Debora

In My Own Words

I grew up in California's educational prime. During this time Spanish and French were routinely taught in fourth through sixth grade and Art History was a part of every sixth graders education. We had gifted education and for those students falling behind, there were reading and math tutors. Song Flute (now the recorder) was taught to every third grader as was reading music. In fifth grade there was a 3 day camping trip to learn about nature in it's environment. This provided us with an opportunity, many of us for the first time, to spend nights away from our family. On the downside, in high school girls particularly were tracked for "Mommies," secretaries, nurses and teachers. My most famous memory of high school was in typing class - because I had a keen memory, I could memorize a page and then look at my hands and type it with nearly zero errors. Of course, you were not supposed to look at your hands when typing. The teacher said, "You're never going to make a good secretary." I said, "That's good, because I don't want to be a secretary, I want to have one." I spent the day in the Vice Principal's office for insubordination. What I want to see in school is an appropriate education for all students. My second grade daughter called a family meeting after two weeks of second grade and stated that while she loved her teacher, classmates and school, she had not learned anything in the first two months of the school year. A meeting with the teacher confirmed by daughter's statement. I want to see that if a child is willing to spend 6 - 7 hours a day of her time, that she is rewarded by learning something new every day. I want science, math, social studies, music, reading, writing and art part of the weekly curriculum.

Parents I'd Like to Meet

I want to meet parents of highly motivated kids and find out how their families cope with the ever-increasing thirst for knowledge, understanding and competence. I want to understand how other families find time to read, have time to themselves and balance child-centered activities. I really like "thinking" people - those who understand that life is complicated and often there is no simple answer - that most of us are doing the best we can and working to make our lives and those of our family richer and more balanced.