I must be nuts for coming in on this one, but here goes...
I live in Fulton and send my daughter to a Waldorf school in Maplewood. Yes, my
husband and I drive there every day (carpool as much as possible). When I tell
people this, they look at me like I'm nuts. By the way, I happen to work about 2
miles from my house.
I pay my taxes -- half of which go to support public schools. I have no objection
to paying them, as public schools (and other city services) need all the support
they can get. I could move to Maplewood, but I have no desire to leave the city.
I grew up in a city (San Francisco), and plan to die in one, too -- probably this
one. Growing up, I went to SF public schools.
Before my daughter came along, I too, had strong opinions about public versus
private schools and always assumed that I would send her to a public school. But
political correctness goes out the window when it's your kid's education.
There are some great schools in the city of Minneapolis, and some pretty bad
ones, too. I've heard my share of raves and rants.
Why do I send my daughter to a private Waldorf school? Because they don't test
the kids for scores -- my daughter doesn't get graded. Each kid has the same
teacher for grades 1 through 8. Kids are not allowed to wear logos or wording on
their clothing. Parents are asked to not let their kids watch TV, or at least
keep it to a minimum. At our school, most families receive tuition assistance and
some kids are bused in. Do I feel good about my decision? If you could meet my
daughter you would see why I do.
Do I worry that she'll grow up in an all-white environment? No, my husband is a
jazz musician and my daughter often sees our African-American musician friends.
She and I like to shop at the Chinese food stores on Nicollet and the Mercado on
Bloomington and Lake. Of her two best friends, one is Palestinian, the other is
from one of the wealthiest families in town. As far as I can tell, she's a happy,
well-balanced kid.
We all like to believe that we are making the best choice for our children.
That's what we're designed to do, folks. It's easy to point at others and claim
your superiority. (I do it every time I see one of those cursed SUVs!) But my
decision for my daughter was not "against" Minneapolis public schools, it was
"for" the best choice I could make for her.
Janis Hall
Fulton
Rosalind Nelson wrote:
> I don't have kids, but since that isn't stopping anyone else, I'll weigh in.
>
> It seems as though people are more interested throwing up ideological
> strawmen than in discussion actual Minneapolis parents, students or
> schools. Most of the people I know who do have kids send them to the
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