help me choose a kindergarten please!!!!

familyfirst

Thu, Oct 08 2009, 11:59 pm

I'm not sure that my own personal experience will help you make a decision, but in case it does...here goes:

We live "out of town" and send our children to the closest Orthodox school. For the record, we are more strict in terms of Halacha than the other families. However, our experience has been an incredibly positive one. For starters, the general atmosphere is friendly, warm, and catered to the individual. from the principal down to the secretaries, all the staff members take pride and make an effort to be attentive, available, and friendly. The classes are smaller than the average school, thus our children have gotten a lot of attention they would not have gotten elsewhere. They are respected for who they are, and teachers encourage parents to contact them should a situation arise where the parent needs to speak to the teacher. The kids are warm, kind, and cater to my kids special Kashrus needs (birthday parties, etc.).

I do remind my kids that while we share many similarities with other families, they will notice that with some they are different. They have learned to be respectful of others, do not indulge in "I'm better than you" in any way, and understand that what other parents allow does not mean that we allow that in our home. Our kids have come away stronger and better from such a diverse environment.

Something about 30 kids in a class rubs me the wrong way. That's A LOT. I would think that a child who is not Mr. Academic himself (and by no means do I mean that he is stupid) would do best in a smaller class setting. Less room to fall through the cracks. And I hesitate to say this for I know that many would clearly disagree with me, but I have found that many of the more modern families, raise kids with better Midos and more respect for authority. In the school where my kids go Chutzpa is nipped in the bud and bullying is a NO NO, which will result in suspension.

Just my two cents. Of course, I was never given the option of choosing between two schools. I bet if I was given the option, it would be a harder decision to make.

Good Luck to you and hope all the above typing was helpful in some way!

Imaonwheels

Fri, Oct 09 2009, 1:30 am

Life is not all about externals (do they behave, how do they dress). It is the subtle things you won't even notice until your 13 year old throws it at you that I worry about. Schools teach hashkafa, their own. It comes out in what meforshim they pick, how they teach, everything.

30 kids is not ideal but it can work if the child has no issues.

Will school #2 accept you if leave #1? It is possible to go down if necessary but almost impossible to go up once down becomes acceptable. That AHA! of others that go an easier route but we respect them and learn with them will make your attempts at discipline at some point seem arbitrary. Once kids lose innocence the genie does not go back into the bottle.

Many teenagers who rebel and waste their HS years come back. But what if you don't have from where to come back? My dd was also a rebellious teenager. She totally freaked, then joined a hashkafa different than ours and now with 4 kids just moved them all back to where she learned convincing a reluctant dh. The grass quits being greener at age 27 and 4 kids later. The further one is removed from HS experiences, disappointments, etc the less they will impact your decision making,