school requiring "student's statement" for toddler...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I would reconsider applying in that case.

Oh for pete's sake. Talk about overreacting. So the kids draw a picture of their family, what ever color, shape or size it happens to be in. Big Deal. Two-and-a-half year olds love to scribble. Are you afraid the artwork won't be up to par?

Why is everyone so freaked out over this, and so sensitive to the topic?

I'm not "freaked out" about it -- I just think it's absurd, and I question the judgment of a school that asks for it. What does it tell you about the school?

Those are my thoughts, too, having applied to several nice preschools who have never required anything similar. I'm not an education expert by any means, but I just don't see the point.

[Anonymous]

I had one of those once. It asked for me to describe my son's passions and strengths, or some such blather. He was 3-4 at the time (I guess just 4). I remember writing he liked puppet shows and taping things together (he went through a tape dispenser phase).I think I kept it a very low key description about interests.

I guess my point is, write a few things that come to mind and don't stress.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you're stressing out for no reason. Like another poster said, they're not looking for a thesis. Have fun with it. It's no different than some schools that "interview" toddlers for their classes, or test them. To me, it says nothing negative about the school.

[Anonymous]

It's a test of the parents.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I am the pp. I totally misread your post. I would just have your kid draw a picture of mom and dad or something and send it on out. I think the problem is that the school is referring to it as a student statement. They could have just asked for a drawing from your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I am the pp. I totally misread your post. I would just have your kid draw a picture of mom and dad or something and send it on out. I think the problem is that the school is referring to it as a student statement. They could have just asked for a drawing from your child.

Another problem is that parents (of private school kids, particularly, and yes I am one) tend to overanalyze every piece of paper that comes out of these schools, every word that is uttered by anyone in authority there, every statement, every nuance, everyTHING as though it is an unquestionable fact spoken/written by a be-all, know-all person/institution!

[Anonymous]

Lesbian mom here-- my children most certainly do not hate to talk about our family, and our school community most certainly values us equally or we wouldn't be there.



But they wouldn't have been able to do much more than drool on the piece of paper as 2-year-olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if the child is adopted, parents are divorced, they recently lost a parent or have gay or lesbian parents or their mom is single by choice? All my friends in these non-traditional situations hate when schools have their children do family-themed projects.

They do? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if the child is adopted, parents are divorced, they recently lost a parent or have gay or lesbian parents or their mom is single by choice? All my friends in these non-traditional situations hate when schools have their children do family-themed projects.

Arent these families too? Our school makes a real point of celebrating all kinds of families because in fact the kids come from all kinds of families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if the child is adopted, parents are divorced, they recently lost a parent or have gay or lesbian parents or their mom is single by choice? All my friends in these non-traditional situations hate when schools have their children do family-themed projects.

Arent these families too? Our school makes a real point of celebrating all kinds of families because in fact the kids come from all kinds of families.

Independent School teacher here. Regarding family structure--it is possible to be insensitive about a very lockstep holiday like, "Father's Day". However, I try to be sensitive about introducing and tailoring assignments without the assumption that the family will be a certain way. I would love your feedback on activities that have enraged or enlightened, or how to couch something that may be 'majority' oriented -- but should be open to all (if introduced at all.) The goal is not to avoid activities de facto, but that in general, children love to share --and talking about their own experience is very validating. To them, whether from a 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' family, it is their family, unique and wonderful. All ideas to support them fairly in this welcome!

With regard to grief or loss, I always appreciate background information that helps me to do my job better. For example, I would like to know about divorce or loss not from a salacious perspective, but if the family deems that it will help me to better work with a child in the stages of grief.

[Anonymous]

Of course these are families, I'm the PP and I used the term! I'm not saying all schools and all teachers are insensitive, I've just heard examples from friends about specific assignments over the years. I know from the inside that some children are sensitive about being part of a non-traditional family; despite attempts by teachers to celebrate them with the best of intentions, these students don't always relish doing so in a classroom setting. It makes sense, children can have fierce conformity streaks, please accept that this is the case for some children.

[Anonymous]

Sure--so what is your suggestion?

[Anonymous]

Not clear. Suggestion for what? I can only suggest cultivating genuine sensitivity. My child has yet to have a teacher who came from a non-traditional family, so their ideas of sensitivity are often theoretical and miss the mark. (My child is in Middle School.) For instance, a genealogical assignment is complicated for adopted children as well as children who've lost a parent. I think this concern might peak in the upper elementary school grades, then taper off as students mature and come to terms with their family situations.