My dad always told me if I wanted to go to college or university he would pay for it. No worries. Ya, right! Why would I want to further my torture? Not only did I HATE grade school and high school but it was part of my father’s abuse, too. Yelling, belittling.... why put myself through that for another 3 or 4 years?!
So, I took a break and after a few years decided to try college. Friends seemed to like it and I wasn’t living at home anymore, so why not? Although I didn’t finish the first time I went (I’ve since gone to college another 2 times) I loved the experience! It really showed me what I was missing all those years where other kids didn’t have abuse involved. I saw respect between students and teachers and among themselves. It was awesome! I could see that if I had gone to different grade or high schools, or maybe at a different time, that showed mutual respect and lacked violence that I may have liked it and continued to college or university right away. Maybe.
Regardless of what happened with past generations, we have a daughter now and I won’t have years of her life wasted on fear, depression and negativity because she doesn’t like what her life is all about. School is such a big part of a child’s life.
The first change (from how I was raised) was taking her to my yoga classes so she could see babies, toddlers and other moms. She loves it and tries to talk the other mom’s ears off. Another was taking her to quick ‘sitter’ sessions at the local YMCA where she was only there an hour or two and speaking of the Y... we put her in gymnastics there as well. Now, she feels accepted, like she belongs and has a group of people that she likes, feels safe with and can look up to. More things my husband and past generations didn’t have.
Now, for the school. We are blessed to have a Montessori school about 5 minutes away from our home. At this school there will be less students per teacher for individual attention and nothing but the upmost respect. Never any yelling or belittling and fortunately it will be in a home-setting so our daughter won’t feel overwhelmed. There will be music, lots of outdoor time and learning made simple. We visited there last Thursday and not only did our daughter love it and not want to come home but my husband loved it, too! I already knew I would like it as I had heard so many positive things about the place.
So, the ground-work has been laid. My husband and I will keep a positive attitude about it and I will volunteer when there are class trips. We’ll try to incorporate some things that she does at school into our home as well so she can do well and feel good about learning. Life is all about being positive and attracting more positivity and love to your life, I believe. What a great way to live and I'm proud to be raising another deliberate creator!
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So true. By the end of high school I was cooked and it took me ten years to go back to school.
ReplyDeleteOur kids go to public school, and our school has been very quick about dealing with issues such as bullying, which is rare to begin with. There is no yelling, the school motto is about respect, and words like stupid rank up there with the f-word for things you're not allowed to say at school. I don't expect my children to learn everything they need to know about life in school, that 's where parenting comes in.
Aside from the fact that we can't afford to pay tuition for more than one family member (I am currently a university student), part of our decision to put our kids in public school was for social reasons: we wanted them to have a choice about whom they were going to be friends with, and to teach them to socialize with people of different backgrounds. I was lucky enough to stay home with my kids when they were little, giving them an environment similar to a montessori school. Kids need to be around other kids of different ages, and be given the opportunity to try things for themselves, even if it will make a mess. I guess I'll burn the bridge of hating school when I get there, but for now my daughter is a social butterfly who looks forward to going to school.
Good for you! After my experiences I think it very important to make school a positive experience. Obviously, you have! :-)
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