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Mar. 28th, 2004 03:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannHm. having read through some of my recent entries, I see the need for a few clarifications now.
First on schooling for children: I did not mean to imply that I think parents who choose not to send their children to public schools are *wrong* for doing so. I can see many reasons why it would be better for some kids to not go to public school. In fact, my parents almost sent me to The Bishops School for secondary school, primarily because of social problems I was having but also to give me more of a challenge educationally. But our family fell in that middle income bracket, where there was not enough money for private school tuition, but too much for need-based scholarships, and I didn't have any particular talent (e.g. athletics) that could be exploited for other scholarships. Home schooling would not have been an option, either legally or emotionally (my mom and I *needed* to be apart when I was a teen, at least for a few hours each day...)
It's just what I see happening, ultimately, is that anyone who has the resources to take their kids out of the public schools (especially in urban areas) will do so. What happens to the rest of the kids? Probably nothing very good, because if the people who "matter" don't have kids in public school, there won't be much motivation to keep the quality up.
Interesting sidenote: I mentioned that my brother and his fellow teachers had developed a "house system" for their students, and were seeing very good results before it was dismantled by their new principal. Now I come to find out that San Diego is implementing *exactly this system* of schools within schools in the city's larger high schools, to provide more structure and consistency to students. (High schools in San Diego typically have 1200-3500 students, which makes keeping track of individual students very difficult. The new program will group students in units of 500-700, with a set of teachers, a counselor, and a vice-principal for each group.) This is an example of the disconnect between the administrators at the Ed Center and the people who actually work with kids in San Diego City Schools. The Ed Center folks develop these grand schemes and impose them on schools, without really paying attention to what innovations the teachers come up with on their own. If something works, the Ed Center thus gets all the credit, and if it fails, they can always blame the teachers!
Second on social issues, Somerville as the center of the social universe, etc: what was *really* going on is that I read about![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
roozle and gosling, who are two of my very favorite people, having a long conversation at a party which I was not invited to. I don't know if they would have welcomed me into their conversation, but it raised all sorts of fears about being left out in general. If the only parties I get invited to are the mob-scene open invite parties, no one will see me "in my element" so to speak. of course, between lyonesse and coraline, I had several invites to smaller events in the past few days, but was unable to go to any of them, for various reasons.
I also missed another small party last night, on account of having a quilting workshop to attend. "Midnight MAdness" workshops are periodically held at a quilt shop in Chelmsford. The women who lead them are a lot of fun, and one sees a LOT of progress in the 6 hour workshop time. Plus there are desserts and coffee throughout the evening, and I enjoy being around "ordinary" people. I rarely socialize much, but I like listening to women talk about their lives, their kids, projects, husbands, etc. It is a nice background for quilting. So I now have 16 blocks' progress towards a fairy-themed log cabin quilt for a dear friend...
Stuff like this makes me realize how close I could be to "ordinary" or "mundane" myself. I can "pass" in that world very easily. Some of my hard feelings about the Somerville crowd arise from this very ordinariness. Also, sometimes the "alternativeness" of certain Somerville crowd folks (not the readers of my LJ) seems just a bit too polished, a bit too studied, a bit too much of an announcement that "I AM NOT LIKE THOSE POOR SHMOES IN THE SUBURBS! I AM UNIQUE AND ALTERNATIVE!!!" Only of course when *everyone* is trying to make that announcement, it's just another form of crowd conformity -- and underneath all the trimmings, many of these folks do in fact aspire to normal suburban lifestyles. When I am in a good mood, it just amuses me to no end.
First on schooling for children: I did not mean to imply that I think parents who choose not to send their children to public schools are *wrong* for doing so. I can see many reasons why it would be better for some kids to not go to public school. In fact, my parents almost sent me to The Bishops School for secondary school, primarily because of social problems I was having but also to give me more of a challenge educationally. But our family fell in that middle income bracket, where there was not enough money for private school tuition, but too much for need-based scholarships, and I didn't have any particular talent (e.g. athletics) that could be exploited for other scholarships. Home schooling would not have been an option, either legally or emotionally (my mom and I *needed* to be apart when I was a teen, at least for a few hours each day...)
