Art co-op and some interesting statistics...

This past Thursday was a big day for Rachael - her first day of her new art class!

I found out earlier this year about the Danville School of Arts and Science - a very professionally run co-op for homeschoolers. They meet three Thursdays per month, and Rachael informed me after her first class that she doesn't want to miss a single class, ever!

I thought that she would have been more torn over which class to take - DSAS offers art, science, Latin, drama, and even a personal finance class for high school students. She IS very interested in the drama class as well, and I would love for her to start Latin at a young age, so maybe she'll take an additional class next year. As for this year, her education in art history and technique is being funded by a generous grant from the Gramma Foundation. ;)

With her big box o' art supplies at the ready, we headed into the church that hosts the co-op on Thursday afternoon and headed for her classroom. She was the first one in, so she chose her seat, said hello to the teacher, and spent some time checking out the orange newt living in a terrarium on the table. As other students started pouring in, Milly and I eased toward the door. Of course, Rachael has been in other classroom-y settings with actual teachers other than me - Sunday School, dance, gymnastics, our previous co-op, Girl Scouts, etc. But somehow, this felt more like a "real" school to me, and the mommy part of me was a little reluctant to go...but I should have known that (Rachael being Rachael) she would be perfectly fine, and she was. She made fast friends with a little girl sitting beside her, and had a great time sketching for the next hour.

Meanwhile, Milly and I settled down in the room across the hall, and had fun chatting with some of the other parents. Even Milly was a little more social than usual, after the necessary checking-out of the restroom and water fountain. She was a little upset that there were no cupcakes to be found (they did have some at the open house a few weeks ago, and one of the moms overheard her complaints and promised to bring her some soon!)

Rachael bounded into the room with her sketch pad when the class was over, to show off her drawings before storing her supplies away for next week. She absolutely can't wait to go back, and I can't wait to see what she learns next!

* * * * *

Now, how 'bout those interesting statistics?

We received a flyer from Henry County Public Schools in the mail on Friday afternoon containing the 2009-2010 Annual Report. They were thrilled to report that all of the county schools are fully accredited - which is awesome for our area and the students that attend those schools. I'm a little confused that only "93% of our schools made Adequate Yearly Progress", but okay. They're accredited.

Then they proceeded to show a graph for each school in the county showing percentages of students that made "Adequate Yearly Progress" (I haven't bothered doing the research to find out why that it is capitalized!) in each subject.

There are eleven elementary schools in our area...two middle schools...two high schools. Does this seem a little strange to anyone else? I shudder to think what class sizes are like in middle and high school now - especially since the high schools switched to the block system (four classes per day, as opposed to seven) back when I was in high school, aaaaaall those years ago. On the bright side, it seems as though class sizes may be reasonable in elementary schools, at least.

Anywho...out of all of the elementary schools, the one that Rachael would be attending ranks 9th place in English, 10th in writing and history, and is in dead LAST place in both math and science.

The middle school that she would eventually attend had lower ratings across the board than did the other middle school, and her would-be high school rated higher in science, history, and math - but only by tiny percentages.

WOW. Add this to my list of reasons for homeschooling. I can absolutely do better than that!

Way to go, Erica!

While I'm taking my time typing up the curriculum post...a little food for thought via YouTube. This speech was delivered by Erica Goldson, valedictorian of her class at Coxsackie-Athens High School, on June 25, 2010.

Valedictorian Speaks Out Against (Public) Schooling

It's a little long, and she's (justifiably) a little nervous, but it's worth a listen. I especially enjoyed the part where she admitted, "I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told."

She also reminds her classmates that "we are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation."

This young lady has wonderful insight - from someone so young and so much a part of the system - as to what's wrong with the public education system. And I don't mean to imply that every public school out there is inadequate. But even the best schools aren't without their problems.

Anyway. Just loved Ms. Goldson's speech and wanted to a) share and b) preserve it for future reference.

Thanks to my fellow homeschooler Amanda for sharing the link! :)