blacklion

In My Own Words

I'm a father of four in a blended family (politico-speak for families with step-parents). We have a wide range of ages from the oldest finishing his first year in college to the youngest just starting kindergarden in fall of '08. Yeah, I'll be in the system for a couple of years. LOL. All the children are in private schools. I don't mind public schools, but my wife was able to find a program that assist families of color and diversity with private school placement in NYC (Early Steps program). They didn't place us with any schools, but they showed us doors that could be opened if we did the work. Our two youngest now attend a very nice UES school (both on a sizeable scholarship from the school). Our next oldest daughter, goes to an all girl Catholic school on the UES as well. As mentioned above, the oldest is currently attending an upstate SUNY college. Our family life is a bit hectic. Tons of kids programs that they each are involved in during the week. I'm hoping to expose the children to more of a the calm that I had as a child growing up, teaching science and math using real world scenarios as my parents taught me. My pet peeves right now are parents who let their children decide the parent's schedule and the myriad of half-consumed cups of juice, milk and water my kids tend to leave around the house.

Parents I'd Like to Meet

We have one child suffering from a developmental delay (he is very smart, always tests well and is not physically limited, just somewhat behind in a specific area). The delay is sufficient enough though to fall in the category that would require he have a medical professional on hand at all times if an emergency would arise. Our private school is unable to handle this type of care. We would love to meet other parent who may have children who are also bright, but slightly developmentally delayed in some way, to see how they have handled and dealt with an education system that just labels kids as 'challenged', without really looking to see what could be done.