The start of another school year. It hasn’t even been two weeks and I am already disappointed. Actually, I am in the split personality mode that jumps between ranting speeches of how “our schools are failing our children and how I might as well home school them” to “the most important thing is that my children are happy. So o.k., the curriculum is lacking and the system is stale but still, people have become great successes with less”. Just a warning, if you know me do not open the subject up with me unless you are prepared to speak to both my personalities about the subject for a minimum of 2 hours.

To tell you the truth, what disappoints me about my 7 year old sons school is not the curriculum or the campus. He has a great campus and the school is running the IB program. What kills me is the system. The teacher still teach the same way they did when I was in school. (side note, that was not that long ago lol, but still I expected things to change by now). They also do not give the children any responsibility. Therefore they do not learn that their actions have any consequences. Last year my son managed to convince his cousins nanny that his nanny forgot to pick him up from school when in reality he had an after school computer class. After figuring this out when one nanny called the other (after he had already left the school grounds I might add) we marched him right back and straight to his class where his teacher said “Don’t worry about it! he’s a great child. very polite, very polite.”… ummmm SERIOUSLY? He ditched your class, showing no respect to you or the class AND he left school premises with someone who was not his mother or nanny.

My 4 year old daughter loves her school. She called her teacher “Teacher Mu’alima” (mu’alima means teacher in arabic) and says she never wants to leave it. Great right? she has learned NOTHING in the last year. She actually said to me last night when we were reading bedtime stories “I am never going to be able to read a story because no one is teaching me”…. yeah… cue massive amounts of guilt. Some may argue that she is only 4 (5 in March) but others (such as anyone in the british system) would say she is falling behind. I am still not too worried but already looking for another school to enroll her in next year. If she learns nothing by mid term I might move her then.

There is always the option to put them in international schools like the American or British (although I think the British is harder to get into than the Queens bedroom. But just like the crazy man who showed up when HRH was in her nighty taught us, there is always a way in). My issue with that is will it separate them from their society too much? is it fair for me to let them spend 8 hours a day with people who’s lifestyle is so different from ours, at such a young age, and then tell them they cannot live like them.

I know… I might be over thinking this. But i have accepted that that’s the kind of mother I am lol. for right now I will do my yearly tour of schools around Riyadh and see where they end up! Thank God I have a few years yet till I have to worry about baby B going to school.