I have been considering choices this past week. And a few little bits of gold advice that I’ve been associated with in the past couple of years.
1. If you really want to do something, you will find a way to do it.
If you really don’t want to do something, you will find a way out of it.
Sometimes those of us who are honest and upfront, may not need the latter part of this piece of advice. Those people tend to know how to say ‘no’ in the first place before getting into situations that necessitate the need to get out of things in the second place (however, I am not always one of those people).
2. You can only make the best decision with the information you have at the time.
And, thus, this allows for when time passes and new information becomes available, we are entitled to make new decisions.
3. The Bean “is going to need a small school, or at least a school that accommodates Preps and Ones in an area on their own, within the larger school area”.
This is some advice from The Bean’s paediatrician.
4. Don’t tell me what I can’t do.
This is actually a quote from LOST but it’s relevant to my ‘stubborness issues’ which implies I’m actually a Viking (as quoted in How to Train Your Dragon).
These decisions have been made through; me talking about them to everyone who will listen; watching a family friend suffer the loss of her teenage son who died peacefully in the middle of the night from an illness that couldn’t be seen; observing my wonderful teenage students; reminiscing about my own education, and the accumulative educations of those around me; through asking a lot of questions and read many websites.
So here are the choices I’m very proud to have made.
- The Bean will go to the local government primary school. He will be in a school of approximately 200 students and whose office ladies were very kind to me when I came in to ask them seemingly unrelated, nervous mother, child going to prep next year type questions;
- The Bean will continue to do Rock Band every Saturday until he wants to change to drum lessons and then he will do those, hopefully on a Saturday, too;
- The Bean will go to a private, non-denominational secondary school whose Three Rules are thus – Respect for Self, Respect for Others, Respect for the Environment
(It’s basically hippy mum heaven with a strong focus on teaching independence and self motivation and guidance, respect, outdoor education with a strong focus on the Arts [they even have a trapeze!])
- The Bean and I will continue to go overseas ever year, albeit, based on the previously listed decision, a lot through South East Asia as that’s all we’ll be able to afford
- I’m going to meet with a financial advisor this week and figure out the best type of account to save for educational purposes, starting next pay (in a week and a half’s time!)
- I’ve narrowed down the films I’m going to teach to my year 12s next year– either of the following combinations:
o Rachel’s Getting Married and Warrior
o Warrior and Black Swan
o The Artist and Crazy Heart
(Narrowing down to three options, in this instance, counts as having made a choice – Damnit!)
- AND, I’m going to ask my mum to show me how she folds fitted sheets so bloody well!
The reasons I’ve come to these decisions are varied, I’m a state school educator and I went to a state school. I was fine in a state school and believe the Bean will be fine in a state school primary. But I’ve seen kids get lost in state school secondary schools and I don’t want my Bean to get lost. It’s not that I think that state schools are under resourced (I think the school I work at has FAB resources) and it’s not that I have any misconception of better teachers being at private schools. I believe, in fact, that the strong likelihood of having awesome teachers at state schools exists because some of us really do love our job and don’t care about the money. But I do believe that in a classroom of 25 students, with up to 7 different teachers per year, over the course of 6 years, there’s lots of opportunities for a Bean, with some special needs but not necessarily needy enough for funding for an aide, to get lost. He could do with the extra support of smaller class sizes that private schools can afford.
That and a rad trapeze to play on!
Things The Bean has said:
1. To Dragon
TB: Are you the Dragon of the North Sea?
2. Our fridge is in the laundry.
TB: I’m hungry!
Me: You JUST had a banana!
TB: But I’m still hungry! …. Hey, Mama, come here, I’ll show you something.
Me: What is it?
TB: It’s in the laundry.
Me: What is it?
TB: It’s some teddy bear biscuits. I keep forgetting to show you them.
3. Playing Lego 1.
TB: Mama, pretend there’s a spaceship on your head.
Me: I don’t have to pretend, there is a spaceship on my head.
4.
Me: You have the best looking tummy,
TB: You have the weirdest looking tummy.
Me *very sad face*: Oh.. Um, why?
TB: Cause it has those big things on it.
Me: That’s not my tummy, that’s my boobs.
TB: Big boobs are weird.
Me: Yeah but girls have big boobs.
TB: Yeah sometimes… But dinosaur girls don’t have boobs.
5. Playing Lego 2
TB: Here’s my spaceship called Lisa.
Me: Your spaceship is called Lisa?
TB: Nah, I was just kidding… Hahahahaha… It’s not called Lisa, it’s called Tina. Tina’s the name of a boy spaceship!
6.
Me: You’re going to Ninna and Papa’s house tomorrow.
TB: Yay, Ninna and Papa’s house! I can play with Toothless. Ninna got Toothless at the Dragons the other day. I got a helmet cause I’m a Viking. I LOVE Vikings cause they sail the seas.
7. Dragon had been staring for about 15 minutes.
TB: I love David Attenborough.
Me: I think Dragon loves David Attenborough, too.
TB: Yeah…. Antarftica is SO cold.
8.
TB: I know, let’s talk about space.
Me: Ok.
TB: Is there aliens?
Me: Probably.
TB: Is there monsters?
Me: I dunno. Maybe.
TB: Is there alien monsters?!
