Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Thoughts on a cold February night.

Another entry, because Jon reminded me that I haven't updated since Sunday, and because I feel like writing. Also, today is Tuesday, which is Challenge Day over at i♥faces. This week's challenge is Kisses. I have 3 pictures that involve kisses - 2 of them are me and Jon, and the other one is me with 2 close friends. I really really REALLY wanted to use the one of me and my friends, but I didn't take it. And I couldn't decide what to do with the ones of me and Jon. So, no entry from me this week.

I should probably clarify my thoughts from my last entry. I had mentioned that I want to send my unborn babies to a coop preschool. I didn't even explain WHY or WHAT a coop preschool is. It's based on the theory that children learn from their community, including adults and children. Parents who send their children must commit to volunteering in the school once a week, and attend regular meetings with other parents to discuss anything going on in the school. Not only does this provide the parents with extra support (parenting advice, recipe sharing, play dates, etc), but it also lets parents have more direct involvement in their children's development and learning process. This is so important to a child's development in all areas, on all levels. Many children enter school lacking critical skills (both academic and psychological) because their parents don't have time or just don't care enough to spend time with them. It does a great disservice to a child to plop him/her in front of a television (for extended periods of time) or to avoid taking part of any part of the learning process (aka "let the teachers do it").

In order to avoid getting into a rant about people who don't deserve to have children, I should change the subject now. Graduation is 14 weeks away, and I cannot be more excited to be done with school. I've spent the past 19 years of my life being educated and I'm ready to educate other people, whether it's educating teachers as a literacy coach, educating students as a teacher, or educating my unborn babies as a mother. (I'm hoping more for the latter.)

My issue now is EXACTLY what to do after graduation. At this point, my options are pretty fuzzy - no specific offers, but lots of potential for several specific options. One of my major upcoming decisions is whether I stay in New York or move out of state. The weather up here is aggravating me - I spend most of winter defrosting myself, watching for the sun, and listening for robins. Summers seem to get shorter and shorter every year because I truly love warm weather and sunshine. But if I move, I'm leaving behind my family and friends - the most important things in my life. I couldn't possibly go months, or even weeks, without seeing them; as it is right now, I can hardly go a few days without going home. I want to get married here; I want my unborn babies to see my family as often as possible. But there are jobs out west. So I'm torn.

I should probably get ready for bed now. The forecast for tomorrow says snow, which is the complete opposite of what I want. But I need to be ready for it, so I need to get my books together, and clothes in case I end up going home. Spring, please come back! I miss you!

5 comments:

Melis said...

So, I just have a question... if you don't mind... what is all this talk of unborn babies and marriage? Am I missing something? And when you speak of marriage/babies and job prospects post-graduation, are we talking babies-->work-->day-care or work--->babies--->SAHM? Not that whichever you chose matters, but what I'm wondering is whether you're leaning towards working at, say, a day-care/preschool where you can also have your child there WITH you, if in a different "room" like several of the teachers at Jack's school...? I'd LOVE to do something like that. OMG. And I'd also like to point out that there is a fabulous, beautiful, pristine 4 bedroom house in Georgia, just 3 hours north of Disney, that you are welcome to purchase ;-)

Unknown said...

Well, Melissa, I hit my quarter-life crisis last year. It showed me what my main goal is in life - having a family. However, the process to achieving this goal (work then babies, babies then work, or SAHM) hasn't been shown to me yet. I'm sure it will happen when it's the right time for me.

Working full-time in a daycare/preschool is not for me. I tried it, and it's not that I didn't like it, but it's just not what I see myself doing long-term. The coop alternative is a much better option for me.

As for the "fabulous, beautiful, pristine 4 bedroom house," I can't afford it. I can't even afford a studio apt at this point. :/

Melis said...

Hahahaha you sure you can't afford it? It's like, dirt cheap right now :-p

Quarter life crisis, eh? That's when this epiphany about what direction your life is supposed to go happens? Crappy. I think I missed mine! :-p I'm still fumbling about trying to figure out where we're going! Please don't tell me I have to wait until I'm 50 for the next moment of clarity!

I like the coop idea - I wonder if they'll have those in Tennessee? Likely not, but I'll look into it. Is it like a Montessori school and very pricey or are costs lower for having so many parent volunteers/so much involvement? Hm...

As you probably know, Jack's been going to a preschool for 3 hours a day since September... it's been great for him to get him to socialize more but I feel very isolated from the other parents because 99% of the school is there for full-time day-care so the other kids get dropped off around 6 am and picked up around 5... Jack goes from 9am to noon. It's definitely been great for him, but brought me quite a few more challenges in terms of dealing with discipline and turning over a small portion of the child-rearing process to other people. It's not the perfect fit for us, but it was a good opportunity. I can see how coop would be much more in line with my parenting style which tends to be more attachment/child-centered than the school he's at currently - where most of the parents are that "let the teachers do it" kind.... Anyway, sorry to clutter up your post with my rant :-)

Unknown said...

Dirt cheap, meaning pennies? ;)

Quarter-life is like mid-life, except earlier and less regret. Since I haven't really chosen a path in life, I can't wonder what it would be like if I had chosen a different path. So, it's more about freaking out and wondering which path I should take.

I think Montessori schools are more academically-directed and lesson-oriented. I learned a bit about Montessori schools in undergrad, but it wasn't enough for me to try to compare the 2 in detail. There's a good article describing the coop here: http://www.parentspress.com/educooppreschools.html.

That's exactly what I love about the coop - parents get to socialize alongside their children. And there's less of a focus on DAYCARE vs LEARNING. The parents don't put their kids there to be rid of them; they put them there to provide them with the best possible educational experience.

Melis said...

Certainly something I'll have to look into when we get to Tennessee - thanks! I definitely love education and have remarkably bright kids so it's a joy to see them learn, but I want to make sure they're still KIDS as long as possible and I want to make sure I get to be an adult now and then too, so co-op sounds mighty cool... as long as it's not just for the upper-crust top tax bracket folks (because, uh, we're not there)! Thanks - will be looking into it more for sure!

And the house is on its way to costing pennies, Amy! When we originally had it for sale, we listed it for $160,000... well, the two houses on either side of it are now in foreclosure - one is listed at $111,000 and the other at $90,000. That, um, drives our property value through the floor. Give it another year and you can probably get it for about $25. (Note the lack of zeros.) Sigh.