Two Worlds of Elementary Education

My 5 years old son started going to KG in one of the public schools in Manchester, CT. The education system in US is really exciting -  they bring the family as part of the education system. They give importance on reasoning and intuition more than the syllabus itself. As an outsider, I am thrilled to experience this. He is reading about apple for the last couple of months and I got even a 4 week notice that they will wrap-up the "apple" training and go to the next item. He did even go for a field trip to an apple farm to learn about apples. That is wonderful!

However, given the fact that I am here in US on deputation and my permanent place of residence will be Chennai, India - I am getting little nervous. It is a whole different world there - highly competitive environment. A 5 year kid is expected to write-read at least 3 languages and write-read-speak at least 2 languages. In addition, science and mathematics are a must. I am not in total agreement with the system but, there is no option.

Me and my wife have a difference in expectation - i dream for an affordable "US" like education system in my native place, India. My wife demands for an "India" like competitive education system in US for my KG and PK-3 children. Making the two worlds meet, in elementary education, is one of my biggest dream.

PS: Today, Oct 26 was the Halloween parade day in my elder son's school. He was dressed up as Captain America. Watching the children walk around the school premise in different costumes and their excitement was a different experience. However, it does remind me about the "fancy dress competition" that used be celebrated in my school days. I had to accept that it did demonstrate a lot more "creativity" than this!

After a long time,
bright