Thursday, March 23, 2006
Jinxed No More
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What a difference a few hours can make!! Blogger likes me now, as you can see and my blood is not even close to simmering! But I'll still rant for the fun of it.
I did a post on Tuesday singing the praises of my parents and rightly so. However, I had a conversation with them last night regarding my plans for CJ's venture into kindergarten and we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. CJ will be attending a dual language Montessori school. Ed and I went to an informational Q&A session at the school last night so we could decide whether we want CJ in the "Enrichment" program or the "Immersion" program. The Enrichment program would be a typical Montessori kindergarten program with 45 minutes of Spanish instruction per day. The Immersion program would mean that the children receive their core instruction in Spanish anywhere from 50-70% of the day with the remaining instruction being done in English. I explained to my parents that we intend to enroll CJ in the Immersion program. Of course, the immersion program would be much more challenging for the kindergarten year but that challenge would decrease the following years as his brain would "rework" itself to learn the dual languages. Also, with the immersion program, the children will be functionally bilingual by the time they are in 5th grade. I was attempting to explain this to my parents when it became obvious that they thought this was quite "off the wall". My Dad even commented that this might as well be the "United States of Mexico". With my Dad it became very much a political issue. With my Mom, she expressed concern that CJ would not be allowed to "express himself" in a way that he is comfortable and that she didn't want him to feel "different" from other children. It didn't seem to matter to them that he would be in a classroom with 20 other children, 18 of whom only speak English (like CJ) and only 2 that speak Spanish. CJ would be in the majority AND he can speak to his teacher and classmates in English (how else would he be able to communicate????). I also stressed how I took four years of Spanish in high school (even belonged in the National Spanish Honor Society, yippee!!) and 3 semesters in college and to this day, I cannot speak Spanish or comprehend it in conversation. With CJ learning it at such an early age, he will be much more fluent than I ever was and it will only open the door to other languages if he were ever interested. Needless to say, I was hurt because my parents were questioning my judgment on a matter that means a lot to me. They made me question my own instincts and goals for my children.
My Mom called earlier today to apologize for their response to my decision last night. She thought about what I had told them and she agreed it would be a good thing to try. She stated that her protests were coming from her own insecurities (which began in her childhood) and not from any doubts she has regarding my parenting skills. She realizes that I know CJ better than any one else and if I think this will work for him then I have her complete support. She also stated that I should ignore Dad's comments because they are politically based and not grounded in any type of parental or academic reasoning. I told my Mom that parenting is hard enough without feeling like my family doubts my abilities or decision-making skills. And with the insecurities that I have as a Mom it would be extremely important to have her and Dad support me, Ed and CJ in this endeavor. She agreed. Enough about that!!
I met with my potential employers yesterday. I explained my marketing vision for their company and was very upfront about the fact that I would be working from home until CJ enters kindergarten in the fall. I also stated my salary requirement was non-negotiable. I want to work by the hour from home for the next 3 months and we could revisit the arrangements at that time. They will be getting back to me by early next week. We'll see what happens!
I found out last night that Ed can't read my blog. He states that every time he tries he ends up "teary-eyed" and that makes him uncomfortable. He really can't tell me what on this blog makes him so tender-hearted except that in some of my posts he thinks I flatter him too much. I promised I would bitch about him as soon as he gave me a good reason. He stated he definitely wouldn't be reading it then!!
2 Comments:
You are not the only one with Blogger issues! It's highly frustrating.
Sorry about the spat with your folks. I have those with my grands on occasion. I try to let them roll off, but it isn't easy.
I think the spanish immersion program sounds fantastic. Our parents often have trouble understanding where some of our decisions come from also...I think "thinking outside of the box" and examining all the options is a very wise move.
And besides, you know what's best for your child.
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