I overheard a comment the other day that gave rise to some speculations on the part of why we find ourselves in a world with decreasing values. A mother was asked whether her daughter had completed an assignment, and she replied, "I don't know. It's not my job to know, since I was out of the house till now."
It is sad to see that many parents have that sentiment of "It's not my job." If it isn't their job, then whose is it? Many children, especially in the teenage category are experiencing hands-off parenting, because many parents choose to remove their guiding hand from their life.
My daughter is just 12, but already she shows signs of typical teen hood behavior. While this is scary, daunting, and demands sacrifice and hard work on my part, (I can only imagine what it will be like when she hits 14), it is my responsibility to do whatever it takes to guide her through these rough years.
Teenagers need rules, guidance, and help. That help does not come from sitting back and letting them do what they want. Sure it is easier that way now, but the end result is a lot harder to deal with. A little work and sacrifice now on the part of the parents, will pay off in a rewarding future for their teen.
Dr. Lickona expresses similar views in his book Educating for Character, "Quality of parenting is the best predictor of whether a youngster gets in trouble with the law. One classic study looked at several thousand junior and senior high school teenagers. It found that the closer the mother's supervision of the child, the better the communication with his or her father, and the greater the affection between child and both parents, the less the likelihood of juvenile delinquency."
In Switzerland, at 12 years old the school determines, through testing and such, which path your life will take, whether you go to Uni or are more suited to a job. I don't see how anyone can determine that at such a young age.
In retrospect, I don't care about levels and grades and what kind of school my children go to, I just don't like the fact that others, and a random test, who do not know my children, choose for me. I should be the one who says what I want for my children, after all they are my children and not the states.
I also don't believe that there should be a set distinction of who is bright and who is not. in fact, I believe that any child can be bright, it all depends on how much is given to them and then as they get older how much they put into their studies. If a child wishes to go to university, it is wrong to deny them that path simply because at a certain age they did not seem bright enough.
However, Uni is not the all in all, and I strongly believe in youth acquiring skills along side academics. There should not be a line drawn between them. They should complement each other. A graduate, who can't give his car a basic check up, cook a meal, or use a selection of basic power tools, is a failure on the part of the education system.
My kids are going to be attending the local public school. We've been in a back and forth with the school authorities and after much deliberation, they decided that it is better that the kids attend school.
My initial feeling is that to many in Switzerland, homeschooling brings to mind a messy environment, lousy teaching, and dumb kids. It is relatively new and not very common, so I excuse their ignorance, but I do not excuse their lack of looking into a situation before passing judgment. They had already made up their minds that Kaylena was to be sent to the school where the "not-so-bright" children go, or those who choose to only study till 16 and then get an apprenticeship. It is called Realschule and if you go that path, no way you can attend university. So, no checking to see how she is, just "She is going to go there and that's that."
Kaylena went to get tested to determine where she is placed in that school. I brought along her portfolio from the last two years, and she was given a variety of math problems to solve, some typing assessment, some General knowledge and had her German understanding assessed. Needless to say the teacher was very impressed with her portfolio and stated over and over how surprised he was with how bright and advanced she is. He is recommending that she go to the Bezirkschule, which is more academically geared and sets you on the path to Uni. It is also a lot closer to our house.
He ashed me why I was putting her in school when I obviously knew what I was doing and a good teacher, I explained that the law stated I needed some Swiss documentation. I tried getting that a few years back, but the whole system was newly introduced and no one knew what to do. Even students studying to be teachers, found it frustrating as they never seemed to have the proper paper work.
Well, he commented, and I agreed, what a shame it was that a piece of paper would take precedence over the fact that I am a good teacher and have proof of that in my own children. At least that was encouraging for me as our local authorities seem to have their minds set and refuse to do anything other then what the law dictates, though in Switzerland each township is able to work within the law as they see fit.
They could have easily granted us permission to home school, with the children attending the local school for German classes. But the head of Education for our area does not like homeschooling and would prefer to stick to his own preferences and the law then find a solution that benefits first and foremost the children. They are what it is all about anyways. I don't see how anyone who thinks or acts like that, can be an authority in Education.
So, this is how things are for now. I keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. At least the children will make good progress in their German comprehension.