I love my girls’ schools.  I just got home from Chloe’s Back to School Night and every year, I’m reminded of how lucky they are.  Yes, there is undue emphasis on standardized testing (thanks again, President George Bush, Jr.).  Yes, our are schools are constantly struggling with budget cuts.  But, despite it all…

…Sophie is learning Mandarin.  She’s taking dance class.  She’s has art and music classes. She’s taking a science elective called “Kitchen Chemistry.”  And she’s in 1st friggin’ grade.

During Chloe’s last few years in her grade 3-5 school, she’s had mythology, poetry, math olympiad, geo art and percussion electives.  She goes to a local pre-K every Monday to read to the children there.  And those activities are only a small sampling of the electives she’s taken since 3rd grade.  Her school also offers a traveling drama troupe, a dance troupe and a drum corps that’s performed on network television.

And yet parents still complain about the teachers, the classes and money spent on a Mandarin program.  I don’t get it.  I would have killed to have opportunities like these when I was in elementary school.  Our kids are offered so many wonderfully creative outlets to show off their talents, it’s astounding.  And all of this despite deep and painful budget cuts.  Pretty incredible, if you ask me.