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Look for teacher passion and student enjoymentBy KIBRET MARKOS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2000 GULFPORT -- When searching for a school, ask the teachers why they do what they are doing. See if they are passionate about their work. That is the advice from Diana Blaisedale, whose 10-year-old daughter, Starr, is going to Walden Private Middle School, 2728 53rd St. S, a tiny school in Gulfport. "Sending your child to a school where the teachers love what they are doing is really a great gift," she said. Blaisedale lived in Gainesville until August this year and sent her daughter to Waldorf Elementary School. When it was time for her daughter to go to middle school, her search for options began by conversing with friends and parents in the neighborhood. She called a friend who had visited and researched several schools, including many in Pinellas County. After the friend described Walden School to Blaisedale, she phoned the teachers and made an appointment to meet them. "I liked them very much. I liked how they spoke to my daughter and didn't just ignore her and speak to me," said Blaisedale. She finally chose Walden for the same reason that she chose Waldorf Elementary School: Blaisedale was looking for a school with the philosophy of "preserving childhood." "I did not choose public schools, because they are pressing academics too soon," she said. She believes kindergarten, especially, should be more of a play environment where childhood is celebrated. Before moving to Gainesville in 1995, Blaisedale had lived in Clearwater for 10 years. She remembers that while touring her zoned elementary school there, she noticed that the teachers were "stressed and harsh." "There was so much going on in the school. I felt it was just too busy," said Blaisedale. Since then, she was sure that she wanted a small school for her daughter. She found what she was looking for in Walden. Right now, the school has 13 students. "It is so tiny that my daughter can and does call her teachers in the evening and talk to them about homework," said Blaisedale. Blaisedale said she moved to Gulfport in August mainly because of her choice of Walden. In middle school too, Blaisedale is conscious about preserving childhood and how much time the school devotes for non-academic activities. She believes the dramas, physical education and neighborhood cleaning up that her daughter does as a Walden sixth-grader are as important as math and science. "A school also needs to be an environment for playing and expression," she said. Although Blaisedale was unimpressed by the public schools she visited, she still anticipates an International Baccalaureate program in a public high school for her daughter. "That could be a wrong guess, but what matters to me is that ultimately, my daughter has to enjoy her waking hours." Blaisedale has little concerns about her daughter's transition from a small private school to a big public high school. "No matter where she goes, there will be transition," she said. "But as my daughter grows older, she also will grow more social and I think she is going to enjoy a bigger environment."
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