I am a political scientist by training. At Columbia University, where I did my graduate studies, the political science faculty had a broad vision of social science, so we studied sociology, economics, history, psychology, philosophy, and more. I taught at Columbia, New York University, Johns Hopkins, University of Iowa, and Iowa State. In Chicago, I have taught at DePaul and Loyola as an adjunct, and do some academic editing in diplomatic history and international relations. I serve on the board of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, a parent-led advocacy group. I also have served on the Friends of Mayer board.
How we came to Mayer
In July 2010, we moved to Chicago for my wife Julie’s career. Sina, now in 5th grade (209), was 5 y.o. and we need to find a kindergarten for her. She had been in Montessori pre-schools since she was 2 y.o., and we were loathe to send her to a traditional kindergarten. We remember walking into our first Montessori preschool and being stunned by the quiet and purpose. There were children diligently going about a variety of different tasks, some working together, some apart. Sina looked at what one child was doing and the child immediately showed her how she did it and let Sina participate. This is an experience I still enjoy when conducting a school tour and entering an Early Childhood room.
Still I was wary about Chicago public schools. All I knew then was that Reagan’s second education secretary had said bad things about them over 20 years ago. We were delighted to learn that Chicago had three public Montessori schools, but appalled to learn that application periods had passed. Mayer, however, had a neighborhood attendance area. But what was it like? We had no friends in Chicago, and so our main source of information was CPS’s website, which primarily told us test scores, and Julie’s new colleagues, who basically told us the same thing. In fact, one had said disapprovingly that Mayer was a “level 2” school, which apparently meant something bad. I had called several of the level 1 one schools, and only one had even bothered to return my phone call. But Mayer was different. Not only did Asst. Principal Thomas call back, but she walked me through how Mayer worked (it wasn’t on the website then; I added that when I helped in revising the website a few years ago). Then I emailed Friends of Mayer at her suggestion. Within hours, I was talking to a parent of a recent kindergartner. My main concerns were allayed, and I was impressed at how forthcoming the school was. We decided to move into the neighborhood and send Sina there.
What we found was a welcoming faculty and friendly classmates. We had some trepidation that being a new kid among a class that had been together for two years already would make it hard to make friends. But our concerns were misplaced.