hi, school.

back in 2003, after a brief jaunt in private school, the lad wearing the backpack came home to school for 10 years

the virtual trash can is full from many failed attempts to write this blogpost. the first go, as well as the fifth, were wrought with self righteous anecdotes and stories that contained more detail than my own mother would care to know. so in keeping with brevity and an overall sense of common good, i will try to write.

they, the 14 year old and the 12 year old, chose to walk through a different educational door this year: public school. this is after years of schooling at home. 

when they came to us a few months back, they had in their minds an arsenal of compelling reasons for trying out this new endeavor. 

they were curious to see what it was like. they wanted to experience more independence. they wanted to feel the weight of responsibility. they wanted to feel challenged in a way that can only come when they are bumping up against people who are not like them. these were their words. and i listened, along with the Mister. then i spoke. 

"there are so many things to be curious about. some that are not edifying and some that are just fine. i think being curious about public school is just fine."  

i could try to scare you with information about how my naive firstborn is attending a rather unlikely and overlooked neighborhood high school. and how the 12 year old is attending a school that serves 90 percent free lunch and 100 percent boys who speak with such urban vernacular, that i threatened, "you keep talking that way, and i'll show up to lunch with linen napkins and china plates." but the real truth is, it has been really, really uneventful and downright delightful. 

the 9th grader's confusion and enchantment over "the principal speaking to the entire school at once and not being in the same room" has to be my favorite story to date. i think the title of my homeschool to public school book needs to be titled a foreign exchange student in my own country.

2013, the lad wearing the blue bag, along with brother, decide to try public school.

it's only been a few days, so i don't pretend to be the expert on transitions. stay tuned. there will be many stories and lessons learned. schools in session: public and otherwise.

the ever curious,

xo gf