Does your past affect your worries about your children’s schooling?

What makes us feel one way or the other about education and the choices that we have to make for our children?

Some of it must be society and peers. But I reckon a big part comes from our own childhood.

I was sent to an all girls school; hence my dislike of single sex education.

I also went private right through, my husband went half & half. So initially we were planning on state primary for Curly Headed Boy and Little Dimples, until our options were limited to a school that had a bad reputation with the potential for improvement. We just weren’t willing to risk our child as a bit of an experiment, so we went private.

Not just private, but private near London, which means loads of competition for places and loads of competition in the school.

After some work to settle my son into reception, he settled in well, and we discovered he was apparently very bright. It was me who started to worry that it was too hard core, with too little emphasis on enjoyment of learning.

With the big hairy northern one being made redundant, I used it as an excuse to go to see the state primary, which had now proved itself to be on the up. So Curly Headed Boy will be transferring there after the easter holidays, and is very excited. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Wondering about this has made me wonder what assumptions and myths I had running around in my head, especially from my childhood?

Clever children don’t to art – I was allowed to do art O’level, but not allowed to continue afterwards.
Arty people are flakey – the art teacher lied about their qualifications and had to be replaced after a year.
Girls who can do science shouldn’t do english – and so I had to study Physics and Maths A levels, was meant to become and engineer, not a writer.
You get better qualifications at private – I don’t think this is a true or full picture of what education gives.
You’ll be more successful if you go to private school – my friends and family have proved this is not true!

I’ve come full circle back to my writing, and a big appreciation for the arts as a way of providing a rich life.

What I want to do is give my children the opportunity to decide who they are without any myths; but I reckon it’s quite a difficult thing to stay aware of. I don’t think the myths per se are bad, it’s just that we need to be aware of them when making decisions that are affected by them.

So I’d love to know:

What myths have you left over from your childhood?

Are you more biased to the sciences, sports or arts? Why?

Have you followed the same path with your children as you followed? Or are you making different choices?

Or have you really made a different choice and gone for home schooling or Steiner education?