Parenting and yoga.
Not being an entitled little shit is an admirable goal. But in the end, the deeper issue is the situation that makes it so hard to be anything else. The time has come, not simply to reform that system top to bottom, but to plot our exit to another kind of society altogether.
Got into a fascinating conversation with one of my students after todays first class. He was a former high school teacher. He was super anti public school. As our kids GO to public school, it was obviously an interesting perspective to hear.
Being a parent is filled with so many difficult decisions. So many! I appreciate my yoga practice in an entirely different way since becoming a parent. I need my practice in a way that I didn't before. I literally need the quiet, the focus, the balance. In teaching, there are so many different options, so many ways to open the body, to get the body warm, to move through a practice hitting all of the key areas. In parenting? Is it the same? Are there so many right ways? As these kids get older these decisions seem bigger and bigger. There seem to be less options. It all seems more important. It isn't "disposable vs cloth" anymore, its character building stuff. Its morals. Its work ethic and responsibility and values. With babies I always felt so SURE that I was doing things right. It was pretty easy, they ate, slept, nursed. I mean, you knew if you were doing it right because they were happy and content. This part? This helping people become people part? Much harder. I have no idea where I'm going with this, but this article is a little bit depressing.
The best part of being a yoga teacher is how much my students teach me. Every day, something new. Sometimes stuff that I don't even want to know. Thats a bit how today felt.
Yesterday I had a great round of golf with Mimi and Denise. Today is the Club Championship….and I admit to being a bit bummed out to not be playing in it. I want a do over from Thursday! Got the vacation food done and now I just have to pack the kids and I up ~ meeting up with girlfriends tonight in Wayne and then off to the beach for 2 weeks tomorrow afternoon after I teach. I'm a little bit in denial about all that I have to do between now and then.
Here in NC the legislature has been dealing blow after blow to teachers and schools. I certainly worry about whether public schools will give our kids everything they need, push them, etc. But if we'd gone with the amazing private school, it would have meant DH staying in a job he was really really ready to move on from, and/or me needing to go back to conventional employment...and shelling out $60k for ELEMENTARY school. For my kids to be in an incredible environment, surrounded by kids who look a lot like them, 99% of whom have never wanted for anything, never known the real struggles that so many of our neighbors face. Plus...I believe in the idea of the public school system, as a concept and as a social value. I feel like we (in this instance meaning my family) do more for society as a whole by sticking with the public schools and supporting them as much as we can (so - buying supplies for the class, contributing time and money to the school), and we still have the resources to enrich & supplement outside of school for our own kids. that said, so far we've been really lucky, with great teachers and administrators. both kids are in an international studies magnet where they have daily foreign language classes starting in Kindergarten, a school with a diverse student body and a really involved parent base. maybe I'd feel differently if we'd had less stellar experiences so far - and maybe I'll feel differently down the road. but yeah, it's tough. as my beloved former boss and mentor used to say, "WHERE'S MY CRYSTAL BALL, DAMMIT?!"
ReplyDeleteI feel similar to Jenn, but also have the perspective of parenting two very different children. One is quite bright by traditional measures and the other is excelling, but not on the same level as peers. We have literally no private school options even if we were willing to shell out the exorbitant fees. It's actually interesting because even religious schools don't encourage or have the resources to support students with diverse needs. Interesting because of the huge focus not to terminate pregnancies based on prenatal diagnoses, but yet the community provides no private support network to families who continue with the pregnancy. Anyway. I had some really great experience in both private and public educational settings myself, so I feel like it's a gray area with many variables. We also drive to another district for public schooling because the options were limited and terrible at our neighborhood school. I would love a peek in the crystal ball too! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy vacationing! Enjoy.
Yep to everything both of you have said. Private schools here are $25K+ and while they have cutting edge everything….well, shelling out $75-$90k/year for elementary school? I mean, its laughable. And then there is the whole entitlement thing. Nate went to public and me to a private school that I HATED. I've always been very committed to public schools for our kids, but then I hear or read certain things and start to question/doubt. But then the douchebag factor! But then the advantages factor! Ahhhhhhh! If you find that crystal ball ship it to me next, would you? Thanks much.
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