But when we received the boys test results I was super concerned about Connor. He is doing great academically but his self esteem has spiralled down. Where he ranked himself 7-8 out of 10 last year, he put himself at 2-3 this year.
So after parent teacher conferences and talking to a lot of educators about what would be best academically for our boys I was not any closer to making a decision. I felt strongly that I should bring them back to our neighborhood school, but teachers felt that they needed to be in the advanced learning program offered at Jordan Ridge. I was worried about Tate not making it into the program, but turns out the kid is a smart cookie and EXTREMELY competitive. He ranked in the top 1-4 percentile in the nation for those that take the tests in each area, math, reading, writing, etc. AND he thinks pretty highly of himself, ranking himself no lower than a 7 out of 10 in every category.
So here I have two boys who are academically doing fine, but so very different in how they view themselves. So I did what any good parent would do and had them help me make a pros and cons list. I haven't had so much fun in a long time and I couldn't believe how very different my two boys are.
Jordan Ridge
Pros:
There is dirt to dig in on the playground - Connor
Lots of homework - Tate
The teachers make you do lots of homework - Tate
Most of the spelling words are easy - Connor
The teachers are good - Tate
The incentive parties are fun - Connor
You can be a lunch worker at the age of 8 or 9 - Connor
Lots of art classes - Connor
Field Trips - Tate and Connor
Cons:
The class is too challenging - Connor
It is a long way away so I can't ride my bike to school - Connor
Not a big enough library - Connor
The school nurse doesn't stay with you when you have a bloody nose - Connor
(this is a huge negative in his mind, at his old school the nurse stayed with him until his parents got there, but that was with a severely broken arm and staples in his head, slight difference)
Daybreak
Pros:
More PE - Connor
Close to home - Connor
Has better school lunch - Connor
(not sure how he knows about this as he takes a home lunch EVERY day!)
Most of my neighborhood friends go here - Connor
You can ride your bike to school - Connor
Field days and trips are awesome - Connor
School nurse is nicer - Connor
Cons:
Not enough art class - Connor
I don't think I will be asking for the kids input on any more bigger decisions, I think they can only handle trying to help decide what to make for dinner, even at that I have to question their choices.
Funny how Tate wants the bigger challenge, more homework, bigger expectations and Connor wants it to be easier with less homework and challenges. I am sometimes amazed at how different these two are.
2 comments:
This just makes me laugh! Tell Connor that being a lunch worker isn't all it's cracked up to be--after a month of being one myself, i got mono :)
AHH! trying to decide on schools and all of that stuff is stressful! I wish we had some advance schools here, heck even an advanced class that Brooklyn could take would be nice, alas you can't everything right?
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