Part 2

So we decided to place our son in a private Christian school. It was a small setting that did project based learning and met children at their own pace. One of the things I really liked about the school was that it was a split class of 2 grades 5/6. There were only 13 children total in the class.

The school was quite expensive and with no job opportunities lining up we had to make a decision. The decision was made easier however, when we received the standardized test scores. As I suspected, the curriculum was innovative but not as rigorous as my child needed. So in the areas where I taught him in the evenings at home: vocabulary and math concepts he scored well beyond his grade level. Vocabulary scores were at a 9th grader in their 7th month level and Mathematics concepts were at 8th grader in their 3rd month. All other scores were average 6th grade level and even a few below.

I realized that even with the nicer setting of this Private school----NO institution was going to give my child what I felt he needed and that is an exceptional learning experience.

I am providing my son with just that---and my daughter is being provided one as well. I am not anti school at all I am PRO-exceptional learning experiences.

This is exciting and frustrating and tiring.

The Decision- The Reaction PART 1

So I often ask myself why I decided to homeschool. Well the answer is not cut and dry and the process of embracing the decision was not easy- yet it wasn't unnatural either.

I think it is important that I share with you that my son had requested that I homeschool him before I actually made the decision to homeschool him. Like many working mothers I had the job of also coming home and taking care of the family and also checking homework. The homework checking and discussion would almost always lead to an interrogation on my end of my son about the about the assignment. I guarantee you my questions are not the kind you are thinking-----"Did the teacher model what she wanted you to do? Did your teacher do a guided practice lesson and then allow the class to work independently before she assigned this? Where are your notes?"....etc ..(you get the picture)

Unfortunately, my answers where met with dull glares. LOL This happened so many times that it wasn't even worth my time and effort asking my son. We would do assignments and then do extra assignments to keep him interested.

My son attended what is considered one of the better neighborhood schools in Chicago---in fact the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, sent his children there. But the school kept falling short of my expectations and did not meet my son's needs.

Then he entered the 3rd grade. This was the year a new principal had been selected and the class assignments had changed and we got the teacher that they had been moving around because she was ineffective. Let's just say
Ms. F. Ryzzelle (name changed to prevent the identity of counterfeit teacher)  was horrible! The previous principal moved her from 6th grade down to 3rd grade. That year, my son had been assigned to a 3rd/4th split class of a strong teacher because he was considered an excelerated learner.

Without bashing the inept teacher anymore than saying she was horrible,  I will say it was a wasted-most-dreadful-year of my son's life--many families in that woman's class, had children who cried and broke down during the class and again when they got home. I was through with her when, after she realized she was losing the support of the parents and my respect as an educator she made the statement: "I am nationally board certified and I have experience teaching urban children." Tires screeched in my brain and I pretty much new what we were dealing with.

Several children transfered schools after that year. We however stuck it out one more year. One of the main reasons was that our son had had friends in that school since Pre-K and it was a familiar setting---and who wanted to pay tuition? The school also had extra curricular activities such as the world's greatest Latin teacher and program there. He also took Chinese culture there in the afterschool program.

Leaving him there for yet another year proved to be just what I needed to "change settings."

And we did. To a Private Christian school----paying tuition.

I Sing The Mommy Eclectic!

So what's up with the name of this blog? It describes me perfectly.
People seem very focused on "titles" and approaches within the "traditional" school and within the "homeschool" community. I have never EVER been married to one approach and would feel stifled by completely embracing one school of thought---it's just not how I am internally constructed. As the most NON-traditional traditional educator and now as a homeschooling parent, I voraciously pull from a variety of sources, strategies, and philosophies that build on my strengths and my children's individual needs. I approach my parenting and home educating with the notion that there isn't one best way but what best ways work for my family at that stage.

When people are staunch un-schoolers, or traditional schoolers, or whatever the new term is- I am leery.   I sometimes feel that educators (home and traditional) dive so deep into an approach that when they come up for air (if they come up at all) they find themselves so far away from shore/foundation that they are ineffective.

Basically, I'm discriminating and I take a little here and there to make it right for the 2 children I have. My children are different genders, different ages, and different thinkers so why would I use the same approaches?


ec·lec·tic

noun /iˈklektik/ 
eclectics, plural

A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources

adjective /iˈklektik/ 

Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources
• - her musical tastes are eclectic
Of, denoting, or belonging to a class of ancient philosophers who did not belong to or found any recognized school of thought but selected such doctrines as they wished from various schools

Journey to the center of the system--in a nutshell.

