Tuesday's Times column was all about choosing a school.
We want the best for our daughter, but sometimes I think that people have to high an expectation of what a school should provide. I take the view that as parents it is our job to supplement the education that she gets at school. If there are things that are important to us, then we need to make sure that those things are a big part of her life.
Things like art, dance, music, etc. come into this category, and in the past. people have taken their children to classes at the weekend to cover such things, but now there seems to be an expectation that such areas are covered by school. Personally, I think religion should come in this category too. It should be 'extra-curricular.'
The other side of R's education comes in the form of weekends like the last one, when we went to the Isle of Man to celebrate my brother's wedding. It was a fantastic event in an enormous tent in a field, and for three days R went feral. Although her city feet didn't cope with thistles very well, she adored running with the pack of kids, including two of her cousins. It all went a bit 'Lord of the Flies' at one stage, with several of the older kids sporting tribal stripes of mud on their faces. At least, I hope it was mud.
The real downside was that every trip across the rutted hard ground of the field resulted in a pain-based payback for me afterward. Were it not for the extra weight, I am beginning to think that suspension on the wheelchair might be worth considering. All I need is a sponsorship deal to fund it...
We want the best for our daughter, but sometimes I think that people have to high an expectation of what a school should provide. I take the view that as parents it is our job to supplement the education that she gets at school. If there are things that are important to us, then we need to make sure that those things are a big part of her life.
Things like art, dance, music, etc. come into this category, and in the past. people have taken their children to classes at the weekend to cover such things, but now there seems to be an expectation that such areas are covered by school. Personally, I think religion should come in this category too. It should be 'extra-curricular.'
The other side of R's education comes in the form of weekends like the last one, when we went to the Isle of Man to celebrate my brother's wedding. It was a fantastic event in an enormous tent in a field, and for three days R went feral. Although her city feet didn't cope with thistles very well, she adored running with the pack of kids, including two of her cousins. It all went a bit 'Lord of the Flies' at one stage, with several of the older kids sporting tribal stripes of mud on their faces. At least, I hope it was mud.
The real downside was that every trip across the rutted hard ground of the field resulted in a pain-based payback for me afterward. Were it not for the extra weight, I am beginning to think that suspension on the wheelchair might be worth considering. All I need is a sponsorship deal to fund it...
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