So many of us agonize over the educational decisions we must make for our children. Personally, we struggled for a year to decide where to send our daughter to school after 3 very successful years at a Montessori based school.
At the same time, President Obama is proposing extending the school year and the school day to help American students excel and be more competitive on the global playing field.
As parents, we debate public vs. independent vs. parochial. We jump through hoops and endure high pressured and competitive admissions processes to get our kids into the schools of our choice.
After finding what we thought was the mecca of day schools last year, we began to fear the socio-economic and cultural impact that decision would ultimately have on our child. Yes, she could be in a superior educational institution with all the resources you could imagine, but would we also run the risk of her ending up in therapy by the age of 7 from the intense pressure to fit in?
Are the country's best schools really the BEST schools for our children? And at what cost?
So what's a parent to do?
Chocolate Chip is here to help.
This is the beginning of a series of posts that we will bring you regarding children of color and independent schools. This the first in the series spotlights the documentary The Prep School Negro. The synopsis (see below) taken from the website brilliantly says it all:
"André Robert Lee and his sister grew up in the ghettos of Philadelphia. Their mother struggled to support them by putting strings in the waistbands of track pants and swimsuits in a local factory. When Andre was 14 years old, he received what his family believed to be a golden ticket – a full scholarship to attend one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country. Elite education was Andre’s way up and out, but at what price? Yes, the exorbitant tuition was covered, but this new world cost him and his family much more than anyone could have anticipated.
In The Prep School Negro, André takes a journey back in time to revisit the events of his adolescence while also spending time with current day prep school students of color and their classmates to see how much has really changed inside the ivory tower. What he discovers along the way is the poignant and unapologetic truth about who really pays the consequences for yesterday’s accelerated desegregation and today’s racial naiveté."
Check out the website and see the link below to view the trailers.
http://www.theprepschoolnegro.org/
Of course your friends at Chocolate Chip will keep you posted on screenings, new developments, etc.
Stay tuned for our next post in this series on ....
RIISE: Resources in Independent School Education
Thank you, thank you, than you for this posting and this series of incredible importance to the black family. As a parent of 2 children in the Westchester public school system, I find myself constantly having to defend the education and quality of life that my sons are receiving. Many who do not know better assume that public education, regardless of school district, is all negative. While I have no doubt that many Independent schools offer an exceptional educational opportunity, there are also those of us who have opted to support positive public school systems which also provide our children the best of both worlds...great education and extracurricular activities in a socially and economically diverse environment. Education is a very individual issue that is an undoubtedly grueling process for parents who want the best of everything for their children. What we need is greater communication and support instead of judging among parents.
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