Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Change - we all know how unsettling a major life change can be for most people. If you have had to relocate, start a new job, go through a divorce or downsize your living space based on the economy, then you probably know a lot about stress and anxiety, too.

Even changes that are supposed to be good for you, like getting a promotion, getting married or having a baby can still bring an uneasy feeling along with them while we take the time we need to adjust and find a way to fit whatever is new into our comfortable, old routine. 

But, enough about us. We’re adults. Hopefully, we have found a way to cope with life’s changes by now and we have some experience under our belts to let us know that we will be able to get through everything okay. And, at the very least, we have our families, friends or other loved ones to lend us some support.

Which way is up?

I sort of laughed to myself at the irony of this little flyer because it summed up how I have felt. There are so many “choices,” but which one is the “right“ one? Parents do not typically want to make a mistake when it comes to something as important as education. So, this whole idea of having a choice is not exactly the liberating experience I think the educators were hoping it would be. 

Before my child started school, I thought my choices were “public” or “private.“ I had a lot to learn. Even though I was happy with our neighborhood school, I wondered why was not listed as an option. I started thinking that the old fashioned public school is thought of like a “default” plan these days. If you don’t make a choice, then you get the local school by default. 

Schooled by default

Of course, even the kids who are doing fine with the “default” school still have to be uneasy about whether or not they will be able to stay in one place. There have been new schools being built while other schools are closed and abandoned. School zones were resized and attendance zones were redrawn. Various charters start up while others may shut down. Magnets attract while “at risk” schools allow students to leave. Administrative transfers and lotteries occur as names are posted and children are shuffled. 

Demographics are studied. Test scores are measured. Teachers are rotated and principals are graded. Last one in is the first one out. And no child shall be left behind, but that does not mean that he will not be moved around quite a bit while we look for the classroom that might be the right “fit.” Portables are added to some schools while others are left with vacant desks. Some schools have brand new everything while others make do with next to nothing.

Has anyone thought about what all of these changes are doing to the kids? Even the changes that are meant to be good, like finally winning a charter school lottery or making the cut for a high achievers magnet, are still changes that will most likely bring stress and create some resistance. Leaving the comfort of the familiar for the murky waters of the unknown can create behavioral problems in even the best of kids. Moving to a new school has been proven in many research studies to have adverse effects on children, both academically and emotionally.

Remember when we were kids? You thought of the Summer as just a time when you would be apart from your friends. When school started again, you would likely be reunited with everyone again. Sure, there would be a face or two missing because their families had moved away, but those were the rare exceptions. Most kids returned.

Sadly, our children are faced with a totally new group of kids each year, it seems. The Summer is a time to let go of old friendships. The new year brings new faces and likely a complete change of teachers, administrators and policies to go along with it.

I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. Changing schools is a personal decision and I would never tell another parent what is best for his or her family. I think we are all doing the best we can given the environment we are faced with in our education system today. My family is going through the same tough choices as many others right now, with only a couple of weeks left before the new school year begins. 

I just hope parents are considering not only the impact of the new environment on their child, but also how to help their child through the chaos of change that goes along with it.