Ramblings

Monday, February 26, 2007

My daughter is three years old and it's time to start applying for pre-schools! Yes, applying, attending Open Houses, getting put on waiting lists! It's crazy that at this young age of three she has to go through a similar process as applying for university! Urgh!

We have three schools we're thinking about right now. Two are co-ops, one is not. It seems like a lot of work considering she'll only be in class 5 hours a week (2 1/2 hours twice a week).

The fourth option that I've dreamed about is enrolling her in the French-American International School of Portland. Right now five half-days would cost us $9930 a year ($1100 a month) compared to the $85 a month the co-op would charge. Granted the hours in class are significantly different... A half-day at the F.A.I.S is at least five hours (I'm guessing here) so I'm looking at 25 hours vs. 5 hours a week. I am a (simple) math girl so after doing the comparison the FAIS is still over twice as expensive as a co-op. It seems a little steep for a pre-school, but ideally, I know it is the best time for our children to learn a second language--"the earlier the better!"

So the next question is how much do I really believe in bilingual education!!! What would I be willing to sacrifice so our children could attend a school that would help them learn French now... Would they use this skill in the future? Would it be for me instead of them? I love French. I know that doesn't mean my children will love French too. It's a similar scenario to I like to go to church. Will my children like to go to church when they are adults?

Two similar situations, but one option doesn't require that we spend $10,000 a year to impose what we believe in on our children...

How many people send their children to FAIS and actually have to sacrifice their way of life? Or how many have the money waiting in savings so they can pay their bill in full?

I think we missed the application deadline for this year anyway at FAIS so this internal debate I'm having with myself is probably moot, but if the opportunity arises for next year or if they extended the deadline for us to enroll Claire in the fall, I'd be tempted to do it. What do you think, Brian??? What do other people think???

I know Brian and I believe in education and do mind having our student loan debt, but we were both products of public schools (and very very educated parents) and we are doing fine... Maybe we should save that money for a trip to France instead... We all might get more out of it--who knows?

¶ 9:42 AM

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