TIDE Academy

Boys have been at TIDE Academy for three weeks now. Since you never know if first impressions will hold, I wanted to wait a bit before I wrote about our experience with TIDE. We heard a variety of things about the school from people we met the first couple weeks we were here. One guy said that the school will equate to a “vacation” for the boys. “Geez. I hope not,” I thought “but, then again, they both felt bored in school at home…so if they are bored here too, at least it won’t be worse than home.” Another Mom, whose kid goes to a private school in New England, said she thought the education was as good or better at TIDE. That’s a pretty big range in possible experiences, so we just had to wait see.

So far, I would say it is about exactly what we thought and hoped it would be. The school is very small. The Director told us they usually have about 45 kids in the Fall and about 65 or so in the Spring. Apparently, we are not the only ones drawn to this place in the dry season. Everyone seems happy to be there. It’s got a good chill but upbeat vibe. The facilities are a little rough around the edges, but there is an authenticity that I appreciate. The boys report that most of the kids are from the States, a couple are from Israel and some are local. There are even a couple from Oregon. Go figure.

Teachers seem to be uniformly young and energetic. They are here because they WANT to be in Costa Rica teaching and with that comes an enthusiasm that we are really appreciating. When you ask they boys what they think about TIDE, they both say they really like it.

Sam, while feeling overwhelmed for the first hour, acclimated well, as he does with all things. He realized that he was smart here too and beamed when he told me they figured out that his spelling skills were about four grades ahead. He just brought home a student of the month award for January, so I think he has found his place and is feeling good. And, he’s met some kids he seems to like. One boy lives just down the road from us and a couple times their SUV has either been in front of us or right behind us as we made the school commute. The boys do this repetitive crazy wave, confirming with its frequency that ‘yes’ they see each other.

Gus was the one we were equally worried and excited about. Back at home, he was extremely dissatisfied with public school education (particularly with its insistence to teach him things he felt he already knew through methods he found boring), and so he had pretty much checked out of 8th grade. We had the most to gain with his experience and were nervous and hopeful as a result. Gus also seemed excited about the possibility that he could enjoy a school. And, in fact, he does. TIDE has given him some independence, which he loves. He works mostly on his own in math because the math he was doing at home is considered high school level math here, but he also has some one-on-one time with the high school math teacher that he says is the best he’s had. They have adjusted his schedule a couple times, each time with the intent to give him the best experience possible. The first three weeks, they probably initiated four different conversations about how to structure his school schedule to best meet his wants and needs. I can tell you that NEVER would have happened at home. He has also met some kids he seems to like. There is one girl, Izzie, who lives about a block away. She is originally from Bend, Oregon but has been here for years now. They are frequently “DM-ing” on Insta (that’s what they call it), so I think he is feeling connected too.

Given that we structured this whole trip around this school and its location, thus rolling some gigantic dice, we are feeling incredibly relieved and excited that it seems to be working out.

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