When I graduated from elementary school, there was no question about what school I was going to.  My parents sent us to the local public middle school (which we used to call junior high) and that was that.  Then they sent us to the local high school.  Nobody switched schools unless they moved away. That was how most of my friends’ parents did it too!

 Some parents still do that.  They don’t think about it; they just do it.  Why overthink it?  School is school.  Others though, look at what the school has to offer and see if it’s a good fit for their child.  This was not part of my experience growing up, but for my husband, who switched from public to private school in 5th grade, this was how it worked.

So here we are — going through the process of looking at schools – both public and private.  It is a fascinating journey.  There are so many differences among all the schools.  School A focuses on old-fashioned gender roles (girls are cheerleaders and ballerinas and boys play football).  School B focuses on a rigorous academic plan, but makes room for creativity and philanthropy.  School C says it does that, but when you ask about philanthropy, you find that it isn’t REALLY part of who they are as a community – it just looks good on a college application.

Oh, did I mention the fact that one of the schools mentioned that they have drugs, sex and pregnant teens on their campus, but the bullying is within each grade, so we won’t see high school kids bullying the middle school kids (like that makes me feel any better). Another group of kids shared that their favorite elective classes included studying vampires and werewolves and watching GLEE?

How do parents choose?

Some of those choices may feel easy, but there is so much pressure.  Are you going to pick the right school?  Are you give your kid test prep classes, and if you do, does that mean you will need to give him or her a tutor to stay on top once they get into the school?

As we listened to some young women speak about their schools (whether it was students or teachers), one of the things that struck me was the lilt of their voice.  They ended every sentence like a question.  I see this a lot on the kid shows my kids watch, but it was really disturbing to see adult women doing this too.  It made me feel like they questioned what they were talking about and on a subliminal level that they were not as confident in what they were saying.  Do I want that sort of person teaching my daughter?

UGH!  I feel like parenting wasn’t this hard when my parents did it.  Or maybe they just didn’t overthink it.

What do you think? Share with me in the comments. I know I’m not the only one dealing with this!

To your success,

Sarah

Sarah is a native Los Angeleno with the heart of a Chicagoan.   She loves A Cappella music, cooking, and swing dancing. When she’s not helping raise money for schools, sports teams and clubs, she is hanging out with and loving life with her husband and girls.  For more information about what she does professionally, check out www.amomsguidetoschoolfundraising.com