Wit and Wisdom

I just talked to my X about several things, one of which is OC's school in the fall when she will start Kindergarten. I want her to attend a private, classical christian school in our town that has an amazing curriculum; emphasis on the classical. (Awesome stuff she will be exposed to: great literature, history, philosophy, writing, science and the historical roots of science, fine arts, music, and classical and foreign languages. Okay, maybe not the literature in Kindergarten, but later on.) What was his response? Without knowing anything about the school, here it is in summary:

"I don't believe private schools are any better than public. You're already paying taxes, and to pay more for school on top of that is unnecessary. A kid will be exposed to enough and learn just fine if they apply themselves, it doesn't matter what school they're at, and if they don't apply themselves at private school, then it's a waste of money."

This is all based on his General Theory of How I Feel About the World, mind you, and not because he's read about the school or looked into our town's public school. I could respect his opinion if it were informed, but as it is, I don't respect his knee-jerk opinions which lack basis in specificity.

I should say that I have nothing against public schools. No. Thing. I went to public school! And look how I turned out, yuk yuk yuk. No, really. I just think the curriculum at This School is so great, and compared to public schools, it affords more opportunity for well-rounded exposure to things that might get cut with the next budget go-round at our beloved public school system. I especially appreciate the emphasis on music, art, literature, and classical languages. The opportunity is so amazing!

So, let's say that it's not any better than public school. Yet, to be exposed to those things at such an early age, how could it be bad? (Sigh.) I don't like being in this position, because of the factors of possibly making future negotiations difficult. If I send her to the school and he hates it, then what? What if he just hates it because I like it? That is a distinct possibility. The man has endless capacity for spite. But! Enough editorializing, that's not helpful. Do any of you have children with an ex? How do you handle it? I could really use some support, or anecdotes, if you have them. Allright, on to other things.

My daughter, the wit. To wit:

The other day I gave her a few slices of jicama to try. She looked it on all sides before taking the tiniest sliver of a bite because, it is a new food after all and new food is always suspect. Turns out, she loved it and asked for more by saying, "Mommy, can I have some more jicam-up?"

And then there was the day we were in the traffic. The light was green but cars were backed up and we did not immediately get to go. OC decides it is time to drive forward, so she says, "Move, suckews!" And they did.