Crunch-time

After a 3-month wait, I've finally received an acceptance letter for my son to the local high-school. Not just the letter, but the Code of Conduct, Uniform Requirements, Financial Information and Acceptance of Entry - all very officially-worded and regulatory.

The financial info is the scary part - where I thought I'd have to pay over half my salary every month, it's gone up to well over half the salary (excluding books, uniforms and extra classes)....

OK, correction - the other documents are almost scarier! :)

Having taken a step back to look at the entire school system with a critical eye, I'm amazed by how much sameness, subservience and suppression is required. I didn't receive a single list of "do's", it's all just "don't".

When I hold that up against who my son is, and who I hope he will become, it doesn't add up. No, I'm not encouraging anarchy, but rather fostering an ability to think for himself, stand up for the valuable person he is, and realize he holds an important place in the world. I don't see how conforming to this school system is going to help him. Especially this particular system that comes paired with strict fundamental religious beliefs.

There's a deposit expected on acceptance, and school fees kick in 2 months before classes start - so it's crunch time. We have to decide within the next month what the future will hold educationally. We have to determine which direction both our lives will take, and how we want to go about it. All the years we've spent pondering and researching, they all boil down to this point in time.

A bit scary. Good-scary, not bad-scary. The future starts here.