Monday, January 10, 2011

School tours bonanza, day one

This is a pretty intense week: four tours in three days.

So you'd think I'd be at the top of my game, but I was completely distracted during my visit to Clairemont's John Muir, the only K through 12 public school in the city of San Diego.

I had to file an article during the intro presentation. And the tour was going to make me late for my second hospital volunteering shift, which doesn't make me look like a dedicated or responsible person whatsoever.

Anyway.

John Muir's thing is about being a global village and making its students aware of the world, which is pretty awesome. The kids exchange projects, like homemade bookmarks, with other kids in Russia or South America or even somewhere else in the U.S. It's a very small place, only 425 students including the high school.
There are two kindergarten classes and they've got a nice area with a playground and a separate lunch room.

I didn't really pay attention to the amount of hours they spend on art and music and P.E. It all seems to be the same wherever you go, even though each school tells you they're unique in what they offer. What I hadn't seen before, though, was kindergartners in a science lab. The kids were in a dedicated science room figuring out what particle boards are made from.

The classrooms all have Smartboards and super nice Macs. The kids seemed well behaved and respectful. The hours are 9 a.m. to 3:45, which is ideal for my schedule. The bathrooms were clean. And overall I liked it. It's definitely going on the top five list.

I didn't really find any glaring negatives, unless I start nitpicking. Or maybe I just don't have the motivation to find fault because I'm not sure if I could truly, honestly see us there.

That's what's been most frustrating lately. I like plenty of places, but not many have felt like OUR place. And that's really what it all comes down to.

4 comments:

Kristin Shea said...

Is this all heading to your final decision to home school????

nina said...

Ahaha, HELL NO.

It just means I really really really want to get into one of the charters I applied to.

hilahil said...

i LOVE your posts about the tours, i am so happy you are doing all these tours and sharing your thoughts! no creepy at all. muir is in our 'hood, i'm going to check it out. thanks nina!

Barbara Gavin said...

I read someplace that having too many choices paralyzes folks - that it is better to have to choose among four things than twelve.

I also wonder if it would be useful to us non-San Diego types if you outlined your options, along the lines of schools you have to apply for (Museum) vs those you just go down and enroll in.