My quest to find a great school for Ben has lead to me touring the open houses for several of the local private K-8 schools. A couple of disclaimers: I'm the product of public school for K-12th grade. A few friends attended the local Catholic school, but I never met a prep school kid until I went to Northwestern. As an awkward 8th grader, I did beg my mom to send me to Catholic high school. Despite being taught by nuns for K-college (all girls, by the way), my mom brushed me off knowing that I was a moody, very awkward pre-teen. So, my impressions of prep school were based solely on The Dead Poet's Society, which I saw when I was a junior in high school. I had a few friends who attended prep school at NU, but never gave it much thought. My husband, who went to private school for K-8, provided my next glimpse into the world of New England's elite educational institutions. The more I heard from him, the more it seemed too out-of-reach, out-of-touch, too country club, too materialistic, etc. And this wasn't just because of huge tuition bills, although that's part of it. So after touring two New England private schools, each which claim to be very different, I can't really say I can identify true differentiators. They were both beautiful, seemingly warm and nurturing, incredibly impressive academically, thorough with their presentations, communication and openness. But perhaps I say this because they most likely are out of reach for us and I'm not sure either would even accept Ben.
But I do believe home life and family experiences shape a child too. Ben is excited to do mommy homework with me, circuit boards with his dad and go to the ATM (thank you nana and papa conway). He's learning all the time. A friend's husband said the most important year is the one your son is in right now. How very true for school and life. Live and learn to the highest today--right now. So, I will continue my search (because sometimes knowing what you don't want helps you find what you do), but I'm also going to balance that with a live-in-the-moment attitude that lets our family enjoy Ben's great kindergarten experience.
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