Tam and I debated for some time whether it made sense to have Ev enroll in our local Chicago public school. It would mean splitting the family at least 4 days a week. It would mean Ev would not be maintaining anything to speak of in the way of early childhood friendships. Nevertheless, we took the plunge and enrolled Evan at Ogden School, a public International Baccalaureate school about a block from the condo.
There were two reasons really, for our decision. First, the academic standard was very, very high at Ogden. Ev is a smart kid and, if he isn't challenged, he zooms off to another planet. The other reason was diversity. Here in our mid-Michigan hometown there is very, very, very little social or racial diversity. We both felt really strongly that we wanted Evan to grow up around people of all different races, colors, social backgrounds and nationalities. And we certainly have that to offer both at the school and the city around us living in Chicago.
So how's it going? Well, Ev's grades are good and he has about 1 hour of math and reading homework every night, Monday through Thursday. He is learning that school is about becoming educated, actively learning. As a kid, education is what you do. So while he's busy with after school activities 3 days of the week, he knows that going to school, learning, is not something that occurs only between 8:40 and 3:20.
And the cultural experience? Well, true story: Saturday we went to lunch at a local Chinese place here in town. There were about 7 or 8 tables seated at the time and, as we started in to our meals, Evan started to look around with a frown and quizzical expression. "Do you guys notice anything?" he asked, all Mr. Concerned-about-something. I looked around not able to imagine what he was seeing. "What?" Pointing to the skin of his forearm he said to his Mom and me, "Everyone in here is white."
Okay. Pretty strong performance in the diversity piece.
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