Last night we went to Bickleton School District's Open House of their new school building. It was pretty neat. A lot more technology than I had in school. And though I've only seen the gym of the old school, everyone around us was commenting on how nice the new place was. The building seemed small to me for a K-12, but the rooms and hallways were spacious.
And I counted desks in a few places. The 3rd/4th grade classroom had 16 students. And the Kindergarten class had three tables that could comfortably fit three students each--but there were only four names for students in that class. My mother-in-law would have been so jealous to see a Kindergarten class of four students--her Kindergarten classes are always overcrowded. And can you imagine the one-on-one teaching you could do with only four students? My favorite thing about the Kindergarten classroom was the papers outside the classroom: "My name is Clayton and I like to ride my tractor at home with my cowboy hat."
A few people we knew there told our two year old daughter that they hoped we'd be around long enough to go to that school. Our landlord frequently tells me about how great the school is here and how so many students excel there. Looking at the elementary school classrooms, it's tempting. But not tempting enough to overcome the things I don't like about living here.
And to be honest, the high school doesn't really tempt me. Sure there are still small classes, a lot of one-on-one attention to help the students, and I especially liked how one classroom was set up in a way I only experienced in small college classes where I gained the most. But there is one foreign language option. They have a great music room, but I've only heard about band, not choir here. (My husband and I were both in choir in high school, and I'd like my children to at least have the option.) And I think they offer three sports: track, volleyball, and basketball. I'd like my children to have more extracurricular options open to them. And if they join a track or basketball team, I want it to be because they genuinely enjoy the sport, not just because there's nothing else to do.
Lots of pros and cons. I don't know if I'd be fully convinced either. I know Bickleton has a happy little bubble, but I think it's possible/a lot more likely for kids to grow up pretty naive in such a small town, which in some aspects of life can be a blessing, to have such innocence and not be completely exposed to the world and the awful influences of high school. On the other hand, growing up there and then going to college would be a real culture shock!
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