Looking for a Perfect School?

Ren studied in a Montessori school when he was in Nursery, then when we transferred here in Cavite, I decided to homeschool him for a year.

We did not register with a provider, but we enjoyed the non traditional way of learning so much. We had a lot of day trips and I was able to teach him a lot of life lessons. But since he’s an only child, socialization was an issue (which I guess common to all homeschoolers).

The following year, I looked around the area for a school that I think would fit for my unique little one. That’s why I was able to review and post about the different schools here in Molino Cavite. I think I have visited 10 or more schools. I was so happy when I found out about a new progressive school nearby.

I thought that the non traditional way of teaching suits my son since he gets bored easily. Progressive school are said to teach kids outside the box. They do not base on books alone. We enjoyed our preschool year in his previous school. But when Ren stepped in elementary (also in the same school), things have changed. The lessons become harder (way harder than other schools), they had a lot of projects and activities that sometimes we felt that we have no more time to relax. Yes they allowed us to go on vacations then they just let Ren take the missed quizzes/exams when we get back, but still catching up was hard. The school believes that the kids’ brain should be stored with more information because they are still young and it will expand. We are in a mainstream program because Ren has a special need. But we did not receive any special treatment.

He struggles from keeping seated, it was okay when he was in preschool but that became one of the problems when he was in elementary. He was expected to do what the other kids do. Not being able to express himself well is another challenge. I know he’s trying hard to do what the other kids can do, but sometimes the demand is just too much. My husband and I felt that exhaustion at an early age or be depress for not being able to meet the demands of the school will do harm to his mental health. We love his classmates, they are the best, they support him through his struggles. And we are grateful for that, if not for them we were not able to finish 3 years in that school.

For this year, we decided to transfer him to a bigger school (mainly to prepare him for Highschool also) and a school that offers a SPED program. I believe that they know what to do with his needs. The tuition fee is way way higher but his mental health is more important. Kaya naming kitain ang pangbayad.

Unfortunately, this new school has a different approach for mainstream kids. The lessons are easier compared to the previous school and that’s okay for me. The teachers are friendly too. But what I don’t like is that Ren has 6 subjects in the regular classroom and only 3 subjects in SPED but whenever there is a program, the mainstream kids are not included in the regular classroom. He stays in the SPED department and do other things.

I feel that my son misses the opportunity to get along with his classmates in the regular classroom because of this. Preparing him in the real world is one of my goals and since socialization is one of my concerns, this is a big thing for me.

I already brought out this issue to the admin and I hope by next year they will do something about it. Ako talaga ang may madaming issues sa buhay 🙂

Now, my husband and I are considering to homeschool Ren again. But since he’s in elementary already we are going to get a provider so that the lessons we will do will be accredited.

Yes there’s no such thing as a perfect school we both agree and the only thing to achieve what we want for Ren is for us to do it by ourselves.

Will we save more? Maybe! But we are considering to also enroll him in extra curricular activities like soccer, try some music lessons or do robotics or encoding to enhance his abilities (things he can’t do when he’s at school because of time).

There are some parents who ask me for recommendation on where to enroll their kids. You know what? it’s really hard to recommend a school because what works for us might not work for you (vice versa). Ayoko masisi, so it’s better to still visit every school and gather information not only from one person but from other parents too.

Let’s all pray for guidance to have the wisdom to choose which one is the best for our kids. The boy is happy with his current school and that’s what’s important.