I really wanted to like traditional schools because I wanted to support public schools and that's what we have, but in the end it was little things that pushed me away -- such as the amount of time spent on lining up, along with a certain level of disrespect.  So many times I've seen kids herded from playing into straight lines on the blacktop, in the sun, only to wait there while the teacher finishes whatever she's doing to lead them into the classroom.  Why should they stand in the sun?  Why shouldn't they play?  The adults are so focused on the straightness of the line, and the quietness of the kids, and to what end?  And the adults are so often yelling and brusque while they make the line the way they want it to be.  Does it help the children learn math, or biology, or cooperation, to be told to stand in a line for no real reason?  And it goes on and on throughout the school day: No talking while I silently hand out these worksheets.  Don't turn to page 47 until I tell you.

I much prefer the schools I've seen where the teacher calls the children when she's ready, and they naturally leave their play and go inside.  They respect her, in part, because she doesn't waste their time. There's no yelling, no fidgeting, no wasted time.  And they don't grow up wanting to subvert the teacher, to torment the sub, because teachers are valuable adults who take care of you and help you learn.  

The little things, but they add up.  And I don't see the benefit of it, at all.  Being miserable in the sun when you're 7 doesn't make you more graceful about being miserable in the sun when you're 12, or 35.  But maybe it's the cumulative effects of being told to do arbitrary things that is what you are getting at with your ideas about joie de vivre.  

you should have seen my high school. The eau de cologne of overentitlement. Gross.

Good question.  What I've learned, over time, is that at least at junior high and high school level, its great if you can find a school in which your child will get at least a couple of teachers a year who manage to accomplish this.  

For us, elementary school was more problematic.  Sad, huh?  So many kids are so disenchanted with traditional schooling so early on that they will totally fail to appreciate the good instruction they just might get later on.

I agree, I think uniforms are great.

Her school sounds like my old Catholic school. The rules were strict, but the teachers and principal really, really cared about each of us doing well and becoming good people.

I looked into Catholic school up here, but our parish closed theirs down. So I called two others in surrounding towns, and they had waiting lists of over 100 kids for Kindergarten.

That a child feel "treasured and supported."  I'm so glad Liza has that.

BTW, I'm very in favor of order.  I think kids learn best in environments of order and beauty.  We didn't have a 2-page list of rules at DS's school, but rules were posted in each classroom (usually developed during a classwide beginning of the year discussion about what rules make sense).  They always ended up being rules about being kind (including shutting up when someone else is talking!), considerate, trying your best, helping your friends, being respectful, stewardship for materials and the environment, etc.  IOW, rules that I consider useful for life.  

The fact that the kids participated in creating them a) helped them think through what makes a functional group setting, and b) empowered them to enforce the rules.  The 45 minutes they spent on that practice on the first day of school each year probably saved hours of teacher time throughout the year, as the kids weren't arguing with "teacher's" rules.  And the discussion conveyed to the kids that this is your classroom, as well as the teacher's, and we want it to be a great working and social environment for everyone.

that's research-based learning!  Providing a few key materials so that play becomes science and math.  Even if an adult doesn't present an overt lesson about it, kids will start using words like "smallest" and "tallest."  And they'll practice size-discrimination activities, like nesting the different sizes.  And they'll try to line them up in size order, or they'll sort them by color or shape, or..... Ideally, there will be more than one kid doing the same thing and they will challenge one another's thinking ("No, that one is longer"), which presses Piaget's disequilibrium / accommodation / assimilation model of learning, and results in growth.  No calls for silence, no "do it this way," just pure learning.  The teacher's job is not to instruct but to create the environment where the kids can learn.

That work is exponentially more powerful than any worksheet at this age, and sets a wonderful foundation for symbolic math, like addition.

Sorry, got a little carried away there!  Can you tell I'm just a little passionate about this? :>)