Lets be honest. My son hates going to school. He complains that it’s making him dumb. And he might be right. It’s not necessarily indicative of a bad teacher (Jones’ teacher is incredible consistent and structured which are both very important for Jones in many ways) neither is it wholly indicative of a poorly run school. Rather more and more I am becoming convinced that the system is just not setup well for children who don’t fit the mold.

In Jones’ words he says that…

I just sit all day, I’m not allowed to ask questions, I can’t think for myself, and they just want me to be like everyone else! It’s too hard when you could be playing. You’re just sitting in side where you can’t really do anything. If I were outside I’d love to play with Legos, listen to books on tape more…My teacher makes me angry sometimes.

On his first day of school Jones refused to say the pledge of allegiance, he’s kind of always marched to the beat of a different drum, and school is no different.

Don’t get me wrong, he is learning. His reading skills, for example, have developed in major ways. But the things that we love most about him: his creativity, his different view of life, his scientific mind, his critical thinking skills, etc. are things that do not have much space in school as it currently exists. Jess and I grieve the situation as it is and we eagerly anticipate us figuring out how we can be agents of improvement (not necessarily in the system but with regard to our children).

You’ve probably seen this video, but it struck me again now that my child is in first grade just now true it is.