So I had been in college for 6 years and decided to complete my Science major and worry about becoming a certified teacher later.

I landed my very first teaching job with my Alma mater Holy Angels Catholic School. There I learned from my former teachers what to do ---and on occasion what NOT to do. The women I learned form were: Sr. Larina, Sr. Helen, and Sr. Dorothy. These nuns raised hell---and I thank them for it.

I'm gonna go through this quickly so here it goes: left the archdiocese to go to a private Christian school and decided to get my master's degree in metropolitan (urban) elementary education and went to an African centered charter school for some student teaching left there went to do more student teaching at a top diverse magnet school elementary school was hired on there as a Reading Specialist and school based problem solving specialist left there to become a teacher in another top diverse magnet school got fed up and was recruited by the principal at the Christian school all mastered up for the Dean of students position of a K-12 school of 600 students got selected to be the Curriculum coordinator for the building and got selected to be the Third Semester Principal of that school was placed on the spin off design team for the "replication model of the private school" as a charter school learned much too much about the charter school system and after having personally recruited 200 plus students and being named principal of the new replication charter school after raising red flags about monies and spending and the intention to purchase the private school's USED books and the board deciding NOT to have the school replicate the entire model (with children not having gym, foreign language or art) I was told that someone else would be principal.  And I was RELIEVED! LOL

After leaving the pit of doom and despair, I went on vacation with the family and we decided to have another child. I still couldn't get enough of the need to help in the education field so I took a job as a curriculum coordinator at a non profit organization that was supposed to "FOCUS on the Family" and was tasked with coming up with educational supports and an evaluation template for 17 schools receiving a federal after school grant.

This job was probably the worst position ever because they collected hundred's of thousands of dollars to provide children in some of the worst performing schools in some of the most underserved neighborhoods with after school tutoring programming that was supposed to help them make gains.

In a nutshell it was mostly a lot of grant writing and pretending to provide training but continued to hire people who were not committed to doing anything more than status quo. While people collect money----the kids are not being educated. 

The worst thing is that on paper, the government gives money to improve the educational services by allotting monies toward these after school programs and the reality is the organizations  who go into these schools are not being held accountable BUT every one besides the children get paid---and it looks like there is nothing more to be done.

So I prayed and cried out to the universe---I said out loud and quiet internal prayers inside to God that I needed meaningful work that would inspire children, impact their world view, provide enriching experiences  and diversity.

And so, I educate my own damn kids---at home!

It Began with Meathead Jones.

I thought I wanted to study naprapathology/naturopathology/ayurveda medicine. At the time, I believe I was deeply influenced by the death of my little sister who had died of Neuroblastoma when she was 2 and I was 10. My parents would take her to see Dr. Sidney and he was a naprapath. She always seemed calmer after leaving his office than she did when she was returning from medical doctors. My parents had been pretty healthy eaters and alternative medicine (with a little bit of "down south remedies too"-(don't ask)

Anyway, I thought the way through to this was to major in Nutrition and Medical Dietetics at University of Illinois. I quickly realized that medical dietetics was not going to get me where I wanted to be so I did what any flighty Gemini would do----I switched majors for the 4th time.

I decided to major in Exercise Physiology so that I can take the route of a health and fitness guru to naprapathology. One of the courses was to design an exercise program for children and to implement it.

My partner was a meat head. He wanted to be "da' coach" at his old high school. Anyway, we decided to create an obstacle course for the kindergarten children. 2 things happened on that trip that made me decide to teach.

#1. When an African American boy was being too rambunctious (what 5 year old isn't) he told him he was putting him in jail and gestured an invisible jail box being positioned over the child's body. The boy ducked as the invisible box was placed over him and looked ashamed and terrified. I was seething!

#2. One little boy, was kissing another little boy on the cheek---however, it was not being welcomed by the child who was struggling to get away. As the boy was pulling away from "the kisser" ---Meathead Jones forcefully yanked "the kisser" from the other child and barked, "Hey you kid, little boys don't kiss boys! That's gross!" The child looked horrified. The boy being kissed was the kisser's cousin who he hadn't seen since summer.

At that moment, I decided to be a teacher. Right after helping the rambunctious one break out of the slammer.