The past few weeks I have been actively trying to search for a school for both Gabe & Lucas. I want them to be in the same school so that it`s easier for me to drop off & pick up. And yes, Lucas is young at barely 18months, but i need to start my Japanese Language class and also selfishly have some ME time. But not if i can`t find a great school. You see, the thing is most do not want to accept Gabe. I am trying to understand from their viewpoint:
1) If any teacher falls ill or takes leave, there will not be enough teachers to handly so many students, plus one who has special needs
2) The school policy just says they can@t accept Special Needs students
3) The teachers are not equipped with special skills required to handle Special needs
But as a mother who loves her son so very much and wants him to have the very same exposure and experiences of other kids, i can`t seem to fully understand. If only they could see past his Down Syndrome label and take a good look at him. Which pasrt of GAbe looks disabled as in he can`t walk or talk or feed or dress himself? He can, if only they could really look at him and give him a chance. Which kid would know how to do those things without being taught?? Some are just slower than others.
So yes, I`m abit sad and disheartened though i prepared myself for this. Anyway, not all schools rejected him. Just that there are some major cons that seem to bother me greatly, but at the moment it doesn`t look like i have awide variety to choose from. Here are the schools we looked at and the outcomes.
Bilinga International in Deenchofu (high class area)
They can`t accept Special Needs student. End of story.
The school is great with a stand alone building in a great neighborhood and has it`s own large compound..dream haven for kids.
Tamagawa International
Stand alone house next to a convenience store. Lovely quiet neighborhood. Lovely teachers. Lucas quite loved it. Unfortunately, the owner does not want to accept Gabe as they may not have enough teacher capacity.
Hello Kids
I sat in the class for 1 hour and the teachers were great, the students seemed to enjoy it, and were really smart. Small building but that seesm to be the case for alot of neighborhood schools in Tokyo. Price is a tad bit pricey, but still OK. Gabe & Lucas would probably be in the same class for the first year or so. I have a friend whose daughter is there and she loves this school. Thing is,t he parking is terrible. All of the nearby coin parkings are ALWAYS FULL. I can@t park at the side of the road, and anywhere nearby is off limits due to the narrow roads and busy traffic. So it`s the main problem i have, oterwise i`d enrol them in this school immediately. And Lucas had fun that day in class too. I`m still thinking hard about this school coz i honestly like the teachers alot. And there is a park nearby for them to play.
Three Stars Intl
So near our place just 3mins by car. Perfect...only thing is they don`t accept GAbe. So, not so perfect after all. And Lucas needs to be at least 2 yrs old.
Pan Mie Intl
Very near our place too, but drove past, saw it was in an apartment block on the ground level, so so tiny! Not impressed, never bothered to make an appointment, but now am rethinking.
Cambridge Intl
Convenient parking area, but the school is located on the 3rd floor with NO LIFT. I climbed it and wonder how on earth are they going to bring kids up & down everytime they go outside to play. I can alreay imagine how hard it`ll be for Gabe to climb it and even for Lucas I`m so afraid he`ll trip and fall! Nope, no way.
And there are actually a few other good schools international nearby, but the thing is, these are more formal types of school with hefty prices, like costing JPY 1.5mil per pax. I don@t think we`re at the stage of going for these cause we are still unsure of the kiddos paths. Gabe may very well go to a Japanese elementry school, so there`s no point in even thinking about it, and Lucas well, he`s young and we just want him to learn and sing and dance n be happy until we decide which path he takes be it fully International or maybe Chinese education.
So yeah there`s that, and I`m still searching. I know in the end something good and meant for us will turn up, I`ll just have to wait & pray hard that it`ll be the right one.
