This morning I was back to waking up to the sound of my alarm going off at the hour of six a.m., which is not a time I have seen in awhile. Today is the first day of the new school year.

In preparation yesterday, we laid out new clothes for all eight of my kids that were heading off to school this year. We have Maggie and Amanda starting Kindergarten, Shane and Ben starting second grade, Des and Ryan starting fourth grade, Nathan starting sixth grade and Mercy starting seventh grade, which is her first year in middle school (or "junior high"... more

School, and how to handle school with a newly adopted older child is a topic that comes up frequently on email groups and adoption forums. So today, under the letter "S" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs, I am going to write about school.

School - Choosing how to educate your children is a very personal decision. There are parents who find success in quality public schools, there are parents who choose great private schools and there are parents who find homeschooling to be the perfect way to educate their children.

When... more

In regards to school choices and adoption, I will share with you what has worked for our family and my thoughts on things, but keep in mind that many families have done things differently with great results.

We live in a small town with excellent public schools. I honestly know most of my kids’ teachers and administrators. The class sizes are small, and our district has been recognized as the best in the state and even chosen as a “model” for other districts. We have excellent reading and math programs (along with other subjects), as well as wonderful art and... more

Choosing how to educate your children is a very personal matter, and one that does not have a right or wrong answer.

I have many friends who choose to homeschool their children, and it works out wonderfully for the parents and the children. Advocates of homeschool feel that they are able to let their children learn the basics, along with a broader choice of things that really interest them. They are able to tailor learning to the children’s individual learning styles. They are able to focus on learning and not on test taking. They are able to protect their... more

School is right around the corner in our house. My kids go back later this week, and there is an air of excitement surrounding all of the new shoes, clothes, backpacks, pencils, crayons, etc.

I have several friends who live in other places whose kids also start public school this week, and I have quite a few homeschooling friends who have officially started their school year as well.

Summer went by fast! On one hand I am grateful, because fall means Belane’s homecoming (hopefully!). We did not go on any huge vacations or do anything... more

Ok, so in my last post I summed up the “Reality Check” survey by Public Agenda which showed some troubling differences in the ways that white students and minority students in the U.S. described their school experiences.

I thought that the survey was interesting, and or course upsetting that there would be such a difference. I do think that it would have been more enlightening if white students and minority students in the same schools had been interviewed for the survey however, because I don’t think that it is a surprise to anyone that issues like dropout rates, drugs, fighting,... more

A recent “Reality Check” survey by Public Agenda, a group that describes itself as “a nonpartisan opinion research and civic engagement organization helping Americans explore and understand critical issues since 1975,” found what it describes as “troubling differences in the way minority teens describe their school experiences compared to white pupils.” This was a headline story on Yahoo news this morning and the survey results can be read in full here. Students, parents, teachers and administrators nationwide were surveyed and asked if they felt that issues such as high dropout rates,... more