School Choice - Help wanted!

Friday was Lily's last day of 1st Grade...well until she starts 1st grade again in August. Different country. Different system. Different language of instruction.

Before we came to Hungary we had wondered whither she would go to 1^st or 2^nd grade after a year here but (I think) we are (fairly) certain that she will go to first grade. Yes, Lily can read confidently, can interact well, is creative; she has no problem in school - so you may be wondering why she is repeating. Well, most first graders in Finland can read when they start school (and those who don’t learn pretty quickly), are interactive and creative. Children, when allowed to be children, can learn these skills without force or institutionalisation. Lily, after a year in school, is on a par with her non-schooled Finnish peers.

The school-starting-age is, in my opinion, the first area (of many areas) where the Finnish education system gets it right.

The decision we have to make however is – Which school should she go to?

Should we continue our relationship with Waldorf-Steiner education and have her go to Oulu Steiner School OR should we go with Norssi, the university practice school (and more than likely our local/neighbourhood school?

Cast your vote:

I am only joking with the poll but actually I (we) would appreciate thoughts on this from people since many of you have experience of being a student, a practicing teacher or a teacher at one or both of these school, while Gábor and I have fairly limited experience of them. We really should have made this decision a few months ago but have been having such difficulty making a choice. In the very same moment I can think that both are the best choice – The problem is, both are good choices it becomes difficult to say which is the best.

What makes it worse is that almost everything I can think of can be both a plus and a minus and Gábor and I really over analyse things. For example:

Without even considering Pedagogical Philosophies, let’s take something as simple as location. The Steiner school is much further from where we will be living (well about 4km) compared to Norssi, which is about 500m plus it is straight across the road from the Education department  of the university where I will spend my days.

Blue = schools, Red = home, Green = uni

Going to Norssi would mean safe and easy trips to and from school, and she would be living close by to her school friends. Steiner would be much longer journeys and are we as parents brave enough to let her go it alone? It would also mean here friends would  be scattered around the city, creating 2 communities; the school community and the home/neighbourhood community. But then Norssi would have 2 communities too. The (all powerful) teacher is normally from outside the local community and  I don’t think parents become part of the school community in Norssi to the same extent as in Steiner. Perhaps even the trip to school is a good thing; it gives Lily the chance to be responsible which would be denied from her if she were to remain in the security of Syynimaa. It wouldn’t exactly be a dangerous trip, it is cycle path the whole way with only one road (with traffic lights) to cross plus a little bit of exercise is an excellent way to prepare your mind and body for learning. But ...what about those mornings in February when it is -30 degrees, perhaps it is a bit cruel for her to have to cycle in that, maybe closer is better...

You see this is how back and forward we go with “location” so imagine what we are like when it comes to pedagogy.

Any comment/suggestions/recommendations are welcome (just try not to confuse me even more).

I used to be a cyclist, now I just ride a bike.

As Spring begins to challenge Winter here in Szeged I find myself longing for a bike. Technically I do have a bike but it isn’t good for much more than the school run popping to the shops; it’s not a real bike like the one I used to have.

Once upon a time I was a cyclist. It was part of my identity. Cycling was more than just my way of getting about. It was who I was. But we gave our bikes away when we moved to Finland and we have never been able to afford to replace them.

Cycling was my main form of exercise, recreation and being outside. Oh, I miss being outside. We used to have a cupboard in our kitchen stocked with eco-fuel for the camping stove and ingredients for tasty camping dishes so that we were ready for a weekend cycle trip any weekend the sun was out. We would just load up our bikes and go, we’d be outside until we got home on Sunday evening. We haven’t figured out how to go camping without our bikes yet and it has been nearly 4 years since we gave them up. We don’t have a car; we don’t do driving (yet) which leaves public transport and foot as the transportation options but these options don’t get you to the quiet little campsites off the beaten track in the utterly stunning locations that you can reach with a bike.

Without bikes our weekends tend to become about tidying up, shopping, laundry...We do have some fun, we go to the park, for a walk or do baking or make something extra special for dinner but it doesn’t give me the same soaring lift I get from riding my bike through the countryside and sleeping under the stars.

I was just commenting to Gabor just last night that I like our way of living where we keep our debt much lower than the average young family buy simply not buying stuff (no house, no car, no furniture, no TV) but maybe bikes are something that would be worth accumulating some debt over. That little bit of debt could reclaim my identity, give me back my freedom, my weekends, my adventures.

Then again maybe it is the start of a slippery slope.