No doubt
this is reminiscent of when you waited to hear from colleges and
universities, graduate schools of business, medical schools and law
schools. We all need to
remember that we are talking about the admission of four and five year
old children to kindergarten programs.
In a city of this size, there exists a multiplicity of programs
for children, public, private and parochial; including a quite superior
one in this school.
Frequently at this time of year, newspapers and magazines do a cover
story that purports to be an insider’s guide to the admissions process.
Most often these articles are full of half-truths and innuendo
which rather than providing relevant and useful information only seek to
sensationalize the process.
In the February 8th issue of New York Magazine there is a well thought
out and insightful article entitled “The Myth of the Gifted Child” by
Jennifer Senior. The article
is worth reading because it presents a number of differing points of
view and concludes that despite the best intentions of all persons
involved, it draws the conclusion that the results derived from testing
your children are often quite unreliable, that an IQ is a moving target,
and that the minds of children as young as three or four are “too raw to
be judged”. It also points
out, in my opinion quite correctly, regardless of the criteria on which
you decide to evaluate and sort any group of people you will end up with
a bell curve. It is
important to note that the first formalized testing of intelligence was
the army alpha just prior to WWI; so before that for thousands of years,
people’s intelligence was based on personal performance and not a
subjective test. So be of good cheer because there are many options for
school placement and all of your children can look forward to bright and
successful futures.
The
Pressured Child,
by Michael Thompson speaks eloquently to the consequences of early
pressuring of children. He
states that by the age of ten most grade school children have determined
and resigned themselves to accepting their place within the group.
A very sad commentary when you consider that the average life
expectancy for these children is eighty five years and many will live to
be one hundred. If you
remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare, you will recall that
the race is not always to the swift but to those who persevere.
Parents and educators may do well to remember the tortoise.
Dr. Thompson also wrote Raising Cain, an excellent book
for those raising boys.
What is
most difficult about the entire process is the inappropriately
deleterious effect it sometimes has on parents when they personalize the
results. Let’s not forget
that this is largely a numbers game and it is an inherently flawed
process that sometimes yields happy results and sometimes does not.
It is in no way a reflection of your merit or your child’s.
Having
watched this process at close range for many years and participating in
it with the selection of the students that will attend our school, I
assure you that in the end there is placement for everyone and everyone
will be attending a school in the fall.
In the end most people are quite satisfied with their placement
because these are all very good schools.
In March,
we too will be sending our contracts and the finance committee of our
Advisory Board has approved a modest increase in tuition, keeping in
mind the general state of the economy and our desire to continue to pay
our talented teachers well and
to have the necessary resources for a superior program.
It is not lost on me that we are able to keep our tuitions within
a reasonable range largely because of the hard work of a dedicated and
talented group of staff and volunteers and generous donors who remain
loyal to our school.
This
month the children will be focusing on March weather, Dinosaurs and
Saint Patrick’s Day in the Fours and JK classes.
They will make dioramas of dinosaurs in a prehistoric landscape
and examine fossils, including a replica of Sue’s (the T Rex at the
Field Museum) tooth.
At the end of two weeks they will be veritable dinosaur experts; able to
name and identify all of them.
Some excellent books on Dinosaurs are : A Dinosaur Named Sue –
The Story of a Colossal Fossil by Pat Relf,
Dinosaur Questions by Bernard Most,
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff and How Do
Dinosaurs Go to School, by Jane Yolan and Mark Teague.
All young children are fascinated by dinosaurs because the love
leaning about scary things that are no longer around to scare them.
The
Preschool will be studying outer space and Saint Patrick’s Day.
The children will learn that March can “come in like a lion or
like a lamb”. We will
talk about Leprechauns, rainbows, shamrocks and pots of gold.
Saint Patrick’s Day books are not so easy to find but a few good
ones are: Leprechauns
Never Lie by Lorna Balian and Jamie O’Rourke and the Pooka
and Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato – both are by Tomie De
Paola and are hilarious.
Jamie O’Rourke is reputed to be the laziest man in all of Ireland.
On
Thursday, March 4th, I will be speaking on the topic of Fatherhood: Why
Fathers Matter at the Racquet Club at 11:30.
This is an Alumni Luncheon Event.
Alumni who have not yet responded may call the office at
312-642-3422 and speak to Stacey to make a reservation
Wednesday,
March 10th will be a busy day at school.
The Women of Saint Chrysostom’s will host a Lenten Breakfast at 9
AM in the Guild Room. The Rev. Terri Stanford, former associate Rector
of Saint Chrysostom’s Church will offer meditations.
At 11:45 we will have our monthly chapel in the sanctuary
followed by lunch in the gymnasium.
That evening parents of currently
enrolled children are invited for Margaritas, Mexican Food and the game
of Hearts. Call the office at 312-642-3422 and speak to Jeanouche to
make a reservation.
School
will be closed at the end of the school day Friday, March 12th and
reopen Monday, March 29th for our annual Spring Break.
I will remain in town and be available to any of our currently
enrolled parents who have concerns about next year’s enrollment.
Mary Ellen