The more I write about my experiences as a public school teacher, the more a strange thing starts happening. People ask my advice on where they should put their kids when it comes time for kindergarten. Deciding about the formal education of your kid (or future kid) is a big decision that is scary to navigate. The way we talk about these decisions isn’t helping anything. There is in fact no single answer to “How would Jesus learn?”
Enter my new series “Jesus at the Blackboard.” The truth is there is not one best way for all people to be educated. This isn’t about people persuading other people to make the same decision they did. This is about sharing our stories about what worked for us and being honest about the reservations we have, the circumstances that lead us to these decisions, and the assumptions that proved false about the choices we made.
So what exactly am I looking for?
-Stories about your own educational experiences and how they shaped you
-An explanation of what you chose for schooling for your family. Why does it work? what is hard about it?
-A story about how you got to the decision you made. Many of us have winding roads in and out of various educational experiences. Maybe you home school two out of three kids. Maybe one of your kids goes to private school. Maybe you swore you would never be a crazy home schooler, and now you love it. Maybe you think dropping out and getting your GED was the best decision you have ever made. I want to hear all of those stories!
If you are interested in participating, email me at accidentaldevotional (at) gmail (dot) com with a desired Monday, and I will let you know if it is available.
I am excited about this conversation, and with an almost three-year-old at home, cannot wait to hear what you all have to say!
School Choice: Why I hate it, why I need it by Abby Norman (Me)
Choosing schools by Melissa Thomas
Understanding the Educational Smorgasbord by Laura Jacobs
A Journey through Homeschooling by Elissa Peterson
Education Decisions 1-2-3 by Jenn Lebow
You can only do your best by Sarah McCarten
Abby Norman 
I’m really looking forward to this series!
Leigh thank you so much for linking to this on Twitter! I can’t believe I’m just coming upon this wonderful blog. I’m thinking about submitting a story, but even if I don’t I’ll definitely be reading!
So excited to have you!
Hiya,
Maybe I’ll submit – do you think admitting that accepting the default – public school – and then figuring out how to work with it would be worth reading?
Yeah, I went to public school, then devoted my adult life to it. Just saying….
Well, send me what you got! Didn’t your kids go to boarding school, or did I make that up?
Yes, we need the “biography summer” “women’s history badge” story!
Yes, I went to public school, my spouse went to Quaker schools all the way through, some better than others. The kids mostly private, mostly Quaker, but not totally either one. A couple periods of home schooling, but not by me. I would have killed both of them within a month! Luckily their dad was the one doing it.
My eldest went to a Quaker boarding school, and it was the perfect school for him in so many ways, including that they gave us a huge amount of financial aid so that we could afford to send him there, yet still keep eating meals back home. But also because Quaker values were part of most of what they did, though the students were not required to be Quaker or even Christian. You have not lived until you’ve seen 60+ teenagers sit in silence for 15 minutes (like Friends’ Meeting for Worship, but briefer) TWICE daily and do it well, speak from the silence if they felt moved to do so, and NOT gripe about it.
My youngest went to a private alternative school here in Atlanta–couldn’t talk him into the boarding school because he was devoting his life to not being his brother. His school experience was not nearly so positive.
Pingback: School Choice: Why I hate it, why I need it | Accidental Devotional
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Pingback: Understanding the Educational Smorgasbord: Guest Post by Laura Jacobs | Accidental Devotional
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Pingback: Choose Wisely: A guest post by Lisa Bartelt | Accidental Devotional
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