WHAT YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILLIS?

CSAS

We are camping out/checking in this week for CSAS - Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. Described by someone I know as, Getting to send your kid to private school for free--we have eventually learned to accept the few reasons given for camping out to get our son in there as acceptable, though we still may consider Battle Academy or Normal Park.

Here are some answers we gave to the essay questions on the application form:

1. How do you view your role as the parent of a child in a Paideia school?

Our role is to support our child, his classmates, the school and other parents as we watch our child learn and grow. We are looking for a school where parental input is welcomed and expected and we want to play an active role in our child's education.

2. What do you picture your child doing in a Paideia school?

We want our son to love learning. This, we believe, comes from being encouraged to explore his interests, to be introduced to new ideas, and to be a part of an engaged, respectful, learning culture. We want him to do lots of different things that we didn't get to do in school--more than just book learning.

3. Share your attitudes regarding how children are taught in a school that may sometimes exclude textbooks and lecture?

We LOVE the idea of a school that reaches out to young minds in non-traditional ways. We want our son to be smart, but more than that, we want him to become a caring, compassionate, and capable citizen.

4. What would you consider a discipline policy for your child to follow in class?

My child should be able to respect diversity of people and ideas and should held accountable for his actions. Discipline and respect are central to learning and we would be comfortable with a zero-tolerance policy regarding violence. Our son should be able to control himself or be able to be controlled with minimal redirection.

A school policy of respect for others, for school property, and for learning should be prevalent.

5. How would you discuss with your child after they attended a seminar in which beliefs or opinions are presented that are in opposition to your own?

We consider ourselves very open-minded and tolerant, though we do have strong religious beliefs ourselves. After hearing an opposing idea we would welcome the idea of discussing these viewpoints with our son, helping him discover his own positions on the issue, and to encourage him to always look for evidence to understand the matter further and to ALWAYS keep an open mind.

Posted by cmwillis at October 12, 2007 05:29 PM | TrackBack