Out of the Comfort Zone

Friday, July 1, 2005

Page 15

AT THE SIDEBAR:

Out of the Comfort Zone

By J’AMY PACHECO

“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”

—Carl Gustav Jung

Five years ago, a new school was built near our home. For months, we observed its progress as we drove past the construction site. When a large play set topped by an enormous green frog was placed outside the kindergarten area, my daughter, then four, announced her desire to attend school there.

After it opened, I took a tour, fell in love with the school’s arts-based program, and placed her on the waiting list. Eight days into her kindergarten year, her name came up and the following Monday, she played – legally — on that big green frog.

She’s now headed into fourth grade there. The turnover at the school is relatively low, so after four years, she knows many of the students — and so do I. We know every teacher by name, whether she’s had them or not. We know who she will have next year for her core classes. We even know what date and time the new school year starts.

You could say we’ve become comfortable with our neighborhood school.

It was, therefore, with mixed emotions that I learned recently it all may soon change.

Two months ago, my little scholar took an hours-long test for a new program at another brand-new school. She took it the morning after our late-night return from a three-day trip to the Disney Resort, and later described it as “hard.”

Because of that, I didn’t give it much thought until I spoke with the school’s principal and learned she’d passed the test and was being invited to join the school’s 150-member student body.

“That’s a very bright little girl you have there,” the principal told me.

I knew she was smart. But now I don’t know what to do about it.

Without a doubt, it’s an exciting opportunity for her. The program is intended to challenge children designated as “gifted” to fulfill their potential.

I’m no rocket scientist, but even I can see how some public schools fail to accomplish this. Last year, my daughter’s core classes — math and language arts — had a ratio of 40 students to one teacher.

With an increase in class size comes an increase in the range of skills the students bring to the table…er, desk. So much emphasis is placed on a school’s test scores that most services benefit those students performing below grade level. Those above, I discovered, can coast much of the time.

My daughter is nine now. Given the chance, she would happily spend her days on the couch eating Cheez-It Twisters while watching Sponge Bob. (Come to think of it, so would I.) She’s not exactly out looking for challenges.

Changing schools would take her on a voyage into the unknown. It’s a brand-new program, so nobody can say with any authority what the first year will bring. It will take both of us out of our comfort zones.

I can’t help wondering if it is a voyage worth taking.

A teacher last year gave my daughter’s book group a novel written more than 50 years ago and containing many Polynesian words. The intent, the teacher explained, was to show the group that “They’re not as smart as they think they are.”

Her explanation baffled me. Turns out it didn’t matter, though, because my little egghead logged a perfect score on a computerized comprehension test. Boo-yah.

If she stays where she is, she’ll remain at the top of the proverbial heap — but it won’t be a very high heap. If she leaves, she’ll be challenged. How she’ll react to those challenges remains to be seen. She’s not the most adventurous person I’ve ever met, and often reacts to change with an immediate, “NO.”

Perhaps the most difficult element of our decision is this: she will have to say goodbye to her schoolmates of four years, and to her best-bud-since-the-age-of-three. She — we — will leave behind familiar classrooms, teachers, parking spaces — and friends, and commit to trekking to the other side of town.

It should be a no-brainer, but it’s probably the most difficult choice I’ve faced in the years since my daughter landed her spot under the frog.

I suspect she’s ready for a change. The big question is — am I?