Thread by @designmom

Hey there, Parents. Are you watching the news today about rich people cheating and making bribes to get their kids into college? Let me guess, your child's education is already stressful to you, and this kind of news makes the whole thing seem hopeless. Want some reassurance?

I'm in the trenches too. I've got 2 kids in college, 1 in high school, 2 in middle school, and 1 in 3rd grade. And my husband (their father) has 2 Masters and a PhD from Colombia in Philosophy & Education. Like you, we care very much about our children's education.

First thing to know: You’re not alone in your stress.

Nothing seems to push the buttons of parents across the land quite like the topic of schools and education. And no surprise. This is important stuff. We know education changes lives and opens doors.

We know stories of troubled kids who’ve had their life turned around by a great teacher. We know that extracurricular programs offered by a school can put a child on a successful career path they never even knew existed.

We know some schools are better than others when it concerns bullies/special needs programs/allergies/sports/healthy food/harmful cliques/computer programming/foreign language/whatever your main concern is. And we all know our kids deserve the best education possible, right?

Our kids have attended public schools in New York, Colorado, France, and now Oakland, CA. Our oldest daughter is in her second year at Berkeley. We know the ropes. One of the key things we've learned is: If/when you hear schools are bad, it often means they have bad test scores.

And why are the test scores bad? Well, it's not because the kids are dumb or the teachers aren't good. It often just means there are students attending who don't speak English well yet, so of course they're not going to test well yet.

My kids, who enjoy school and are great students, have been the kids who don't speak the language before. They've been the ones dragging down test scores. And I can assure you, it doesn't mean the school is bad.

We've also learned: Parents love their kids. When you hear about "bad schools," picture the kids who attend. And then picture their parents. Remind yourself those parents love their kids as much as you love yours, and want what's best for them every bit as much as you do.

Feeling jealous? You may also need to remind yourself that rich people don't love their kids any more than poor people do.

Our recommendation: Assume your public school will be fine. And if you try it, and it's not the right fit, then you'll look at other options. No worries.

Just realized I spelled Columbia University like Colombia the country. Sorry! My oldest son was living in Colombia for two years and I was always worried I would spell the country name the wrong way. : )

Feeling paralyzed about moving to a new city because you’re priced out of the neighborhood with “good” schools? Here’s a post on how to not stress out about choosing a school.

bit.ly/2O0NqyY

Too much homework at your school? Or not enough? Here’s a discussion about how we handle homework at our house. bit.ly/2Hikmm5  And here’s a post about what happened when our elementary school instituted a no-homework policy. bit.ly/2XQeW7b

Overwhelmed by the college application process? We hear you. Our daughter lived in Paris when her applications were due and we could only help her over Skype. Here’s a video discussing what to expect.

bit.ly/2EW8XF5

Feeling like your kid isn’t on a traditional high school -> university track? We've been there too. And you'll be glad to know there are other great options. Really! Read this.

bit.ly/2HtuKqA

Related, here’s a podcast where we discussed how to de-stress the college application process.

bit.ly/2TxSPnl

Worried about your neighborhood public school? Here’s a post about our public high school in Oakland. I'm not sure what it rates now, but when we moved here 5 years ago, it rated a 2 out of 10 on the Great Schools website.

bit.ly/2CgTrTz

And here’s one more post about our Oakland public elementary school, and how a few parents helped institute huge changes.

bit.ly/2UBed7G

You got this, Parents. You're doing a great job. No need to stress about college. It's going to work out, I promise.

https://twitter.com/designmom/status/1105605225589571584