Pushy Parents!

I think Matthew's teacher thinks I am a pushy parent! Earlier this year some parents and i were talking about a new learn to read program. The teacher had never head of it so yesterday when i received my package of readers from this program I took them in for her to have a look at and I received a 45 minute lecture on not pushing your child to read! (We weren't planning on using them now but we wanted to have some books at his level to read next year as he is learning. Matthew is so looking forward to reading his reader when Nathan reads the night time stories, so that is why we got them) Any way back to lecture! Sweden don't teach their children to read until they are 7! She left me quite flabbergasted! Matthew is champing at the bit to read. He spends hour reciting the books that we have, he isn't reading them but he has memorised the story lines from us reading them to him so often. As Nathan said the teacher hasn't seen the hours of reading that we have done to our children. The preschool program is purely play based so Debbie has no idea how academically minded Matthew innately is.
When I rang Nath to tell him I was a pushy parent it started a huge discussion in his office and it turns out one of the fathers has been attending seminars to assist him in teaching his child to read because at 8 his child is having huge difficulties. He advised Nathan to watch and teach Matthew when he was showing enthusiasm for reading. Which he is showing signs of exhibiting now! So we are expecting that we will have no problems when it comes to learning to read in Kindy next year despite the whole lecture from the teacher. It was very interesting to note though, the teacher is highly regarded, the school is highly regarded and they are the reason we chose the school. However, the teacher obviously specialises in special needs children and i can see those that have the special needs are flourishing where those not so needy aren't flourishing in the same proportions. (But still flourishing and having a great time. They think the sun rises and sets in her!) Which I don't think is such a problem but I do hope that as Matthew goes through the school he will be encouraged to learn at his pace and not held back with the lowest common denominator. (how is that for a pushy parent comment!)
It is a daunting journey sending your children off to school. We have decisions to make that our parents didn't have. I don't think they put alot of thought into it. I went to the local school, it never occured to them that they could send me to another school out of area that might satisfy my needs. The options are huge these days. Our school is next door to the catholic school. The catholic school is a little more expensive but not out of our financial reach. We plan on giving our children a private high school education so Nathan and I have spent hours looking into which school we would send our kids to. It was not an easy decision. But we chose Miles Franklin for the things that it offered (I hope they deliver!), the fact they have smaller class sizes than catholic schools and the program that they use to teach reading (more intense than others but with better outcomes).
So now we have to work hard at getting our children safely through their education with positive outcomes that satisfy us (the pushy parents!) and Matthew. Wish us luck!