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Mothers can get especially passionate about topics that involve raising their children.  Just this past week at my local mommies group meeting that I belong to the discussion topic was about the different choices for schooling your child: public, private or homeschool.  Three panelists spoke representing each kind.  All three were very well-spoken, making logical and reasonable arguments for why they had chosen their particular schooling path for their children, and all ended in agreement that ultimately every family has to choose what's best for them.

I agree.  Absolutely.  But...

Every once in awhile something will come up that I feel passionately about.  This is one of those things.  I have two degrees in education--a Bachelor's and Master's--which means that I spent seven years learning about the best ways to educate children.   I taught one year of gifted education and four years in a fifth grade classroom.  I am only sharing this small snippet of my resume to explain why this particular topic gets me so fired up and to justify my opinion with the fact that I know a little something about the field of education.  

Let me preface my opinions by saying that I understand that there are situations and circumstances when homeschooling is necessary.  The multitude of things that families have to take into consideration when making their educational choices are vast and I respect each family's right to choose.  I also understand the parental desire to want to protect your children from negative outside influences. 

I get it.  I really do.  But... 

To me, school is about being a part of something.  Every time that we drive by his school, the Cheese says, "That's my school!"  He loves going to school.  He is only a kindergartner and as much as I might not like it or be ready for it, he is beginning to form a life of his own outside of our home.  He is having positive experiences that don't include his parents and that's a good and healthy thing. 

Last week he was the Star Student in his class.  Thoughout the week he was the line leader, he decided what to fill the class Estimation Jar with that week (he chose golf balls), and presented a special poster all about himself to the class.  Through these kinds of experiences, he is learning about being a leader and having responsibilities different from those that he has at home.    

Yesterday after school, as we walked to our car, the Cheese said goodbye to at least five different kids from his class.  They were kids of different races, different backgrounds, and different experiences.  I am so grateful that the Cheese gets to make new friends that he might not meet otherwise.  Do I worry that one day he might make friends that aren't so great?  Sure.  But I also know that it is my responsibility as a parent to raise a child who will know the difference between right and wrong, who will respect others for their beliefs, but will stand up for what he believes and knows is right.  I also know that I need to be involved in my child's school life--stay on top of what he's doing at school and who his friends are.   

And what about the Outstanding Citizen award that he was given by his teacher a few weeks ago?  He was recognized by someone other than his mother or his father for making good choices and being a good person.  Someone else was validating him and telling him that he is special.  Will there be teachers along my children's educational journey that aren't so validating, that perhaps make him feel worse about himself than better?  I hope not, but isn't that the way life really is?  Let's face it.  In life, there are people that fill us up and encourage us, and then there are people that can make us feel pretty crummy.  But in the end, that's what forces us to grow and change and become the people that we are. 

We don't learn just from books and experiences.  We learn from other people.  We learn from other people's opinions and views.  By being a part of the classroom community, students are preparing to be a part of a bigger community, where they will be expected to cooperatively work together to solve problems and accomplish tasks.  My students were constantly encouraged (okay, forced) to give feedback to each other.  During presentations, each student was given three positives and three improvements for their project by other students.  In their reading groups, they would share their opinions ask thought-provoking questions about each other's books.  They worked together during our classroom meetings to cooperatively solve class problems or vote on a class issue, like how they wanted to spend their extra recess.  They were a part of a community--a public school classroom--that was filled with love and respect. 

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these cooperative, social, democratic experiences will serve my students well later in life.  And I can only hope that my children get to have similar experiences during their school career.