It's just what I see happening, ultimately, is that anyone who has the resources to take their kids out of the public schools (especially in urban areas) will do so. What happens to the rest of the kids? Probably nothing very good, because if the people who "matter" don't have kids in public school, there won't be much motivation to keep the quality up.
Interesting sidenote: I mentioned that my brother and his fellow teachers had developed a "house system" for their students, and were seeing very good results before it was dismantled by their new principal. Now I come to find out that San Diego is implementing *exactly this system* of schools within schools in the city's larger high schools, to provide more structure and consistency to students. (High schools in San Diego typically have 1200-3500 students, which makes keeping track of individual students very difficult. The new program will group students in units of 500-700, with a set of teachers, a counselor, and a vice-principal for each group.) This is an example of the disconnect between the administrators at the Ed Center and the people who actually work with kids in San Diego City Schools. The Ed Center folks develop these grand schemes and impose them on schools, without really paying attention to what innovations the teachers come up with on their own. If something works, the Ed Center thus gets all the credit, and if it fails, they can always blame the teachers!
Second on social issues, Somerville as the center of the social universe, etc: what was *really* going on is that I read about
roozle and gosling, who are two of my very favorite people, having a long conversation at a party which I was not invited to. I don't know if they would have welcomed me into their conversation, but it raised all sorts of fears about being left out in general. If the only parties I get invited to are the mob-scene open invite parties, no one will see me "in my element" so to speak. of course, between lyonesse and coraline, I had several invites to smaller events in the past few days, but was unable to go to any of them, for various reasons. I also missed another small party last night, on account of having a quilting workshop to attend. "Midnight MAdness" workshops are periodically held at a quilt shop in Chelmsford. The women who lead them are a lot of fun, and one sees a LOT of progress in the 6 hour workshop time. Plus there are desserts and coffee throughout the evening, and I enjoy being around "ordinary" people. I rarely socialize much, but I like listening to women talk about their lives, their kids, projects, husbands, etc. It is a nice background for quilting. So I now have 16 blocks' progress towards a fairy-themed log cabin quilt for a dear friend...
Stuff like this makes me realize how close I could be to "ordinary" or "mundane" myself. I can "pass" in that world very easily. Some of my hard feelings about the Somerville crowd arise from this very ordinariness. Also, sometimes the "alternativeness" of certain Somerville crowd folks (not the readers of my LJ) seems just a bit too polished, a bit too studied, a bit too much of an announcement that "I AM NOT LIKE THOSE POOR SHMOES IN THE SUBURBS! I AM UNIQUE AND ALTERNATIVE!!!" Only of course when *everyone* is trying to make that announcement, it's just another form of crowd conformity -- and underneath all the trimmings, many of these folks do in fact aspire to normal suburban lifestyles. When I am in a good mood, it just amuses me to no end.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-28 01:36 pm (UTC)I have found that
"ordinary" or "mainstream" rarely is,
and "unique" and "alternative" is almost never!
I am sure you have realized it when you have really met someone who is unique. They are rarely pointing it out.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-28 05:28 pm (UTC)BTW I love your goats. Are you Dave's sister? And have we ever met in person?
no subject
Date: 2004-03-28 07:54 pm (UTC)Yes I am Dav(id!)s sister..
I hope you don't mind me reading...
I occasionally venture into his friends', as he got me started here...
no subject
Date: 2004-03-29 08:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-29 09:19 pm (UTC)Even worse, much of the sorting is based on parental concern. The "rest of the kids" are usually ones whose parents see the schools' primary function as day-care. It's a hard base for a teacher to work from.
Also, sometimes the "alternativeness" of certain Somerville crowd folks (not the readers of my LJ) seems just a bit too polished, a bit too studied, a bit too much of an announcement that "I AM NOT LIKE THOSE POOR SHMOES IN THE SUBURBS! I AM UNIQUE AND ALTERNATIVE!!!"
What, individualism as a pose? Never! I've always avoided buying anything at Starbucks, Wal-Mart, or any chain store! I've never voted Republican, and I never allow any of my friends to, either!
no subject
Date: 2004-03-29 10:43 pm (UTC)I know the feeling. I'm semi-resigned to it at this point, in that I can't *make* somebody invite me and it would defeat the purpose to even try to do so. Might be part of the reason why I try to host stuff here.